One of the most interesting things about hanging out at the information desk is watching the nerds contemplate where to spend the raffle tickets they won in the cash vault.
Right now the iPad and the 30″ monitor are heavy favorites. And surprisingly the Mystery Box is beating out Chuck Norris. Take that, Chuck! Heck the Mystery Box is even beating the Tauntaun sleeping bag. Matt wonders if they don’t realize there are Tauntaun guts depicted on the inside.
The Bottle Cap is an integral part of The Nerdery’s culture. Think pep fest + show & tell + beer. It’s a chance for the nerds to pass out props, share the coolest project that just launched, and to tip back a few beers in honor of our own badassery (if you’ve ever had the honor of attended the Bottle Cap you’ll know that the word [or is it a phrase] ‘badass’ is bandied about quite often).
As The Nerdery has grown so has the mountain of bottles and caps. And even though nerds are often mistakenly stereotyped as pasty-faced gremlins who shun the outdoors, that’s just not true. We love the Earth. We dig it so much that we even have a Green Team that sends us all kinds of tips on how we can save energy and be a little nicer to the planet we call home.
To support that green effort, we switched to kegs of beer rather than our traditional bottles. It was tough taking the bottles and caps out of Bottle Cap, but with the kegs we’re no longer filling the recycle bin or wasting beer. And, as you’ll see from the video, we even use glass pint glasses instead of plastic cups. It’s more efficient all around.
So in the interest of educating you all on the proper way to pour beer, we offer you this short instructional video.
The video features Joshua Beardsley, Nerdery Brewmaster, reporting by Andrew Watson, and the intro musical stylings are courtesy of our own Kai Esbensen.
When I think about nerds, and I mean in general and not our Nerds specifically, one of the traits that comes to mind (before the stereotypical sci-fi whatnot, taped-up glasses, and computer blah blah) is non-conformity.
Wikipedia’s got my back here, saying in the nerd entry:
Although the idea of nerds is popular, those adopting the characteristics of nerds are not actually nerds by definition. One cannot be an authentic nerd by imitation alone; a nerd is an outsider and someone who is unable or unwilling to follow trends. Popular culture is borrowing the concept and image of nerds in order to stand out as individuals.
(I like to imagine an angry, embittered teenage nerd adding that line)
So when I saw this article on the ten things that influence conformity in groups, I instantly thought of our Nerds and had to share the article. Working with non-conformist nerds is exhilarating (and sometimes exasperating), and everyone should try it. Now that you have the list of what breeds conformity, you can work on doing something about it.
It’s cliché but true: It’s tough to repeat. Yet Konr Ness today successfully defended his Nerdery Chili Cook-Off Championship – and he’s already talking tough about a three-peat. See him divulge some some of his secrets, and see a former chili champ divulge a secret we wish he’d kept:
The 2010 Pentathanerd Winter Games concluded with happenings that viewers of that other sporting competition up in Vancouver will not witness: software developers speedtinkering at the Hardware Teardown/Rebuild, and a Trivial Quiz finalist “winning” simply by refusing to answer the question – any question.
Spoiler alert: Greg Wurm won Hardware for dissecting/resurrecting a mouse:
Trivial Quiz clip, Great Moments in Nerdery: Pentathanerd creator Mark Seemann named names from The Hobbit (apparently he rattled these off without using a teleprompter; I was out sick – can’t verify). Relive the Trial Quiz qualifying round here.
Spoiler alert 3: Garnering the most points in combined events, Manish Shrestha won the coveted Pentathanerd All-Around Award for The 2010 Pentathanerd Winter Games, followed by Justin Hendrickson and Greg Wurm.
Astute Pentathnerd fans have noted (from leaked video, above) that the Snow Sculpture event was indeed won by Matt Tonak, and not Justin Hendrickson as earlier reported here. And yes, in previous Pentathanerd posts I’ve also cited a few unnamed/off-the-record sources. Lazy reporting? Sure, but it’s more than just that. Nobody’s talking on the record about Winter Game scoring snafus, and they (whoever they are) know I’ve stumbled somewhat close to the truth of the matter. Absent from The Nerdery for the last few events, I tried to stay on the story while fighting the flu with one hand and misinformation/injustice with the other. I even began to think, “This is no flu – ‘they’ve’ poisoned me.” World, we may never know the truth.
Anyway, plotting/training is already underway for Pentathanerd’s next Summer Games. Is there an event you’d like to see in the mix? The Pentathanerd Planning Committee will give serious consideration to nearly any competition; by now you know this to be true.
Having padded his total-points lead in accumulated events, Justin has to now be considered the clear favorite to win The Pentathanerd All-Around Award for the Winter Games. Let’s take a moment to view just some of the highlights that first established him as a popular yet polarizing Pentathanerd figure during The Summer Games:
Day 3 of Our Winter Games marked the first outdoor event in Pentathanerd history. Fans and competitors bundled up and trekked across The Nerdery’s parking lot to a snow bank for the LEGO Luge event. Here’s how things went (about halfway) down:
Except for the usual doping allegations and some fairly typical objections regarding sleighs with non-LEGO-ey features, it was a day of relatively good sportsmanship in and around Pentathanerd Village. No one’s talking about judging/scoring discrepancies – at least not on record. You get the sense, though, that more than a few Pentathanerd fans and competitors are still picking at lingering scabs from the Summer Games’ Rubixgate and Bogglegate).
Moving on, the Gold medal in LEGO Luge goes to Greg Wurm, who earned 920 points. Justin Hendrickson took Silver with 793 points and Matt Tonak wins the Bronze with 780 points. In overall Pentathanerd standings after three events, Justin is on top with 1473 points, followed closely by Manish with 1413 points.
Next up: The Winter Games will stay outside for the Pentathanerd Snow Sculpture competition. Not athletically inclined whatsoever? This one’s for you if you can follow these rules.
The Biathalon was created by peace-loving/cross-country skiing/gun-toting Scandinavians. These are my people. Some purists of the sport shuddered when Pentathanerd’s non-skiing version was voted into the Winter Games (and not just as an exhibition; it counts) by The Nerdery. These too are my people. Watch them shoot paper plates with Nerf guns and walk briskly to retrieve ammo:
Now, while it’s reasonably certain that Manish Shrestha has won the Biathalon’s Bronze medal, there are conflicting accounts of final placement on the upper steps of the medal stand. Pentathanerd judges have noted that Mark Hurlburt’s strong showing doesn’t jibe with how he skipped training and has entered the first two events at the last minute – seemingly on a whim.
One high-placed Pentathnerd judge has also conceded that it was Hurlburt who posted the third-highest score in the Trivial Quiz, thus qualifying for the Friday finals. Still, some have wondered aloud, “Is he a serious competitor?” Others note that he’s kicking some serious ass regardless.
Anyway, the Gold and Silver for The Pentathanerd Winter Games Biathalon almost surely belong to Minh Vu and Hurlburt – but in what order?
Sports fans: If you were worried about surviving the weeklong void between the Super Bowl and Those Other Winter Games, Pentathanerd has your back. Watch and wonder how they do it:
Top three finishers qualify for Friday’s championship round. In this Trivial Quiz Q&A, the answers appear to be redacted but you have a right to know; click on the far left side of the black “redaction” bar (or highlight it entirely) for final wisdom (courtesy of Penthathanerd founder Mark Seemann). The posted Pentathanerd rules are plain and simple and made to be broken.
Next up, Nerf bullets will fly as The Biathalon invades the Great Indoors (not in the face, Cheney.) Other events: LEGO Luge; Snow Sculpture/Snowflake Contest; Hardware Teardown/Rebuild; and Trivial Finals.
And until the mainstream media wakes up to what the people want, we will continue to provide exclusive coverage of The Pentathanerd Winter Games. Complete coverage at http://pentathanerd.com.
Yesterday the Vikings moved to within just one more glorious win of the Super Bowl. Separation Sunday was easier than expected for them, but it was tougher than ever imagined for the selection committee tasked with picking a dozen teams of volunteer web pros for the next Nerdery Overnight Website Challenge – the Super Bowl for web nerds.
At stake for the hopefuls is a blind date with a bunch of nonprofits (who’ll bring no money for this date). With 218 volunteers on 22 teams (an embarrassment of riches) vying for just 12 spots, the sequestered selection committee cleared its calendar, took no calls, spurned incoming bribes and contemplated indecent proposals as they stewed over their decision. Then, they punted.
A bigger boat – hey, that’s it! No, wait, what if we stuffed even more well-meaning nerds and needy nonprofits into our existing boat? Is that even safe? Who cares!
No, a nerdy dozen or even baker’s dozen will not do. Introducing The Sweet 16:
So, if your team is on this list, get some rest. If not, please accept a sincere Nerdery thanks for stepping up. It’s gratifying to see so many takers for our ongoing needy-meets-nerdy mad science project.
And, if you’re a nonprofit with an application in, your odds have just improved. On February 1 we’ll announce 15 selected nonprofits (remember, RREAL already has its Golden Ticket).
