My Life as a Sci-Fi Nerd

Or, As You Geek It.

So I'm reading Wil Wheaton's Just a Geek, and his story about the Star Wars toy trade that led to his five-dollar candy and videogame spree jarred something loose in my consciousness.  It seems that your general geekery is pretty well established in American culture now, almost ubiquitous.  As Patton Oswalt recently wrote in Wired, "now all America is otaku".  But it wasn't always like this, and I think my generation (which is also Wheaton's) has had a unique experience coming of age in a time of technological innovation and mass media influence in popular culture.

For this series of entries, I conceived to assemble a timeline of the influences that shaped my particular brand of nerdery.  Or should I say, nerdaliciousness.  As Amok says in The Specials, "Quit making up words."  The following bullet points should help illustrate how geek culture infiltrates real life and impacts a person.

I've divided up the eras into separate posts so that it's easier to follow.  But it's still lengthy.  Better pour a nice warm beverage and have a seat.