Gizmodo has a very interesting write-up on the 50 skills every geek should have. Since I am a self-proclaimed geek (note to self: buy a pink tee), I tried to pit myself against this and give myself an appropriate geek score.
Let’s go through the list one by one, shall we?
1. Install a hard drive in a laptop
I never really needed to install one new. But just out of curiousity, I did take out my laptops SATA drive, and put it back, just to try it out. So I’m giving myself a full point here. (1 point)
2. Perform a clean OS install on a machine with two OSes
Hah! I did with three OSes before: Vista 64, XP & Ubuntu. (1 point)
3. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone
Nope, not tried yet. It’s too big of a risk for me to experiment with. And I don’t really have proper electronics tinkering knowledge/training. (0 points)
4. Jailbreak an iPhone
Apple can’t tell me what to do! (1 point)
5. Wire your house for Ethernet and Coax cable
As I don’t have a house yet, I have not done this. But of course, once I do, if it is necessary, I will! (0.5 points)
6. Use BitTorrent and RSS to automatically download new shows from trackers
I use BT and RSS, but never together. I would if I could and my BT client evenhas that feature, but I use a private tracker, so I’m giving myself a half point just for that. (0.5 points)
7. Use an A/V receiver to its fullest capability (every port is taken)
Not yet, but I foreesee I will. After marriage, that is. (0 points)
8. Calibrate an HDTV without the manual
Nope, I’m not really good with calibrating. (0 points)
9. Use a DSLR in full manual mode
I don’t have a DSLR (no $$$!), but I did use my prosumer camera in manual mode before. (0.5 points)
10. Hack the encryption and mooch your neighbor’s Wi-Fi
I have mooched off a wifi AP before, but not cracked one yet. (0.5 points)
11. Solder cleanly enough to get around a circuit board
Like I said, I don’t know how to do electronic-y stuff yet. I want to though. Can someone teach me?(0 points)
12. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point
Yup, of course I have done that on my iPhone. Oh wait, you’re not supposed to do that on the iPhone… (1 point)
13. Shove the guts of a modern game console into a retro game console
Nope, can’t. (0 points)
14. Design a webpage in HTML by hand that features a picture of your cat
Is the “cat” part necessary? This must be a reference to LOLCATS website, the most irritating site on the interwebz. I can’t even bring myself to link to them. (0.5 points)
15. Use Photoshop to imperceptibly doctor a photo
No photoshop software to use (not legally anyway), but I did make use of the popular Paint.NET editor to remove the background of my photo ID before submitting it to the ICA for my new passport. And it got approved! (1 point)
16. Abstain from buying extended warranties
More “unaffordable” than “abstain”. (0.5 points)
17. Know where to buy cheap cables and accessories
Yeah, but it’s definitely not a friendly place. (1 points)
18. Fix your parents’ computer over the phone without looking at a computer
I can’t. Mainly because people cannot describe effectively to me what is on the screen. And I end up getting frustrated. (0 points)
19. Enter the Konami code
Not even knowing what a “Konami” code is, I would have to say no. (0 points)
20. Comment on Gizmodo from your phone
I don’t really like to comment. Makes me feel like a troll. If it interests me, I would just post it on this blog of mine. (1 point)
21. Type quickly using T9 texting
Nah, I’m not a big fan of predictive text input, from T9 to iPhone’s in-built dictionary. But that doesn’t mean I can’t text just as fast! 1 point for extreme skill! (1 point)
22. Program a universal remote
I can’t afford a good universal remote. Though I have bought a 3rd party remote, specifically made for my particular brand of TV before.(0 points)
23. Contribute code to the Linux kernel
I’m a user. I can’t develop for nuts! (0 points)
24. Hide porn from your significant other
Not just from your significant other, but every other person who lives with you, or visits often. What I must say is the method of hiding becomes more sophisticated the geekier the people around you are: from simply using wierd nested folders (store in C:\Windows\System32\ImportantSysFiles), hiding them and using command line to access (“cd” and “explorer .”) to folder encryption. Would love to give myself 10 points for this. (1 point)
25. Avoid DRM on everything
Of course! I have yet to buy music online as no DRM-free store is supported in my country. Bummer! And knowing where to get cracked exes and mini-images is a must! Again, can I get 10 points here? (1 point)
26. Know how to back up your data to networked storage—and actually do it
I don’t have a network storage for now. But I do know how to, from using FreeNAS to Clonezilla server. (1 point)
27. Watch TV shows on the internet for free
I’m a BT freak! But I also like Miro as well. (1 point)
28. Edit together digital video ripped from YouTube
Nope, but I have joined two avis together before, and also stitched my own videos as well. (1 point)
29. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator
SNES on PC, DS, Wii.. Done them all! 
(1 point)
30. Reset expired trial software by messing with the registry
Yeah, but usually, just get a crack or keygen. 
But I stopped doing that now. Yes, I did.. (1 point)
31. Hackintosh your PC
I want to! But no support for ICH10R southbridge on my Asus P5Q Pro when I wanted to! Maybe I should check again now… (0 points)
32. Download pre-release movies from Usenet
Didn’t subscribe to Usenet, but I did try a 3 day trial on Giganews before. (0.5 points)
33. Hack the Wii to play homebrew games
Just did it! Had to borrow a copy of Zelda though. (1 point)
34. Get around web content filters on public computers
Proxies anyone? 
(1 point)
35. Get into a Windows computer if you forgot your password
Ophcrack to the rescue! (1 point)
36. Securely erase your data so it can’t be recovered
I don’t have that sensitive data. But when I sell my old HDDs, I do a multi-pass format, just because I can. (0.5 points)
37. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network
No macs around the house to try this out. (0 points)
38. Build a fighting robot
Nope. I wanted to get Lego Mindstorms, but will probably only do so when I get married and have my own house. (0 points)
39. Write your own Firefox plugins
Nope, I don’t understand the plugin language that Firefox uses. (0 points)
40. Navigate and reorganize the files on your computer in DOS
Been there, done that. A long time ago, in a PC far, far away. (1 point)
41. Get something on the front page of Digg
Nothing I write has not been written before, or written in a much better way before.(0 points)
42. Get through to executive customer service
I’m not such a confrontational guy. I got a friend who is though. Managed to wring 7 free passes to a Pizza Hut buffet from the Director Of Operations before. (0 points)
43. Rip a CD to V0 quality MP3s
If your player supports lossless formats, MP3s are so passé. (1 point)
44. Rip a DVD to DivX
Did it once, but didn’t like to lose all those commentary. I prefer ripping it to region-free ISOs now. (1 point)
45. Build your own computer from parts
Pfft.. (1 point)
46. Swap out the hard drive in your DVR for a bigger one
No DVR. Prefer HTPC actually. (0 points)
47. Get an NES cartridge working again by blowing in it
No NES, but will SEGA Genesis do? (1 point)
48. Calibrate a 7.1 surround-sound system
I don’t have a dedicated gaming room to accomodate 7.1 surround. 
(0 points)
49. Play downloaded games on a Nintendo DS
Urm.. Let’s just gimme a point here. Nuff said. (1 point)
50. Talk about things that aren’t tech related
Of course! I’m getting married. I need to be able to do this, so I won’t freak her out. (1 point)
Total score: 29/50.
By Gizmodo’s standards, that’s “You play a lot of video games and read a lot of blogs, but that’s about as far as your geek cred goes.”. That’s a good balance I think, considering that the next one says that you went to “computer camp”. That’s transcending “geek” to “nerd”.
