Slashdot Mirror
Living the Computer Geek Lifestyle w/ a Significant Other?
Edward Almos asks: "I live with my girlfriend in a small apartment (about 65 sq yards) and over the last six months I've installed a significant amount of computer and network gear. The count at the moment stands at two servers, a firewall, two workstations, an ADSL line and an apartment-wide network with at least two CAT5 points in every room. There's also two laptops and a load of HiFi gear. Last night she finally cracked when I installed a network point in the bathroom and told me that either the connection went or she did. After a romantic evening for two everything is patched up and all is OK but this got me wondering. I can't be the only Slashdotter living with a significant other so how do the rest of you pursuade them that all the cables, cupboards full of servers and sky-high comms costs are really essential to the geek lifestyle. This also ties in nicely with the latest poll, ain't love grand!!"
If you have to ask on slashdot of all places how to have a relationship then you're so far beyond help that you might as well just kill yourself now.
Addict her to muds. It worked for me.
you should'be been more stealthy! wireless access point in the bathroom. get craft-sey and buy an apple WAP, dremmel out the bottom of a toothbrush holder, and epoxy it to the top of the WAP. it's in the bathroom, and you get to keep your geek status by a)having eithernet to every room, and b) keeping current (cat-5? what's wrong with you??? we're in the 21st century!).
moox. for a new generation.
Yes dear... ;-)
There is no fuckin' way you need internet access in the shitter.
I mean, I love my connection as much as the next geek but I can do without for 5 minutes while i drop a deuce.
Tim
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
And it is to brag about all your geeky stuff and that you have a girl.
Damn, cynicism apparently not only comes with age but with lonelyness as well.
WikiAfterDark.com It's a sex wiki, go now!
Being a human system rather than a computer system, you will need a different patch. I recommend Nicorette Patches. The stronger the better.
Apply a fresh patch nightly (to the SO) _after_ they have gone to sleep. Wake before they do and remove the patch. Repeat nightly.
Then when they get upset about the _required_ box in the bathroom, agree to consider it for a few days. DONT use the patches on theese nights and mope during the days. Your SO will perceive the nicoteen withdrawal as internal conflict over their "unreasonable" expectations. When they give in (and help install the bathroom console) resume patches and they will feel good about caving in....
--
"we live in a post-ideological world..." - Billy Bragg.
The secret to managing the girlfriend is technique:
Sneak stuff in when possible, they dont *have* to know about it, and they dont pay close attention so they dont always know exactly what you have.
If they do figure out you got something new, tell them it was cheap :) Try to explain it in terms they will understand/appreciate, ie "That 300$ box [really cost 750$] and makes pretty piano sounds" ... "That box makes your internet go faster" Infact, purposefully tweak her MTU settings to something awful, so when you get the new box you can set them normal and tell her it was responsible :)
Dont stress the finances too much and never let her see your credit card bills, "Honey, we're going to mcdonalds instead of Olive Garden (which incidently is really the mcdonalds of italian food :) *WON'T* impress her, and you better believe she *will* remember.
Upgrade things when possible. For my synths, I buy the upgrade cards ... I've dumped 2000$ into upgrade cards this year, but It dosen't *look* like I've gotten any more equiptment :)
Remember if you hear the phrase "Oh god not another one" and you already know what she's talking about -- YOU are the problem not her :D
Lastly if she gives you too much shit, remember the divorce rate is 50%, but a synthesizer (or server in your case) will serve you forever [but it can't put out] :)
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
I can't be the only Slashdotter living with a significant other
Are you sure?
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
I tend to work on the principle that if my SO owns more pairs of shoes than I have servers/switches/routers etc. then I'm in safe territory... at the moment I'm falling far behind and need some more hardware. ;-)