From the "Geek Files": on Star Trek

In my insomnia-fueled reminiscing from a few nights ago, I remembered a
moment from high school. I was actually having a serious argument with
classmate Kevin [last name redacted] about who was a better Star Trek
captain -- Kirk from the original or Picard from TNG (or "The Next
Generation for you non-Trekkies out there).

As we argued for our respective positions (for the record, I prefer
Capt. Picard for his calmer demeanor and his diplomatic skills), a few
girls from my class overheard us and then snickered at us. I did not
think in 11th grade that being a Trekkie was a liability when trying to
market yourself as potential boyfriend material. I had an epiphany at
that moment. I realized that it's not a good idea to try to dazzle your
potential girlfriend with knowledge about Tribbles, how annoying the
Ferengi are or whether Wesley Crusher was really deserving of that field
promotion to Ensign without attending Starfleet Academy. That was
pretty much the last day that I ever uttered anything Star Trek in
public.

However, I was discovered to be a Trekkie by my wife years later when we
were watching "Jeopardy!" together. I handily swept the entire Star
Trek category in Double Jeopardy without breaking a sweat.