Nerd birds are moving to the boomburbs

Wednesday's word was aerotropolis.

(air.oh.TROP.ul.lis) n. A city in which the layout, infrastructure, and economy are centered around a major airport.

The word came about in a New York Times news story Nov. 27, according to the Web site www.wordspy.com

The story went: "His renderings of what is to be called the Pinnacle Aeropark show its 1,300 acres developed with 2.9 million square feet of office space, 25 million square feet of laboratory and research buildings and 4.7 million square feet of high-technology warehouse space. It will be complemented by luxury hotels served by European-style circular intersections, a golf course, cycling trails, restaurants and shopping centers...

"Speedy delivery of goods is also at the center of Mr. Kasarda's theory of what he calls the aerotropolis, a population and business center formed around an airport in the way that cities once formed around ports or crossroads. -- Michael Brink, "Officials Are Trying to Raise a City in the Shadow of Detroit's Airport."

Seems to fit?

I found the Web site in a story about slang and how corporate America is using it to attract the attention of the younger crowd. The story, though, says once us old guys start using the street-wise verbiage it loses its cool.

Cool or not I found a few words to help us describe where we live.

We are fast becoming a population of nerd birds living in a boomburb near an ideopolis neighboring the micropolitan community of Carson City. So there!

It's as confusing as phat and fat or ill, tight and crunked.

I'd tell you what these last words mean, but I fear what would happen if we started using these words in conversation with our children. What geeks we would be -- only a step away from being overrun by anecdotage -- that advanced age where all one does is relate stories about "the good old days."

But watch for these other words to make an appearance on a news page near you. As wordsmiths I feel we will refrain for a time accepting them into our discourse, but I fear "Bureaucrats R Us" will bring them into the mainstream before long.

-- micropolitan

(my.kro.PAWL.uh.tun) adj. Relating to an area that has an urban center surrounded by one or more counties or regions, and that has a population between 10,000 and 50,000; relating to a small city.

-- ideopolis

(eye.dee.AWP.uh.lis, id.ee-) n. A postindustrial metropolitan area dominated by knowledge-based industries and institutions, such as universities and research hospitals.

-- boomburb

(BOOM.burb) n. A suburb undergoing rapid population growth.

-- nerd bird

noun. A flight to or from a high-tech hub, especially Silicon Valley.

It is hard to say if these nerd birds in their flight are part of the overworking class or the underworking class, but they're here nonetheless, which generally causes the prior round of nerd birds to develop a case of the NIMBYs.

Overworking class is a noun meaning "A segment of society in which the chief characteristic is the desire or need to work long hours."

The underworking class is -- of course -- people with not enough to keep them busy.

NIMBY refers to the age-old syndrome "not-in-my-back-yard."

Carson City is having a giant case of the NIMBYs, but for almost the exact opposite reasons most individuals contract the syndrome.

Most people protest development or new business across the fence or street from their home. In Carson City's case it has NIMBY combined with a syndrome most found in children on Christmas morning "want-a-big-box fever."

Carson City's ailment could be considered a sin. The 10th commandment tells us not to covet thy neighbor's wife, ox or manservant. In 2002, that could be extended to thy neighbor's Best Buy, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Marshall's and Petcos.

Time to think outside the big box.

Kelli Du Fresne is features editor for the Nevada Appeal.