Yes! Thank you, I failed to touch on this in my comment at all, it's not a gender-specific phenomena to have to push back against negative social aspects in order to pursue the things that truly capture your interest. I agree wholeheartedly.

Good point. As a male, I was heavily socialized not to go near computers. That was nerd shit. Everyone in my peer group came to know that I was into computers, but this interest was always something that I remember bringing a sense of shame, and something I had to downplay. It was a conscious effort to present myself as a normal guy who just happened to be good at using those things.

I recall a well-meaning teacher once publicly recognizing me as a “computer expert”, and the ensuing giggles and ridicule from my friends and peers for being a computer nerd.

While I would not say I was bullied, the “computer nerd”/“spending all your time in front of a computer” was somewhat of an expedient wildcard insult to be used whenever somebody needed to take me down a peg. In terms of group identities, I think the only labels that were lower on the social status ladder were being gay or being obese (exception if you could pull off “the funny fat guy”).

Maybe the millenials had it easier, but I think most people who are well established in their career by now came out of that environment.

Along those lines, it’s no wonder that many men in the field who emerged from that did not develop adequate social skills, and frequently demonstrate their lack of experience in interacting with women. Unfortunately, the social protocol errors are often either lumped in with sexism, or the dreaded “being a creep”, and it’s now fashionable for other (likely traumatized) people to publicly shame them, get them fired, and ensure that their infraction is part of the permanent record of the internet.

Was Almost Live the source of the skit "Studs from Microsoft"? Microsoft used to ship that skit as a demonstration video on their Microsoft Video API MSDN CDs.

EDIT: Found a Raymond Chen blog entry confirming that the skit was indeed from Almost Live -- and it featured Bill Nye.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZOSdFBfpSQ

First aired in 1992. I miss that show.

Cops in Redmond is another classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxGDSucCEI

It's really too bad they never released a compilation DVD set of it. AL is consistently funnier than SNL. Much of the humor is local, though.

My favorite is the 425 area code skit, with a snobby lady (in character) complaining about Renton being in the same area code as Bellevue. No one outside of the Seattle area would ever get that joke, however.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9jlo4Ht2YA

Done in the same style as the WSU drinking ban...another later classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kozfrph9LU

Or Bill Nye as a street walking lawyer on Aurora avenue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgAgPnrJAuQ

They put everything on YouTube. No need for a dvd :)

sweet!

Yup. Bill Nye was a regular on the show before he was famous.