... you are in St. Louis at this year's Geek Meet! (Apologies to Jeff Foxworthy in advance for any parodies of him that may occur on this week's show.) Yes, today brings the great gathering of geekdom, the annual On Computers Geek Meet. So Jack and I thought that instead of our usual well organized, tightly planned and highly technical On Computers Tips Segment (yeah, right <g>), we'd do something a little more lighthearted but still decidedly Geeky.
A NOTE TO PARENTS: Since we try to run a squeaky clean show here, I need to mention that the Geek Code Web site does use a few naughty words and does mention sex. So of course your children will want to figure out their Geek Code right away! However, there is absolutely nothing graphic or pornographic about it. If you are at all concerned, please check it out for yourself before your kids do.
This is the stuff of Internet legend and lore. If you have never learned The Geek Code, this is your week to do so. You can find it at a Web site located very cleverly at http://www.geekcode.com/. The Geek Code started as a lark in 1993 is now up to version 3.12. If you don't already know what The Geek Code is, it is a way to tell the entire world just how geeky you are. The first thing you must do with the code is to declare yourself a geek. From there you define your computer prowess, politics, Usenet skill, and your love life. It is some real geek fun and a great way to waste a half-hour on a Sunday morning (I didn't really say that -- we only do serious things on this show).
Once you have figured out your own Geek Code, you need to learn how to read the Geek Code of others. Of course simply learning it would not be geeky enough, so for the uber-geeks among us there is a Geek Code Decoder Page. It is only compliant with version 3.12 so be sure to debug your code before using it!
I know you are all just waiting for your chance to try out The Geek Code for yourself. I was too, so here is mine:
GAT d- s: a++ C+++ UL+ P+ L++ E- W+++ N++ o+ K w+ O--- M V-- PE+ Y+ PGP-- t+ 5-- X R* tv++ b++ DI+ D--- G e++ h- r+++ x+
If you can't make that out, don't forget, you can always cut and paste it into the Geek Code Decoder Page. Now, go and figure out your own Geek Code, because after all real geeks can!
This one requires very little explanation. Jack sent me this little script that makes a really fun little clock. You need to have Javascript turned on in you browser for it to work. Neither he nor I have figured out a good use for it because in real life it would be very distracting, but it is just the kind of thing to play with and enjoy on a special geeky day like today. So without further ado, here is the JavaScript Clock.
...those
who understand binary and those who don't. Those would be geeks and
non-geeks. It is a well known fact that real geeks understand binary and hexadecimal
as well as decimal numbers.
If you a newbie (beginner) geek we will let you in on the secret. The computer that is the object of your greatest affection only understands two things: on and off. Programmers, developers and other gods of geekdom understand this and have chosen to represent on and off as 1 and 0. I've tried to confirm the origin of of the international electrical power symbol, but have had no luck so far. Still, to me the symbol seen on or near (or both) the power button looks like a 0 with a 1 in it. It is a 1 for "on" and 0 for "off". Makes sense, doesn't it? If that is not the true symbology, then at lest it is a good mnemonic for recalling what the 0 and 1 means in the world of geek.
So of course, 10 in binary is 2 in decimal. There are 2 kinds of people! And if 10 is company, then 11 is a crowd. You get the idea! Of course you do, you are a geek! So now that we've whetted your appetite for all things binary, we present BinClock --the Binary Clock program! To help you learn this little clock even has your choice decimal or hexadecimal numbers. It can be dressed in a variety of colors to match almost any desktop, so go download yours today. It is free and it is very, very geeky.
Gail
© 2003 Gail Allinson
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