Don’t talk about “Puck Man’

Geeks and Valentines Day are two things that have never really gone together in most peoples’ eyes, kind of like geeks and anything that has to do with an athletic activity. But the truth is that a lot of us do date.

But what if you are in the extremely rare situation of dating a non-geek? What if the person you are going to spend Valentines Day with doesn’t know the X-Men from Mad Men? What if they couldn’t tell you the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek, neither of which they have seen because they just don’t “get it”?

This was the very situation I found myself in when I began dating the woman who would eventually become my wife. She is about as much of a non-geek as I am a geek, which if you have read my writing on Geekadelphia should tell you something.

I thought that with Valentines Day upon us I would share a few tips if you happen to find yourself dating a non-geek.

Your personal soundtrack t-shirt is a no go.

Tip 1: No ‘Geek Articles of Clothing

Yes, I know you are very proud of your Think Geek t-shirt collection and your G.I. Joe Destro tie and your Nintendo controller belt buckle. But Valentines Day is not the time for it. Leave that stuff in the closet and dress like you have no idea how many Gears of War games have been released.

Tip 2: Take Your Date to a Place that Does Not Have a Napkin Dispenser!

Listen, I know being a geek is a ridiculously expensive hobby. Most comic books are over $4 each, a new video game costs over $60 and anime Blu-rays are not much less. But Valentines Day is not the time to be cheap. A non-geek will simply not understand that you need to save money because you have to have the Final Fantasy XIII-2 limited edition that is coming out soon.

Make a reservation and take your date someplace nice that has, you know, plates and stuff. And whatever you do, DO NOT use a coupon! Nothing says “cheap bastard” like whipping out a 10% off coupon on a date.

Nope, sorry Brave New Worlds

Tip 3: A Trip to the Comic Book Store is Not a Date!

Like many of you, I am a comic book fan. I can think of nothing better than spending a few hours at the local comic shop, picking up some new releases and chatting with my fellow fanboys. However, if you are dating a non-geek, this is not, and should never be, a date.

My wife and I were dating at least a year before I took her for her first trip to the comic book store, and that was just as a trial. If you take a non-geek to a comic book store as a date and expect them to have a good time, you are on a one way road to Aloneville, population you. And this goes for video game stores, anime conventions and the like.

Tip 4: Let Them Pick the Movie!

Picking a movie to go see or to rent can be a tricky situation even for geek couples, but it becomes next to impossible if one of the parties is a non-geek, especially on Valentines Day. You may think the romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia is romantic as hell, but you would be wrong. And the Aragorn/Arwen relationship does not mean that it’s a perfect time for a Lord of the Rings marathon. Play it safe and let the non-geek pick the movie, you can suffer for two hours. I mean, you watched Green Lantern, didn’t you?

No!

Tip 5: A Magic: The Gathering Starter Deck is Not a Good Valentines Day Gift!

You are looking for a gift for your sweetie for Valentines Day. You think to yourself “Hey! I know! I’ll get him/her a Magic starter deck and teach him/her how to play. That way we can have fun together and she’ll understand why I spend every Tuesday and Friday night at the game store playing.” Yeah, nice thought but doomed from the start. I tried this idea with my wife, thinking it would bring us closer. Instead we didn’t speak for four days and now just refer to it as “The Magic Incident”. This also applies to Dungeons & Dragons, Halo, Fullmetal Alchemist DVDs and anything else having to do with your geek lifestyle. Sharing is great, just not on Valentines Day.

And there you have it; 5 tips to help you get through Valentines Day with your non-geek partner. Dating a non-geek can be rough and filled with pitfalls. It is not easy. And remember, dealing with a geek like yourself as a boyfriend/girlfriend has a set of issues all its own. But if you care about the person, it will be worth it in the end. Even if you do have to sit through season after season of The Bachelor and Private Practice because “I like it when we watch TV together”. Not that I know anyone like that…

Painting by the lovely Britt Miller

When the president tells you to do something, you do it. Luckily for us, our POTUS is also a Geek in Chief, and recently launched a tourism-boosting initiative called #visitUS, tying together the White House’s tricked-out Foursquare page and multitude of social media accounts.

We’ve been dreaming of a Philadelphia foursquare badge for years, but now that’s a real possibility. Foursquare’s jumping on the #visitUS train, asking users to curate city-specific lists with the best hometown spots the world should know about. From now until Feb. 3, you’ve got a chance to create your own visitors’ guide, add tips, photos and gain followers. Foursquare will then pick the three most amazing lists and create city badges for them (Move over Seattle!)

We’ve made two lists and hope you’ll follow them (we promise there are only a few tourist traps). To help us make the Brotherly Love or Geekadelphia badges a reality, we’d love it if you share with friends, check in, tweet, shout, hashtag, Facebook, e-mail, blog, send smoke signals and @-reply the mayor. Then head to the streets and check out the venues for yourself!

GEEKADELPHIA: Geekiest Places in Philly! Philadelphia has such a vibrant techie and creative community. You can’t ignore innovation that goes all the way back to Ben Franklin! We’ve curated 30 of our favorite geeky spots.

Badge of Brotherly Love: Must-see places to eat, visit, see, learn, explore and experience in Philadelphia, from historical venues to gourmet restaurants to boutique shopping.

Think you’d like to try it for yourself? See below the jump for instructions on how to make your own list.

1. Go to Foursquare.com/lists and create a list with your city name and the hashtag #visitUS.

2. Add 20-30 of your town’s best spots, with a variety of venues like your favorite bars and restaurants, monuments, museums and shops.

3. Fill out your list with useful tips and photos.

4. Promote and gain followers!

5. Submit your list here by Feb. 3.

We tend to avoid politics here on Geekadelphia, but when a local talent creates something this awesome… well, we just can’t resist. Plus I think I recognize the dude playing the computer.

Produced by Ritz Reynolds (The Roots, Mac Miller) and shot/edited by Dan King at Stupid Easy, Firewall is Leah Kauffman’s tender ode to the Internet. A lot of you might know Leah from her work over at Phrequency, or perhaps from her viral Obama Girl videos. She wrote the music for that, you know. From Kauffman:

Senate and Congress are debating bills (Protect IP Act + Stop Online Piracy Act) that would allow federal law enforcement to seek court orders compelling ISPs and search engines to filter domain names and block websites merely accused of copyright infringement. This will force websites to censor their users. Our first amendment rights are at stake here. Visit americancensorship.org for more information.

The video is making the rounds across the Internet, popping up on CNET, Boing Boing, etc. Let’s see how popular this thing can get. You can scope out the video here and share it with your friends. Nice work Leah. And dude playing the computer… he’s awesome.

You and a friend are at the local pub, arguing about which Star Wars movie is the best. You think The Empire Strikes Back is by far the pinnacle of the series. You friend disagrees, saying Revenge of the Sith is unsurpassed in terms of Star Wars movies. The argument goes back and forth for hours with no decision imminent. What is a geek to do?

Thankfully, there is now a way to solve not only that conundrum, but countless others. Local guy Dan Koch has created The Reckoner, a straightforward, democratic way to solve any argument. You simply go to the site, list the question you need reckoned, the people vote and a week later you will have the answer to your burning inquiry. It really is that simple.

Not only can you post a question, but you can vote on any that strike your fancy. There are reckonings for everything from “Dishwasher Challenge! Do you put the utensils in with the business end up or down?” to “The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?” to the ever pressing “Should men sit when urinating in a home bathroom?”

The Reckoner is the kind of site you could easily get lost on for hours at a time. It’s an amusing way to solve an argument and could prevent you getting into a fist fight. Go check it out and have fun.

The Reckoner
www.thereckoner.net

As I have written about before, one of the truly great things about webcomics is just the sheer amount of different types of comics you can find out there. Literally any type of webcomic can be found if you look hard enough. A perfect example is Ace Kilroy, a webcomic by local talent Rob Kelly and Dan O’Connor that I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to.

Ace Kilroy is the story “Special Agent” Ace Kilroy, a man living a life of mystery and intrigue in the world of the 1930s. The opening storyline features Ace going up against vampires in Transylvania as he searches for a fellow agent who ahs gone missing. Part Indiana Jones, part Phantom, part James Bond, the story is a mix of so many of types of genres that it’s hard not to find something to enjoy in his adventures.

Adding to the appeal is the stellar work of Kelly and O’Connor. The story moves at a steady, enjoyable pace and the art is some of the best I’ve ever seen in a new webcomic. You can also follow Ace on Twitter, read the blog and check him out on Facebook. Plus the guys have a Kickstarter campaign so that they can just focus on the comic and nothing else.

All in all, it’s an impressive debut for a webcomic. It updates everyday with a special color comic on Sundays. Getting in on the ground floor of any new comic is always fun, and Ace Kilroy promises to be a hell of a ride.

Ace Kilroy
www.acekilroy.com

My profile on Date My School

Last month, some Philadelphia universities and schools were invited to DateMySchool.com, a dating website designed to connect single students. Any ladies looking for someone tall, dark, and handsome? You can throw in “law student” too.

The main draw of the site was the exclusivity. Only elite schools were invited to the beta test, ensuring the pool of dating candidates was top notch. Users can even make their profiles visible to certain programs and schools. Looking to connect with a future doctor? No problem, just change your privacy settings so only those in the local medical schools can view your profile.

DateMySchool is following in the early footsteps of Facebook by slowly rolling out the service to build excitement. At first, only Columbia University and New York University could use the service. Last month, I received an email to my drexel.edu address to beta test the site. Lucky me! I signed up to see what the big deal was, maybe mack on some post baccalaureate hotties.

The website offers the usual dating profile staples such as photos, interests, and questions. But DateMySchool offers a different dimension since users need a .edu email address. In addition to age and body type, users can filter matches by universities and schools. While that may sound pompous, in practice the user’s preferences determine the search results. Users can also filter out their own program to save themselves the embarrassment of being matched up with someone they know. After trying out a few searches, DateMySchool appears like a run of the mill dating website with an extra way to refine the search for your perfect match.

Based on a handful of searches, there aren’t too many people on the site from Philadelphia schools. This could be a good thing for the single guy looking to connect with an ambitious psychology major studying at Temple University. Given the exclusive nature of the site, there’s probably less competition for female attention. Compared to OKCupid.com, a free dating site with over 7 million active members, a more exclusive dating website may have its place.

Meh, who wants to actually talk to their children, especially on Thanksgiving when you’re gathered around a large dinner table as a family? Asking questions about why we celebrate Thanksgiving, what’s the deal with the turkey, etc? Psh. No one, that’s who.

Well, thanks to the folks at the National Constitution Center you won’t have to explain a thing, as “millions of students across the country will learn the origins of the most-celebrated holiday in America…with the latest installment of the National Constitution Center’s popular webcast series, Constitution Hall Pass.”

The latest episode, entitled The History of Thanksgiving, went live on Monday on the Constitution Center’s official website. And starting today, educators and students can log onto the Constitution Center’s website to chat with members of the NCC’s education staff for additional insight.

For more information, and a great excuse to not speak to your children and watch football, visit the Constitution Center’s official Hallpass website.

Computers, the Internet and social media such as Facebook and Twitter have become an integral part of everyday life for most people. I have a few friends who can’t go more than 10 minutes with out checking their Facebook page. But these have also become very important tools for people who want to make changes to not only their lives, but the world at large.

As the events in Egypt and the Middle East have shown, social media and the internet have become the apparatus of choice for activists who are looking to organize and stay in contact. But who else might be reading or listening to your efforts? Do you really know who has access to your information?

On Saturday, October 15th a group of local activists are putting on the Freedom of the Word and Computer Security workshop try and educate local community activists about ways to stay safer in the online world. They will show you what threats might be out there, how to avoid them and what you have at risk.

The workshop will run from 9:30 AM – 2 PM at LAVA (4134 Lancaster Ave, West Philly) and is free and open to anyone who wants to stay informed about threats to your online activities and how to stay safe, and keeping fellow activists safer, online.

Freedom of the Word and Computer Security
More Info: Aids Policy Project’s Blogspot

This is a message to all you fashionistas, fashion geeks, lovers of good clothing/style and generally you guys and gals who don’t have an entire wardrobe based on Threadless/Woot! Shirt tees with geeky obscure references.

There’s currently a pretty sweet foursquare promotion running right now. The promo ties together the fabulously elegant Le Méridien hotel, upscale clothing brand Lilly Pulitzer and VisitPhilly’s With Love, Philadelphia XOXO campaign. Tied together how per se? Well, the gorgeous XOXO scarf from Lilly Pulitzer (featured above, valued at $118) is the grand prize.

Eligibility? Simple, be the mayor by October 26th. You’ve got nearly two months to check into the hotel. Book hotel stays or simply check in when you swing by to dine atAmuse or Le Bar at Amuse.

Torrenting. That word has a bit of a negative connotation to it these days. Whether you’re thinking about The Pirate Bay, Suprnova, or any other number of torrenting websites, the first thing that comes to mind is “those are places I can steal music, software, movies, etc.”

Well, Hive 76 isn’t going to teach you how to do that. Sorry.

Need to get 4GB worth of files to 12 different people all at once? Struggling with huge files that you can’t dish out over Sendspace? Swing by the Hive tomorrow for a special torrenting class led by eagleapex. He’ll teach you how to safely and legally send large files over a bittorrent network.

The source kicks off at 6pm at Hive 76′s headquarters at 9th and Spring Garden. The course is free, but go RSVP on Hive 76′s website to let ‘em know you’re coming.

Torrenting Course @ Hive 76
Tuesday, September 13th, 6PM
www.hive76.org/workshop-how-to-torrent