I was going to call this entry "Instructions not required", but "Instructions are for wimps" sounded better somehow. <grin>
One of the great things about being a geek, at least in my experience, is that much like with code and scripts and stuff that you hack to pieces then put back together to see if they still work, only with your new "improvements" in place, is that when it comes to electronic gadgetry and stuff, on the whole, instructions aren't required. For me, having a new geeky toy to play with is like hacking around a piece of code - you switch it on, press the buttons, and find out what does what, and which are the ones it's not a good idea to press, all without actually referring to the instructions.
Take my new toy, the totally gorgeous Sony Ericsson K810i mobile phone (I likes my geeky toys!) - the nearest I got to instructions was playing around with the online simulation before the real thing arrived (did I mention it's totally gorgeous and features my favourite neon blue?). I haven't actually opened the user manual - just snapped the SIM out of it's plastic card, slotted it into the phone, stuck in the battery and switched on, and away I went. In general they all tend to work in pretty much the same way, with minor differences in their menu structures, but they're all fairly similar on the whole.
Having geeky tendancies does have it's downside as well though. Last week my parents got a new TV. For getting on for an hour my father had perused the instruction manual and attempted to tune the damned thing (he'd managed to get the same TV channel on all the programme buttons). I arrived on the scene and was promptly told that I was now in charge tuning it. It's only on occasions such as these that my geekiness is seen by the family as something of a positive nature. Most of the time they're not interested in what I get up to online (unless they want advice about how/where to find something online), or something breaks down. After grumbling about his inability to read the instructions, I proceeded to tune the damned thing (without of course referring to said instructions). As I started to work my way though the tuning menu options father was heard to cry, "Um, no, that's not how you...!" Five seconds later when I'd successfully got the next TV channel on the next button he shut up. "Ah, that's the bit I was trying to get into, but it wouldn't let me!" he exclaimed. Five minutes later I'd got all the channels tuned and I handed him the remote control back.
"You can do the Freeview box now," was his next comment. At this point I put my foot down with a firm hand. That's his toy and he can tune it.
Being a geek can sometimes have it's disadvantages.
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Early in the 1980s I picked up a copy of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" at a yard sale. I read it for giggles; I was a young adult with no mechanical tendencies and I had no idea of the concept of Zen.
One thing I remember from the book is the assembly instructions of a Japanese bicycle. The page read simply: "Become the Bicycle".
I also remember another concept. The main character was taking issue with people who could not do a certain thing because they were not "mechanically minded". The bottom line is, as best as I can remember, mechanics (and programming remotes) is a natural thing because it is the people's mind who made the thing that you have to understand.
I don't mean to be all metaphysical on ya, I just wanna say Right On. You get it.
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