Just a general thought as I was sitting outside watching the people go by.  I’m a people watcher, in case I’ve never mentioned it.

We really are geeks (I include myself in this statement).  The other kids were right to make fun of us in high school.  It’s totally strange seeing what passes for cool among us.  The cool guy can have no real social skills, wear ratty t-shirts and jeans, and might even pick out shoes from two different pairs to wear.  But he knows what he’s talking about and he has the skills to back it up.  So we all listen to him.  (This could apply to a “her” of course).

Contrast this with the general population that I see in downtown L.A.  This city is waaaay too pretentious, even for me.  Every other car is a BMW or a Lexus.  Everyone walks around looking like they just left the hair stylist.  Their clothes are perfectly pressed and the latest styles.  And they all have this look of “if I got any cooler, the ground would freeze beneath my feet”.  I’m so glad I’m one of the geeks and not one of them.

The only exception I notice to this is when I’m walking to the conference in the mornings.  I’m taking this walk at around 7 am, and the L.A. citizenry that’s out then looks normal, even tired, like you’d expect of a person at 7 am.  I figure it either takes a while to get into your “cool zone” or the cool people don’t get up that early.  Most likely the latter.