Geek of the Week: Michael Lea, Junior, Mechanical

Never before has one man been asked to undertake such a task… find a geek on the Colorado School of Mines campus. With this great undertaking came the prestige of a lone hobbit facing all odds or Luke Skywalker staring down the Death Star. Nothing quite prepares you for it.

Michael Lea, a junior and a mechanical engineer, looked promising, but at first he attempted to flee from any interviewing attempts. After much time, sweat, and blood, Lea’s words of wisdom were put to paper and the quest was complete. Now is the time to share these words of wisdom with the rest of geekdom.

According to outside sources, you may qualify as a geek. Do you think that you fit this description?
Haha, upon further examination, yeah I could be.

What is your geekiest habit, or habits if you have several vying for the number one spot?
I relish the moments of awkward side-to-side shuffling in the hallway when confronted by others… especially when they’re women.

I’m certain that most males on campus feel the same way, sadly. So why did you choose Mines as the school at which you could express your inner geekdom?
Well it’s close to home (Denver) and I felt I didn’t get enough freedom in high school to express my geekier side so what better place to do so than a school where Thermodynamics can be an elective?

How do you define “free time” and when you have it, what do you do with it?
Free time – noun. 1. Time not spent contemplating Fourier series or isentropic processes. Usually involves either MMO’s, the Pokemon Trading Card Game, or other assorted video games.

If you could Catch ‘em All, what would you do with them? And who would be your prize stud?
Haha, well I’d get a ranch and run a petting zoo where parents would pay $20 for their kids to get sand-attacked by a sandshrew. I’d probably store all but six in the PC because some of them suck. My prize poke’ would have to be a level 41 Lairon.

What is the GEEKIEST thing you’ve seen happen at Mines so far?
The geekiest thing I’ve seen would have to be the night where me and five others scuttled from the Digger Den to Brown building, laptops and power strip in hand, in order to find electricity [since the power was out] so our guild could continue our late-night MMO nerd-fest.

Apart from being a role model for us lesser geeks, what are your other hobbies?
I do enjoy long walks on the beach… of Allods (basically a free WoW). I also enjoy skateboarding when I can. Netflix is a life-saver.

So if you could have one superpower, what would it be?
Telekinesis. Hands down.

Oh. Well that was pretty final. So, why did you choose your major?
The ladies. No but seriously it seemed to be the most interesting when I did the departmental tours as a wee freshmen. It offers a high likelihood of job placement to boot.

What is your dream life after you get out of mines?
Paying my mortgage on time and funding my vices.

What might those vices be?
Let’s just call it giving the ole’ Liver a workout.

Duly noted. Do you have any advice for aspiring geeks?
Save the Chipotle foil.

Is that like a “Save the Whales” statement? Never mind. Nice Geekin’ with you.