Tuesday, 1 February 2011

Nerd Wars



Hello my name is Affi'enia and I am a nerd. Wow that was kinda liberating. I've never really thought of myself as a nerd but my obsessive nature does lend itself to nerddom. I have decided to harness that power and use it to further my projects this year. I can be awfully lazy and need a lot of motivation. So with this in mind I have signed myself up to Nerd Ward on Ravelry.

This is the basic premise. Everyone is in a team based on their shared nerdy favourite. There is a lord of the rings one, a vampire one, a Pratchett one etc. The tournament lasts 3 months and each month there are 6 challenges, one in each category. You must try and complete one item for as many of the challenges as you can in the month. Points are awarded for completed items and less points for half completed. If you manage to embody the spirit of your team in each project you will get more points. The team with the most points at the end of the tournament wins.

Now I actually missed the sign up date for this tournament but there is a Ninja category where you can play along for the glory. Points will be awarded but there is obviously no team glory. I intend to play along this time and am in the process of gathering a team for the next round. Our chosen Nerd topic? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oh yes my friends I am a closet BtVS fan. I loved the series when it was first on and watched all of them bar the last series. It just sort of fell off my radar. I had a hankering a few months back to catch the last series as I really wanted to see the ones with Nathan Fillion. So I bought the whole 7 series with some of my birthday money. So far we are up to Season 3. Loving it!

Ok so February's challenges are as follows:

Challenge (Intellectual): PRIME NUMBERS
Your challenge is to demonstrate prime numbers in a project. For example, it could be a prime number of yards (be prepared to show your work on how this was determined), a prime number of colors, or shapes that have a prime number of corners (triangles, pentagons, etc.). These are examples only - think creatively!
Challenge (Team Spirit): VALENTINE'S DAY
Your challenge this round is to craft an item for that very special character in your nerddom. Maybe your beloved Night Elf gets cold on those cold nights battling the Horde. Make them a shawl! Perhaps that adorable pair of practical jokesters would love a skein of handspun yarn in their house colors? Even the coldest of the undead would appreciate a good pair of socks, right?
Challenge (Technical): A BONDING EXPERIENCE
Your challenge is to demonstrate the fiber equivalent of ionic bonding, using different types of fiber. Working with different fibers generally requires different techniques or tools to produce a finished object with the hoped-for properties. Therefore, in addition to presenting your finished object, you should discuss the technical aspect (fiber preparation, needle choice, etc.) of working with different fibers. Pre-blended fibers/yarns count as polyatomic ions and therefore can be one half of the ionic bond.
Challenge (Scientific): NEBULAS
Your challenge is to demonstrate a nebula in a project. For example, you could spin yarn reminiscent of a nebula or create a project that depicts a famous nebula.
Challenge (Giving Geeks): COLD HANDS, WARM HEARTS
Your challenge is to donate mittens to a program local to you, or giving them directly to someone in need.
Challenge (Nerd Culture): NERDWARSCON
Your challenge is to craft something that can be found at a convention (could be a specific one, or conventions in general) or craft something that would useful at a convention (like a bag to put all your free stuff in).

Now the hard part begins. Thinking of projects for each that I stand a chance of finishing before the end of Feb without ignoring everything else I am doing. Hmm....

2 comments:

  1. I happily admit to nerd-dom, too. And I also LOVE BtVS. I have them all on my Netflix queue right now, and I'm also on Season 3. We're supposed to get an unheard-of 20 inches of snow tomorrow, and if they cancel work and my house has power, I'm having a Buffy marathon. :)

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  2. Wow, that sounds like a challenge! I'm a massive nerd when it comes to some subjects. (all the most interesting people are though ;op).

    I look forward to following your progress!

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