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Growing Up Geek: Billy Steele
Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Contributing Editor, Billy Steele. See that dapper young fellow right there? You'd never think someone dressed that goofily as a kid would grow up to be a tech blogger, now would you? It's true -- and I never thought so either -- but, as I would come to find out, my unorthodox childhood would help shape my nerd sensibilities in more ways than one. It all starts with the fact that I was raised by my grandparents, which was awesome, but usually meant that I was at least a year behind on all the popular gadgetry. This also meant that I was forced to hold on to things a bit longer, so while my friends were sportin' the N64, I was still rockin' Contra on the NES (no shame). Let me take a step back for a moment. My first exposure to technology of any substance was a high-mileage Atari at my mom's place. She had an entire library of games, but the only two that I cared about were Frogger and Grand Prix. A couple of years later, when I obtained that coveted O.G. Nintendo, I survived on a constant diet of Excitebike, Bases Loaded and Tecmo Super Bowl. After playing until I couldn't see straight -- on several occasions as an elementary lad -- I was able to string together a handful of undefeated seasons with America's team the Dallas Cowboys. I've now taken on the plight of a Panthers' fan, but I digress.
