Geek Pride Is on the Rise

Americans are proud of their passions, hobbies, toys—even their cartoon pajamas, according to a survey in support of the most recent Geek Pride Day.

A phone survey of 1,011 American adults regarding perceptions of geeks, technology, personal passions and hobbies revealed that most of the general population (87%) do not hide their personal or potentially embarrassing passions or interests.

About two thirds of respondents (65%) said if they were trying to impress someone, they would take pride in “geek” toys, such as stuffed animals, and nine out of 10 say they would be proud of their books and comic books. Other personal items that respondents say they would be proud of include music collections (94%); video games (77%) and those they follow on social media (72%).

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Among other findings:

65% say they would be proud of their superhero or cartoon-character clothing – including pajamas;  

68% of respondents said they would date a geek;

Among the 13% of respondents who say they do hide their personal or embarrassing passions or interests, most (72%) say they hide them from neighbors; and

Co-workers (70%), friends (63%), significant others (32%) and parents (28%) are among the people so-called geeks say they hide interests from.

As tech companies continue to roll out wearable gadgetry, a majority (61%) of self-described geeks say they would buy and wear a “smart watch” (a computerized wrist watch with Smartphone functionality) and 56% say the same about “smart glasses” (glasses with Smartphone and camera functionality). About one-third of non-geeks are also interested in purchasing/wearing a “smart watch” and “smart glasses.”

Geek pride is increasing. Slightly more than half of those surveyed (58%) define geeks as “extremely intelligent,” a jump of 13 percentage points since the previous Geek Pride Survey in 2011. The 2013 Geek Pride survey was conducted in April.

Former RIA Enjoined from Further Violations

Blake Richards of Buford, Georgia, was enjoined by a federal court from committing more violations of the securities laws.

The order of preliminary injunction was made in connection with allegations that the registered representative misappropriated investor funds. (See “Atlanta RIA Allegedly Stole $2M from Investors.”) 

Richards is enjoined from further violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, as well as sections of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. 

The order continued the freeze of Richards’ assets put in place by court order in May, prevented any destruction of documents, and ordered an accounting and expedited discovery. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Those claims will be adjudicated at a later date. Richards consented to the entry of the order of preliminary injunction, without admitting or denying the SEC’s charges. 

According to the SEC’s complaint, since at least 2008, Richards, a registered representative of the broker/dealer LPL, misappropriated approximately $2 million from at least seven investors. The majority of these funds constituted retirement savings and/or life insurance proceeds from deceased spouses. 

The SEC also alleged that Richards instructed investors to write out checks to entities under his control with the understanding that Richards would invest their funds in fixed-income assets, variable annuities and/or common stock, but that none of these investments was made. The investments did not appear on client brokerage account statements, and Richards received no commission income from these investments. The complaint alleged that Richards took funds entrusted to him and siphoned them for personal use. 

The SEC’s release is here

 

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