Ramblings of the Geek kind...

Although my life  is not nearly as interesting as most (if not all) of the Tilly Hat testimonials, i really like my Tilly hat.    My beloved is not as enamored with it as i am, but after over 15 years of trying to find a hat that we both liked i had given up.  We were at Hershey Park and the sun was brutal.  I had tried several other full brim hats but the only thing she seemed to concede to was traditional baseball style hats, but i got tired of repositioning it every time i moved in relation to the sun.  Well, just about the time i was getting increasingly frustrated with my ball cap i saw a woman with a really nice hat, so i asked her where she had gotten it.  That was when i was first introduced to Tilley hats.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and i am exploring Tilley's website, and i order my hat.  Me beloved just smiles and shakes her head.  I've told her, "Oh, the hat plays!" Fast forward to this past Friday, and we are back at our favorite amusement park (that we can afford, and travel to relatively easily), Hershey Park.  The heat was incredible.  We had just gotten there and walked to where we usually start our visit (out towards the Fahrenheit), i was just sitting there waiting for THUMPER, and the sweat was just dripping off of me.  Eventually i couldn't take the heat anymore... i took the ice from my cup of ice water and filled the map pocket.  This created a cool "pocket" (no pun intended) that kept the head cool, with both the slowly melting ice and evaporating water really kept my noggin cool, which in turn kept the rest of me cool.

There is something about the smell of a computer room.  The A/C and the unique smell of warm electronic equipment "humming" along in a constant struggle to maintain a cool temperature, the vibration of the various fan motors stirring the air to sustain this conflict.  Even walking on an elevated floor knowing that probably literally miles of cable all snake between various points to allow every computer in the building to not only interact with the other computers, but the various servers.  And not just "in house", but with other offices not just several miles, but states, and even other continents via the WWW.  I think my affinity for such things, and the fact my mind can (sort of) picture data flows and how it interacts with configurations and hardware, is why i really enjoy the Matrix and Tron movies.  I think it is also why i like shows like Johnny Mnemonic and Max Headroom, even though i have NEVER played, games like Cyber Punk and Shadowrun.

Speaking of TRON, i am getting geek giddy over TRON: Legacy due out in December. This movie has been literally decades in the making.  TRON: Legacy, in its current form, was first presented to Disney by way of a "Concept Trailer" which was then shared at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2008.  Once Disney saw the reaction from the fan base there they agreed to finance the project.

So, then however movie making companies, like Disney, go forward writing and filming began to take place.  Then at last years Comic Con Disney really stepped up their 'viral marketing campaign'.  Several Encom marketing press conferences, a new trailer for the movie, and several other web pages.  To be honest i have lost track of them all, but it has been impressive.  The New York Time recently wrote an article on the changing dynamics that studios have to go through to market movies and even TV shows.

Disney even kept up the fanbase, and the movie marketplace, gently fed with rumor and pictures, and other eye candy.  I know my friends on facebook are beginning to get concerned about my apparent obsession with this movie.  I know it is just a movie, and even when finished will not be near in epic in scope like the Lord of the Rings movies, but this may be the first 3D movie i ever see in theaters.  I am already planning on having a "guys night" planned.  perhaps catching the movie on Saturday afternoon and we all head out for steaks afterward.

I am really enjoying the visuals and the sneak peaks that have been put out for this movie.  I think Disney will have a success with this movie... but only time will tell.  I even enjoy the geek toys like the keyboard and mouse set up, as well as several of the toys being planned.

There is still a part of me that does not understand why God made me this way.  I struggle to make friends IRL.  I think i have more cyber friends than i do flesh and blood ones.  I don't get a lot of social cues - but i have learned a lot and have come a long way since High School (fellow Aspies out there take heart).  I struggle to maintain eye contact, or even to sit still when agitated for any reason (makes having 'intense' discussions with my Beloved very difficult).  I have trouble remaining focused on any one thing, even during prayer.  And yet, the way God has made me... i can literally visualize data streams and how they flow.  Sometimes down to the packet header level.  At times, i have been called to break it all the way down to the bit level.  I also do not seem to have too much difficulty putting the various pieces together from throughout the Bible.  While i am far from perfect, i am enjoying who i am.  A person who likes to wear hats, who enjoys sitting at the feet of God, who enjoys the Cyberpunk and Post Apocalyptic genres, who loves his Beloved bride, and all of the "packaging" i continue to struggle with in order to be conformed into the image of my Savior, Jesus Christ (Rom 8:26-30). 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. [1] Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14, ESV)

Last night my Beloved came home from THUMPER's last basketball game of the summer and saw me watching the original TRON movie.  She then proceeded to ask me, "would you please stop telling people on Facebook that you like this movie!"  I told her, i can't do it.  "I am who i am, and i can't be anything else." She will just have to take me as i am, Tilley hat wearin', TRON watchin' socially flawed person that i am.  Because God has seen me as i am, taken the initiative to reach out to me, and has been slowly working to transform me into the image of His Son... and with the exception of these things possibly being an idol in my life, i do not think it matters in the overall scheme of things.

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