Be a Responsible Geek

There’s no doubt that geeks love their gadgets. But like my uncle always said, “With great power come great responsibility,” and one of those responsibilities is to be courteous and considerate. Something that happened to me today made this more than clear to me and anyone else nearby.

I’m currently taking a brief vacation in Destin, Fl (a really nice place, by the way). Yesterday was a bit of a wash-out due to the weather so we were excited to get out on the beach today. After about two hours of sitting quietly in the sand, watching the waves roll in and the children building sand castles, we were interrupted by a guy who clearly had a different idea of what a relaxing day at the beach is all about (and I was astonished by how prepared his demonstration was).

The man in question strolled in with a beach recliner, an iPod, a docking station with speakers for the iPod, and his cell phone (not to mention a dozen beers and pack of cigs). After picking out a spot precisely in the middle of everyone, he set up his recliner, hooked up his iPod to his speakers, and proceeded to rawk out. As if the loud (and mostly lame) music wasn’t bad enough, this guy promptly flipped open his cell phone and began to call everyone he knew to openly cuss about the crowd. I thought this kind of obnoxious meat-heads only existed in bad teen movies and Saturday Night Live skits.

Though assholes like this guy may be a lost cause, we must make an effort to be considerate when using our gadgets. Not everyone can appreciate them and most often it is simply a case of consideration and playing fair. In this case, the fact is that not one person drove several hundred miles to sit on the beach and listen to his music; he was alone.