The Geekiest Geek to Ever Geek Down the Pike, and Other Tales

My parents are originally from the Philly area, but I grew up in Miami.  I lived there until I was twenty-three, but finally moved to Pittsburgh in the mistaken belief that graduate school would automatically get me a job as an ambassador or the UN Secretary General.  Turns out you need some actual direction or specialization or something.  You can't just wander willy-nilly through the halls of academia and think that will just automatically get you a job.  That was a surprise.  Anyway, in the eleven years since moving to Pittsburgh, I have come to really love the city.  There's still some things I miss about Miami - the sun and heat, for one thing, and the food for another.  I don't care what Pittsburghers say, you can't just slap some soggy fries on a sandwich and think that's real food.  The food and English-style weather notwithstanding, Pittsburgh's a pretty cool place.  I love the leaves changing, and the snow, and crocuses and tulips i...

Let me start off by saying that I grew up in Miami, which means that I like colors. I may live in Pittsburgh, but I am not some drab Northerner who really loves a good monochromatic ensemble. Or anything approaching tastefullness. In fact, my exuberant use of color in clothing led my mother to beg me, upon getting my first grown-up job, to please please go to The Limited (RIP), and let the women there dress me. So, as I said, I love color. Plus, I'm a nerd. The combination of these two facts makes this exactly the kind of book that will forever occupy a space on my shelves. It's full of fascinating facts, like the fact that cochineal red, which is used in the food coloring that gives red M&Ms their, well, red hue, is made from crushed bugs. I literally sent pictures of pages to my family's group text, finally prompting my middle sister to request that I never do that again because no one else cares. I have to listen to her ...