10 posts tagged “nerdery”
March is National Women's History Month. What women are making history today?
Me, with my astonishing ability to grow other people inside me.
What's on your Top 5 video games list?
Submitted by mileena.
1. Half-Life 2 - I am NOT a first-person shooter kind of girl, and yet I loved this game. It was linear with a predetermined storyline, and yet I loved it. The graphics were unreal. The characters were interesting enough to keep me engaged. The story was great. I did in fact love this game, shooting and all.
2. Oblivion - While I may not be a first-person shooter type, I am totally a sucker for RPGs. I loved the variety of races to choose from, and the fact that you can be a girl. Why is this not an option in so many games? Or if you can be a girl, you have to be all busty and dominatrixed out. Anyway. This game has the largest game world I've ever experienced. You can spend all day just riding around on your horse looking at the pretty flowers, if you want to. Not that I would know from experience.
3. The Sims2 - Do not play this game if you have any obligations in the real world. Days will go by as you watch your Sims grow up, marry, have children, retire, die, come back as ghosts, etc. While The Sims was a pretty good game, this one is pretty much a life replacer. In a good way.
4. Turbo - Whenever we went to El Toro I played this game with my dad. I think it's how I learned to drive. A racecar. In two dimensions.
5. Below the Root - Probably my favorite game of all time, it is still
very playable twenty years later. It was based on the Green Sky trilogy
of books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Both the books (now back in print!)
and the game are some of the best children's materials out there.
How did you pick your Vox name? Does it mean something?
Submitted by LeendaDLL.
My Vox name came to me quite naturally given the extreme levels of dorkitude with which I am blessed.
My initials: KWH.
(Wikipedia made me do it! The chocolate and everything!)
These are crap. They may taste good (sort of) but they actually make me cough more. And here's the fine print: excess consumption may have a laxative effect. Does half a bag qualify as "excess?" Only time will tell.
2. Lindt Excellence Dark Extra Fine Chocolate (85% Cocoa)
You know, for the theobromine. Wikipedia told me theobromine is more effective in suppressing cough than dextromethorphan (the narcotic in Robitussin). I believe everything Wikipedia tells me.
3. Ghirardelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight Chocolate (72% Cacao)
Again, for theobromine. Cacao tastes better than cocoa.
Probably the most effective measure undertaken. Also, the most filled with narcotics. Really the best thing it has going for it is its lack of being Robitussin.
5. Twinings Lemon & Ginger Herb Tea
Delicious and magically soothing! I added honey, for full potency.
6. Leftover Bonine from 3 years ago
Now we're entering the desperation stage. This cold! It's an inflammatory process, right? I shall therefore treat it with an anti-inflammatory agent! [Little known fact: Benadryl, Dramamine, and Bonine are all effectively the same thing.] Tastes like Smarties.
7. Coffee
It's good for everything else, so why not use it on your cough? Maybe it dries out secretions? Caffeine is a methylxanthine, much like theophylline, a drug used to treat asthma. So... relaxing bronchial smooth muscle is probably good for my cough. I've talked myself into drinking tea now, too, since it's a source of theophylline. I shall add English Breakfast Tea to my regimen.
8. Guaifenesin (aka Mucinex)
Mucus in the head → post-nasal drainage → constant irritation of the pharynx → cough. Must loosen secretions. Voila! Guaifenesin.
9. Pizza
An excellent immune booster. I recommend this product highly.
How many computers do you have in your house?
Submitted by Foomper.
Three.
One pretty powerful desktop for my man the architect.
One massively powerful laptop (still not as jacked up as the desktop, though) for us geeks to play our games on.
One burgundy Dell laptop circa 2000 with Latvian flag sticker on.
Presumably still somewhat functional, this computer may be sent to my
mom one of these days. So she can have three computers.
I love me some robots. And now they are here! On my little blog!
Awesome.
What was the last game you played?
Text Twist. Picture seven anesthesiologists in one tiny room squeezed around the one available computer yelling out things like, "Darner! I know darner is a word!"
(Darner is not a word.)
(In no way was I the one advocating for "darner.")
(No. Way.)
UPDATE: Darner is a word. I knew it!
Amazon.com just emailed: guess what shipped out today!
I am currently afflicted with a sinus infection, which is an illness
I abhor above all others. Let it be known, however, that I am blessed
with a relative naivete in the realm of illness. I do thank my lucky
stars that sinusitis is the most unpleasant form of sickness I have
suffered. Not for me your plagues, beriberis, malarias, or moyamoyas.
No, I am a certifiable wuss.
My general response to a sinus infection is to curl up into a little
ball, wheeze, whimper, and sleep. Sometimes I put a little effort into
trying to feel better, thus over the years I have developed my own
particular brand of cure. It goes a little something like this:
Anti-histamine: What works for me is loratadine, the stuff in Claritin, Alavert, Wal-itin (I am a huge fan of Walgreen's and their knock-off drugs. I mean, how awesome is Wal-tussin? Wal-dryl? Wal-phed? Those guys kill me.)
Expectorant: You gotta get that shit OUT, yo. I try to find
guaifenesin without the attendant pseudo-ephedrine. Now, if you like
the jitters and feeling like your scalp is expanding, go ahead and get
you some Sudafed. Knock yourself out. Guaifenesin by itself can be
found in the expectorant type of Robitussin (or Wal-tussin, of course) or Mucinex.
Spicy foods: I eat Indian food, Mexican food, Ethiopian
food... really I eat all the same foods I usually eat. I also make
something I call Magic Soup. (Chicken broth, small pasta, thyme,
pepper, cayenne, tiny pinch of nutmeg)
Hot liquids: Coffee, I find, is a magical cure for almost
anything. Green tea or jasmine tea with slices of ginger root work
wonders for the sinus ook. Ginger tea is amazing if you can find it.
Sleep: I like sleep. It's probably good for your health.
You know, just in case you were looking for a way to beat your very own mucus invasion.
What's the nerdiest thing about you?
Oh, man. Are you kidding? It's all nerd, all the time over here. In
thinking it over I have decided there is no one nerdiest thing. In the
wise words of one Inigo Montoya: "Let me 'splain. No. There is too
much. Let me sum up."
First and foremost are my two greatest loves: words and numbers. Though my writing may tell a different story, I love me some good grammar. Syntax totally turns me on. Years of disuse have left my grammar and punctuation skills in a fucking shambles, but I'm working on it. Bear with me. And numbers? WOW. Watching Brainman made me cry repeatedly. One of my dreams is to take more and more math classes, just to see exactly how much I am capable of understanding. At the very end of my forays into calculus I began to glimpse how extraordinary numbers are, and how incredibly abstract. I want to know more!
I don't consider my love of music to be a form of nerdery, but probably most people do. I am a classical musician, after all. Apparently this means I'm a nerd. Even when I was in high school I didn't get that. I was never ashamed to carry my viola case around. Much more ashamed to have to wear a retainer with fake teeth in it. Yeah, I was hot. Look here for proof.
And yeah, I love science fiction. Lots. We can talk about it, if you want.
But we must not forget that I am that most nerdy of nerds, a Medical Student. Going to medical school gets you a free pass into Nerdville. Do not, if you value your sanity, ever spend time with two or more medical students at once. There is some unspoken law among us that we MUST, we are COMPELLED to, share in-jokes and horrible stories of bodily functions. Some kid pooped on your clogs? Oh yeah? Well, a placenta landed on mine! Take that! The nerdery is excessive. It is unspeakable--let us speak of it no more.
I am a nerd who loves children's books. Mostly the ones that are now out of print, like Below the Root by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. UPDATE: That trilogy is back in print! Trust me, you need a copy.
That's all I can think of right now. There's undoubtedly more. Gobs more.
