Now that's a geek

[rmd]

Thanks to the geek feminism blog's "Geek Woman Wednesday" this week, I have learned about Beatrice Shilling. An electrician, electrical line worker, motorcycle racer, and one of the folks who helped Britain win the war by enabling spitfires to engage in limited negative G maneuvers.

From the blog entry:

Of course, she also applied common-sense engineering approaches to her home life: "There are plenty of pockets of resistance in this house occupied by spiders so I decided a flame thrower was the only thing for under the sink."

and

In her retirement, her biography "Negative Gravity" records that: "Her idea of relaxation was to drive a fast car at full throttle, and if the car was not fast enough, her workbench was there in the back room to machine new parts to make them faster."

Hell yeah.

Comments

[bedfull-o-books.livejournal.com]

Poor spiders....

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Rock on, Ms. Schilling. *fangirls her*

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

A flame thrower under the sink? Is that what they were referring to when someone said she was "a flaming pathfinder of women's lib"?

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

I think I have a new hero. :D

[muffyjo]

I think I would have been terrified and absolutely worshiping her at the same time. Wow. thanks for sharing!

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

More evidence to support the fan theory that TF2's Pyro is female under the suit. Homebuilt flame throwers and all.

pyro ftw

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's not just a fan theory. After an update about 4 or 6 months ago, the "Pyro: Why not give him a shot" message on the splash screen started alternating between "Why not give him a shot" and "Why not give her a shot"

Not that it wasn't strongly suggested before hand -- the flowery handbag in the pyro's locker (at least in 2fort) seems a big hint.

Or, to quote the pyro herself, "Mmmf mmf grrrflsh frrrvf"

Re: pyro ftw

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

I can't help it. For me TF2 hits the sweet spot of feeling like a fan-made Counter-Strike conversion and letting us fill in the story about why these people are shooting one another, with 3 years' slow drip of canon to glue all the speculation and fanfic together.

As for myself, I believe the Pyro is Ms. Pauling, the Administrator's secretary whom we first saw in the WAR! comic.

Re: pyro ftw

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Oooh! I like that theory.

And, yeah. There's just enough thumbnail sketch backstory, and enough silliness, that it really lends itself to that fan-related feeling. A friend of mine recently noted that she'd seen more TF2 fanfic smut than any other videogame related thing.

btw - do I know you? I am not linking the lj handle with anyone offhand.

Re: pyro ftw

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

I met you at a Baitcon a few years ago. I've moved to California in the meantime.

Re: pyro ftw

[rmd.livejournal.com]

cool! hi!