Mars One

http://applicants.mars-one.com/ The Mars One project has been open for applicants for 2 weeks and already has 78,000 applicants. This is a project to establish the first human colony on another planet in our lifetimes. In the next 10 years in fact. I'm of two minds about this myself. My initial thought is that this is blisteringly excting true blue pioneer stuff. Boldly going where no man has gone before and all that. The less idealistic part of me is concerned about the 24/7/365 streaming video for the duration of the project and the intention of making this the greatest madia spectacle the world has ever seen. The Mercury Program meets The Truman Show. Some of the initial applicants look like the early American Idol auditions with potential pop stars that are apparently deaf and/or not in possession of a mirror. The possibility of really making a one way voyage to establish the first human colony on another planet though....that is exciting stuff.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 played with my expectations in more than one way.  That doesn't mean it was bad, I had a ball watching it, it just means I'm having a hard time judging it for what it was rather than what I was expecting it to be.  I went in expecting Marvel's Avengers.  What I got was more akin to Lethal Weapon.  Both fine, fun films, by the way.  

   Iron Man 3 was in many ways a more intimate movie than I was expecting.  A lot of time, and I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, was spent on "vulnerable Tony".   Rather than big sweeping adventure with a massive cast we zoomed in on PTSD addled Tony struggling to adjust to the events in New York (from the Avengers).  

   The Mandarin character, initially teased in the first Iron Man movie, was also played counter to expectation and has created something of a geek schism among fans.  The general consensus appears to be: A) yes, the move was clever and funny but B) it flies in the face of traditional depictions of the character.  

So, purists tend to be annoyed. 

   All told I can comfortably say I enjoyed this more than Iron Man 2 and perhaps not so much as the original.  I'd like to see it again just to see how it stood up to a second viewing.  But even without another go-round I can give it a solid thumbs up.  Go see the movie, it's a super good time.  On a scale of 1-10.  I'd give it an 8.  

Define "geek"

Occasionally, I come across people who do not understand why I would refer to myself as a "geek".  They seem to have the impression that this is a bad thing.  I     hear the words geek, nerd and dork bandied about interchangeably.  I take issue with this sometimes because they are very different things in my understanding or at least they have very different nuances.  

  Take  "dork" for example.  These were the kids in school that had no social skills and were stupid.  I seem to remember  these folks smelled funny.  I find no redeeming qualities in dorks.  Just to be sure that I wasn't just projecting my own biases here I looked it up:

Dork: Noun

derogatory. A dull, slow-witted, or socially inept person. vulgar. The penis. Huh.  Didn't see that second part coming.  No pun intended.

  Nerds are a little different. Nerds, especially young ones, may be a little shaky with the social skills but they are smart, sometimes stunningly so.  Nerds rule the world because we need smart people. But, still to be safe I looked it up:

Nerd: Noun

A foolish or contemptible person who lacks social skills or is boringly studious: "one of those nerds who never asked a girl to dance". An intelligent, single-minded expert in a particular technical discipline or profession

Hmmm.  A little harsher than I was expecting but close enough.  That brings me around to myself.  

I'm a geek.  A proud geek, in fact.  I think that makes me reasonably bright and my social skills are just fine.  Geeks, in my experience exhibit a little of that "single minded expert" element although generally through a pop culture lens.  We are just super-into whatever it is that has grabbed our fancy.  I once knew a "hockey statistics from 1978-1989/geek".  Weird, right? 

Oh, here is the actual definition:

Geek: Noun a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake. an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity A person with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest: "a computer geek".   Yeah, a guy with an eccentric devotion to a particular interest, I like that.  So, I'm a geek.  Get it right.