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Yowie wrote:

There's at least one other person in RPCA I know who has a
psychiatric issue, but I personally find them pretty much the sanest
person I know because they are acutely aware of their disorder and
its implications. I believe that particular person finds cats a
great solace too - because they are not judgemental and give their
love based on the goodness of someone's soul, not the appearance to
others.

And cats, often unlike people, are safe to love. That's how I felt as
a kid, anyway. I also felt that way about dogs. Also, cats are
magical. I always feel very honored by their affection. (I did/do
*not* feel that
way about dogs, as much as I like them. )

There's something about weirdos, writers and witches that attracts cats (or
alternatively cats attract weirdoes writers and witches) I do firmly believe
that cats are very mcuh in tune with a world beyond our senses and although
we joke about 'the mothership' and greeblings, I think they really do see
things we can't and are incredibly well tuned into our thoughts feelings and
moods. It may be as something as mundane as smell, but Shmogg could always
tell if it was that time of the month and a warm gently vibrating furry
creature across my tummy would make me feel better (and it always did). He
could always cheer me up when I was down, could just look at me and I felt
as if he understood. Snoopy would dissappear for days at a time but would
always appear to stareintently whilst my boyfriend of the time and I were
having 'a good pash' (as it was called int he day).

I swear that all three current cats know Cary is a kid that doens't know any
better. he's done things to all three of them that I'd have my face removed
for. He doens't mean any harm of course, but he can get terribly
*enthusiastic* about them and is still relatively oblivious to the signs of
an annoyed cat (also jsut as oblivious to signs of annoyed parents
actually).

We're working on that 'psychic connection', and whilst I am usually quite
skeptical about anything involving estra sensory perception, the cats of my
life has taught me that if they aren't actually 'psychic' they do a damn
good impression of it using their other senses.


3) I have always been a geek, but I didn't know other geeks actually
existed until much later on in life.[1]

Having found fellow geeks has helped me alot - they're my 'tribe' so
to speak and really the only bunch of people I feel comfortable
around without having to get to know them all very well over a long
period of time. I have no issues walking up to a fellow geek and
just starting to chat - I am virtually incapable of doing this in a
'regular' crowd.

Yeah... I used to think I was a geek, until I moved to the Bay Area
(which includes Silicon Valley, one of the major computer/tech hubs
in the world) and met Real Geeks(TM). I am a rank amateur! OK, I love
science and always have, and I've always been good at math. But
there's
a particular culture around here that I really don't fit in with *at
all*. One of my closest friends is part of a big circle of sf and
computer geeks, and I find it extremely uncomfortable to hang out with
them. They're often really arrogant about their opinions and beliefs,
and think they're smarter than everyone else. OK, maybe they are
smarter than most people, but they think that makes them *better*.

Bah! They're *nerds*.

Geeks are geeky, and are happy to celebrate their geekishness, but learnt
that arrogance, snobbishness and exclusion are *hurtful* to others (usually
by being the butt of it themselves).

And Vicky,
you are not at all like that. If you are, you do a great job of hiding
it here! You have a very healthy amount of humility, by which I don't
mean low self-esteem. I just mean that you don't act like you feel
superior to other people.

Well, thankyou, but I can get snobbish and be a total biatch just as good as
anyone else. I just *try* not to. Its wrong.

Also, I'm really different from the average geek.

Hehehe. I am amused at the notion of the 'average' geek. Don't mind me.

I'm not a science
fiction *Fan* (capital F). I do like some of it, but, for example,
I would never go to a con. I'm definitely not a gamer. And despite
working in the high tech field for 25+ years, I'm not a nut about
technology. I don't have the latest stuff (my PC is so ancient I'm
embarrassed to say how old it is) and I don't get overly excited about
new techie products. I'm not a purist about precision, accuracy,
correctness of factoids or grammatical correctness. I don't give a
hoot if someone splits an infinitive, or calls an arcane ocean species
by the wrong name. And last - perhaps the most important - I do not
own a collection of wind-up toys, fandom action figures, or fidgety
science toys.

Maybe I'm just my own kind of geek... or maybe I'm not, at all.

There are all sorts of geeks (theatre geek, history geek, music geek etc
etc). Perhaps you are a cat geek?

Still looking for my tribe...

There's one here :-)

*snippity*

[1] The more I read about Asperger's syndrome, the more I suspect I
have (I don't 'suffer from') a mild version of it - whilst I am no
expert, I also suspect that Asperger's in females manifests itself
somewhat differently than it does in men. But Geeks and Asperger's
people are so strongly correlated (and its genetic - my Dad is a
classic Asperger's guy), it would not surprise me at all.

I totally agree with this. A lot of the characteristics that we
usually consider "geeky" are actually Asperger's. Here in the Valley
where there are lots and lots of software engineers, and hence, lots
of geeks, there is an unusually high percentage of autistic children
being born. The theory is that this area, being the software mecca
that it is, has a disproportionate number of adults with Asperger's,
who are passing on genes for autism in higher than usual numbers,
causing more autistic children to be born here, relative to the
population, than in other places. Interesting, isn't it?

Well, traditionally, hypergeeks didn't breed because they weren't attractive
enough to the opposite gender and they weren't that *interested* in the
general members of the opposite gender to breed anyway. But now with places
like Silicaon Valley where hypergeeks suddenly become attractive because
they are rich and influential, mixing with other geeks and their sisters....
well, yes, it makes sense they'd breed a higher percentage of ultrageek than
the regular populace.

Yowie
--
If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many
pancakes can you fit in a doghouse? None, icecream doesn't have bones.