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."

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

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

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Guest Post: NEW NOVEL ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!

Today's guest post is by returning Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Jo's previous 2019 post,  MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO! for a long time was one of this blog's most read pages. Jo returns under a new alias, author Kit Mackenzie , and with word of her new novel, ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL! which is now available on Amazon. T he first book of this epic western trilogy, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl!  is the life story of a devastating and charismatic pants-wearing cowgirl who's the fastest gun in the west and bisexual. A crack shot story that blazes across the wild west! Jeannie Morgan, a devastatingly tomboy-beautiful, pants-wearing maverick who flicks a finger of contempt at society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Her speed with a gun is faster than the strike of a rattler, outshooting every man she meets. Love, hate and jealo

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur