The Gift of Geek 06.05.03

Pixel inspired me to think back upon my life and drift through the fog and reconnect with my youth. Why do I listen?

Because I once tried to convince people to call me Scott. In part b/c I loved my friend Ryan Scott’s name (but even in ’86-‘87 I didn't think the mullet was cool) and because I thought the X-Men's Cyclops was badass.

Then I tried to convince people to call me Nighthawk. I even made a nameplate in metal shop with “Nighthawk” on it. When I got to my summer program, it was the nerdier, smaller, fatter kid who called himself Matrix who was ostracized, though.

What that tale proves is that, along with the pictorial reminders from my old friend J-Cap, beneath this calculated, well-shaven, sculpted mass of cool, is a dork that even the nerdiest of people can have a good laugh at.

Okay. Stop laughing.