It’s official! I’m not concidered a geek by Maximum PC magazine! There is a list of 50 things you should do before you claim the title of geek so first objective of the summer, complete the list!

In this article I will post the list including things I have done and things I haven’t, I will keep track with a simple x.

50 Things to become a true geek:

1. Be able to name the three connectors, PCI Express, DDR Memory,  and Dual-channel RIMM [x]

2. Benxhmark your computer [x]

3. Build a hackingtosh(mac on a pc system) [  ]

4. Beat Quake(the game) in less than an hour. [  ]

5. Calculate a pitchers earned run average. [x]

6. Know the 14 basic HTML tags. [x]

7. Bypass the content filter on public computers. [x]

8. Run applications off USB. [x]

9. Pick a real lock. [x]

10. Straighten the pins on an older CPU. [  ]

11. Get through to executive customer service. [x]

12. Wire your home with ethernet cables [?]

13. Use Photoshop to edit an image. [x]

14. Say no to extended warranties. [x]

15. Tell Dr. Pepper from Mr. Pibb. [x]

16. Install a hard drive in a laptop. [x]

17. Protect your Wi-fi. [x]

18. Replace the controller board on a hardd rive. [  ]

19. Use a digital camera in manual mode. [x]

20. Mooch Wi-fi off of a neighbor. [x]

21. Pull off an elaborate prank. [x] (Oh yea, more on that in a blog article in the future)

22. decorate your room using only printer paper [x]

23. Set up a RAID [x]

24. Program and build a simple micro controller circuit. [  ]

25. Solder like you mean it [  ]

26. Securely erase your data. [x]

27. Rip your CD’s to FLAC. [x]

28. Stream your movies, music, and photos to any TV in your house. [x]

29. Recite Pi to 23 decimal places. [x] (3.14159265358979323846264)

30. Dual-boot your PC [  ](soon)

31. Get into a windows if you forget your password. [x]

32. Watch TV shows on the internet legally. [x]

33. Install and configure a virtual machine. [  ]

34. Explain what E=MC^2 means to a Liberal Arts Major [  ](soon)

35. Run multiple monitors like a pro. [  ](too expensive for the time being)

36. Protect your browsing history from snoops. [x]

37. Know the most important linux commands. [  ]

38. Rocket jump without using a macro. [x]

39. Create a custom animated spray for a source engine game [x] (counter strike, woopy texture)

40. Avoid DRM whenever possible [  ]

41. Download flash video and bend it to my will. [x]

42. Debate whether the Imperial Star Destroyer or the USS Enterprise is the best star ship. [  ]

43. Install third-party firmware on your router [x]

44. Build your own computer. [x](Next article will be about my new gaming rig Im working on)

45. Overclock your PC and tune your BIOS. [  ]

46. Find everything you need to know online [x](Forget google, up with bing.com!)

47. Use remote Desktop[  ] (almost)

48. Write a complete “Hello World” app. [x]

49. Rip a DVD to H.264 [x]

50. Get around in DOS. [  ]

51. BONUS: Be prepared for two of the following: A robotic uprising, zombie appocolypse, an alien invasion, or an earthquake. [x]

Looks like I have 16-17 things to do before I can claim this title, I’m willing to bet I will complete this by May next year. Email me at Xylogeist@aol.com for details on the components of the list.

By the way:

I FULLY endorse bing.com. Who would have thought that google would be dethroned? Microsoft has outdone themselves! What an amazing search engine! I encourage all of my readers to use it, join the revolution!

In the next installment – my new pc, my second week of camp, and of course details of a good friend that is visiting.

Cheers,

Zeph