b3ta.com qotw
You are not logged in. Login or Signup
Home » Question of the Week » How nerdy are you? » Post 126828 | Search
This is a question How nerdy are you?

This week Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, died. A whole generation of pasty dice-obsessed nerds owes him big time. Me included.

So, in his honour, how nerdy were you? Are you still sunlight-averse? What are the sad little things you do that nobody else understands?

As an example, a B3ta regular who shall remain nameless told us, "I spent an entire school summer holiday getting my BBC Model B computer to produce filthy stories from an extensive database of names, nouns, adjectives, stock phrases and deviant sexual practices. It revolutionised the porn magazine dirty letter writing industry for ever.

Revel in your own nerdiness.

(I helped save b3ta! chthonic, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 10:32)
Pages: Latest, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, ... 1

« Go Back

Breaking my QOTW virginity here UPDATED
...so be gentle.

In one summer holiday while doing a maths degree at university, I took it upon myself to make a rug of the Mandelbrot set.

I programmed my BBC B computer to plot the picture, and got it to calculate how many strands of wool of each colour I needed. I then went to the wool shop and befuddled the shop assistant, who's only comment was "There's a lot of black, isn't there?"

I then set about making the rug, based on a printout from the above program.

The rug itself is about a metre square, and I think it contains 10000 strands of wool, which all had to be stitched by hand, using a special hooked tool.

It took about 10 weeks to complete, and I still have it 18 years later.

EDIT: Link to pic, it's a bit fuzzy, because my phone cam is shite

img183.imageshack.us/img183/6932/rugkp4.jpg
(I helped save b3ta! Barbarossa is not my real name, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 17:28, 12 replies)
Photo
We're going to need a photo of that there rug...

**click**
(james_tiger_woods is going to start his killing spree on the, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 17:37, closed)
yup
piccy please or no clicky ;)
(sittingduck Attention seeking, bullshitting fuck-knuckle, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 17:41, closed)
s
Click from me, but what is the Mandelbrot set?
(I helped save b3ta! browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 17:45, closed)
x
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandelbrot_set

ooh its nice!
(I helped save b3ta! browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 18:04, closed)
I remember running Mandelbrot programs on my BBC Model B
which I had painstakingly entered in from Microuser or Acornuser magazine, and then waiting AAAAAAGGGGEEESSS for it to calculate and draw it.
(I helped save b3ta! turb0t, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 18:21, closed)
Pictures or your pants are on fire
;)
(I helped save b3ta! Dixipoos Bye Bye Blackbird, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 18:25, closed)
Pics...
...or it didn't happen
(The Entity Remembered his login details on, Thu 6 Mar 2008, 18:34, closed)
please
pictures
(I helped save b3ta! Mockingbird Practitioner of SCIENCE, Fri 7 Mar 2008, 16:58, closed)
Yet
another vote for pics!
(Emily Bruce-Dickinson http://jovialfellow.blogspot.com/, Fri 7 Mar 2008, 23:57, closed)
Pics!
(And wouldn't you need infinite amounts of wool of each colour properly to do it justice?)

*click*
(I helped save b3ta! Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Sat 8 Mar 2008, 9:09, closed)
Pic Added
img183.imageshack.us/img183/6932/rugkp4.jpg

;)
(I helped save b3ta! Barbarossa is not my real name, Mon 10 Mar 2008, 11:44, closed)
imageshack :(
Any chance of using photobucket instead of imageshack? Imageshack is blocked by the content filter here at work :o
(asmodean had too much christmas spirit on.., Tue 11 Mar 2008, 14:52, closed)

« Go Back

Pages: Latest, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, ... 1