Nerd appreciation thread!

[eyesroll]

"The Nerd" was my elementary-school nickname, since I always sounded like an academic. I had a big vocabulary and wasn't afraid to use it.Of course, I was a clod at sports -- first to be picked for a group project, last to be picked for kickball. I preferred books to people, and later online conversation to real-life interaction (still true today). I've never dated anyone who didn't wear glasses -- not even contacts, but glasses.

My first nerd "boyfriend" (in that we didn't really date and didn't do much other than a brief kiss goodnight but we probably would have, had he lived closer) was at the end of my freshman year in high school. He was a friend of a friend, and he bowled (and was good!) and programmed computers. He showed me how ASCII art could be animated. We saw "Total Recall," and talked about lucid dreaming.

Now? I'm thinking of using "LiberalNerd" in my new URL, when I have to change blog hosts. I refuse to get contacts. I show off my laptop (it's the first thing I'd remove from my house in a fire, after knowing all people and pets are safe). I have a giant crush on Alton Brown -- a nerd and a foodie!

So, I am a nerd (with a hint of geek and dork, too), and I love nerds.

Anyone else have nerdish tendencies, or like those who do? Speak up!