# Nerdy Places to Visit



## Braam (Nov 3, 2010)

Hi All!

I was looking for a directory of nerdy places to visit the other day, but I couldn't find one so I set up nerdspots.com.

But I need your help  What nerdy places have you visited or know of? Not just US - but anywhere in the world. I'd love to fill that map up!

Thanks
Braam Sheep


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## Smelge (Nov 3, 2010)

CERN
Chernobyl
Bletchley Park


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## Rufus (Nov 3, 2010)

The City of Oxford, UK


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## Carenath (Nov 3, 2010)

Zzyzx Road, California, US.
The Lake Berryessa Spillway.


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## RockTheFur (Nov 3, 2010)

Smelge said:


> Chernobyl


 
Don't even go there. Worst nuclear crisis EVAR.


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## medjai (Nov 3, 2010)

Vulcan AB. For obvious reasons.


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## Azure (Nov 3, 2010)

Carenath said:


> Zzyzx Road, California, US.


 Literally nothing there. Except a nice picnic spot and a good desert view.


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## Joeyyy (Nov 3, 2010)

I would visit my moms house.


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## Lapdog (Nov 3, 2010)

My room. You'd find more there than in a nuclear power plant. *Bad joke* And i'm not talking trash.


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## Smelge (Nov 3, 2010)

RockTheFur said:


> Don't even go there. Worst nuclear crisis EVAR.


 
It's still an important event. The effects were bad, but the whole incident is pretty interesting. And Pripyat is one of those places I want to see once in my life. Besides, it's not all about the power plant and town.

A few miles away, is something called Duga-3. Back in the 80's, this strange signal appeared on radios. An regular tapping noise, that they called The Woodpecker. It's transmitted from Duga stations, and it is an over-the-horizon missile detection system. Probably. What it is in reality, is a fucking huge wall of metal.


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## Carenath (Nov 3, 2010)

AzurePhoenix said:


> Literally nothing there. Except a nice picnic spot and a good desert view.


 You missed the whole 'nerd' aspect, which was the name itself. It's like having your picture taken by a sign that says "Enterprise Drive" while at a Star Trek convention.



Smelge said:


> A few miles away, is something called Duga-3. Back in the 80's, this strange signal appeared on radios. An regular tapping noise, that they called The Woodpecker. It's transmitted from Duga stations, and it is an over-the-horizon missile detection system. Probably. What it is in reality, is a fucking huge wall of metal.


Ah yes, coincidentally this came up recently in a discussion on a radio anorak forum. Duga-3 was notable because the high power signal (estimated to be 10MW EIRP) caused wide-spread interference to radio, utility and communication systems not just at home but in the west to, drawing ire and numerous complaints. The system was closed down in 1989 and replaced by a more accurate satellite system. Rumours are that the towers are used or were used, by local radio operators as a transmission site.


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## Skittle (Nov 3, 2010)

Does the Mutter Museum count?


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## ArielMT (Nov 4, 2010)

Pie Town, New Mexico.

Or just east of that, the V.L.A.

Both on US-60 west of Socorro.


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## Ames (Nov 4, 2010)

Carenath said:


> Zzyzx Road, California, US.


 I've passed that place on the highway countless times.  Once checked it out, but it was nothing special. :C


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## CannonFodder (Nov 4, 2010)

Smelge said:


> CERN







It's all fun and games till someone causes a resonance cascade.


Well if you are looking for something more local, try any convention.

I tend to visit junk stores and that though, cause I love macgyvering things.


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## NA3LKER (Nov 7, 2010)

a kid that i know has the nerdiest room ive ever seen. and there is a shop in bristol city centre called the "forbidden planet" that sells collectibles, cards, comics, graphic novels, pretty much anything nerdy. at one time it even had a lifesize replica of masterchief's armour


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## Rufus (Nov 7, 2010)

NA3LKER said:


> a kid that i know has the nerdiest room ive ever seen. and there is a shop in bristol city centre called the "forbidden planet" that sells collectibles, cards, comics, graphic novels, pretty much anything nerdy. at one time it even had a lifesize replica of masterchief's armour


That reminds me Comic Connections in um, Banbury, Uk is like that.


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## Commiecomrade (Nov 7, 2010)

Smelge said:


> It's still an important event. The effects were bad, but the whole incident is pretty interesting. And Pripyat is one of those places I want to see once in my life. Besides, it's not all about the power plant and town.
> 
> A few miles away, is something called Duga-3. Back in the 80's, this strange signal appeared on radios. An regular tapping noise, that they called The Woodpecker. It's transmitted from Duga stations, and it is an over-the-horizon missile detection system. Probably. What it is in reality, is a fucking huge wall of metal.



I know of this one! An old friend of my dad's was a radio enthusiast who would listen in on this. It actually randomly hopped frequencies, disrupting stations and frequencies at will, everywhere. It was so powerful, telephone lines were affected. The man my dad knew actually played a small part in the famous jamming attempt of it. He said they eventually figured out to play back a recording of the "woodpecking" that it produced, trying to jam the signal. I think he said that made it jump to other frequencies, which made his group really nervous about what it could be.

Or, if you've played STALKER, you'd know this as the Brain Scorcher.


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## Daisy La Liebre (Nov 8, 2010)

I want to visit Watership Down, because I love the book so much.

... I need to get out more.


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## Carenath (Nov 8, 2010)

Commiecomrade said:


> I know of this one! An old friend of my dad's was a radio enthusiast who would listen in on this. It actually randomly hopped frequencies, disrupting stations and frequencies at will, everywhere. It was so powerful, telephone lines were affected. The man my dad knew actually played a small part in the famous jamming attempt of it. He said they eventually figured out to play back a recording of the "woodpecking" that it produced, trying to jam the signal. I think he said that made it jump to other frequencies, which made his group really nervous about what it could be.


 I summed this up in an earlier post, though the entry on Wikipedia seems fairly complete an detailed.


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## zrxyz (Nov 13, 2010)

Akihabara?


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## Azbulldog (Nov 20, 2010)

Inspiration for Silent Hill and such http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania
HQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation
HQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_Entertainment
HQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Science_Center
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Science_and_Industry_(Chicago)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Tokyo,_Los_Angeles,_California
etc.


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## My Boss (Nov 20, 2010)

There's a Science-Fiction Museum in Seattle.  Pretty much the definition of nerdy if you ask me...


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## Commiecomrade (Nov 24, 2010)

Carenath said:


> I summed this up in an earlier post, though the entry on Wikipedia seems fairly complete an detailed.


 
Thought I'd put a personal touch on it. Though the Wikipedia article (which I've just read) does seem to be pretty much what I said.


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