Get To Know Me: Nerd Edition®

Not too long ago, I did a version of Get To Know Me: Geek Edition^® which included an excerpt of a just finished paper for an upcoming conference. Well, two months have passed and I have successfully presented that paper; but I also moved on to the next paper (it seems all I've worked on lately is papers). I just finished writing that paper (you can take a breath and relax, I'm not including any of this paper on my blog), and it is due to the combined mental strain of solo-authoring multiple papers and the mind-numbing effects of sleep deprivation that accompanies a new child that I have not thought many deep theological thoughts lately.

Well, that's partially true. I've been preparing to teach a four-Sunday class at church on the Holy Spirit and I plan on putting those lessons up here, as well. But that's not until May, so in the meantime I will again entertain and stupefy with another in the Get to Know Me series. I now present the Nerd Edition^®.

1. I'm a engineer. I'm an engineer with an advanced degree. Enough said.


2. I don't laugh at Dilbert, I sympathize with him.
   


3. I always have a pen in my shirt pocket. The subtext here is that I always wear a shirt with a pocket. Hey, as the saying goes, they're handy!


4. I own these lovely ties, and actually wear them.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


5. I once owned a shirt exactly like this one, displaying the periodic table with the radioactive elements glowing in the dark. Mrs. E made me toss it on account of too many holes. Such a pity.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


6. For relaxation, I do crossword puzzles and Sudoku. I say for relaxation, because they really require little mental effort on my part. The Sudoku is all about number patterns, which come easily to me, and I can do the hardest ones in my head in around 15 minutes. As to crosswords, I do the New York Times puzzle in ink, and usually finish the whole thing. (The trick there is that puzzle authors have a bag of staples they always fall back on, and once you know those you can fill in a good part of most puzzles.)


7. Despite #6 demonstrating my mental prowess, I can walk up to a person I've worked with every day for the last six years and forget their name. Pathetic, I know.


8. I know how to put that little "circle R" ® symbol on my blog. It's not that hard, really.

The only possible redemption from nerd-dom I have is found in my wife (she'd never call herself cool, but at least she's not a nerd like me) and the fact that I seem to virtually hang out with some relatively cool bloggers. But even that is not enough to fully redeem one so nerdly as me.

Here's your opportunity, fellow nerds. Let's get it all out here. I'll let you cry on my virtual shoulder when the work bully makes fun of you. Share. I feel your pain.

Tags: Nerd, Dilbert, Engineer, Get To Know Me, Periodic Table, Tie, Shirt, Sudoku, Crossword