13 Little Things that Make a Geek Happy

Matt — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:22:00 -0700

I hate it when people say "It's the little things that count," but it's friday afternoon and I felt like writing a post about some little geek things that make me happy. Feel free to contribute any of your own.

My gmail notifier lights up. It could be a friend asking if I want to meet up for a drink later or a nigerian prince who has a financial proposition I simply can't refuse. Either way those few moments before I actually read the message always fill me with a bit of euphoria.
There's a leaf in my latte. I find it inexplicably joyous when a barista stirs my beverage so that it forms a little leaf shape at the top. I don't know why but this always gives me a tiny measure of happiness. At one coffee shop I frequent if you order a mocha you get one chocolate swirl and one white one, forming a kind of "espresso yin yang."
Someone submits something I wrote to digg. Sometimes it makes the digg homepage, sometimes it doesn't. Either way it's flattering to have something I wrote submitted by someone else who thought it was digg-worthy.
A new referrer pops up in mint. Whatever analytics you use on your website, it's always nice to see someone spreading the link love.
Seeing something in the real world that correlates to something in the geek world. Ever have a total ring up as 404 or 13.37 and enjoy a bit of silent amusement? Yeah, me too.
When the shipping status changes to "on truck for delivery." I buy a lot of stuff online, this is the final step before my package arrives and it pretty much makes me feel like I'm windsurfing on a sea of spectacular. Is work frustrating today? Did my upstairs neighbor keep me up all night by making noises that sounded like they were giving birth to an elephant? No worries, I've got some awesome shit coming in the mail - all is forgiven.
Someone posts a real comment on one of my blog entries. Hell yeah, I blogged and someone responded without trying to sell me ringtones. Fan-freakin-tastic.
That little green icon in the lower left of my browser indicating that my page validates. W3C all up in this biznatch - oh how I love that green icon. I wish you were a nightlight beside my bed.
My code works perfectly on the first try. It's rare, but it happens. Usually I'll triple-check to make sure it's actually working.
Any of the games on Orisinal
Hearing a co-worker say "for the win" or "for the loss" out loud. I've managed to get everyone at my office saying "ftw" in emails (even a bunch of non-tech people) and hearing them occasionally say it out loud sounds so ridiculous it always cracks me up.
The animated GIFs group on verb
Bashing stuff into pieces with a crowbar in half-life. Anyone who has ever bashed apart a few crates knows that this is the most satisfying feeling in the entire world.
Seeing someone score over 80% on the Geek Quiz . Hooray, there's more of us

JustSayHi - Dating Blog: 13 Little Things that Make a Geek Happy

13 Little Things that Make a Geek Happy