Free Republic

Get ready for the geek-in-chief. President-elect Barack Obama used to collect comic books, can't part with his BlackBerry, and once flashed Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" sign. That and other evidence has convinced some of Obama's nerdier fans that he'll be the first American president to show distinct signs of geekiness. And that's got them as excited as a Tribble around a Klingon. Obama is good at "repressing his inner geek, but you can tell it's there," especially when he goes into nuanced explanations of technical_matters, said Benjamin Nugent, author of the book "American Nerd:...

DENVER -- Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell captured the jitters of the Democratic Party today when he conceded that for all Barack Obama's gifts, "he's not exactly the easiest guy in the world to identify with" and urged the presumptive nominee to start punching back against Republican attacks. In a wide ranging interview, Rendell insisted that while Obama still has not won over perhaps 30 percent of Hillary Rodham Clinton's voters, he will have locked down 95 percent of them by midnight tonight, after Clinton speaks to the Democratic National Convention here. But Rendell, a strong Clinton supporter during the primaries,...

Attention, computer geeks: Bernie Peng has raised the bar for the ultimate nerd wedding proposal. The Jersey City man spent a month reprogramming his girlfriend's favorite video game, "Bejeweled," so when she reached a certain score a ring and a marriage proposal popped up. After his sufficiently impressed girlfriend said yes, Peng posted the details of his feat on his blog. Then the fun really began. Peng's site received thousands of hits and more than 500 comments. The story was picked up by video gaming sites and spread across the internet until the video game manufacturer eventually heard about it....

MELBOURNE, March 27 (UPI) -- Australian researchers have confirmed that people will make passes at those who wear glasses, or as they put it: People who wear glasses are not geeks or nerds. "We have literally busted the myth that people who wear glasses are introverted or have particular personality characteristics," study leader Paul Baird of the University of Melbourne's Centre for Eye Research said in a statement. "They are more likely to be agreeable and open, rather than closed and introverted." Utilizing the University of Melbourne's Australian Twin Registry, the study involved 633 twins and a comparative group of...

<p>McKeel Hagerty began noticing the trend a few years ago. As chief executive of Hagerty Insurance, the largest provider of insurance to classic-car collectors, Hagerty could see that the so-called "nerd cars"—the ugliest of automotive beasts—were nonetheless increasing in value. Ford Motor's Pinto and American Motors' Pacer and Gremlin—cars that were punch lines from the decade of disco—suddenly seemed hot. They weren't increasing by much, Hagerty admits, from maybe $500 to a few thousand dollars. But still, money is money.</p>

Storm trooper: Let me see your identification. Obi-Wan: [with a small wave of his hand] You don't need to see his identification. Storm trooper: We don't need to see his identification. Obi-Wan: These aren't the droids you're looking for. Storm trooper: These aren't the droids we're looking for. Obi-Wan: He can go about his business. Storm trooper: You can go about your business. Obi-Wan: Move along. Storm trooper: Move along... move along. In spite of both Mitt Romney's and Rudy Giuliani's long records of extreme-left governance, they are nonetheless traveling the country seeking to snatch the mantle of Reagan. And,...

"U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, left, joins Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides as they work a phone bank at Sacramento City Teachers Association headquarters, Wed, Oct. 18, 2006, in Sacramento, Calif. The pair made calls asking for support for Angelides and other issues on the Nov. 7 ballot."

The Senate is witnessing a real-life revenge of the nerd.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a geek as "an unfashionable or socially inept person or a knowledgeable and obsessive enthusiast, such a computer geek." A dork probably wrote that. Because television, cinema and even the fashion runways are thronging with a new class of beta male with more brains than brawn and a wardrobe that is so far from cool it circles round and links up with cool at the other end. People are letting their geek flag fly. The reigning leading man at the box office is not some pumped-up action hero, but a sweet, lovable doofus who collects...

... Whatever the reason, being a nerd, a geek, a dork -- whatever you want to call the tragically unhip -- is becoming a source of pride. ... And, increasingly, people are parading around in shirts that say "Dork Pride!" among other things. Such items have gotten so popular that CafePress.com, an online merchandiser, has created a special category for shirts and other items celebrating geeks, dorks and nerds. ... For now, though, he's going with it and has put a bumper sticker on his motorcycle that says "Talk Nerdy To Me" so he attracts the kind of women he's...

First, it was a federal judge who took pity on Jeffrey Lee Parson. Now, it's Microsoft Corp. The 19-year-old from Hopkins won't have to pay the $500,000 in restitution he owes the company for releasing a version of the Blaster Internet worm that attacked Microsoft's Web site in the summer of 2003. Instead, the company said in court documents filed late Tuesday, he can work it off: 225 hours of community service that won't involve computers. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman still must sign the agreement. Pechman sentenced Parson in January to a year and a half in prison --...

There was a time when embarrassing talents were a purely private matter. If you could sing the Star Spangled Banner in the voice of Daffy Duck, no one but your friends and family would ever have to know. But with the Internet, humiliation - like everything else - has now gone public. Upload a video of yourself playing flute with your nose or dancing in your underwear and people from Toledo to Turkmenistan can watch. Here, then, is the cautionary tale of Gary Brolsma, 19, amateur videographer and guy from New Jersey, who made the grave mistake of placing on...

This translator will take what you write in it and turn it into the manner a 12-year-old AOLer would write it. Type in what you want translated and then click the button. http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

I keep hearing from different people that the economy is getting better but everywhere I go, I cant find any jobs! I been unemployed for about seven months. I was fired from mcdonalds because I couldnt cook very good or fast enough. Ive tried getting jobs in different places. I tried applying for work as a janitor, a waiter, a secretary, a housecleaner, a bricklayer, a carpenter ETC. I cant get anywhere and I dunno why? Where are the jobs? How can I get a job fast? I have a highschool diploma and three years of college. I could really...

WHEN Kenneth W. Jennings III, '00, first learned he had been selected to compete in the long-running television game show Jeopardy!, the Murray, Utah, software engineer had three weeks to prepare. He began by watching the program while standing behind his recliner to get the feel of a podium and working on his timing by holding a child's toy about the same size as a buzzer. That simple strategy offers a small glimpse into the seemingly mild- mannered but highly competitive player who, in an unmatched six-month winning streak, became a game-show legend, smashing a bevy of records and sending...

Have you been recently called a geek, a dork, a NERD? Do you want to be a nerd, geek, or dork? Well, this test is for you! This highly advanced 'test' will determine once and for all how nerdy you are. Upon completion, you will be given a score (out of 100) as to just how nerdy you are, plus a niffty little graphic and link that you can share with your friends (if you have any) so they can see how they measure up! Please note: Spelling errors are intentionel and are in play to sea if you pik...

SAN JOSE – Susan Love's problems began with a smile. The New York City fund-raiser clicked on a happy-face attachment in a friend's e-mail last year. The virus crashed her computer within an hour. Love, 57, salvaged her data. But within a few months her computer's performance slowed to a crawl. In December 2003, she upgraded to a Sony Vaio with an extra-large monitor and Microsoft Windows XP operating system. Within a few days, "spyware" – programs that sneak onto computers uninvited – began sponging up valuable memory. Then her e-mail stopped arriving. Instead of crafting holiday e-mails, she spent...

Okay, so I had bought this Bic pen like 4 years ago. Yesterday I found it in a drawer and it's missing the cap so I'm afraid to carry it in my pocket. Does anyone know where I can buy another cap? Does Bic have a website?