Though this winter has been a mild one thus far here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, snow storms can hit the Pittsburgh area any time between now and the end of March… Like two years ago during a week and a half blast in February when we had to walk up the middle of a main street in eighteen inches of snow to find a supply store that was open— after the furnace picked the perfect time to blow a thermal coupling.
But, except for the thermal coupling, I had everything I needed already stocked in my Geek Cave— just in case we happened to be snowed in for a week of two.
When preparing the Geek Cave, there are some necessities, some luxuries, some things you just can’t live without, and some that only come from the virtual realm. I’ve divided my stores into this lovely illustrated guide. Tell me what would be in yours!
THE FOOD
Dorito’s – The original nacho cheese flavored ones.
Snyder’s Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips – PA is the potato chip capital of the US.
Pizza Wagon Pizza – I cut my teeth on this pie!
Chobani Pineapple Yogurt – I already eat this everyday.
Nutella – I don’t even need bread—a spoon is fine.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – PA also has a lot of chocolate factories.
Tea – Jasmine Oolong or Decaf Irish Breakfast.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
The Fifth Element – This movie inspired my love of SF Romance! And I still swoon for Bruce Willis–it’s the attitude and that smirk.
Buffy – The entire series, except the episode where Buffy’s mother dies – I will never be able to watch that one again.
hulu – Since we got rid of cable and since I still need my Fringe, Modern Family, and Warehouse 13 fix.
Greg & Donny – If you live anywhere near the Pittsburgh area, someone you know talks and acts just like this! By the way, if you start to watch these, check out the one with the Snuggie.
Farscape – The entire series – because I still dream about John Crichton!
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 – When the cabin fever makes me want to shoot something.
HALO – Still love everything about this universe.
Spotify – So I can listen to Disturbed back to back with Mumford and Sons and put You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid on repeat five times and no one can stop me!
THE READS
My Kindle – I didn’t realize how much I would love having an e-reader! I currently have two awesome SF novels loaded: The Girls from Alcyone by Cary Caffrey and Grimspace by Ann Aguirre.
InStyle Magazine – Because fashion is a big part of my world-building– and I like the pretty celebrities.
Paperbacks – Yep, I still have those, too, because I like signed copies! I’m currently reading Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry and Libyrinth by Pearl North– and, yes, they’re both signed, so I’m taking extra special care with the pages.
THE LINKS TO OUTSIDE
Twitter – How else am I going to know what’s going on in the world? By the way, you can Tweet me @heidirubymiller. I follow back!
Goodreads – So I can chat it up in the Girls, Guns, and Grimoires community.
My Laptop – The stories just flow out of my mind in the winter, plus I need it for watching hulu and listening to Spotify and surfing the web.
My Blackberry – For when I need a break from the laptop.
THE COMFORTS
Jason Jack Miller – Who helps me eat all the junk food and partners with me to kick some ass in MW3.
Puddah Cat – Who eats her dry kibble and the occasional Whisker Lickins treat and sleeps while we kick ass
My Blankets and Pillows – So I can make a nest on the couch.
Icy Hot – Because too many video games and too much messing around on the computer makes for a bad back and headaches – which is why I also need a…
Back Massager and a…
Rice Bag
Heidi, may I draw your and Jason’s attention to Tostitos Artisan Recipes Roasted Garlic and Black Bean Chips:
http://www.amazon.com/Tostitos-Artisan-Recipes-Roasted-Garlic/dp/B004ILJKOY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327712088&sr=8-2
(Ignore the price at Amazon. They are much cheaper in the store and often go on sale.)😀
If those r vegan, l’m so getting me a bag o’ those, or lookin’ 4 the nearest equivalent. Man those sound good!
0n 2 other things; 1st: l don’t so much have a geek cave, as l do, a dork dwellng. As 4 what l have in it; There’s a casio keyboard, that l can barely play the scales, on. l have found that it is a wonderful collector of dust, though. Of course there’s the acoustc guitar which l’m even less proficient at, than the keys.
Until l get me some comcbook boxes, l have instead, an emptied out hp printer box, which l house some of my floppies, & 4 the rest of them, they’re in three old turkey boxes.
DORK DWELLING!!! Yes!
We should have done this together….
American crisps seem to be mostly umm….well….homogenised, sure most of them aren’t even made with real potatoes! Tayto Cheese and Onion crisps are the greatest by miles🙂
The Tostitos brand (at least here– I have zero idea if they have made it across the Atlantic) are more tortilla chip based… And much more natural tasting than the vast majority of the chemically constructed chips that pass as edible food here.🙂
Hey hey!🙂
Before you two start trodding all over my Snyder’s Potato Chips, I’ll have you know they ARE made from real potatoes–here’s the proof:
http://www.snyderofberlin.com/assets/pdf/NutritionSnyderOriginal.pdf
And here’s a few little “bites” of information about them:
http://www.snyderofberlin.com/facts_and_FAQs.html
We really need to have a potato chip/crisp off sometime and film it. Maybe Ian and Jose will spring for me to fly over to the UK for the project. I’m sure it’s all tax deductible….
No disrespect intended, Fair Lady.
I promise to eat your recommendation during this year’s Bowl of Super!
Then, I shall post my thoughts.
(Good god… The above statement sounds positively pervish when read out loud, doesn’t it? I should never have watched that POS movie your Your Highness!)
It’s all good–I like being called Fair Lady.😉
Whew!
Never seen them here, I’ll have to check out the local Walgreens or Duane Reeds next time I’m in the states for them😉
Now there’s pressure on me for these chips to perform…🙂
Yum–I haven’t met too many chips I don’t like…well, except Jalapeño flavored.
you just reminded me of this scene from Trailer Park Boys (who’s dvds I’d include in any geek cave list)
LM, sorry to do this here… But you have an email… From ME!😀
😉
Great choices for the Geek Cave, I think I could survive pretty easily with all of the things you listed Heidi!
I would only add a few things…
Food-
Goldfish Crackers! I can eat those little bastards by the crate load, and usually do.
Snyder’s of Hanover Sourdough Pretzels! Like some kind of weird teething cookie for adults, I can nibble on them for hours like a crazed squirrel.
Beer- Beer is food, right?
Entertainment-
Babylon 5, the entire series.
The first five seasons of Stargate SG-1.
All things Cowboy Bebop..
The first Heavy Metal movie.
A least a couple of seasons of Wipeout! What can i say, I love watching people fall into water😉
The Reads-
I have a basement full of books that would have made Henry Bemis jealous.
The Links to the Outside-
Anything that would finally let me use this silly webcam I spent a ton of money on and never use!
Facebook, it’s what all the cool people are using these days😉
and the Inveterate Media Junkies website of course!
The Comforts-
My lovely wife is rather comfortable 8)
My Slippers.
Anything made from flannel.
And a Plastic Spoon
LOVE your list!
I do have a question…what’s that spoon for?😉
P. S. Your COWBOY BEBOP made me think I could have added the whole series of SAMURAI CHAMPLOO as an alternate…
The Spoon? Well, thats kind of weird story. I was getting ready to ship out to Saudi Arabia to help save some country I never heard of before and I asked my Platoon Sergeant(who was a Vietnam vet) what was the most important thing I should have to help me survive a war… Sergeant Brennan simple said “always have a plastic spoon”.
I was certainly expecting something… well… a little more insightful to be sure and I concluded at the time he was just screwing with me. But SFC Brennan was right, having a spoon with you is a comforting certainty in uncertain situations.
I know, weird right? 8)
That’s an awesome story! So much more in depth than I expected, but those are always the good ones. And, I didn’t know you served–thank you so much for your service. My Dad served during Vietnam, but was stationed in Germany during his tour.
Babylon 5 is one of my favorite shows. I’ve watch the whole series several times and it never gets old. So good. I miss good writing like that on TV.
I currently have a fantastic Geek Cave! However, it does need to be stocked very frequently because I spend a lot of time in it. If, by a wonderful incident, I was holed up in my Geek Cave for a prolonged amount of time without any outside connection (aside from a plentiful power supply), here is what I would need more of… the essentials.
– Dr. Pepper. 3 cans for every day “trapped.”
– Tostitos and Queso. For eating and brick-and-mortar sealing.
– Pocket-sized Moleskine sketchbook and pens/marker. To scribe the seclusion and doodle the things I’d think may have happened in the outside world.
– A hefty stack of comic books. Catching up from all of the months I set aside.
– iPhone. Which would be used for everything besides using it as an actual phone. ie. listening to music, playing solitaire, and taking photos.
– My anti-depression meds. To continue in making me oblivious to the emotional toll of prolonged isolation.
– An finally, plenty of running water… for the bathroom. From what I’ve learned from the upcoming movie The Divide, is that when you’re in a bomb-shelter with no running water for an extended period of time, the lack of a waste removal system gets the most notice.
Hi Byron! It sounds like you’re prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse–somebody tell Maberry to weigh in on this one!
Of course, I suppose the 3 cans/day of Dr. Pepper and the Tostitos and queso would certainly make the running water necessary. I’ll add that to my list, too.😉
Okay Heidi… This Nerdly Possessions™ feature appeared before you came to know us. (And it’s coming back next week– part of the all-out IMJ “revamp”!)
Oddly, I live with a wonderful, beautiful woman who allows our whole condo to be a GEEK CAVE:
https://inveteratemediajunkies.com/2011/06/26/nerdly-possessions™-premiering-hobby-pics-from-the-imj-nation™/
And an update, because I didn’t like the way some of it looked the first time:
https://inveteratemediajunkies.com/2011/08/25/nerdly-possessions™-inside-insidemans-inner-sanctum-part-deux/
Course, it really helps that she’s a bigger geek than I am!😀
O. M. G. !!! — That is incredible! And so awesome that you have someone to share your geekdom.😉
Love the Oaxacan wood carvings! Mexico is one of my favorite places. And the books! You may have put our little library to shame–that’s where we contain most of our geekery. I’d love to do a post on it for Nerdly Possessions some time! (You catch just a glimpse of it behind Jason and Puddahs in the photo, though Jason has turned his portion into a micro recording studio now.)
If we ever have a kid, they’ll have the coolest room in the world.🙂
Well I kind of live in a cave, as I live in the basement and usually stay in my room for the majority of the time.
Food:
Dill Pickle Chips (Old Dutch brand)
Sour Cream and Onion (Ruffles brand)
Chocolate Milk
Pepsi
Entertainment:
LOST – The complete series
Firefly – The one and only season
Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog
Netflix
Reads:
I have a lot of TPBs and Omnibuses to catch up on but I would also go with
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Ender’s Game
A Bunch of other books that are lying unread in my room
Links to outside:
Laptop
iPhone (this is a must as it literally has all of my Facebook, twitter, Netflix, etc in case the power happens to go out, then I am still connected, hopefully until power would be back on)
Comforts:
My Bed
Music
Guitar
Dill Pickle Chips – Yes!
Ruffle’s Sour Cream and Onion – I’m not picky!
FIREFLY – Yes! (with SERENITY to end it all, of course)
Netflix – I’m upgrading my XBOX Live account to include Netflix.
SF books – That goes without saying…🙂
I tried Lay’s limon chips. l shoulda known that w/ lmon in the title, that it wasn’t a risk worth taking! l tred them, nonetheless. l hate it sometimes, when l’m right🙂
PhilBetaGAMMA said, “l shoulda known that w/ limon in the title, that it wasn’t a risk worth taking!”
Hahahahaha!!
Cool ranch doritos are my favorite. Those would be in my geek cave…and cheese-Its.
Jason would make sure there were Cool Ranch in our cave, too. And he likes those Taco-flavored ones. *shakes head*
Food:
Well since we are thinking of storing in case of winter weather, I’m going to nix my low cal diet as fat will keep me warm if the heat goes off.
Yoo-Hoo: The drink of champions since I was 6
Cherry Coke: ‘Cause you really can’t have more than three Yoo-Hoos in a row before it coats your mouth and you don’t taste it any more.
Thin Crisp Triscuts, Lightly Salted: The wheat cracker, perfected.
Chocolate covered Gummi-Bears (Specifically from Yummi’s in Kittery, ME): Trust me, if you have these, you will be addicted.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: May make it myself, but even the store bought one is a good snack my stoner friends taught me in college.
Earl Grey or Raspberry Royal Tea
Coffee with Chocolate Malt Ovaltine: A poor mans mocha, but damn taste and full of vitamins and minerals.
The Entertainment:
All things Star Wars: From movies to shows to books to comics to games, I have most of it.
Mass Effect: Great games that will kill time just for the elevator rides.
Doctor Who: Classic and new series – interesting to see Matt smith played right after either Tom Baker or Patrick Troughton.
Labyrinth and Dark Crystal: Do I need to explain?
The Reads:
My Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4515981.W_D_Prescott) I have plenty to choose from.
Game Informer: I get it from Gamestop and I tend to forget about it, so it gives me time to catch up on games.
Links to the outside:
Twitter: When your stuck inside, not much is going to happen that you need more than 140 characters.
The comforts:
My iPad: Great over all tool and entertainment platform.
Memory foam pad for my bed: Comfy as all get out
My grandfather’s rocking chair: Great for reading.
My grandmother’s quilts: Nothing better than handmade my a master.
I am definitely going to try the Raspberry Royal Tea!
And you are so right about Yoo-Hoo.🙂
All things STAR WARS…goes without saying. Though I don’t think we bought 5 and 6, so maybe not all things.
They are only necessary if you are a completionist. I am not and only have Phantom Menace on that archaic devise called a VHS tape. But I will say, despite every reason not to see them, I think I’m going to check out the 3D conversions in theaters.
If there was a cut that excluded Jar Jar Binks then perhaps🙂
The Geek Cave for me:
The Entertainment:
-The ORIGINAL Star Wars trilogy unedited on vhs: yeah its sad that the unedited movies hevent and probably will not be released on Blu-Ray but luckily I still have my shitty old T.V. with a VHS player and a SNES hooked up in it.🙂 But in all seriousness the original trilogy are three of the greatest films ever made.
-Doctor Who Series 1-5: I just got into Doctor Who a few weeks ago but god damn, this along with the Walking Dead are probably my favorite live-action television shows and EVERYONE should watch Doctor Who before they die.
-The Mass Effect series: Okay ME 1 and 2 are two of the best fucking games ever made and the 3rd one is going to kick just as much ass. Never have I played a game where I cared about the characters as much as I did for Mass Effect 1 and 2. Everything about these games I love the story, the characters, the gameplay is awesome, and the graphics especially with Mass Effect 2 are amazing and full of colorful vibrant worlds to explore and in my opinion is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series along with Star Wars and Dr Who.
-Evangelion 1.11 and 2.22: This is one of the few times that I actually prefare the remake to the original but Hideki Anno’s re-imagining of his series Neon Genesis Evangelion are two of the best anime films I have seen in a long time. Eva 1.11 was also one of the first Blu-Rays along with The Dark Knight that made me say: “Wow. Blu-Rays really are the future.” Seriously I originally watched 2.22 on youtube in crappy quality and that film was still beautiful but the only true way to watch a movie like this is to get a Blu-Ray player.
-Netflix: Doctor Who, and every single Power Rangers show ever made plus dozens of streamed TV shows and hundreds of streamed movies. Nuff Said.
The Eats
– The Garret: If you live in Cambell California there is no pizza place better than the Garret. NONE.
– ANY flavor of Mountain Dew: I am the definition of a mountain dew fiend. I love every flavor of that stuff and I could drink that stuff forever if that was my only drink.
-KFC: Yeah its not healthy for you AT ALL but I love KFC and fried chicken in general. My favorite meal is a 3- piece chicken strips with 2 biscuits.
– Baked Cheetos: I love cheesy puffs.
The Reads:
– The Mass Effect books by Drew Karpshyn: The Mass Effect books are actually a really solid series of books and are much MUCH better than the average video game book.
-The Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpshyn: Yeah you can tell Im a fan of him especially considering he was the lead writer on Mass Effect 1 and 2 as well as Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic. This is one of my favorite Star Wars stories along with KOTOR and the Republic Commando game. If you love Star Wars at all check this book out you wont be disappointed.
My link to the outside:
Facebook: I dont use it often but its a great way to chat with your friends.
My comforts:
My badass laptop: I have everything I need in this bad boy: Computer Games, Netflix, Internet, and of course DVD and Blu-Ray player.
My Temperpedic bed: One of the best mattresses ever made. Once you go Temperpedic you can never go back.
Let me just start by saying your enthusiasm for a Temperpedic bed completely threw me at the last minute…especially after the badass laptop.😉
Now, Dr. Who has come up a few times. I can’t believe I’m sharing this, but I couldn’t make the transition from Chris Eccleston to David Tennant. I know! WTF? I tried.
It’s not even anything against DT–loved him in the remake of FRIGHT NIGHT. After the switch, I abandoned the series. Maybe I should give it another go with the new doctor….
Oh, and KOTOR rocks!! So do Baked Cheetos.🙂
Heidi, there a few clunker episodes in the David Tennant Doctor Who years– especially in the first season… But the latter half of DT’s first season really picks up… And I am not ashamed to write that, in the five seasons that Tennant reigned supreme as Doctor Who, I thought I saw some of the best stories television has to offer. (Matt Smith’s run has only continued and refined that feeling in my head.)
I actually cried many times throughout Tennant’s run– and I am also not the least bit ashamed to write that either.😀
Just my way of saying that I believe they’re definitely worth a second– even a third– chance.
Well, how can I NOT watch them if you admitted to crying?🙂
The first DT series is kinda hard to watch until you get to “The Impossible Planet” where you really start to see where Tennet will take The Doctor in the next two series. I also blame Rose for a lot of it. In the Eccelston series, she did her role of the Companion well as the viewers viewpoint for the world of the Doctor and to be his stabilizing force. In the first Tennet, she becomes that girl who hangs onto a guy and gets jealous at everything that appears to get in the way of her and him. Perfect example, “School Reunion.” She is a complete bitch to SJS. They kinda touch on that too in the next season with Martha Jones, but they handle it a lot better. I personally think that last full season with Donna Noble is the best because the she is the Companion that the role has worked for the last fifty years and the anti-romantic theme was a good change.
There were some pretty weepy moments in there. What are your top 3 DT weeps?
Mine:
The end of Series 4
The end of Waters of Mars
The end of The End of Time
Well its from the Cristopher Eccleston’s tenure as Doctor Who but I thought Dalek was one of the saddest episodes Ive seen.
That was sad, and i still think that is the best episode of the Eccleston seires
The one with “are you my mummy” was certainly the creepiest.
OMG–Yes!! I will never forget this episode. That gas mask face is seared into my memory. It was one of my favorites, though.
That was a great moment. And the The Empty Child/The Doctor Daces is still one of the creepier episodes of Doctor Who.
I lucked out that the DVDs I have came with the Laser disc version of the original Star Wars movies. I didn’t notice that much difference between them and the VHS, so I’m happy with those till I can get the VHS tapes from my sister.