The Geek and Inkwell

Humankind has welcomed animal companions into daily life since, well, the beginning of society. Why should our favorite sci-fi and fantasy tales reflect anything different? Read on to see a list of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy pets, and don't forget to add on some of your own in the comments section! The Good Jonesy  Jones is one brave cat. He is one of only two survivors to escape the Nostromo , and is accustomed to cryosleep.  I've read that he appears both in Halo and in World of Warcraft, so his resilience is obviously widely inspiring. And he really did try to warn that guy Brett about the Xenomorph behind him... Sam I am and always will be a dog lover, so naturally, I've got a soft spot for Sam - Dr. Robert Neville's German Shepherd in "I Am Legend." She is Dr. Neville's faithful companion, and I found his last scene with her to be very powerful and sad. Here's to man's best friend. Appa You can't watch "The...

Image courtesy of battle.net Since grade school, we've all known the basic principle behind teasing and bullying - people make fun of others because they want to feel better about themselves, or at least look better in front of their friends. I don't think the attitude behind poking fun at online gamers is any exception. Look, it's not that geeks can't take a joke. We can. There's an entire television series devoted to making fun of geeks and nerds, and that's the Big Bang Theory. It's wildly popular, and I'm a geek and I find it hilarious. And we geeks are aware that there's a reason Fry's Electronics constructs battlements of candy, energy drinks, and chips down the entire length of the checkout line - it's because some of the stereotypes about gamers are true. In online gaming especially, it isn't always possible to just "hit pause" and take a break. So, yeah, I'll say it - sometimes gamers need cheesy-puffed sustenan...

For the longest time, my friends have been telling me I should watch " The Big Bang Theory ," a comedy show about four geeky geniuses who live across the hall from a beautiful (albeit simple-minded) girl named Penny. Well, my friends were right - I bought the first season on Amazon  for $18 about two weeks ago, and I've been hooked ever since. Image courtesy of Pop Tower Although the show profiles the lives of scientists, physicists, and engineers, it  is  a comedy, so I wasn't expecting anything really profound from it. Therefore, I was both surprised and impressed by the writers of this show when Sheldon - a genius theoretical physicist who normally misses about 1000 social cues throughout the 20-minute duration of the show - offers Penny a bit of relationship advice based on Schrodinger's famous thought experiment. (There's a tiny spoiler ahead, so beware...) Penny is concerned that if she decides to date Sheldon's roommate, Leonard, the ...