We’re pretty pumped to have been named one of the Top Workplaces in the Twin Cities based on an employee-based survey project from the StarTribune. We ranked #6 on the small company list. Take a gander at The Nerdery page where you can see our strengths, a few pics, and some quotes from nerds who filled out the survey.
The StarTribune’s Top Workplaces list recognizes the most progressive companies in the metro based on employee opinions about company leadership, career opportunities, workplace flexibility, compensation and benefits. The analysis included responses from over 33,000 employees at Minnesota public, private and nonprofit organizations.
Pretty sweet, isn’t it?
If you want more information, you can read our press release.
Conan O’Brien has a certain nerd cred to him, and he’s in Minneapolis for a gig, so why not try to coax him into a Nerdery visit by recreating his likeness (twice) on 156 Rubik’s cubes. Watch us pander to him:
Closed circuit to Coco: Come to The Nerdery. Sign these cubes. Be immortalized.
Hardcore fans of competitive Rubik’s cube competitions, Memory Lane beckons. Revisit these Rubik’s artists when they were athletes in this Pentathanerd flashback.
Have you grown tired of reading about how the 4.G iPhone was lost, what Nick Denton (he owns Gizmodo) thinks about it, and letters from Apple’s lawyers? (and really, how could you grow tired? It’s like the awesomest, nerdiest soap opera this month). But if you are tired of it and need to cleanse palate go read How to Raise a Nerd. It’s tender and sweet (though I warn you, you’ll have to ignore quite a few distracting typos). Plus, it’s pretty awesome to see others reveling in their nerdom.
“But why would I ever want to raise a nerd?
For me, I take nerd to mean someone who has in-depth knowledge on a topic. (I realize there are other connotations the word obviously has, but for me , this is my definition.) So there are video game nerds, sports nerds, anime nerds, history nerds and so on and so forth. What makes nerds so great is they are fountains of information, making some truly intriguing conversations possible — and better yet, some truly heated and even truly meaningless arguments.
But, in short, nerds care. They have fires in their bellies. They have passion.”
Under the influence of used car ads from night-owl Twins telecasts, some have said Tom should have called in Krazy with a backwards “K” today. Instead, he comes to you with this plea:
To clarify, if you send us your resume by Monday morning and we hire you, you get a $500 hiring bonus. If your Nerdery friend refers you and you’re hired, try getting your fair share of the bounty from said friend. To qualify for the loot, be sure to mention in your email or cover letter that Krazy Tom sent you (or at least refer to his video).
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.
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.
