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NERD
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1994-02-03
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░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░THE NERD LIBERATION MOVEMENT░░░░░░░░░░░Marc Perkel
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ANNOUNCING THE NERD LIBERATION MOVEMENT ...
Speaking about coming out of the back room, I'm in the process of
filing for a registered trademark on the Nerd Liberation
Movement. I've already been making buttons, but I'm going to
expand to T-shirts, baseball caps, clocks, and other goodies.
Thinking Magazine will be the official newsletter of the NLM and
the group is not soliciting members. The NLM will also be a
political organization for lobbying Congress on nerd-related
issues.
As the founder of the NLM, I have decided that my title will be
Supreme Commander (is this too humble?) and that I am member
number one. Each new member will receive the next sequential
number when he or she joins, and will keep this number forever.
That way you can go down in history as one of the founding
members if you get in early. This will give you something to
tell your grandchildren about how you were there, in the
beginning. What a proud moment!
As I register new members, you will be entered into the official
NLM computer database and, unlike Ross Perot's United We Stand
organization, I'm not going to jump the membership count up into
the millions just to make it look like there are more members
than there really is. So if you're number 25, you will keep that
number and even if you don't renew your membership, no one else
will ever be number 25.
Joining the NLM is easy. All you have to do is be a nerd, and
send me $25 for your first year's membership. That's all there
is to it! For your 25 bucks you will receive your membership
number and a Nerd Liberation Movement button that also says,
Coming out of the Back Room. I will spend the money I receive
any way I see fit, but it will initially go to help pay my phone
bill for faxing Congress and the press. Just fill out the form
at he end of this issue of Thinking Magazine and send it to me by
mail, fax, or E-mail. To can send a check or use your Master
Card, Visa, Discover, or Diners Club. Sorry, we don't take
American Express or COD orders.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A NERD? ...
You may be saying to yourself right now, Marc, your NLM sounds
really cool to me. But you said that I have to be a nerd and I
don't know if I qualify. How do I tell if I'm a nerd or not? I
don't have a pocket pen protector or thick glasses taped in the
middle. I don't even have a cellular phone or a laptop computer!
Could I still be a nerd?
I'm glad you asked that question because I've given this a lot of
thought and I think I have the answer.
A nerd is someone who like to think. A nerd is like an athlete
of the mind. An athlete is not someone who just runs an athlete
is someone who likes to run who lives to run. And it doesn't
matter how well you run or how fast you are you just have to love
running.
A nerd is someone who loves to think needs to think lives to
think. It doesn't matter how smart you are or if you can program
computers. What matters is that you are someone who is
interested in everything. A nerd wants to know about things, to
understand things. A nerd wants to know, How does it work? Why
is it that way? Why is there something rather than just nothing?
Where can I get more information on that subject? If God knows
the future, but he created us anyway, then isn't it his fault?
When did that turn of phrase become popular? Who says I can't go
faster than the speed of light?
A nerd is someone who wants to live forever, just so he or she
can understand everything about everything. A nerd feels the
frustration of being limited to communication with only words
wishing there were a way to increase the bandwidth somehow. A
nerd believes that there isn't anything he or she can't
eventually understand, given enough time and the desire to
understand it.
Are you frustrated with people around you because they don't stop
to think? Do you think it's hard to find people with whom you
can really discuss the things you're fascinated with? Do you ask
yourself, How did I end up in this reality? Do you feel the
pressure to hold back your mental abilities in public because you
don't want to offend people? Have people told you to your face
that your breadth of knowledge is fascinating but told others
behind your back that you are a droning bore because you persist
in enthusiastically talking about obscure subjects they've never
heard of? If the answer to these questions is Yes, then you're
probably a nerd.
NERD-RELATED ISSUES ...
I said I was going to lobby Congress on nerd-related issues. But
what is a nerd-related issue? What do nerds want government to
do? To me, nerd-related issues are those that deal with policies
and the workings of society as it relates to nerdom.
What are a few specific nerd-related issues? Well, lets start
with education. Football is a game, not a career. When I look
at the money that America spends on sports, as compared to what
it spends on science or computer labs, it makes me sick! It's
not that I'm against sports. It's that school is supposed to be
for education and games for entertainment. I think less state
and federal money should be spent on games and more money
budgeted for education.
Other nerd-related economic issues include supporting the
information highway, research and development tax credits, faster
depreciation schedules for computer equipment, and investment tax
credits for the purchase of high tech equipment. Furthermore,
nerds tend to favor the exploration of space, creating workable
solutions to environmental pollution problems, and increasing
international cooperation in scientific research.
Ordinary people rarely accomplish anything. Society advances
because of its extraordinary people. Now, existentially
speaking, when ordinary people do something extraordinary, they
are no longer ordinary. But most of the time when someone does
something extraordinary, it's because he or she was already
extraordinary and had been working long and hard to accomplish
it. Yet, despite this, there is little social acceptance of
extraordinary people in this culture, so many of them pretend
that their breakthrough accomplishments were something that just
happened because they were lucky,
People who run high-tech businesses but are not inventive
themselves sometimes explain their companies' new developments by
jokingly saying, We have this nerd that we keep locked in the
back room. Friends, this is no laughing matter because in
reality, nerds are locked in the back room! And that's what the
NLM is really all about. We're coming out of the back room to
take our rightful place as leaders, breaking our bonds of
oppression at the hands of those who think it's somehow uncool to
be smart.
HOUSE WIRING FOR NERDS ...
I've been an electrician this weekend, doing a little house
wiring. I don't know how many of you are familiar with it, but I
installed some X-10 based home automation equipment. What's
X-10?, you ask. Well, X-10 is really cool stuff.
X-10 is a control standard that allows you to turn on and off
lights and appliances by sending signals over your house wiring.
These signals can control up to 256 devices. With X-10 controls,
you can install timers that turn lights on and off at different
times, use wireless transmitters to turn things on and off, add
wireless alarm and security systems that control sirens and call
the cops, or use your home computer to control your house
lighting. And the best part is that X-10 is simple to install
and requires no special wiring or technical skills. If you have
enough skill to replace a wall light switch, you can install
X-10.
The most common place to get X-10 stuff is Radio Shack, where it
is marketed under the name Plug 'n Power. But if you really want
to get into it, you can get a better selection and lower prices
from a place called Home Control Concepts (800-CONTROL).
Here's how it works. You plug in a controller that has buttons
to turn on and off 8 devices. It also has Dim/Bright controls.
Then you take a lamp module and plug it into the wall and plug
your lamp into it. You then turn the dials on the lamp module to
give it a unique address. Then, if you push the button on the
controller, it turns the lamp on. It's that simple!
Now, you set up 7 more lamps with other codes. Use the
controller and now you can control all 8 of them. Now you want
to make your home look like someone is there when you're gone?
No problem. All you have to do is get an X-10 controller/timer
and program in a sequence and it turns your 8 lights on and off
at preset times.
Now if you want to work the ceiling lights, \all you have to do
is remove your light switch from the wall. Connect the two wires
to an X-10 wall switch instead and put it back in the wall. Just
like your wall switch, you push the button once, the light comes
on. Push it again, the light goes off. What's different is that
in addition to pushing the button, you can also turn the light on
from any X-10 controller.
Sounds cool, doesn't it? I'm just starting. Suppose you want
that coffee pot to come on at 6:00 am. No problem. Just plug it
into an appliance module and plug the appliance module into the
wall, set the address, and let the timer turn it on for you. Can
it be that easy? Yes!
But Marc, I don't like to get up out of my recliner. What can
X-10 do for me? That's easy, you plug a receiver module into any
wall socket. You can then send signals to it from a hand-held
controller which will control 8 devices plugged into other
sockets around the house. But you're not limited to just one
wireless controller. You can buy wireless switches that you
attach to the wall with Velcro and they even give you the Velcro!
Want to add a wall switch? Just stick it on the wall. Want two
switches controlling the same set of lights? No problem! Just
stick another switch on another wall.
Yeah, but how much does it cost? That's the best part. This
stuff is amazingly cheap. Quoting prices from Home Control
Concepts, lamp modules are only $6 each when bought 6 at a time.
A three prong appliance module is only $10! A door bell chime
module: $16. Wall switch replacement with built in dimmer: $10.
8-channel wireless remote with receiver: only $35. 16-device
plug-in controller: $18. Timer/controller with alarm clock: $30.
But it doesn't stop there. There's also X-10 stuff for the
really serious nerd. Computer interface: $54. Security console:
$98. Wireless motion detector: $50. Wireless window/door
sensor: $15. 110 DB external siren: only $30. Smart security
flood lights: $40. Telephone X-10 controller that lets you
control your lights from any telephone in the world: only $150.
This stuff is amazing as it is, but with the right computer
software it could be incredible. Suppose you open the front door
and it's dark outside. Obviously you want the lights to come on.
The house knows you are arriving outdoors and it automatically
goes into arrival mode, lighting the yard for you.
Suppose you get up in the middle of the night heading for the
bathroom. No problem. When you get up, the house's motion
detectors see you walking around and the house knows that it
night, so it turns on the lights for you, but it turns them on
dim so as not to blind you or wake up the whole family.
You wire a transmitter in your car that is tied to the ignition
switch (not one where you have to push a button). As your car
comes up the driveway, the house knows you are coming home and it
disables the alarm system and opens the garage door. When you
shut off the ignition, the house knows it and waits one minute
and closes the door. It also turns on the lights and accesses
your E-Mail, so that as you walk in, it tells you if you have any
messages waiting. It can also start a pot of water boiling, if
you like tea when you get home.
There's no end to all the cool stuff you can do with these toys.
So if you have any Christmas money left, head down to Radio Shack
and just buy enough to get familiar with the system. Then if you
get serious you can call Home Control Concepts for a catalogue.
There's also a magazine called Electronic House (405-624-8015)
that lists even more vendors. This stuff is FUN and if you want
a cheap home improvement project, you should go for it.
And if you are already involved with X-10, please contact me. I
want to know what other people are doing with it.
ORDER FORM ...
Ready to join the NLM? Here it is. Just fill out this form and
send it to my address, fax it to me, or send it by E-Mail.
Make Check Computer Tyme Order Form NLM
Payable To: 411 North Sherman Suite 300
Springfield Mo. 65802
(417) 866-1222 (800) 548-5353
Please send me my Nerd Liberation Movement membership.
=============================================================
Name: ________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________
City/St/Zip: ________________________________________________
Country: ________________________________________________
Phone/Fax: ________________________________________________
Comments: ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Enclosed is $25 for 1 year membership in the Nerd Liberation
Movement.
Credit Cards will be billed through Computer Tyme.
Credit Card Number: _______________ Expiration Date: ________
Signature: __________________________________________________
Master Card __ Visa __ Discover __
* We do not take American Express *
=============================================================
Copyright (c)1993 Marc Perkel
Reprinted with permission from
THINKING MAGAZINE, Marc Perkel, Editor