I have been an avid Star Trek fanatic since I got hooked on The Next Generation series as a teenager. Yes, nerdery took root in me at a young age. I am not ashamed to say that I had a huge crush on Data the android through my teen years. While other girls my age salivated over Tom Cruise, Luke Perry, or the rockers in Guns N’ Roses- I dreamed of Data.
Our geeky group
Being the diehard Trekkie that I am, I was super stoked when I heard that a new Star Trek movie was coming out. I wanted to make watching this movie a memorable event. So I plotted with my friend Cameron and together we amassed a group of 20 friends to witness this spectacular show together. Thanks Cam again for being in charge of ticket purchasing!
I just can't resist a man in uniform. Resistance is futile?
The unabashed geeks in our group wore Starfleet uniforms to the showing. I would have proudly been among them but unfortunately, due to the high volume of Trekkies with the same idea, I was unable to purchase such attire. All the sites online were sold out. So I settled for a t-shirt that says “I heart Data”.
Fran gave Jason's uniform a try. Living long and prospering must be hard to do.
The movie was fantastic of course- action packed, well written, and funny. It paid homage to the original series without being predictable. The casting was impeccably done and the special effects were breathtaking. I plan on catching it again in the next couple weeks- this time at an IMAX.
We’ve all heard that old adage: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well I guess it’s not always true because last weekend here’s what happened in Vegas.
The boys pay homage to Siegfried and Roy
The largest hackers’ convention in the world, DefCon, takes place in Vegas every year. My geeky husband has been dying to go to it for years but has never managed to make it. This year I promised him that not only could he go but that I would actually accompany him.
The boys eagerly wait in line to change their temp badges for super geeky ones
We went down with a large group of geeks that included Aaron, Dave, my brother Drew, and Jason’s brother Jeremy.
Chillin on the strip
Some things about this convention were not too surprising, like the occasional whiff of BO you encountered as you walked amongst the geeks. I was surprised however by just how many of these hardcore geeks actually looked relatively normal and seemed to have some semblance of social skills. The proportion of normal to abnormal appearing geeks was much higher than I expected, though I definitely saw many attendees that fit the part of the stereotypical nerd.
I attended a couple seminars with Jason just for fun. (Did I just say “for fun”?) I was surprised and disturbed by just how much of the lecture material I actually understood. I guess all that geeky stuff Jason has been telling me over the last decade has taken its toll.
Aaron wearing the awesome hat I helped him pick out
Since we were in Vegas we couldn’t just geek out, we had to party a little too. I was keen on doing some shopping, of course. I was really stoked to go to the new Vegas H&M store. But after having been to the huge H&M on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the tiny H&M in Vegas was a bit of a disappointment. I still found some good stuff though. And more importantly, I bought a couple pairs of shoes.
The crazy Sabin boys at the Blue Man Group show
We also decided that we should go to a show while we were in Vegas. Although our original plan was to see one of the Cirque du Soleil shows, we didn’t buy our tickets in time, so we ended up going to see The Blue Man Group. Jason and I saw this show in Vegas a few years ago but we still really enjoyed it the second time around.
Catching some of the performers after the show
And what’s a trip to Vegas without a little gambling? I tried playing 21 for the first time on this trip. It was a lot of fun. Jason and I managed to win $52 dollars with the $20 we gambled. But my most amazing gambling feat was winning $90 in about ten minutes on a 1 cent slot machine, using only a dollar. I was surprised and thrilled! It was awesome that Jason and I managed to actually make some money in Vegas, over $120, using only $21. I’ve already spent most of our winnings on shoes. After all, there’s really no better way to spend your money!
Catching one of those blue boys
It was a fun trip, perhaps a little too testosterone and geek laden, but still a lot of fun! Sorry boys if I ruined your geek-a-thon with my girly presence.
My brother, Andrew, will be getting married in less than two weeks. In honor of this momentous occasion a band of geeks, roughly twenty in number, converged in celebration. They played computer games together over a LAN (Local Area Network). Jason termed this particular form of get-together the “BLAN” (Bachelor LAN) many years ago when one of the first BLANs was held for him.
Lots O’ Geeks
I only dared enter the den of geeks, located in the basement of my sister’s house, momentarily during this event but in that brief time here is what I witnessed. Many tables were set up in a somewhat haphazard manner throughout the main basement area. The tables were occupied by a variety of geeks and their precious computers.
Mike and Matt
Masses of cords of all sizes and colors crisscrossed the floor in a hectic fashion and lay in piles here and there. Much sugar, caffeine, and grease had obviously been consumed. The air was rank with geek sweat, the soda cans were piled high, and the candy wrappers were proliferate. The lights in half the space were turned off leaving the glow of monitors the only light source in these areas. This gave the impression that one had stumbled across the cavernous dwelling of strange, tech-savvy, nocturnal creatures. This perception was furthered by the fact that many of the geeks appeared to have entered some sort of catatonic state. They were only aware of the screen in front of them and the sole indication that they were actually alive was the occasional twitching of their fingers. Other geeks were very animated. They uttered many obscenities in the heat of battle; during their infrequent periods of silence the faint whirl of CPU fans could be heard. While this was not the first time I had witnessed a BLAN firsthand, I still could not stomach it for more than a few minutes.
Cody and Jacob
The geeks played until 2:30 AM or so. I suspect they would have played longer if Andrew had not poorly planned his transportation arrangements. He and Simone rode over together. She entertained herself elsewhere for quite a while, but in the end she still needed to drive him home. Common sense is not a Nelson trait, nor a geek one for that matter. But, despite the BLAN’s relatively early termination, the geeks seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
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