Maybe I'm Not Actually a Geek...

I found an interesting Geekdad article today:

Everyone has annoying habits, and a sizable part of every successful marriage is learning to live with those things each other does that annoy you. I think it’s safe to say, too, that geeks have some habits that we think are awesome, but that non-geeks find a little…less awesome.wired.com, 10 Annoying Habits of a Geeky Spouse (GeekDad Wayback Machine), Mar 2010

As an electrical engineer, life is a constant struggle to keep "normal." One must always be on the look-out for engineerisms and taking the engineer's view in an argument/discussion (same thing for engineers).

So, here's a summary of the 10 Annoying Habits, and my participation therein:

1. Punning - I just don't do it, nor am I any good at it. I think this is a personality strength.
2. Using “frak,” or Klingon, or both, instead of regular swear words - For one, I just try not to swear in any form near my kids. Second, when it's time to swear, damn it, it's time to swear. Maybe that's just my rural Midwest upbringing. I won't even dignify the Klingon reference.
3. Weird or over-the-top ways of celebrating mainstream holidays - Who are these people?
4. Dissecting movies - I try not to do this too much, but it's sometimes unavoidable, especially when technology-related SNAFUs occur with too much frequency.
5. Wearing obscurely geeky T-shirts to “normal” places - Because my wife buys all of my clothes, this is theoretically impossible. I've mostly even weened myself from corporate polo shirts, t-shirts, and jackets.
6. Requiring extra room in the house for geeky things- I guess it's only fair to mention that I have two separate workshops, one of which is a separate building. But, I like to do manly projects and buy big, cast iron tools. Did I mention that I just ordered a new drill press?
   
7. Geeky toys and decorations can be hard to explain to kids - No need to collect these for myself, I just bum off my kids' geeky/fun toys.
8. Looking up information while a discussion/argument is still in progress - What can I say? I don't own a laptop or a smart phone.
9. Needing to watch certain TV shows ASAP to avoid spoilers - Alright, I'm definitely guilty of this. Oddly enough for me, this only applies to sporting events - not geeky. Specifically, I try to avoid news coverage of cycling and the Olympics...they're sporting events, trust me...until after I've watched the TV coverage.
   
10. Geeky projects that take over the house and whole weekends - Well, I don't know about the geekiness, but our house is constantly one giant project that consumes itself and most weekends.