Nerdy Things

[peterfaParticipant 833]

I just want to get something off of my chest, a short little ran…

OK, SciFi and Fantasy are not nerdy. They used to be the things of nerds but only incidentally. Now because they’re thrust mainstream, non-nerds have picked up on them. They are no longer the exclusive domain of the nerds.

Gadgets like iPhones and computers are still not nerdy.

What is nerdy though is alternative operating systems, ham radios, telescopes, programming, and all sorts. There’s a nerdy approach to things, which is methodical and really the idea is to fully learn something for the heck of it. This means a weightlifter can be a nerd, a cook can be a nerd, even television watching can be nerdy (analyzing all the shows, etc). However, watching Dr. Who doesn’t count unless you’re already a nerd.

I have a phone but I but a custom ROM on it just because I prefer it. That is nerdy. I don’t touch comic books and I don’t care for SciFi or fantasy, but I’ve been to some seriously nerdy conventions and I’d go back. I’ve been the Linux users groups, even though I was the only non-awkward one there, and I liked it. I study philosophy and history (I don’t even like those subjects, or at least I didn’t when I got into them).

Also, I don’t look like a nerd. I don’t talk like a nerd. I am articulate and I have good people skills. I like to dress well and take good care of myself. I don’t really see myself as a nerd. I still do some very distinctly nerdy things.

If you’re a nerd, then get into something nobody knows about and master it for the fun of it.

[– Deleted on Request –Spectator 936]

True, but the ladies won’t pay attention to you because of it.  If they don’t understand something or, better yet, control it, they want nothing to do with it and nothing to do with anyone who is involved with it.  Being a ham hasn’t turned me into a babe magnet but, then, that wasn’t the reason I got my callsign and wrote all my exams.

 

[RoyDalParticipant]

If they don’t understand something or, better yet, control it, they want nothing to do with it and nothing to do with anyone who is involved with it…

Yep.

Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?

[coolthingy450Participant 1223]

I’m don’t look like a geek at first glance. But the things I’ve only done to a computer is replacing parts, upgrading them, replacing windows with a Arch based system called Manjaro and using Fedora as a backup machine.

And people ask why why I don’t have a girlfriend. The answer is that I just didn’t find someone who had similar interests in those things. and in most cases, meeting a girl who is interested in stuff like that are going to be rare anyways. So I just make my bed, sleep in it, and enjoy. And this was before mgtow was made.

Actions have consequences and consequences have prices. Cause and effect at work.

[RennieParticipant]

– Deleted on Request – wrote:

True, but the ladies won’t pay attention to you because of it. If they don’t understand something or, better yet, control it, they want nothing to do with it and nothing to do with anyone who is involved with it. Being a ham hasn’t turned me into a babe magnet but, then, that wasn’t the reason I got my callsign and wrote all my exams.

That’s a good thing because anytime they see something popular that they aren’t a part of, they get their claws in and promptly ruin it.

[Jim01Participant 6678]

spot on Rennie.

Happens to football(Soccer) in England as now football support has been feminized ie no swearing, standing etc

happening to videogames as we speak (thankfully I can still go retro)

on a side point if anyone likes their retro games then I recommend Retro Gamer magazine – is all things retro in videogames and is a great read every month

[RennieParticipant]

Jim01 wrote:

spot on Rennie. Happens to football(Soccer) in England as now football support has been feminized ie no swearing, standing etc happening to videogames as we speak (thankfully I can still go retro) on a side point if anyone likes their retro games then I recommend Retro Gamer magazine – is all things retro in videogames and is a great read every month

My stuff’s not quite retro yet, but it’s definitely vintage. Usually games from around the turn of the millennium.

Was reading a post on a forum, “On a side note a did end up getting a DS20e(Alphaserver – not the toy), swapped in the 2 667mhz processors I got at the start of the thread, but the wife said no to running the DS20e(probably the loudest machine I’ve ever come in contact with)”

That’s what happens when you get married these days, she wears the pants. I’m pretty sure she probably wanted him to throw out his computers too, though he didn’t mention it.

[hmskl’dParticipant 6406]

I don’t know if this is nerdy or not, but I just finished collecting all of the episodes of the old British TV show The Avengers on DVD  … from 1962 to 1968.  Remember Emma Peel and John Steed?.  I have all of the 139 episodes that were released of the 161 ever produced. A few are releases of existing segments because the complete episodes are not available anywhere (some have been lost and will never be released). My sole reason for collecting these is that they don’t make programs like this anymore and I just plain like the show. When the region 1 episodes went out of print, I felt I’d better start collecting.  Since that time, there are Emma Peel episodes being made available again as a set.

OK, here’s where it might get a little nerdy. Have them all on VHS in pristine condition (an entire cabinet dedicated to storing them) and now all on DVD in quadruplicate. I have collected them in both region 1 (in duplicate) from the US and region 2 (complete sets) from the UK and some purchased in Germany on DVD.   Also have the additional complete set of 139 episodes that was released in a collection via the Netherlands on DVD (also region 2). That is over 200 DVDs in single cases dedicated to the Avengers.  I have now collected both complete seasons of The New Avengers also in both region 1 and region 2. Total of 24 more DVD’s in multi cases. Also have the Emma Peel 17 disc Mega-Set with the coveted bonus disc.  Took awhile to find that one shrink wrapped and within my price range without any bumps or bruises.  Each episode is approximately 50 minutes long … it will take me months in my spare time to watch all of them.

In order to play the Region 2 sets, I have purchased several new (region free) DVD players. I use two of them on an alternating basis to extend their life. The others are unopened and in careful storage as these players are getting more and and more difficult to find.

OK; I would think that it might be a little bit of a shock for a woman to walk into my media room and see four complete collections featuring the past heroines and crime fighters Emma Peel, Cathy Gale, Tara King and Purdey with friends. She’d likely walk out on the spot and slam the door behind her. To me, they look absolutely beautiful (the disc cases all in a row) and very tidy on their shelves; but who knows how people would react? If she would be in the mental health field she’d probably label me as having some syndrome.  I’d take it as a compliment. It’s taken me over seven years to very slowly complete this collection one piece at a time.  Many of the region 1 releases are OOP and the only way to get them new is to wait for other collectors to sell them.  It took almost a year to find a perfect shrink-wrapped copy of Tara King Set 1 and another to find a new Cathy Gale ’62 Series set with no defects to the slipcase. When they occasionally go up for auction other bidders make it difficult to get them at all.

By the way … many Avengers episodes are in glorious black & white and I don’t know how many women like watching 50 year old shows with no color 😉

… now collecting all of the Doctor Who episodes (both regions 1 &2) that have been released on DVD from 23 November 1963 to 6 Dec 1989.

I personally consider the series to have ended with the 7th Doctor … (but that’s debatable)  Already have ALL of them that were released on VHS. (another dedicated cabinet),

… have a great day collecting!

 

 

[– Deleted on Request –Spectator 936]

Sjur:

 

Ah, Emma Peel…..  Now there was a hottie!  Diana Rigg’s character could teach a few things to the modern-day “tough girls” that you see in TV shows and movies.  She not only could fight but she did it with style!

 

I never did see any of the original episodes with Honor Blackman so, for me, The Avengers began with Mrs. Peel when I saw the show via syndication on the TV channel we had in the one-horse town I grew up in.

 

I do remember, though, when the original Doctor Who episodes with William Hartnell when they were shown on CBC, starting in early 1965.  They were on, at least where I watched them, late Saturday afternoons just before Hockey Night in Canada but moved a few months later to, I think, Wednesdays.  After that, they disappeared and I didn’t hear anything about the show until I was finishing my first master’s degree.  Two of my fellow grad students (one who was from SE Asia and went to university in Wales and the other one an Aussie) were talking about what turned out to be Tom Baker’s character.  I had no idea at that time that the show was still being produced and on the air.

 

A few years later, I saw my first TB episode on a PBS station I watched in a hotel room in Ottawa.  Later that same year, I moved to Edmonton and the PBS signal there carried the show as well.  I continued watching it whenever I could until that station dropped it, depending on where  in Alberta I was living at the time.

 

But I agree with you that the show ended for me with Sylvester McCoy.  I watched some of the “reboot” series when CBC carried it but it simply wasn’t the same.  By then, it had become too tame and politically correct.  David Tennant’s character put me off the show for good.

 

Since you like good shows, check out Moonbase 3 and Star Cops!  I’ve got them on DVD, which were rather hard to find.  I’m also looking for a DVD set of The Sandbaggers (talk about a great spy series!).  I don’t think there’s one available in North American format any more, if there ever was one.

 

[RoyDalParticipant]

Emma Peel rocks! Too bad it was so many decades ago, they don’t make ’em like her these days.

Society asks MGTOWs: Why are you not making more tax-slaves?

[Jim01Participant 6678]

the new Doctor Who is typical BBC leftwing crap. PC from top to bottom and I have hardly watched the new ones but from what I gather the latest series was nicknamed Dr Clara over that spud faced assistant as it turned into a soap opera about her and her mixed race boyfriend – it just appeals to girls/women now and isn’t a patch on the classic show

[KingOfTheSeaParticipant 1270]

Yeah, the new season has been s~~~ty. I like Peter Capaldi; he seems a lot more old school and less inclined to be “sensitive” about women’s feelings, but it’s all led by Moffat, who’s trying to convince the world he’s a feminist. In the end, the fans who aren’t feminists aren’t happy and the feminists are never happy so this wouldn’t help anyways and no one wins.

[Jim01Participant 6678]

KingOfTheSea wrote:

Yeah, the new season has been s~~~ty. I like Peter Capaldi; he seems a lot more old school and less inclined to be “sensitive” about women’s feelings, but it’s all led by Moffat, who’s trying to convince the world he’s a feminist. In the end, the fans who aren’t feminists aren’t happy and the feminists are never happy so this wouldn’t help anyways and no one wins.

yeah I quite like him too but like you say Moffat is an idiot and until he is gone things won’t improve. I was hoping Clara was off but I guess she didn’t get her big break in Hollywood or whatever she was after (shock. not) so she is sticking around unfortunately

[KingOfTheSeaParticipant 1270]

I feel like a poser, though: I’ve only seen post-revival. I really want to back and watch everything. I started some of the Hartnell stuff and it was fun. I have a mega-torrent for it but I have yet to finish…too few seeds.

[Jim01Participant 6678]

KingOfTheSea wrote:

I feel like a poser, though: I’ve only seen post-revival. I really want to back and watch everything. I started some of the Hartnell stuff and it was fun. I have a mega-torrent for it but I have yet to finish…too few seeds.

I can’t do the black and white episodes myself tbh but from Pertwee onwards there are some classics. The bad outweigh the good episodes by a long margin but when it is good it is really good as long as you can look past the s~~~ effects, costumes etc and just appreciate the stories it is a great show

A few ones to watch – Inferno, Genesis of the Daleks, Caves of Androzani, The Two Doctors, The Seeds of Doom, Curse of Fenric.

I have a few I personally like but these ones are the better known best episodes (Genesis is probably the best of that list)

[KingOfTheSeaParticipant 1270]

Yeah, with some of the older stuff, Doctor Who and otherwise, you really just have to learn to look past the effects and use a bit of imagination. I used to hate that about old movies when I was a kid, but now I kind of enjoy the challenge, and a lot of the stories were better than they are now.

There’s a Youtuber called Paul Verhoeven that did a breakdown of the first three Doctors and what episodes you should watch for each of them, but I haven’t gotten around to them yet. He’s kind of a mangina but he has strong, valid points about Doctor Who like hating all of the companions since Moffat became showrunner because he makes the stories hinge on them instead of the Doctor, who should be the main character.

[– Deleted on Request –Spectator 936]

Doctor Who took a radical turn when John Nathan Turner took over as producer in–when was it–the late 1970s or early 1980s.  That’s when the arrangement for the theme was changed from variations on the original performed by Delia Derbyshire (now she was an interesting person!) to the one more rock-oriented.  Also, the opening credit sequence changed from a background that might have been inspired by Moire patterns to the star field.

 

Unfortunately, though, the quality of the scripts changed as well.  They became darker and more violent and, on the whole, less fun.  Tom Baker continued for one more season and was succeeded by Peter Davison.

 

I continued watching but with considerably less enthusiasm.  I wasn’t particularly impressed by the remaining Doctors, but the stories weren’t especially captivating, either.  Towards the end, it became apparent that the BBC had run out of ideas.

 

I did watch the attempted revival in the mid-1990s produced by Fox and featuring Paul McGann, but I thought, by then, that the horse was dead and there was no point in flogging it any more.  That sentiment was confirmed when the “reboot” episodes went on the air.

 

 

 

[hmskl’dParticipant 6406]

I suppose Ham Radio might be a little nerdy. Yes, also astronomy. Have a friend who’s really into telescopes. He’s ex pilot from USAF. He just likes building reflector telescopes and is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met. He’s not a nerd but does some things that might be considered nerdy. He also has a metal shop and builds working model engines. He’s married and from all outward appearances seems to be surviving. Maybe it’s because he spends so much time in his shop away from his wife 😉

I’ve been in amateur radio since junior high. Used to hang 40 mtr inverted V dipole antennas from trees.
Worked summers during college installing antenna systems in public service vehicles … used mainly Kulrod. Used to have friendly competitions around the shop and see who could get lowest SWR. One guy actually used to tune down the bottom of whip with hand file. He got some perfect 1.01:1 matches.

I spend some time over on 2 mtrs, usually only when driving. Also like to see what I can do using the smallest trapped antennas possible. It’s amazing what I’ve been able to get with an attic installation or an MFJ-1786 loop.

Lately, I’ve kind of gone back to mostly CW … there are a few women on but I never bother to ask.

[– Deleted on Request –Spectator 936]

Sjur:

 

There are a few hams on this site.  I’ve had my callsign for just over 10 years now and I finally wrote my Advanced exam last summer, so I now have all my qualifications.

 

I specialize in satellites and I’ve made lots of contacts over the birds.  I’ve worked stations as far away as Finland and Hawaii from central VE6/VA6 territory putting only 5 W into a dual-band Arrow Yagi.  I haven’t been on the air since winter began here back in November but I expect to start again by the middle of next month.

 

Imagine reaching an object about the size of a microwave oven located a few thousand kilometres away using a signal with, at most, the same power that is needed to charge a cellphone, and being able to not only talk to someone on the other side of the continent or another country but hear their response…..  That, gentlemen, is amazing!

 

[peterfaParticipant 833]

I want get into ham radios. It’s really about learning and mastering radio technology for me. I also want to buy an electronic kit. When I was a kid I bought one that was a little beyond my comprehension. I was like 8 and it’s for 14 year olds. Now I want to buy it again and go through it. Then I want to get into making little robots and such.

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