Agent Palmer

It was approximately one year ago that we all received astonishing news that the world had lost some of its humor when Harold Ramis passed on.

To me, Harold is one of the legends of comedy. I owe that notion to my parents, who raised me on classic comedies such as Stripes, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Animal House, among others, all of which Ramis had a hand in either in front of or behind the camera or even the script.

The New York Times called it “A remarkable collection of characters…courageously exploring mindspace, an innerworld where nobody had ever been before,” and they’re right. The book, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy is as great a story as the real-life characters and their accomplishments that adorn the book.

Names you’ve heard like Wozniak and Gates, and those you haven’t like Felsenstein, Greenblatt, and Gosper are among the many mentioned.

We can all use a little help. Sometimes from our friends, sometimes from ourselves. Whether or not we admit to needing help, to others or to ourselves, will make it all the more apparent that we need it.

For nerds, self-help books are everywhere, because learning comes from everywhere – from video games, from that tabletop dungeon crawl from eight years ago, or from the many experiences in between. A good self-help book for nerds is a bit like the Highlander: “There can be only one.” That one is The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by the Nerdist himself, Chris Hardwick.

When looking back at 2014 in terms of geekiness, it has to be stated that 2014 was the “Year of the Trailer,” but it was so much more than that.

It was a year with sport, entertainment, loss, excitement and controversy, pretty much like every year.

So let’s take a look back at the year that was 2014 (in Geek).