Sometimes it's not enough that you own a lot of computers that you use on a daily basis. You have to support it with a multitude of other gadgets and gizmos to make sure what you own doesn't die on you when you most need them. Us geeks have our own problems to face when dealing with the technology we so crave as a solution to our initial problems. Non-geeks say that these problems are unnecessary and wasteful. In a way, it's hard to argue otherwise, but as I've said many times before, it's never what we own that makes us geeks. It's what we do and how we do it that defines us as geeks.

Regardless of what we own and crave for, our arsenal and firepower doesn't exist in the material world. It was always our ingenuity and passion that makes us who we are. Of course, that doesn't mean that we can't use that same ingenuity and creativity to earn ourselves bleeding edge technology every now and again. After all, even us geeks need to have our own fun. Why not have it that we have fun every single day, for the rest of our lives?

Today, I like to depart from my attempts at creative photography to bring you something a little more geeky. After all, that is who I am and what I do on a usual basis. Mess around with forces that most mortals don't try and play around with.

To be honest, installing Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich is one of the easiest geeky things I have done. Ready a few installers, toss in a bootloader, add the OS and the additional software, run the code and that's pretty much it. However, Alpha builds are perhaps one of the most complicated bits to troubleshoot. Alpha strikes fear and doubt in most casual geeks. It's because they are untried and untested. They are prone it things going wrong with little to no support to fix the problem. Of course, being a geek, it's almost impossible to resist mucking around with Alpha builds, especially when you make time to play around if things go wrong. It just has to be done. If you're a geek too, you know where I'm coming from on this.

So for those that are willing to venture into the great unknown of Alpha builds I salute you. For within it lies the spirit of a true geek. Always willing to break the limits of what things were meant to be. Always saying, one more line of code, late into the night, until dawn breaks the glittering inky blackness.

One of the earliest life rules I've learned to enforce is that looks can be deceiving, only because as a socially awkward nerd throughout my schooling life, people would had plenty of reasons to always pass me over. It didn't matter that I had something worthwhile to offer, but at that age, looks, or at least what you portray on the outside matter more to people than the person you really are.

So over the years, I connected with those that suffered the same fate. Whether it be people easily judged by their covers or objects shoved into a corner because they looked worn and used, I gave them all a fair chance. In a way, it gave me some sort of solace to know that I'm doing what I can, never doing to others what they have done to me. On the other hand, it's a constant reminder that even today, appearances still do play its part in dancing the social game; and as for someone whose social skills are still lacking, has a slight disadvantage in any situation that involves playing nice to people.

Ultimate, I've learned to live with my awkwardness, still collecting and empathising with those that feel like they have been cast away. It is my own treasure trove of hidden gems. One that I so jealously guard from the prying eyes of those that never appreciated them before. A place I can always return to when I need a reminder that I am not alone, and there is always a deceptive beauty in the things and people we take for granted, waiting for someone to appreciate them for who and what they are.

It should be said that when I asked if there was a Godfather picked out yet, I was only asking in half jest. Now, holding this frail odd thing in my arms, I wonder if they made the right choice to bestow me with that honour. It's not that I doubt my capabilities in taking care of the next generation when my role is called for, but there is also the part of me that can't help but think of every moment and every experience as information for a giant experiment.

Ultimately, my role would probably be down regulated to taking care of the child should the parents want to get away in order to find time to themselves in a world perpetually out of time. I can live with that, even if that means imparting some of my more geeky mannerisms to their child at whatever chance I can get. The rest of the time, all I have to do is to make sure I play my part well by doing my best Marlon Brando impression, and putting a horses head in the bed of whoever bothers the kid.

It's sure to be a hit with the other parents. I think.

I have obsessive compulsive disorder. Thankfully it isn't a condition that debilitates my daily life. In fact, I can go as far as to say that it goes hand in hand with the work that I do. I like things to be neat, ordered, symmetrical and for the most part, germ free. The kind of habit that anyone who works in a laboratory should have to begin with. There is nothing better than a freshly disinfected lab bench, or kitchen top with the same stuff you use to sterilise your lab with.

That doesn't stop be from filling my room with bugs though. If anything, I tend to follow the saying of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Although, to tell you the truth, it gives a whole new meaning to sleeping with Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea. I've got to stop telling people I do that.