Skip to main content

I'm Not a Geek

Computer and I
Amiga 600HD animation
I'm not a Geek. At least I don't consider myself to be one. I know that would raise an eyebrow with a lot of people who know me and surely they'd protest...

"But you know so much about computers and technology and people are always asking you to help solve their computer problems."

It's true, I do know a lot about computers and technology - and people do ask me to help solve their computer problems (which has started to extend into digital camera and mobile phone problems too).

However a lot of what I know is because it's stuff I have to know in order to do the work I do. Much of my creative time is spent in front of a computer because computers have made massive in roads into the creative arts.

In the past, as a writer, I may have used a pen and notebook a lot more. These days, if I want to write something longer than a shopping list, I'll go straight to my computer.

Although I still draw, sketch and paint with my own two hands using traditional tools, more and more of my art is becoming digital. Whether it be photographing my paintings so I can sell prints, right up to drawing and painting with my Wacom digital graphics tablet... not to mention animation, which I create entirely on a computer thus far.

When I started making videos I filmed with Super8 VHS camera (I think that's the  format? Video tape anyhow) and used to edit it all together with two linked VHS video recorders along with a stereo player hacked into the audio line so I could add a music track mixed with a live or taped mic recording of the narration. All of this because I couldn't afford a proper editing desk. Now all of that can be done with a digital video camera and my laptop computer.

If you want to keep all this technology running and have all your devices linked to home network so you can share a wireless internet connection then you need to learn about how all this works. How to set it up. How to install things. Otherwise you'll spend a lot of time sitting around paying someone too much money to fix something that you probably could have fixed in a few minutes if you bothered to learn how your technology works.

Hence I know a lot about Geeky stuff like computers, cameras, mobile phones etc. but only the technology I actually use.

My partner has an iPad and an iPhone neither of which I use very much at all. I kind of know my way around them - since they're Apple products and designed to be easy to use by almost anyone - but I'm not as confident with them as I am with my own phone, Android tablet and computer.

I tend to think of Geeks as people who are impressed by the best technology you can buy. They walk into a computer store and look dreamily at that high end laptop that they're going to buy one day. They look at your sucky laptop computer because it's nowhere near as good as theirs and they're quite happy to tell you why. You know what I mean right?

As far as I go, I buy the best technology I can afford then use it. I don't concern myself with what I can't afford or what I'd like to own if money allowed. I walk into a computer store and head straight for whatever it is I plan to buy. I don't stop to admire all the display computers.

I own a Toshiba Laptop that I bought new for under $500 on ebay. It's the first new laptop I've ever owned and was the best I could afford. It may not be as streamlined, powerful or flashy as a Macbook Air that costs two to three times more but it gets the job done. That's all that matters.

I've also got a number of older computers that date back to the beginning of the century (which makes them sound really ancient but that's only 12 years ago) that I try to keep running and find a use for because nobody would actually buy any of them.

It's actually the number of computers I own that makes me seem more of a Geek but really, I'm sure many people have a trail of old computers in the shed or wherever. It's not that Geeky.

When I was young I may have taught myself computer programming and spent a couple of years in College learning to business program. That doesn't make me a Geek... anymore... all that stuff is outdated. Anyway, I failed my computer programming course because I wanted to write games and there was no such course for game programmers back then. I can't really program now other than make minor hacks to java script code - even then it's all trial and error.

As usual I'm rambling now, so I'll end it here. I'm not a Geek really. However I know what you're probably thinking...

"Yes you are."
TET Life Topics:

Comments

  1. Mum60January 27, 2012 3:57 PM

    Is there anyway you can put that picture onto your FB page and still keep it moving, or wouldn't it work, though, it does in the email? Just to show off like! :-)

    I tried saving it to put on my page but it is just blurry, being saved from the small one, and not moving.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TET (David Arandle)January 27, 2012 5:26 PM

    Not really. I tried saving it to my FB page but it just saves it as a still image. The size you see it here is the image's original size. Made in a time when computer screen had much lower resolutions.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated by an actual human (me, TET) and may not publish right away. I do read all comments and only reject those not directly related to the post or are spam/scams (I'm looking at you Illuminati recruiters... I mean scammers. Stop commenting on my Illuminati post!).

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Book Review: Brand It Purple by Ashley Knoote-Parke

Ashley Knoote-Parke. Image: Facebook It seems almost redundant to review  Brand It Purple  given you probably won't find a hard copy edition without digging into the second hand market. The book's author and publisher, Ashley Knoote-Parke, seemingly, disappeared off the face of the Earth around about 2015. Which is a story in itself. However, the book is still a very informative guide and, while not specifically targeted at women, many may relate more to a book written by an experienced female entrepreneur. Brand It Purple is a personal marketing and branding guide released in 2009 by then, star on the rise author, Ashley Knoote-Parke, an English born, South African expatriate, who made Adelaide, South Australia her home. There she started her own publishing company releasing a photographic, coffee table book of South Australian sights, along with books showcasing female, then male, entrepreneurs. As well she published 'Brand It Purple'. I came across the b
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch
1 comment
Continue Reading »

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art  image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Movie Review: Force of Nature - The Dry 2 (2024) *No Spoilers*

Eric Bana returns as Detective Aaron Falk in Force of Nature - The Dry 2 , and that's the only real connection between this and 2020's  The Dry . This is an all new mystery set in a new location. I will say, given that it's either wet or rainy, with the incoming threat of a major storm for most of the movie, the filmmakers really missed a trick in not renaming the film, The Wet. Back when I reviewed the first film I noted that I would love to see the second book made into a movie too, and here it is. This time Aaron and his detective partner, Carmen (Jacqueline Mackenzie), head into the mountains to investigate the whereabouts of a missing informant, who disappears on a workplace, team bonding retreat. All the performances in this film are easily on par with the first, though I do think some pretty outstanding actors really didn't have a lot to do here. In terms of mystery the first movie was better constructed as a who dunnit film you could play along with. Here you mo
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »