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Do Computer Geeks and Gearheads Overlap?
Johnath asks: "One of the great things about finally owning a place with a garage is that it's given me a chance to start taking apart my car and putting it back together. I'm certain I'm not the only one here who does so. The analogies between custom cars and custom computers are as obvious as they are numerous: the quest for higher performance, the analysis of detailed benchmarking and comparison studies, the fanatical brand loyalty -- a nitrous tank on an inline-4 is materially identical in my mind to a 4" heatsink on an overclocked duron. How much overlap is there between these groups, how many people here are car geeks? My preference is to optimize for efficiency and mileage over power gains, but I'm interested in car-hackers of all persuasions. Where do you go for geek-level treatments of oil brands, exhaust options, and dyno results? Is there a gearhead Slashdot hiding out there, or only the brand-specific boards like myfordfocus.com?"
but I dedicated my life to free software.
overclocked duron.
No, THAT would be the computer equivalent of a 4-cylinder honda civic with racing stripes.
I would expect such blatant racism on Fark, but on Slashdot? Mods please ban this asshole.
Well if they're both consenting adults then I guess they can do whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes.
I grew up as a geek in a small rural town. That meant two things: first, any money I had went into my computer, meaning the truck I drove was a POS; and second, the teasing you took by being a geek in the lower grades turned into the teasing you take having a slow POS when your low-GPA, V8-loving classmates are getting their licenses.
Karma's a bitch, though. Being a geek today means a lifestyle that those same knuckle-draggers can only envy (assuming, of course, that you're working right now), and their "old-n-busted" will have a tough time keeping up with my "new hotness".
Seriously, while I might have gotten a bit of satisfaction out of the way things played out, I just sort of naturally gravitated towards import modification after finally coming up for air after immersing myself in technology for so long. Racing (autocross is my primary interest right now, although I make it to the drag strip every so often) and performance tuning makes the time and effort you put in "real" to others around you in a way that an elegant hack can never be. Go ahead, tell a non-geek friend or family member that you're entering the International Obfuscated C Code Contest this year, and compare that reaction to the one you get when you say you ran your car at Real Street Drags last week and smoked a few V8s with your little four-banger.
Still, I don't see automotive performance being a mainstream geek thing. Sites like DSMtuners are filled with /. readers, but whenever I mention that my car is up on jackstands again, most of the folks I work with give me that "why wouldn't you just have your mechanic do that?" look.
-Ed Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.
As far as overlap between car and computer geeks go, I can see alot of it. I've got a number of friends in my "circle" who are car geeks as well as computer geeks.
Depending on your definition of the term "geek" -- I'd consider myself a quasi car-geek, only because I don't fix everything on my car. I do stuff like suspension work, brake work (pads, rotors, adjustments, etc), and routine maintenance, but generally avoid any internal engine work (or, for that matter, anything that would involve dropping the engine or transmission).
That being said, I love cars. I simply think that they're neat machines that are fun to operate. I'm a particular fan of (what I define as) sports cars. My definition is a general adherance to the British (European) sports cars of earlier days. Lightweight (2500 LB or under is a MUST), inexpensive, purpose-built (no/few frills), RWD, and typically low-powered. I track my car (I'm cheap as well, so my "sports car" is both a track car and daily driver), and will tweak it as needed. Part of my car geekiness moves away from mechanical upgrades, and focuses on fixing the driver to make the car go faster...this a bastardization of an old axiom from my autocrossing days. I've now given up autocrossing entirely to persue track driving. I'm only able to do it a handful of times per year, since it can get quite expensive -- but I often will be on-track with my computer geek comrades.
-Turkey
As a fellow gearhead/nerd, this is an area I'm pretty familiar with. You are definitely not alone out there, though I think you'll be hard-pressed to find a totally general interest "car nerd" site like /.
/. -- I'm sure there a Microsoft-loving nerd sites out there, right?)
This is because, like tech nerds, gearheads are generally divided up among their different camps. (Heck, we're in a camp here on
You'll generally find:
-- the Asian Import crowd (Hondas, Acuras, Nissans, etc.,) -- clubsi.com, etc.
-- the VW crowd (vwvortex.com -- my home)
-- the Audi crowd (audiworld.com)
-- the BMW crowd (bimmer.org)
-- even the Ferrari crowd (ferrarichat.com) -- and believe it or not, these guys are a LOT more nerdy and friendly than the BMW crowd.
Ferrari and other exotic car rentals in New York
I've always found it interesting that the guys who like the really high tech things also like vintage and/or antique items. Personally, I'm the IS Manager for a school system. I have the newest computers and gadgets you can buy, but I also have old tools and other mechanical devices. I have a Ford F-350 diesel truck (very advanced engine, drive by wire, performance chip, etc.), but I also have a 1966 Ford Mustang for pretty days. I also work on a stock car race team with a friend.
My two hobbies come together on my website TheDieselStop.Com, a website with technical information about Ford diesel vehicles. It isn't a geek/gearhead Slashdot, but we have over 30,000 users and around 1.4 million messages to search through dating back through 1997. A high percentage of our users are also in the IS/IT field in some way.
Interesting question, hope you get some answers on why this is so.
Jason
"FORMAT C:" - Kills bugs dead!
Well, yeah, I think so.
... first it was oil changes ... then tuneups ... (this was in the sixties when tuneups were a routine part of owning a car). Then it got bad ... in the 70's I got hooked on rebuilding carburetors (remember them?).
... I've done four engine rebuilds from the pistons out. One even involved synching side-draft SU carbs on an old Triumph Spitfire after I had a machine shop custom build parts I couldn't get on the market (oh, the SHAME of it). Hand-grinding valve seats ... clearancing rod and main bearings ... I was doing it ALL just to feed the need.
... and all I got out of it was a sore back and temporary relief of the parts-changing monkey on my back. All the thrill, the art ... the magic ... was gone. All I was doing was feeding the habit. Modern engines had made it too simple. The rush of having an engine start on the FIRST try was gone ... (SIGH).
... think to myself "mixture's not right" ... then I have to use my "thought stopping" techniques to keep me straight. It's HARD trying to keep off the drug "ICanFixIt," but I work at it one day at a time.
...
;-)
I started out as a gearhead before I got into computers. It was one of those "gateway drug" experiences
Replace a throwout bearing? No problem. U-joints? Child's play. Replace the points in a Lucas distributor with electronic switching? A godsend for an MG owner, but merely a trivial task.
My habit grew worse
The last one convinced me that I HAD to give it up. It was a fuel-injected computer-controlled Nissan
I've worked HARD over the last 5 years to break the habit. Some days are better than others. I'll notice a little stutter in the acceleration when I punch the throttle
Now you know my story. I'm a humbled and chastened grease addict. I've broken the habit and my life is better now.
I'd write more, but that's all there is to tell. I'm off to recompile my kernel so that it will support the latest alpha-level I/O modules
(Laugh, it's a JOKE, son)
utter rubbish