Random geeky things you've done

[A Very Super Market]

Pshaw. You named all the capitals and provinces and territories in Canada. Bit like just picking the biggest cities. 'Cept for my own BC.

We have 13 Ps and Ts, and anyone could name them all. Can you name all 50 US states? For the record, I can.

Isn't Des Moines the largest city in Iowa? See, that makes sense.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Harharhar! BUt I'm not from Canada.

If want to equal my amazing deed Mr. Smartypants, name every German state and its capital. And don't look them up (though it would surprise me even if you looked them up).

[Gregoshi]

Geeky, nerdy things I've done:

1) building models - mostly battleships but a few cars and a Colonial Viper & Cylon Raider from the original Battlestar Galactica series.

2) a fan of science fiction and fantasy books/movies

3) played D&D from the age of 18 in 1977-78 up until the age of 47 - I've been on a break the last two years, though the itch is returning. I used to put "D&D" on the calendar to mark days we were playing but the wife stopped that as it was too risky for "embarassment" (hers) in case visitors saw it.

4) played Magic: The Gathering card game during the 90s...sometimes at work during lunch break.

5) was really into astronomy in teens-20s with occassional returns to it in the years since. Was secretary-treasurer, vice-president and then president of the Penn State Astrononmy Club.

6) was into video/computer gaming starting with Intellivision, Commodore 64, Amiga and finally PCs.

7) will leave messages on answering machines or order food at a drive-thru window in an accent or non-sensical ramblings. The words "May I help you?" can inspire almost any kind of absurdity from me.

8) I can embarass my wife and kids in public - like skipping through a parking lot while swinging shopping bags to and fro, or "riding" a shopping cart.

9) played board wargames as a teen and into my 20s (until computer gaming took over).

Hmmm, that's all I can think of at the moment.

[Hooahguy]

theres no shame in models, Gregoshi

[Aemilius Paulus]

If want to equal my amazing deed Mr. Smartypants, name every German state and its capital. And don't look them up (though it would surprise me even if you looked them up).

That is irrelevant. US is unique in the amount of autonomy it gives to its states. The US States actually matter, where as the Russian oblast, French department, Swiss canton, German bundesländer, etc are merely administrative/bureaucratic divisions. Although geography, as a subject, is exceedingly important in Russia, and most Russians can accurately place over a 100 countries on a world map, few know all the oblasts, let alone their capitals.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

That is irrelevant. US is unique in the amount of autonomy it gives to its states. The US States actually matter, where as the Russian oblast, French department, Swiss canton, German bundesländer, etc are merely administrative/bureaucratic divisions. Although geography, as a subject, is exceedingly important in Russia, and most Russians can accurately place over a 100 countries on a world map, few know all the oblasts, let alone their capitals.

The French departements, English counties etc. are an administrative division whereas the German Bundesländer are not. They are the fundament of our state. Every law and administrative task is by default obliged to the Länder. The Länder together join up to build the Bundesrepublik. Our nation is, in its nature, fundamentally federal, to the degree that we allow each Land its own educational system. When the reunification took place in 1990, the five Länder which lay on the territory of the old DDR, but were de-facto inexistant (because the DDR had a centralist approach as e. g. France), joined the Bundesrepublik the logical second after the DDR had formally ceased to exist. In 1871, when modern day Germany was created (as a monarchy then), every citizen had two nationalities: the one of his home state, and the German one. The southern states even kept their own armies!! So don't tell me they wouldn't matter. ;)

@Evil Maniac:
Great, not many Germans are capable of that task!

[Aemilius Paulus]

It is true that the German states are more unique and autonomous, since after all, Germany was disunited for most of its history, fully of small duchies, counties, city-states, etc. However, that was the past, and although its echoes remain, it is not the same today. From what I know about German politics, the German states do not have as much autonomy as the US states do. The difference is very large.

It is true that the German nation, as you said, is basically a federation. However, Russia calls itself a federation as well, and it is actually. Despite what it claims, the oblasts have zero autonomy. Then again, we have quite a bit of republics in Russia, which are very much autonomous (mostly due to their volatility, but not always).

[rajpoot]

The geekiest period of my life was when I had this crush on a girl and I started writing poems to try and impress her. For over 2 months this went on and wrote over 20 poems (mind you I was 14 then, so most of them were quite useless). However the effect was opposite of what I wanted. The girl began to think I was a weirdo and got freaked. She started avoiding me thereafter

[Rhyfelwyr]

I learned the 150 original Pokemon off by heart, but unlike Beefy I stuck to the Blue/Red/Yellow series (Yellow was the first game I got). Silver, Gold etc just didn't feel the same. But those first 150 Pokemon have a place in my heart. [sentimental smilies goes here]

[The New Che Guevara]

The geekiest period of my life was when I had this crush on a girl and I started writing poems to try and impress her. For over 2 months this went on and wrote over 20 poems (mind you I was 14 then, so most of them were quite useless). However the effect was opposite of what I wanted. The girl began to think I was a weirdo and got freaked. She started avoiding me thereafter

Why is it girls dont want us to be romantic outside of arelationship, but then as soon as you're in one, you have to be? We should find a female orgah and interrogate her...

People may know the pokemon in order... but do they know all the evolutions and levels... that's sad...


quick poll... who's actually completed a pokedex aside from me? Mine was ruby version's... whilst I was sitting as an artist model... i couldn't help but raise my fist in celebration. Then I realised, I had a lot more to do.

[Aemilius Paulus]

The geekiest period of my life was when I had this crush on a girl and I started writing poems to try and impress her. For over 2 months this went on and wrote over 20 poems (mind you I was 14 then, so most of them were quite useless). However the effect was opposite of what I wanted. The girl began to think I was a weirdo and got freaked. She started avoiding me thereafter

Unfortunately people have gotten dull since the olden times. Before, the more well-to-do people cared about poetry. Nowadays no one does. That tactic would never work with today's women. Not unless they are literature geeks...


As for Pokemon, yes I was in the craze too. I was in Russia, in 1st-3rd grade, and I spent it in Pokemon. At that time, every boy had what we called kepsi, or plastic, round trading cards that were slammed against the floor, and if they flipped to the picture of the Pokemon, you won the round. The two players would go on util one got the picture, and one did not. Then that round card would go to the player that got the picture. I also know all of the original Pokemon. Ahh, those were good days...

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

If want to equal my amazing deed Mr. Smartypants, name every German state and its capital. And don't look them up (though it would surprise me even if you looked them up).

With English names as a courtesy to the forum's main language.

Baden-Württemberg - Stuttgart
Bavaria - München
Thuringia - Erfurt
Schleswig-Holstein - Kiel
Saxony - Dresden
Saarland - Saarbrücken
Saxony-Anhalt - Magdeburg
Berlin - Berlin
Bremen - Bremen
Brandenburg - Potsdam
North Rhine-Westphalia - Düsseldorf
Rhineland-Palatinate - Mainz
Lower Saxony - Hannover
Hamburg - Hamburg
Hesse - Wiesbaden
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Schwerin

If I have any of those wrong...

[GeneralHankerchief]

It's not as good as most other people's, but when I was around 10 or 11 I was able to name all the US Presidents in order without looking them up. Unfortunately, I can't do VPs.

List below in case you want to test me:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

G Washington
J Adams
T Jefferson
J Madison
J Monroe
JQ Adams
A Jackson
M Van Buren
WH Harrison
J Tyler
J Polk
Z Taylor
M Fillmore
F Pierce
J Buchanan
A Lincoln
A Johnson
US Grant
RB Hayes
J Garfield
C Arthur
G Cleveland
B Harrison
G Cleveland (again)
W McKinley
T Roosevelt
WH Taft
W Wilson
W Harding
C Coolidge
H Hoover
FD Roosevelt
H Truman
D Eisenhower
JF Kennedy
LB Johnson
R Nixon
G Ford
J Carter
R Reagan
G Bush
W Clinton
GW Bush
B Obama

I used to be able to do the Amendments too, but my memory on them is rusty.

[seireikhaan]

Isn't Des Moines the largest city town in Iowa? See, that makes sense.

Yes, it is. However, it was made the capital long ago when IC was the biggest; people gradually shifted to DM as more jobs were made available.

[Megas Methuselah]

I wasted time beating Aemilius Paulus' post here by a mere minute or two upon noticing that he was replying to this thread. I suppose that's kinda geeky.