I did not emerge from the womb as a Geek Magnolia, although there is a genetic predisposition.

No, my geekiness was fostered.  In a town as small as my hometown, nerdy things are not always readily available.  There was no comic book store, no group devoted to gaming.  It was a time pre-VCR (I know, children, that you might not know what those are–think of a very archaic version of a DVD that you had to rewind).  The only seeds of geekiness were found in the three basic alphabet television networks and books.  But seeds have to be tended to grow.