Noulakaz

The blog of Avinash, Christina, Anya and Kyan Meetoo.

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  1. yes i would
    i’m a geek who is single btw. i can’t find many sophisticated geek girls to court though :(

  3. “if you were independently wealthy and didn’t need a job at all, would you still be writing software for fun?”

    Yes, BUT this doesn’t make me a geek, and in nooooooo way i am a geek. Actually, that would be a dream to be rich and having nothing to worry about other than becoming the best.

    Definitely am not a geek, even if the above answer proved to be true.

    +$3|v3n

  4. Thanks. I’m still scouting the web for one.

    Coding for fun is just cool. It’s just way better than procrastinating around browsing the web. And while coding, I get to listen to my fav. albums.

    However, coding has turned me into a compulsive candy eater. I cannot help myself but have “chupa chups” and chewing gums while trying to get something to work (for fun or for work assignments).

    Being a geek is just awesome I guess. However, there is too many things to learn and so little time and minimal moral and social support.

    Your blog is awesome, btw. I got to know about its existence through Pascal Grosset’s (an interesting lad).

    I’m off now – need to have a hot cup of java with some beans held in a net.

  5. To Selven:

    You are in denial, aren’t you? Don’t worry. It’s not an illness to be a geek. In fact, it’s (kinda) honorable :-)

    To ames:

    Thanks. It’s always nice to know that people like what you do.

  6. I don’t consider myself a geek at all. Sooner or later, barriers will be blurred and programing / checking out the latest gadgets will become more mainstream.

    How can one be a geek for long time? Noone knows but the recipe is to try not to get bored.
    Check out Con Kovilas (you know him, don’t you?). A perfect geek who finally threw the towel because ‘geekiness’ sucked.

  8. ames, being geek is was not an easy choice!! Like Spiderman: “Great power brings great responsibilities!!” ;)

    You should seriously get counseling from Dr Avinash: an authority in the geek community who knows hell of a lot about the need of having a VERY comprehensible partner/wife! :)

    And BTW, being geek is not an addiction (well maybe a little bit…hehehe…it is a way of life!!

    Hmmm….now where’s my “fsck” and “Proud To Be G33k!” T-shirt?!? ;)

  9. I think that one is born a geek.

    I have been teaching for about 10 years now and I always have at least 5% of geeks in my classes who find what I say very easy to understand and very interesting :-)

  10. “I think that one is born a geek.”
    Not necessarily, I know a couple of kids who liked to tease girls in primary schools, loved playing football (although they were not very good at it), but once they made it to secondary schools. stopped everything, and spend almost all their spare time in front of a computer. This “computer geek” behaviour is induced by external factors, such as having a computer at home, a father who is into computers, not considered fit for inclusion in the football team or some other similar factors.

    “ I have been teaching for about 10 years now and I always have at least 5% of geeks in my classes who find what I say very easy to understand and very interesting ”
    You seem to associate geekiness with the asperger syndrome, which is incorrect. Statistically, the number of people who suffer from autism follow (like many other things in nature) a normal distrubtion, so they constitute at best around 10% of autistic people. This is to say that not all geeks have autistic tendancies, and very few actually are born bright. This brings us to your observation : those 5% of your class also form a normal distribution : you will also find that there are around 5% who utterly dislike your class, and find what you say hard to digest. Those 5% top students will always be there, be they geeks or non-geeks.

    People (and geeks) seem to believe that getting a girlfriend/wife is difficult. Nothing could be so far from the truth, for 2 reasons : geeks (male or female) are born with reproductive organs like all other people, and they have sexual orientations like other people, and secondly many of them have successful marital life as demonstrated by none other than Rob Malda (married with 1 kid).

    My answer to the question is yes, only in certain cases. I need a piece of software urgently, and none exist, and hiring people to do the job will take too much time. Whoever writes the software wouldn’t matter much to me, as long as I get the software. Writing software is fun but does that make me a geek ? I don’t think so. The conclusion to the answer is flawed.

    @ ames

    Staying in front of a computer won’t change the matter. Dating is a skill just like programming. Any skill can be acquired if one puts in enough of his energy and time. Besides, why target only sophisticated girls ? Are you looking for a girl only for tech speak/discussion ? If so no need to move from your chair and contact mothers/girls listed in Linux-Chicks. My personal experience is that girls who study science/computers tend not be as sexy/caring for their appearance as those in other areas. Most of the sexy girls are into things like economics/accounting/management/litterature. Of course there are probably exceptions (remember the normal distribution, maybe around 10%), if you’re so intent on getting a “sophisticated” girl who is attractive/beautiful.

    @ The guy who says he’s denies being a nerd

    Let us presume you’re not a nerd. Therefore if ever a question is wrongly worded/ambiguous in a computer/IT/CSE examination, you would not care much, you’d just write what they expect from you. Do you react this way ? Someone who is upset and angry just because some scholar doesn’t know how a particular works in the real world is a real nerd, more specifically a pedantic nerd.

  11. I don’t believe that being a geek is a way of life. Like everyone else, I respond to the changes around me and myself cause things to happen and participate in the chain of life.

    I do think it is honourable to be a geek. Alas, there are times when my ego goes way overboard. It is hard to actually find someone you can converse with – geek or not.

    Being a geek can be best termed as always trying to learn new things and develop one’s own method of doing things. It’s about thinking in a way to promote an ideal which pleases you and in which you believe in. It is about wanting to learn and to better oneself. Of course, if things are hard well, these are challenges and the geek should always strive.

    And typing in L337 does not make one a geek. It makes you a mean person who trashes the beauty of the English Language. Slang is ok but L337 is an insult. Sorry.

  12. Of course, I am still young and I don’t have enough responsibilities aside from deadlines at work. But I’d be honoured to learn more from Avinash about the philosophy behind being a good man like he is.

    If ever you plan to one day host an open lecture at the University of Mauritius, I shall attend it.

    :)

  14. consider the next 3 scenarios and tell me if this makes me a geek :

    1 . I usually dream bout codes and wake up in da morning wiv a brilliant idea to debug ma nasty codes(75% success rate).

    2 . I have a cig everytime ma codes work (almost like an after-sex cigaret).

    3 . I did manage to understand most of the stuff u said bout parallel processing in class last year, but am tooo damn hot to be counted in those 5% class geeks :P

    soooo wats ur professional oppinion avinash :P

  15. To logan:

    You wrote: “Not necessarily, I know a couple of kids who liked to tease girls in primary schools, loved playing football (although they were not very good at it), but once they made it to secondary schools. stopped everything, and spend almost all their spare time in front of a computer.”

    Being a geek (for me at least) does not mean not teasing girls or playing football.

    For me, geeks are people that find computers (and by extension programming) easy.

    As for the 5% of geeks in my class, this is in line with my definition of geekiness.

    To ames:

    You wrote: “If ever you plan to one day host an open lecture at the University of Mauritius, I shall attend it.”

    That’s very nice :-) In fact, I am seriously thinking of organising a one-day workshop on open source software. There will be presentations and open discussions.

    Who wants to help?

    To csyke:

    You don’t code anymore?

    To Val:

    (1) Geek
    (2) Definitely geek
    (3) Geek as you came to my class. And, as far as I know, I am a geek :-)

    Seriously, in a “normal” class, I would expect 5% of geeks. But in one of my electives (i.e. where students choose to come), the % of geeks will be much higher. So you may qualify :-)

  17. @logan: you are crazy :p

    ps. autism doesn’t necessarily mean being bright with studies :p.

    If so no need to move from your chair and contact mothers/girls listed in Linux-Chicks.

    :D, mannnnnnnnnn you go in those places!!! that’s the first place where you’ll get spammed to death.

    There’s no such things as being geek when everyone wants to be one. It is becoming like in those days when everyone used to shout in irc “i 4m 13373r 7h4n th0u” :p.

    pedantic nerd thingy…
    i have no idea what this words means..even if i just googled that :p.

    @val
    1 . I usually dream bout codes and wake up in da morning wiv a brilliant idea to debug ma nasty codes(75% success rate).
    This is called sleeping over the problem :p and it always works. hahahaha, the number of wargame levels i completed this way!!! lol.
    Talking about dream, i made the same dream 4 times today, that avinash took my paper during the concurrency test, saw it and smiled with that smile of his saying “B tonn fail” <<scary.

    @csyke:hmmm, since i don’t code anymore, i guess am not a geek!
    LOl you’ve finally reached it! YRATD bro YRATD. :p

    Hopefully, i shall get off from being orderred what to code to decide what i want to code soon, and i shall RATD also :p hahahaha.

    @avinash: I am seriously thinking of organising a one-day workshop on open source software.
    I wonder if this can be made in around August 2008 :p, coz next year i am coming to univ only for maths and some subjects i had been sick during exams, so i was planning on making an OSS society in univ, you could be a guess presenter during the OSS festival to be organized lerla :p

    +$3|v3n

  19. @ logan : Shudn’t be confusing Nerd wiv Geek mate!! There’s a world of difference here!!!

    and since Avinash officially granted me Geekdom, then lemme tell u that getting gurls definitely aint a problem for gurls!!

    I’m a php programmer n i really enjoy ma codes! But still manage to wake up at 5am 3 times a week to hit the gym, and play football at least twice a month…and i go out clubbin everyweekend!!!(HINT: this involves gurls–>hot girls + booze :P)

    So being geek definitely doesnt mean u can’t have a good time!!

    :P

  20. why does it seems that geekyness seems to be associated only with programming here? :p

    programming isn’t the only technical stuff one can do with a computer :p

  23. there’s a diffrence between a geek and a nerd people , i would classify myself as a computer geek , 8 hours everyday on the pc ! .. + endless knowledge

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