When Geeks Collide II: The Smack Down

Ken Jennings is gunning for me again.

He seems to be upset that I called him a geek in public.

Here's the thing.

If you win 2.5 megabucks answering trivia, you should not be surprised if people call you a geek.
If, in addition to that, you have a degree in Computer Science AND English and worked as a programmer... Come on, Poindexter.

Since Ken doesn't know that I've been coding and fixing computers for 26 years, he couldn't have known why my daughter and I feel free to cast nerdy aspersions. I'll forgive him for that, I guess. Although you would have thought the secret handshake would have given me away.

Two final points.
First. If you want to shed the wonky image, you should probably refrain from calling a guy confused by referencing fifty year old Kurosawa movie, or the hundred year old story it was based on.

Second. Let's not lose sight of the essential element of this story. Which is that Ken thinks I'm handsome enough to land 21 year old hot chicks.

(If you could all just ignore the fact that I just called my daughter a hot chick, I'd really appreciate it.)

When Geeks Collide

I mentioned in another blog entry, a month or two ago, how much I was enjoying Ken Jennings blog. The guy is amusing in a way that doesn't seem forced. So when his book came out, I picked up a copy, and put it on the alarmingly tall stack of books I haven't read yet. (see below)

Yesterday morning, when I was supposed to be doing my Saturday chores, I was instead catching up on blogs. I noticed on Ken's site that he was doing ANOTHER book signing in Murray at the Costco. (He was in Sugarhouse a few weeks ago.) So when my daughter Sara stopped by and said that she wanted to buy me lunch and wanted me to take her to Costco, I knew how I was going to avoid chores for the next few hours.

After an unremarkable lunch at Noodle & co. (ok, I'll just make this one remark. Who pays 8 bucks for a plate of macaroni and cheese?) we went across the street to Costco. Wandered over to the books and did NOT see a line of fauning fans waiting for books to be signed. We finally found the display of books, but no Jennings. Just as I was saying "Where's the geek", my daughter said "Hey, isn't that him?"

Yes. Ken Jennings, arms full of fruit, on his way out the door. Here's my impressions.

He looks less boyish in person. Taller too. His lisp is more pronounced, but maybe that was because he was in a hurry and was talking fast. It was awfully nice of him to stop and sign one more book: His last of the tour. He blogged about it here.

Finally, the coolest thing about Ken is that he thought my daughter was my girlfriend. So, there is one person on the planet, who, when he is in a hurry and not paying attention, thinks that I could be dating a 21 year old. Thank you Ken.

I guess I'll have to give my spare copy to Sara now.


Post Script.
Books I'm not reading:

Brainiac - Do I have to read it twice
Grampa was a polygamist - About my G-G-Grandfather. Really!
A history of God - Borrowed from my son. Wow, is this a dense book.
Teacher Man - Frank McCourt's latest
Riding Rockets - This one, I'm actually reading. Mom and Dad gave it to me for my birthday 4 months ago.
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant
The Mating Season - by P.G. Wodehouse
God's Bestseller - A biography of William Tyndale.

All of these books are actually on my nightstand or my desk. Depressing.