I don?t mind being considered dorkish by some people but I would definitely mind to look like an idiot because of the lack of some small items. Those who ridicule will shut up sooner or later (most sooner) when they come for help. That seems to happen invariably.
BTW: I recently bought a slide rule on a flea market a while ago. It was almost mint condition and came with the original manual. It just too cool to resist <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. Some of my colleagues even have difficulties identifying this object.