I still hold my belief

[Mike]

That despite my ultra nerd qualities... nerds still freak me the fuck out. Most recent example:

I (am an ultra nerd) recently started playing Warhammer 40k tabletop action (well I bought stuff and I'm waiting for Games Workshop's new paint range to drop on the 7th to paint/play). Yeah, turbo dork shit. HOWEVER! When I went to a GW shop up near my sister's house just to look around, I was talking to the guy working there (normal-ish dude). He found out I was playing Space Marines, and this dude came up to me, neckbeard and all, and was like "UP HIGH FOR SPACE MARINES!" I gave my somewhat cautious high five, then things got... to the scary nerd level.

Dude started saying 'LAND RAIDERS! TERMINATORS! RAZORBACKS! etc..." in this fucking demonic voice. "OOOHHHH, MELTA GUNS" It's like if Yoda had a kid with Jack Donaghe. I thought to myself "Okay this is kinda strange."

THEN

Dude punches himself in the larynx 3 times.

OH I CAN TALK NORMALLY NOW... HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!


I spend 27 hours watching all of the Harry Potter shit.
I'm GOING to spend 27 hours watching all the Avengers shit.
I consider myself a *retired* God in the WoW universe.
I have a Sniper named "Agent Corse" in SWTOR.
My mono red control was a beast of a deck that I connected with in unholy ways.
My Nagas and Monks were laughed at (at first) and feared later.
My Clak'dor VII operative deck made motherfuckers run shit specifically to stop me.
Y2J was feared when I had the heavyweight belt (+3 superstar value, bitch! Until I traded it to Steve for a Dreamcast)
I roleplay with the best of 'em.
I'm 1700 in HoN (with the new matchmaking redux... I feel like that's pretty fucking solid).
IF I KNOW SOMEBODY, I'll nerd out and yell shit like "I'M FROM BUENOS AIRES AND I SAY KILL 'EM ALL!"

BUT...
fucking BUT!

the day I walk up to a complete stranger and have a nerdgasm... is the day I hang up my hat.

[Dave]

You're not socially awkward. Most nerds are. Nerds see fellow nerds and they figure they can just be themselves. You will get this a lot, as you are already aware of

[Yino]

And that's the difference between a nerd and a dork. I think.

[Dave]

@Yino
Actually, yeah. Mike's is, without a doubt, a nerd. I wouldn't call him a dork.

[David Yun]

If we're going to argue semantics, 'nerds' are the Bill Gates kind of peeps that actually need pocket protectors because they're busy calculusing rocket surgery and writing real computer languages. What we here are, are 'geeks'.

[Zeke]

I resent that remark Dee...

[MadCat]

"What, exactly, is the difference between a nerd and a geek?"

I replied,"It's tougher than it seems. It's subtle. Instinctual. I think geek implies hireability, whereas nerd doesn't necessarily mean your skills are 100 percent sellable."

-Douglas Coupland, "Microserfs"

[Zephyr190]

A discussion between me and some prick philosophy student.

SPPS: "Man, physicists are all geeks and nerds!"

Me: "We prefer the term 'employable'."

It is weird, I talk like that to my friends who I know are nerds (to the amusement and confusion of those around, we still spend a good portion of pub time arguing over if Roboute Guilliman or Leman Russ would win in a punch up) but I wouldn't dream of doing it to someone I didn't know. But some people are just so much more comfortable in their depth.

However whenever I enter my local Games Workshop, the UNSMC and Task Force 141 badges on my bag are a real talking point. I'll take my lady friend down there, I've always wanted to see what happens.