  Don't get me wrong - since being 'outed' by friends some years back, I've never had a problem with accepting myself as a Geek. I'm happy as a Geek - not in the urlLink Jargon Dictionary sense of the word, but in a more generic sense like urlLink this writer said. I love technology. I love gadgets. I've written articles on geeky stuff for a newspaper. Hey, I'm blogging too. But recently, it's become more than just an interest. Computers have now become my hobby and primary interest after my wife and family. I find myself spending more and more work time doing technical support and engineering work than my I should given my job title (I'm the Sales Manager for an urlLink IT company ). And I love it. My PCs are frequently to be found in pieces being upgraded with this or that whizz-bang hardware, or I'm trying out a new bit of software that might do what I want slightly better or slightly faster.
And I love doing that too. In my spare time, I read - but I can't remember the last time I read fiction. I've just finished urlLink Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World , by Bruce Schneier, and next it's Kevin Mitnick's book, urlLink Art of Deception . And I love reading them. This morning, I ordered a new urlLink 200GB hard drive for my primary machine, as I've started a project to turn it into a media server.
I've already set up the networking and the AV stuff. And it got me thinking, until I was left sitting here, coffee by my side, wondering a la Sex and the City.... .
. . .
When does a Geek become a Hacker? I mean, does anyone really know? Is there a line somewhere, some technical feat that needs to be established before a Geek can rise to the next, exalted level? Some people seem to imply that a hacker is a coder - the one who isn't satisfied with this module or that program, so writes his own.
I've met people like that. Some people seem to imply that a hacker can also be a hardware modder - but do I need to urlLink shoehorn a Micro-ATX mainboard into a scale-model aircraft carrier to qualify, stunning achievement though it is? I don't write code. I don't see the point in making the exterior and interior of my box look pretty. I want it to work, fast and effficiently. Then I saw urlLink this reference to a Hacker in the urlLink Jargon Dictionary .
And I read it. Then I read it again. And again. It seems to summarise, very nicely, how I feel about myself, what I'm doing and where I'm going. I've never felt settled and happy in life and work before. Since accepting that I am, in fact, happiest when I'm playing with computers and cool technology (well, not the happiest, but certainly the happiest I'm going to discuss with you on here, I've felt more in tune with myself than ever before.
So is that self-acceptance part of the invisible line between Geek and Hacker? I hope so. The definitions I've found seem to indicate that it's best when someone else recognises your status for you, too. So - if there's a Hacker out there who can understand how I feel, and fancies giving me their opinion, then please comment. Let's find the line. Maybe then one day I can cross it. 
