{"id":1517,"date":"2011-05-25T09:04:33","date_gmt":"2011-05-25T16:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hotnerdgirl.wordpress.com\/?p=1517"},"modified":"2024-02-27T09:45:31","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T09:45:31","slug":"top-5-nerd-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/2011\/05\/25\/top-5-nerd-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 Nerd Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to all of the traditional and national holidays printed on our calendars every year, there are other, equally as important holidays that deserve recognition.\u00a0 As nerds, it is up to us to ensure that these glorious tributes and anniversaries get the attention they are due.<\/p>\n

In honor of Towel Day, here is my list of the top 5 nerd holidays.<\/p>\n

5. September 19th<\/sup> \u2013 International Talk Like a Pirate Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Created back in 1995 by fellow Oregonian\u2019s Ol\u2019 Chumbucket and Cap\u2019n Slappy, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is the day in which we can all\u2026umm, talk like a pirate.\u00a0 You might be wondering if this is truly a nerd holiday.\u00a0 I say that only nerds would celebrate and participate in such a day and therefore, it does qualify\u2026kind of like a Ren Faire qualifies (believe me, it does).<\/p>\n

“But HNG, how do I celebrate this holiday?”<\/em><\/p>\n

By dressing up like a pirate, talking like a pirate and changing your facebook language settings to \u201cpirate.\u201d\u00a0 You can also watch pirate movies and read pirate books.\u00a0 I do not recommend the following activities on Talk Like a Pirate Day:<\/p>\n

thievin\u2019<\/p>\n

pillagin\u2019<\/p>\n

rapin\u2019<\/p>\n

engagin\u2019 in general forms of debauchery unless it is between consenting adults<\/p>\n

You may; however, drink copious amounts of rum providing you don\u2019t get behind the wheel of your pirate ship afterwards.<\/p>\n

4. March 14th<\/sup> \u2013 Pi Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mmmmmm....pie......<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get it? 3.14?\u00a0 This holiday is definitely geared towards the math nerds and much as I appreciate their mathematical prowess, math has never been a particularly strong point of mine.\u00a0 On that note, I would like to personally invite Danica McKellar to be my private math tutor.\u00a0 Note: Pi Day is not to be confused with Pi Approximation Day celebrated on July 22nd<\/sup> (get it?)<\/p>\n

“But HNG, how do I celebrate this holiday?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Bake a pie and eat it (personally, my favorite way of celebrating).\u00a0 You can also memorize as many decimal digits of Pi as you can and recite them for all of your friends (trust me, they will be VERY impressed).\u00a0 If you\u2019re a true math nerd, you could apply to MIT.\u00a0 If you get in, they will mail your acceptance letter so that it is delivered on Pi Day (oh math nerds, they\u2019re so funny).<\/p>\n

3. August 12th<\/sup> \u2013 PC\u2019s Birthday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ahhh, the good ol' days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The IBM 5150 PC first went on sale on August 12, 1981.\u00a0 If you\u2019re counting, that means that this year the PC turns 30 (*sniffle* they grow up so fast).\u00a0 This holiday is for all you computer nerds.\u00a0 I\u2019m a PC gal myself, but if you happen to be an Apple fan, I suppose <\/em>you can celebrate Macintosh Computer Day on January 25th<\/sup>.\u00a0 But since you wouldn\u2019t be able to celebrate if it weren\u2019t for the magical PC, I\u2019m only counting August 12th<\/sup> on this list.\u00a0 Deal with it.<\/p>\n

“But HNG, how do I celebrate this holiday?”<\/em><\/p>\n

By doing some long overdue computer maintenance (you know you need to).\u00a0 January is technically National Clean Up Your Computer Month, but since August is about halfway through the year, it\u2019s as good a time as any to do a little cleaning up as well.\u00a0 You could also replace your PC.\u00a0 I may be a PC gal, but I\u2019m not so stubborn that I can\u2019t admit that PC\u2019s can, umm, be less reliable.\u00a0 There, I said it.\u00a0 You will never hear me say it again.\u00a0 Damn you.<\/p>\n

2. August 29th<\/sup> \u2013 Judgment Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Good times worth celebrating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This holiday commemorates the day when Skynet will go online and destroy the vast majority of humanity.\u00a0 Yay!!!\u00a0 Why do we celebrate this day?\u00a0 To remind us all that, while nerds and geeks may rule the world, we must be careful about not abusing our power lest it rise up against us.\u00a0 I mean, seriously, how many movies have to be made before we realize that maaaaybe cloning people using nanobots and other crazy shit that serves no real viable purpose is probably not the best idea?\u00a0 Hrrmmm?<\/p>\n

“But HNG, how do I celebrate this holiday?”<\/em><\/p>\n

By starting a letter writing campaign to Arnold Schwarzenegger informing him that Terminators don\u2019t age and 64 might be a little too long in the tooth to be playing the same character he first played when he was 37.\u00a0 Or, you could watch the movies.\u00a0 Or you could take your kids to a playground and gaze fearfully up at the sky while watching out for a giant orange blast that will set you on fire and shred you apart until finally your bones explode.\u00a0 Yup, have fun with that.<\/p>\n

1. May 25th<\/sup> \u2013 Geek Pride Day AND Towel Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Geek<\/a><\/p>\n

May 25th<\/sup> should really be a holy day.\u00a0 Perhaps a feast day for Saint Lucas and Saint Adams.<\/p>\n

May 25th<\/sup> was opening day of the original Star Wars<\/em>, a day that shall live on forever in geek lore.\u00a0 The holiday has a\u00a0Bill of Rights and, even though it\u2019s not meant to be taken seriously, it\u2019s full of bullshit stereotypes so I\u2019ll only print the ones I feel should be included:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The right to be even geekier<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    7.\u00a0\u00a0 The right to have all the geeky friends that you want<\/p>\n

    10. The right to show off your geekiness<\/p>\n

    11. The right to take over the world<\/p>\n

    May 25th<\/sup> also marks Towel Day, an ode to Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0 It was started in 2001 in response to Adams\u2019 Graduation<\/a>.\u00a0 Why towels you ask?\u00a0 Because\u2026.<\/p>\n

    \u201cA towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough. <\/em><\/p>\n

    More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have “lost”. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass<\/span>: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy<\/span>: really together guy; frood<\/span>: really amazingly together guy.)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    That\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

    “But HNG, how do I celebrate this holiday?”<\/em><\/p>\n

    By carrying a towel around with you all day.\u00a0 If you work in a relaxed enough environment, you can also wear pajamas and a bathrobe.\u00a0 You can read the book, but don\u2019t bother watching the movie.\u00a0 If you do, don\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you.<\/p>\n

    Are you celebrating Towel Day today?\u00a0 Feel free to take a picture and put it on the facebook page!<\/p>\n

    Also, I\u2019m thinking it might be pretty awesome to put together a nerd calendar that features these holidays and more.\u00a0 Am I forgetting any?\u00a0 Have one you would like to add?\u00a0 If so, let me know!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In addition to all of the traditional and national holidays printed on our calendars every year, there are other, equally as important holidays that deserve recognition.\u00a0 As nerds, it is up to us to ensure that these glorious tributes and anniversaries get the attention they are due. In honor of Towel Day, here is my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[359,361,426,431,433,441,464,524,686,731,746,1014],"class_list":["post-1517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-list","tag-geek","tag-geek-pride","tag-hewlitt-packard","tag-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy","tag-holidays","tag-hot-nerd","tag-international-talk-like-a-pirate-day","tag-judgment-day","tag-nerd","tag-pcs-birthday","tag-pi-day","tag-towel-day"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hotnerdgirl.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}