Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

I don’t obsess (too much) over my web analytics, but I was surprised to see, oh, about nine times the usual volume of traffic to my site on Tuesday thanks to a prominent link to the Geek Test on reddit.com in the geek category.

Huh, I thought to myself while browsing through the couple hundred comments. Just imagine how much nicer this would all be if the test weren’t outdated.

There are little bumps in traffic here and there as fresh-faced geeks discover the Geek Test, but traffic has been pretty steady for a few years. Blogging regularly seems to have helped a little. Visitors at this point I think are mostly checking back now and then for an updated version of the test that I keep promising. I mean really, what’s my problem? I’ve developed a pretty nifty cycle of guilt, energized motivation, and paralyzed action about the whole update thing. It stresses me out and at this point it’s quite embarrassing. When I tell people about the Geek Test, I do so sheepishly with qualifiers and apologies in advance for its spiderwebs and creaky joints.

Well, that’s going to end on Sunday.

I’m not promising a huge revision of the test or a revamp of the site. I’m going to publish a minor update that will mostly just prune the out-of-date references and fix some glaring omissions. But you know what? It’s going to lift a weight off my shoulders and reduce my anxiety about  The Big Update.

There’s still time to weigh in on what Geek Movies you would add or remove from the list. I may open another section up to discussion before Sunday, but for the most part I’m going to tackle this minor update it with the resources I already have. And when I say minor update, it really doesn’t sound scary at all!

Right now, there’s one helluva geek party going on in Canada: the first-ever Geekfest Montréal. One of the organizers, Debbie Rouleau, contacted me about using the Geek Test in one of their activities to determine the “Geek du Geek”—the Geek of all French Canadian Geeks. Of course I said oui.

(Luckily we were communicating in English. I know enough French to understand the Geekfest website, but speaking or writing it c’est trés difficile.)

I’m looking forward to hearing about how it all went and who the Geek du Geek ends up being. I’ve promised to profile him or her on this very blog, so hopefully I’ll get that up this week. And hopefully they’ll have another Geekfest next year so that I can at least dream of going! It’s about time I finally visited my dad’s ancestral homeland, anyway. Where I will make a point of trying poutine.

An updated geek test. You want it, I want it, we all would sleep better at night if it were updated.

In my head, the task of updating it is a monstrous beast that requires ultimate preparation before going in for the attack. But… I never seem to be prepared enough. And that’s a problem. Especially when I get emails and guilt-inducing blog comments from really nice people who just want a more accurate geek score.

I have hundreds of emails from people that I started to organize in a sort of database to help me choose the best questions for the test. I haven’t kept it up very well, though, and frankly there are so many great suggestions that it’s really hard to imagine the test being limited to 500 points. But I honestly feel that it should not be longer than its current incarnation. (Weighting the questions is definitely something I want to do, but Step One needs to be addressed first.)

Here’s where you come in! I’m going to break the geek test down into chunks and request suggestions for one chunk only right here on my blog (since I’m already planning to be here every day in 2010). Let’s start with…

Core Geek Movies (that must be watched at least twice to count).To participate, leave a comment on this entry with this information:

• Which movies (listed below) you don’t think are geek core, with a brief explanation.
• Which movies you think deserve to be listed, with a brief explanation.

The Current Geek Movie List:

Bladerunner
Clerks
The Dark Crystal
The Fly
Highlander: the movie
The Last Starfighter
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Matrix
Any Monty Python movie
The Neverending Story
Princess Bride
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Spaceballs
TRON
War Games
Any Star Trek movie
All Star Trek movies
The Original Star Wars Trilogy
The New Star Wars Trilogy
Transformers: the movie
Weird Science
Any Kung Fu movie made before 1980

Thank you!

I’ve been working hard to figure out what to do with my blog and with innergeek.us in recent hours, days, weeks, months, years. Mostly it’s overwhelming, and nothing ever seems to be good enough. I’m the only one who ever has that type of problem, right?

This blog, if you’re reading it on my actual site, is currently using a Wordpress theme I found online but do not intend to keep. I like the daffodils and the black flourishes and the gradient on either side of the center column, but it’s not set up to easily switch the background of the center pane to white so I know that my words are a little tough to read. It’s easily the girliest theme I’ve ever contemplated using and will eventually be replaced by a more gender-neutral (and geek-inspired) look.

I’ve toyed with rebuilding my whole site using Wordpress, but that may end up making future features more difficult to incorporate. I’ve instead decided to build my CSS so that I can seamlessly integrate my Wordpress blog into that design. Now the major hurdle is building a design that meets or exceeds my vision. I have dozens of pencil sketches all over my desk and a handful of abandoned designs on my computer. So I’m taking a break right now.

For the sake of accountability (to YOU! My loyal readership! Or at least my mom.) I’m going to lay out my plans for innergeek.us.

1. Create an innergeek logo. (done!)
   
2. Create a site design that seamlessly integrates Wordpress blog (I think I’m really close.)
3. Create graphics for site design
4. Build CSS for site design
5. Refresh exisiting content, except Geek Test
6. Transition to new web host (there’s never a good time for this, is there?)
7. Upload and test everything online in a secret sandbox
8. Refresh Geek Test to a slightly less embarrassing version 3.2
9. Launch new site by September 1, 2009
10. Overhaul Geek Test
11. Launch new Geek Test by October 16, 2009

At this point, I think 30 days is a reasonable amount of time to give myself to revamp the website, especially if I’m stocked up on coffee. I’m going to table all the super-sweet feature ideas for now because I think that’s slowing me down. After I launch the new site, I’ll have six weeks to publish Geek Test 4.0—and that’s a hard deadline for my most overwhelming task. It’s the ten-year anniversary of the very first Geek Party where the very first version of the Geek Test was unveiled. It. Must. Happen.

But for now, I’m gunning for goal #2.

a pretty weed in the yard

Originally uploaded by innergeek

This week has been all about nature, so why stop now? I now know the name(s) of the artichoke-like plant that’s growing near my maple tree, so here’s another front yard mystery plant identification challenge:

It’s a low-lying and semi-sprawling plant with fern-like leaves that flowers little 5-petal light purple blossoms in the spring. I live in a mountain/desert climate (Utah Valley) at about 4500 feet above sea level.

The previous homeowners planted tulips in the narrow section of yard that’s sandwiched by the road and the sidewalk, and these are also growing there. I honestly don’t know if these purple ferny plants are weeds or were planted on purpose. There are real weeds poking up throughout that whole patch of lawn. I’d really like to transplant the tulips and either xeriscape/rockscape that area or just maintain plain grass—which in theory will be easier to take care of than the current Cluster of Random Plant Growth.

(Ben and I have tried to make our thumbs more green, but they only turn into a sickly, yellowish color on the best of days.)

Anything with the keyword geek in it captures my attention because I am always interested in its usage. Not just whether it’s being used as a noun or verb, but whether it’s used in an insulting or admiring manner and how the stereotype is changing over time.

When I assembled the first version of the Geek Test in 1999, the dictionary definition of geek was “1. An odd or ridiculous person. 2. A carnival performer whose show consists of bizarre acts, such as biting the head off a live chicken.”

In 2002, when I started creating innergeek.us and researching the nature of modern geeks, I was amazed to discover that the entry for geek on (then shiny/new) Wikipedia still reflected the “traditional” definition of geek. Though I’m no Wikipedian, I registered so that I was able to add more current information—and it’s been tweaked and updated over the years by others to create a very full meaning of the word geek.

So as an avid student of geekology, I naturally watched the first season of “Beauty and the Geek” when it aired on the CW network in 2006, plus a few episodes here and there in later seasons. I have mixed feelings about the show as it relates to the stereotype of geek.

Granted, it’s a reality show produced by Ashton Kutcher. But it’s only the third TV series to contain the word geek in the title—the first was the undervalued and prematurely canceled comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks in 1999-2000. Then there was the Comedy Central game show Beat the Geeks in 2001-2002.

Now, I like the idea of expanding people’s world views through forced cooperation between individuals with (apparently) little in common. Many of Beauty and the Geek’s participants also seem to come away from the show with a better sense of self. Or at least episodes are edited that way. What I don’t like, though, is the polarization of the two sides that perpetuate the stereotypes in the eyes of the viewer.

Back in December, I came across this casting call for geeks: Read more…

I’ve been sitting on this comment for a while, not quite sure what to do with it.

Sorry, but to me you just sound like an normal wife and all out action girl. Which is not a bad thing, honest, its cool, but I would hardly call it geekdom! To me, geekdom (true geekdom) is hating beinge away from the computer (remeber your Laptop is your only true friend,) never going on holiday unless you absolutely HAVE to. Living on your own and NEVER socialising. And being self contained in your own little world. Which describes me, perfectly!! I do love you blog, and have read loads of it, but being married, leaving the house to have your hair done, and especially socialising (YUK!) is hardly geekdom in my eyes!! Sorry if I offend!!

I did take offense at first, because this guy questioned my geekiness based on his own idea of its meaning. And then I realized that he clearly has Asperger’s Syndrome or some form of social phobia, and I felt kind of sorry for him. His definition of “true geekdom” encompasses the definition of Asperger’s and with that comes a lack of social awareness. Sure, lots of geeks may have Asperger’s, and certainly that’s the sterotype among non-geeks. But there are many, many people who are very geeky and very social.

When it comes right down to it, few people agree on the exact definition of a geek. That’s part of the wonderful journey I’ve traveled for almost ten years… figuring out what makes a geek a geek and encouraging people to embrace their geekiness no matter how big or small.

I don’t think that being married or getting my hair cut affects how much of a geek I am. There’s lots of geek love out there, and everybody gets a haircut at some point in their lives. If you read the actual post on which he left this comment, you’ll see that the the mention of getting my hair cut was directly related to my new geeky business card that I was really proud of.

The label of “all-out action girl” is flattering, I suppose. I’m guessing this came from my previous posts about all the action I reported from Comic-Con. You know, the ones where I was gushing about Wil Wheaton, Futurama, and Battlestar Galactica? I can see how there’s nothing truly geeky about any of that. (Whoops, let a little sarcasm slip out.)

I considered writing a cranky response because I don’t think that the commenter had solid grounds for his judgment. But I’m sure that there are plenty of other people who will read this blog and agree with the commenter that I’m not a “true geek” because I don’t include technical specs in every post. Their idea of a geek is different than mine, which is okay.

But keep in mind that this is my personal blog. Right at the top of my blog (unless you’re viewing it in an RSS reader) you can see how I call it out: Geeky topics and my life as a Geek Girl. “My life” includes my cats, my routines, and lots of other stuff that is not geeky at all. But it all makes me part of who I am, so if you enjoy my blog, then read it for whatever reason(s) you enjoy it.

Just don’t call me a normal wife, m’kay? My husband doesn’t, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m going to start posting some of the emails I receive, along with my reply, here on this blog. This is in addition to the place I’ve set aside for crazy emails. I’ll start with an interesting question I received that goes back to the days before the Geek Test was Internet Famous.

Hello Yvette,

Thanks for your great website! Many years ago on the front page there used to a picture of a cat’s head. This kitty was making a comedy face and was named Fairuza in the filename. Who is this cat and what is this picture? When and where was it taken? I’d love to get more information on this great picture! I attached the picture. Please reply soon, thanks! have fun, Mike

Hi Mike,

The first thing visitors saw on my first version of innergeek.us was the cropped head of a kitten that Ben and I named Fairuza (after Fairuza Balk for a reason that I can’t quite remember). You were one of the first people in the world to take the Geek Test if you remember Fairuza on the front page!

This photo was not photoshopped other than to crudely remove the background. I took it in the fall of 2000, a few weeks after our newly adopted cat, Isis, had kittens. (We didn’t know she was pregnant when we took her in, but watching five kittens grow from soggy mouse-sized creatures into curious kitten-shaped mammals was a fun and rewarding experience.) We took a lot of photos (especially considering that we were still using film-based cameras back then) and I must have caught Fairuza mid-yawn for this one.

Here’s a recent photo of Isis mid-yawn. Sucky lighting, blurry photo, but can you see the resemblance? She’s making a crazy face for the camera… all pirate-eyed and practically screaming “Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Fairuza went to a good home with a woman who renamed her Tiny.

We found homes for the other four kittens. I would have liked to keep one of them, especially since Isis was a great parent, but we lived in an apartment and already had Loki. So we remained a two-cat family until last summer, when Phoebe showed up outside my employer’s office.

So though I no longer have an awesome Fairuza face on the front page of my website, there are still plenty of places where I gratuitously place my cats’ funny faces. I guess it’s fitting that that’s how everything started out.

I made them myself, can I have a cookie now?

Creating those little cards was a lot more work than I expected. Seriously, I am a writer who sometimes designs on a computer but rarely draws anything worth showing to anyone with decent eyesight. But I finally got them close to what I was envisioning, and that made the effort worthwhile. I can’t wait to hand them to people at Comic Con next week!

Here’s how I made the design:

1. Thought about what kind of business card would work well, and came up with the idea for a comic-style card.
2. Started drawing caricatures of myself. Some were really, really, horrible. I had to look up how to draw a female body because I wasn’t getting it right.
3. Finally figured out that I should draw the caricature elements separately, scan them, and then piece them together in Adobe Illustrator (CS1 that I got in my last year of college but never really learned how to use).
4. Hit the jackpot with Blambot.com, where I found some awesome free comic fonts (for Mac and PC) and pre-made dialogue balloons in .eps format. Perfect!
5. Swore a lot as I learned how to alter the Illustrator files to get the dialogue balloons in the size and shape I wanted.
6. Added the text (Blambot’s Anime Ace 2.0) and obsessed a little over the exact wording.
7. Tweaked and tweaked until Illustrator and Photoshop both worked together with me enough to get the final result you see above.

It’s not perfect, but I won’t be embarrassed to hand out that design. And there is probably a better way to do something like that… so if you have any suggestions for next time, please leave a comment. I’m not under any delusions that I would be able to illustrate my own graphic novel, but it would be nice to learn a little more about art ‘n stuff. I would like to write one someday (soon, maybe, with all this Comic Con inspiration).

Next on the agenda before Comic Con: packing and maybe finally getting around to updating my website?

Sam Murray from the UK shared this link with me: http://www.getitornot.co.uk

It’s an IT recruiting company that has a 5-question geek test on their homepage as a barrier to entry. Nice work, CW Jobs! I approve that message!