[OT] Promoting a Geek-Friendly Work Culture

[Dave Smith]

Lars Rasmussen wrote:
> Does anyone have suggestions for promoting a geek culture at their workplace?
>   

Here are a few suggestions that I do, and I've seen real improvements in 
my office over the past few years. Management has noticed and started to 
realize that the best engineers have a serious geek streak in them.

Here's the list:

- Keep loaded water guns in your desk. Squirt passers by.

- Keep a half-built non-work-related project handy (I keep R/C airplanes 
on my shelf with all the geeky radio gear, and I fly/crash them at lunch 
time).

- Post xkcd comics on your door.

- Get your employer to buy lunch for you to host demo meetings on 
emerging technologies. Invite all your co-workers. I've done several Qt 
presentations, my office mate has done JavaScript presentations, and 
it's been quite fun.

- Play strategy board games at lunch time (I don't personally do this, 
but several of my co-workers do and it fosters an great spirit of 
geekiness).

- Encourage casual conversations about lisp. It's amazing how lisp can 
wake up the inner-geek, even if you don't use it regularly.

- Get a binary clock and/or watch.

- Hire Byron Clark. Oh wait, we already did that, and we're not giving 
him up!

Happy geeking.

--Dave

P.S. We're still hiring geeks, and even wannabe geeks who are willing to 
get on-the-job geek training. :)