My short answer to the question of whether geeks are cool yet, is no! Indeed, one could argue that by definition, being a geek necessarily means not being cool. Nevertheless, Cnet has launched a geek culture blog that is taking a different view. Maybe times have changed since I first ranted about this, still I would argue that while bits a geek culture may leak into the mainstream, the geeks themselves remain a despised class, the target of bullies in school, and offshoring layoffs in the work place. The work geeks do is important, and much of our modern society would cease to function without it, but the geeks themselves are not respected and seen as expendable. In the US, at least, until there is real respect for scientists, engineers, and intellectuals, being a geek can never be cool. What is respect? Respect is, in part, being able to be paid what you’re worth without having your job go overseas to someone who makes less than half the pay, and then hearing tech CEOs bemoan the lack of qualified US citizens to do the job!