Geeks Confessional

Javan Rhino

Javan Rhino

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I know that the vast majority of us are zoo-geeks to some extent or another, or maybe just geeks in a certain family or even species of animal, but what are our geekdoms outside of the zoological and natural worlds?

Sci-fi, Trains etc?

I must confess that I'm a geek in the following:

1) Star Wars [before collecting zoo guides, I had a major interest in Star Wars figures, with likely a few hundred figures/ships etc all boxed away under my bed, in my mum and dad's room and in my nana's attic]

2) Doctor Who - only seen the revival and Genesis of the Daleks, but anything 2005 onwards I adore [apart from the odd daft episode, usually disguised as 'specials' that never got watched again, even though I have the DVD's for completeness] Can't wait for series 7 and Asylum of the Daleks.

3) Legend of Zelda - one of my bigger ones for sure, elements of the Zelda games find their way into my own writing, and infact the story I'm currently working on is adapted [majorly] from a fanfiction idea I came up with.

4) Other Nintendo - I do like Nintendo, and I always love playing the latest Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros, Donkey Kong etc [though I'm not as up on some of them, i.e. the side scrollers don't hold much excitement to me]

5) Harry Potter - Not as much now that the mania is over, but give me them 7 expertly written books over Twilight, Hunger Games etc any day. I also love the Inheritance Cycle, but I'll lump them two together. I'm not much of a reader, I've started many a story that I've enjoyed but never got around to finishing due to not making the time to read. I love writing, and hope that one day my story will be published [long shot], not too fussed if it's a success or not, whilst that would be nice I just want to be able to say I've done it and hold a copy in my hands :)
 
Geeky me includes (and probably more).

1. The one reason why I am posting on this website, although I note my condition is not as severe as many on this website.:p

2. GTA games, 100% completion addiction, a once serious problem, now under control.

3. Star Wars (a self confessed geek of Jedi proportions) :cool:

4. I also once got overly interested in the differences between shell height and length of limpets Patella vulgate from those populations living on exposed shores to those populations living on sheltered shores.



That’s it.....

......OK I will let out a secret geekism, I work in a railway engineering environment (I am not an Engineer, more a Project Manager myself) and I kind of have an interest in how railway signalling systems work and even went on a training course about them which was very interesting....:o
 
Hmmm..... if we defined 'geekism' as having an immensely in-depth knowledge of and interest in a particular topic, then I don't think that I am a geek at all.

I have slightly above average knowledge of and interest in world history (ancient civilisations and World War 2), aircraft, and probably 'The Dark Tower' novels (by Stephen King). That's about it really. I'm pretty good at trivia quizzes, but I definitely do not have extensive knowledge on any particular topic. Oh, I can quote most of the movie 'Troy' verbatim though, if that counts. :D
 
nanoboy said:
Hmmm..... if we defined 'geekism' as having an immensely in-depth knowledge of and interest in a particular topic, then I don't think that I am a geek at all
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I think, following that definition, that I am not a geek either, except about zoos, but I wouldn't say that I have an immense knowledge on the subject (well, I wouldn't say it on here anyway :D). I think I was first classed as a zoo geek (and given the nickname zooboy) in year eight, when our year level (~200 students) fundraised for an outing, and then had to submit proposals for the nature of the outing. My proposal, which turned out to be the only one, was to visit the Auckland Zoo, which we ended up doing. Not everyone was as impressed with this as I was...

Zoos are certainly my major passion, but I have other strong interests: writing, some movies and TV shows (some of which I can quote quite well), and a few book series and authors.
 
I must confess to being obssessed with the books of Robert Rankin and Terry Pratchett, they make up about 70% of my non-fiction book collection! :p
I also have a thing about Muse (greatest band of my generation) and Jamie T (greatest songwriter of my generation) but it's not as severe as my "far-fetched fiction" problem!

Also I have a secret that may not go down too well with fellow zoochatters... I LOVE SOUTH PARK!!!!!!
That is my one really guilty pleasure but I find it to be well written and at times hilarious! I can quote whole monologues and find myself p***ing myself when I hear lines from the show in everyday conversation.
There, I said it! Feel free to berate me all you like!
 
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Geek is a polite way to describe me and my interests. Friends and family have used stronger terms which I won't repeat here.

Apart from zoos and wildlife, which have pretty well dominated my life for almost 50 years, I have to admit to the following:

Books: I have well over 500 books that are animals or zoo related. I also have hundreds of journals/magazines from either zoos or Zookeeping societies I used to belong to. Have most of Gerald Durrell's books, I have two copies of some. And some are autographed. Have several Attenborough books too, again some with autographs.

Apart from animal/zoo books, I have a lot of Travel Guides, a number of books relating to Television and TV shows, and all 24 Tintin books.

Star Trek: TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise. Own them all on DVD, bought them all as boxsets, plus the ten movies in a souvenir Photon Torpedo case. Would have liked to have been at the Vegas convention last weekend, and would like to be at the upcoming London convention (with all 5 Captains present). Also have books, encyclopedias, interactive technical manual, framed pics from movies and a couple of posters etc.

Doctor Who: The original series from 1963-1989. I currently own every DVD episode released in Australia so far (and I think there's only 4 more left to be released, possibly 7). Have a few on video still, including Shada.

TV Shows on DVD: Apart from the above two, I've also got the complete series for a further 30 TV shows, plus all available seasons for another 5.

Cameras: I have eight cameras, and I just bought a ninth today. On my recent trip away to Niue I took seven of them with me, which my sister told me was 'overkill', I have to agree because I only used 5 while away. I'm going away again on Friday, but will probably still take six.

Music: I worked as a Trivia host for some years and was able to claim part of my CDs as a tax deduction because I used them for my work. So now I have a collection of more than 400 titles. iTunes has been great too. Really like most popular stuff pre 1990, and especially fond of the '70s (I'm a dag at heart).

I think that's enough for now.

:p

Hix
 
This is one of ZooChat's most entertaining threads in a long time with some terrific stuff on it!:)

Hix's entire post and camera obsession made me chuckle out loud; I agree with nanoboy about the aweseome Dark Tower series by Stephen King; and when I was a kid I adored both Star Wards and G.I. Joe but now that I'm 36 years old I have no time for either. There are too many zoos and aquariums to tour...
 
I have quite a interesting list for my geeky items. Here it goes..

I am part of my school's quiz bowl team. The rest of the team will throw down their buzzers whenever we have an animal themed speed round because they know they won't get a word in.

Cross Country, the geekiest form of athleticism. My teammates keep me sane in the fall.

I am a major member in our school's performing arts area as I am in band (both marching and concert), choir and drama club. This has led to having a large love of show tunes(my favorite being the cell block tango form Chicago. If you haven't heard it you should look it up on youtube. It's hilarious!!)

I also like a lot of classic rock with some of my favorites bands being Queen, Foreigner and Styx. I would have to say though that Show must go on by Queen and Jukebox Hero by Foreigner are some of my favorite song of all times.

My whole family loves the TV show The Big Bang Theory.

I also hope to go to a college with a quidditch team.

Edit:I can't forget about my pokemon phase as a child. I still watch it today.
 
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For the record, I don't think 'geek' means being the jedi fountain of knowledge [or holocrons, for those who've confessed :p], to me it means an unhealthy interest.

Whereas I know a lot about some of my choices, others I don't know much about [some of the Nintendo stuff, my knowledge is mild in a lot of that, but still got an unhealthy interest :p]

There are some great confessions so far, let's keep them coming :D
 
Here a few of my former and current geek confessions...

-Used to be in both marching and Jazz Band in high school (Saxophone)

-Collected "Battle Beast" figures at one time in my life (have about 90 of them still in my closet).

-Classic Rock nut

-Was part the Science Olympiad, Space Setlement Design, and Robotics team while in high school.

-Cross Country (I still compete in marathon's, half-marathon's though not nearly as fast as I used to be)

While most of these were from high school, the only other things I truly still carry with me is my obsession with zoos, sketching, and running.

Edit: Forgot about my reading obsession. Love Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and currently reading Jules Verne.
 
Javan Rhino said:
For the record, I don't think 'geek' means being the jedi fountain of knowledge [or holocrons, for those who've confessed :p], to me it means an unhealthy interest.

Whereas I know a lot about some of my choices, others I don't know much about [some of the Nintendo stuff, my knowledge is mild in a lot of that, but still got an unhealthy interest :p]

There are some great confessions so far, let's keep them coming :D
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That's a great point. I would like to amend my definition to include "an unhealthy interest". Although, "unhealthy" may be too strong a word. Maybe "quirky" is better.
 
I don't think that "geekery" is necessarily unhealthy. How is it different from sports fanaticism? I have family members who spend months of their lives researching their picks for their football pools and fantasy football and baseball leagues. I don't see that as any different from being a Trekkie or a classic rock fan. Of course if any of this starts to impair one's social life, emotional health, etc. then it could become unhealthy, but that is true of overindulgence or imbalance in anything.
 
DavidBrown said:
I don't think that "geekery" is necessarily unhealthy. How is it different from sports fanaticism? I have family members who spend months of their lives researching their picks for their football pools and fantasy football and baseball leagues. I don't see that as any different from being a Trekkie or a classic rock fan. Of course if any of this starts to impair one's social life, emotional health, etc. then it could become unhealthy, but that is true of overindulgence or imbalance in anything.
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Spoken like a true geek (by the 1990's definition). :D

Other than giraffes, what are you into?
 
Drew said:
Here a few of my former and current geek confessions...

-Used to be in both marching and Jazz Band in high school (Saxophone)

-Collected "Battle Beast" figures at one time in my life (have about 90 of them still in my closet).

-Classic Rock nut

-Was part the Science Olympiad, Space Setlement Design, and Robotics team while in high school.

-Cross Country (I still compete in marathon's, half-marathon's though not nearly as fast as I used to be)

While most of these were from high school, the only other things I truly still carry with me is my obsession with zoos, sketching, and running.

Edit: Forgot about my reading obsession. Love Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and currently reading Jules Verne.
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This sounds more like the hobbies/extra curricula activities section on your CV. "I like sports, reading, science" etc.

I think that geekery connotates something weirder, more esoteric, even slightly embarrassing - like Hix carrying 6 cameras on vacation. (PS* Hix, that's just weird. 6 lenses, I would understand.)

So, what are you a geek about?
 
DavidBrown said:
Of course if any of this starts to impair one's social life, emotional health, etc. then it could become unhealthy, but that is true of overindulgence or imbalance in anything.
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That's me :D - I figured now that I want my story done by the time I finish my apprenticship in 2 years time, and I will lock myself away until I've acheievd that :p
 
nanoboy said:
This sounds more like the hobbies/extra curricula activities section on your CV. "I like sports, reading, science" etc.

I think that geekery connotates something weirder, more esoteric, even slightly embarrassing - like Hix carrying 6 cameras on vacation. (PS* Hix, that's just weird. 6 lenses, I would understand.)

So, what are you a geek about?
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Well maybe i'm not as much as a geek as I thought then, although I think the Battle Beast still fits the bill as that is both weird and embarrassing.....although you have to admit that those are some pretty geeky hobbies/extra curricular activities though.
 
I have never bitten the head off of a live chicken, thank you very much.
 
Drew said:
Well maybe i'm not as much as a geek as I thought then, although I think the Battle Beast still fits the bill as that is both weird and embarrassing.....although you have to admit that those are some pretty geeky hobbies/extra curricular activities though.
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Ok true, Battle Beast (whatever that is) does indeed fit the bill. The others are just plain old geeky in the true sense of the word. You must be the most popular kid at school. *snarf snarf* :D
 
Pootle said:
4. I also once got overly interested in the differences between shell height and length of limpets Patella vulgate from those populations living on exposed shores to those populations living on sheltered shores.
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Did you measure the radula too? And draw circles round them in paint & move them & see if they homed? (A level Biology field trip!)
 
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