Last Saturday, Mer took me on a date. I got all dressed up in my suit, and she took me to the Triple Crown restaurant in Monroe Falls. Not surprisingly, it was a horse-race-themed restaurant. I say that Mer took me there, which is true, but she chose it because I had a $25 gift certificate for there as a “thank you” from CVCA for putting in 5 years. The food was good – Mer got a really good-looking burger that I wished I had ordered. I got some pasta alfredo, which is odd because I’m not crazy about alfredo sauce. I think I just had a brain-short. The chicken with it was quite good. For dessert, I got the chocolate thunder (I don’t know why it is called that, but it is really good), and Mer got the peanut butter thunder (good, but I liked the chocolate one better). A nice restaurant.

Mer then gave me the choice to see an action-film or a comedy. Comedy suited my mood, so we went to see Night at the Museum, which I had heard some good things about. I won’t give away the plot, but I did enjoy the film. It is not roll-in-the-aisles funny, but it is very entertaining with several laugh-out-loud moments. I had a really good time watching it, and it is a very creative story. The special effects guys had a field (museum) day.

I got to wear my suit to a movie theater. I have done that once before, and it is an odd but nice thing to do. It makes me feel as if I’m in a 1940s movie, where the main characters go to see movies in suits. The only pity was that it was too windy to wear my fedora.

Mer and I got to CVCA this morning to find the parking lot empty and the building closed. I was able to let us in, and the building had power, heat, and water, so we could not figure out what was going on. I checked the CVCA website, and it appears you can have a “cold day.” About 600 schools in Ohio called off today, as it was -1 F at 7:00 with wind chills in the minus-20s. Who knew to check for a snow day on a day with no snow? Mer and I got much done at school today. The temperatures are not supposed to get much higher tomorrow, so I guess I’ll check the CVCA website tonight.

I find Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy” really really funny. It also got me wondering how I stack up, on the nerd scale. So, with no further ado, here is how I score (challengers welcome). Oh – if I agree in spirit with a line, I count it. I’ll explain as I go along.

You see me mowin’ my front lawn  
I know they’re all thinkin’ I’m so        
White and nerdy                             
(neutral – I do mow, but most people do. I *do* mow a bocce court in my front yard – that must count for something)

 Think I’m just too white and nerdy
………….

 First in my class here at MIT
(nope – went to Middlebury, and was most definitely not first in the class)
Got skills, I’m a champion at D&D
(and “Traveler” and “Villains & Vigilantes” and “Runequest” and “Heroes Unlimited” and “Dr. Who” and “Gamma World” and “Dragonquest” and “James Bond” and ….)
M.C. Escher, that’s my favorite M.C.
(sing it, white boy! M.C. rocks!)
Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea
(Bleh – tea. I prefer hot chocolate)
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You’ll find that they’re quite stationary
(True – my first car was missing hub caps)
All of my action figures are cherry
(Nope, but my comics are in plastic sleeves and boxes)
Stephen Hawking’s in my library
(Nope, but James Burke is)

My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
(Nope – I stick to Xanga and a little Facebook)
Got people beggin’ for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
(I know pi to 9 places AND have a math team chant about pi and e)
 Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces
(My teeth are crooked)
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
(Bleh. Mayo. Bleh.)
I’m a wiz at Minesweeper, I could play for days
(Nope – I have played it, but find it fairly boring)
Once you’ve see my sweet moves, you’re gonna stay amazed
My fingers movin’ so fast I’ll set the place ablaze
(I’m a mean 5-finger typist – 3 fingers on the right and 2 on the left)

There’s no killer app I haven’t run (run)
(My job lets me play with lots of programs)
At Pascal, well I’m number one (one)
(I took one semester of Pascal in college, and fiddled with BASIC in high school)
Do vector calculus just for fun
(3 semesters of college calculus)
I ain’t got a gat, but I got a soldering gun (what?)
(Nope)
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
(Nah – I like the themes from Quantum Leap and Firefly)
 I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
(Nope – I like it, but I am not good at it)
I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
(Bring it on!)
I’m fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon
(Nah…)

Here’s the part I sing on…

You see me roll on my Segway
(Nope – but I’d like to try one)
I know in my heart they think I’m
White and nerdy

I been browsin’, inspectin’ X-Men comics
You know I collect ’em
(Oh YES – who did NOT collect “X-Men”?)
The pens in my pocket, I must protect them
(Nope)
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
(Nope)
Shoppin’ online for deals on some writable media
(I buy online, but I usually buy media from a store)
I edit Wikipedia
(Nope, but I use it)
I memorized Holy Grail really well
(Who hasn’t?)
I can recite it right now and have you R-O-T-F-L-O-L

 I got a business doing websites (websites)
(I maintain my church’s site, but it is very basic)
When my friends need some code, who do they call?
I do HTML for ’em all
(I don’t know HTML)
Even made a homepage for my dog, yo
I got myself a fanny pack
(no)
They were havin’ a sale down at The Gap
(no)
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
(I like bubble wrap in a platonic sort of way)
Pop, pop – hope no one sees me gettin’ freaky

I’m nerdy in the extreme
Whiter than sour cream
I was in AV club and glee club
(no)
And even the chess team
(no)
Only question I ever thought was hard
Was “Do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?”
(Kirk)
Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Faire
(I like Faires)

Got my name on my underwear
(no)
They see me strollin’, they’re laughin’
And rollin’ their eyes cause I’m so
White and nerdy

I wanna bowl with the gangstas
(I do like to bowl – I prefer candlepin)
But oh well, it’s obvious I’m
White and nerdy

Anyway, I count about 14 or so out of a possible 40 or so. So, I guess I’m cooler than I thought!