What's your screen name origin?

[BigGiantHead]

Lots of people's are obvious, but many seem like an esoteric joke only they get. Some I've seen explained in their .sig (e.g. SwimmingRiddles, Socks On Shoes On), but some are completely mysterious (SuaSponte, Esprix, Nacho4Sara).

So come on, tell us your little story!

I'll start: on top of being a physical description of me (7 3/4 hat size), it's obviously a reference to the character from 3rd Rock from the Sun. When the Navy first transferred me to SE Georgia here, I felt rather like an alien. BUT, in my defense, I started using it before he physically showed up on the show, and hence before any association with - evil hiss - Shatner.

Now You!

[lee]

It is my name, only in all lower case.

[BigGiantHead]

Gee thanks, lee, I might not have gotten that one.


:rolleyes:

[lolagranola]

Lola Granola was Opus' fiancee in Bloom County, my favourite cartoon.

Somehow, it just seemed to fit...

[argyle87]

argyle is a song by my favorite band The Bouncing Souls. Also a reference to the title of their second record "The Good, The Bad, and The Argyle". '87 was the year the band formed, and the title of another song of theirs.

[kinoons]

I got my name from my youth hockey coach -- He couldnt get my full name out, so he shortened my name to Kinoons

[Gunslinger]

I like to play with Colt .45s, also a reference to Stephen King's Dark Tower series (see sig).

[Balance]

Do I get to be the first deep one? Oh boy! :D
Forces in balance form an important part of my worldview: I'm a cynical romantic, and optimistic pessimist, a rational person with strong intuitions....those pairs and more hang in balance in my personality, generating creative tension. It's like pulling quarks apart--the harder you pull, the more energy you concentrate in between; eventually new complementary quarks precipitate to change the bonds*. Since this weird model is how I view my creative process, I chose Balance as descriptive. I use it everywhere I post--it's more my name than my name is, I think. BTW, I currently have 2 novels at the outline stage--one fastasy and one SF--2 IFGS games written--one intrigue/political and one high adventure--etc....

*Boy, did I bury the needle on the geek meter! I just created an analogy between my personality and the Standard Model of Particle Physics--I should sleep now....

[BigGiantHead]

You know, lola, I knew yours sounded familiar but it was buried WAY in the back of the BigGiantCortex. I was hoping you'd show up - thanks!

Balance, very cool. I like it*. *And yes, you did.

Gunslinger... well, duh. You also earn a :rolleyes:.


Everyone else, great! Keep 'em coming! Invite your friends, please!

[ricepad]

When you translate my surname into English, it comes out sorta like 'rice field' or 'rice paddy'. I guess in the old country, my kin were pretty close to the land, eh?

[muffinman]

I was working at a local grocery store about a year ago. 4 female friends of mine entered the store and bought muffins. I of course provided them with exeplary customer service, carrying their groceries out for them. And then stood there and talked to them for about a half hour. And had Tatiana, the foreign exchange student feeding me pieces of a chocolate chip muffin. And turned around after they drove away to find my manager watching me the entire time... after that, my best friend started calling me the Muffinman, and the name stuck!

[Flutterby]

Topaz cuz its my birthstone. Plus I like the stone itself and Antares because its a star in Scorpio (my horoscope) and because its supposed to be a name that brings strength of heart (aka courage) to the bearer.

(and my sig, the Enlightened One part, has to do with a Lightbulb joke..

How many of your sign does it take to change a lightbulb?

Scorpio: "That information is strictly secret and shared only with the Enlightened Ones in the Star Chamber of the Ancient Hierarchial Order.")

[JavaMaven1]

Mine goes back to about 8 years ago, during a time before the world was populated with Starbuck's and my stomach could handle more than just a half-cup of coffee. I was a tried-and-true coffee lover, and frequented the little coffee houses near the University in my area.

I took a friend to one of these, and it was his first time ever seeing the mind-boggling menu of bean-juice drinks. I was rattling off what was in everything, when he just turned to me, and said, "well, aren't you just the little Java Maven..."

It stuck.

As for the .sig, I think it's pretty self-explanitory.

[Kiva]

Kiva's been the name I've had for years on AOL (Kiiva--two 'i's because some irritating girl took "kiva")

I'm a TimeLapse (the game) freak. It's one of the best, most beautiful games ever made, and in that game, in the Anasazi world, the kiva is the gateway to Atlantis (Silly, I know--I had to put my skepticism on hold to enjoy the game). It's a Myst-type game, but is ever so much better than Myst or Riven.

Hard to find, nowadays. If you see it, buy it, and while you're at it, buy me a copy. My little brother destroyed mine.

[Smeghead]

It's from Red Dwarf. If you've seen it, you understand. If you haven't, go find it and watch it.

[Commander Fortune]

Commander Fortune was a secret agent in the British Comedy "Eat the Rich".

I liked the ring of it.

[Annie-Xmas]

I've been collection cast CDS from Andrew Lloyd Webber's
shows for years. Annie Christmas is a song from his
latest, Whistle Down the Wind.

My last name is Anne, and my B-day is December 25th.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is very glad I'm not a stalker.

[JimmyNipples]

It's my given.

It's Gaelic, meaning: Really Swell Guy


Pronounce it like Graham. Say it like you mean it.


I want to change my screen name.....how do I go about doing that?

[Zumba The Cat]

This is a great question. I have wondered about people's screen names.

My cat's name is Zumba. Zumba is a name that I made up years ago when I was just a little girl. I was going to get a German Shepherd dog when I got older and name it Zumba. I lost out on the naming of the family dog. Now I live in an apartment and can't have a dog so when I got my kitty I named her Zumba.

She kept walking on the keyboard when I was trying to think of a screen name.

[struuter]

This is actually kinda strange...(how fitting is that?)
When I first stumbled upon the SDMB, my first stop was the Pit. I can't quite remember the thread, but it was in response to someone being rude in GD--imagine!-- and taking his grievance to the proper place. One of the first usernames I saw was, ironically, WallyM7. He was hilarious.
When I decided to register and think of a username, I typically went blank. I couldn't think of ANYTHING. (Should've gone with twit, stoopyd or empty) But the only thing I could think of was that 'Wally' was the name of one of the Time Bandits. I love Time Bandits.
I couldn't take Og--just asking for too much trouble. And then I remembered Struuter.
I always meant to tell Wally that he inspired my username--to some extent--but I never got the chance. It's cool though, because every time I log in I think of him.
struuter

[D Marie]

First initial, middle name. I'll go ahead and give myself a :rolleyes:

But it also has a deeper meaning, in that it was one of my dad's many nicknames for me. There were others that I contemplated using, but this was the easiest to explain, and some of them were weird enough I knew I'd get asked.

[CalMeacham]

"Cal Meacham" is th name of the hero in "This Island Earth". I have a weakness for sf movies, and especially for bad sf movies and ones from the 1950s. I'd have taken "Clayton Forrester" (the name they gave Gene Barry as the hero in George Pal's "War of the Worlds". The character isn't named in Wells' book, by the way), but MST3K beat me to it.


I only WISH I looked and sounded like Rex Reason.

But the real reason I took it was that I liked the character in the original book by Raymond F. Jones. He conmes across as a better character -- not nearly as cardboard and stiff. And the book is infinitely better than the flick, which seems like a collection of sf cliches.

[mouthbreather]

[QUOTE
I'll start: on top of being a physical description of me (7 3/4 hat size...[/QUOTE]

So, if you're the BigGiantHead, andI wear a size 8 hat, what does that make me?

[xizor]

He is a character from "Shadows of the Empire". He exudes pheremones that make him irresistable to women - I can dream can't I?

[Hamadryad]

When I was younger I threw myself head-first into the worlds of Greek and Roman mythology.
I also read a lot of Heinlein, and the character "Hamadryad" was mostly a bit-player...but she was staggeringly beautiful and utterly unaware of it. since I was utterly unaware of any staggering beauty in myself, well..it was more of a hopeful choice than anything else. You know..."She's gorgeous, and she doesn't know it, so MAYBE..."

As a side note, I've had this online handle since 1985. Not bad. So if you see any other "Hamadryad"-s out there, they are impostors.

ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES!

[soulsling]

i'm a deeply spiritual type of guy. became a Buddhist at a midpoint in my so far short life, and then left that to practice Falun Dafa instead, all because i felt the need to heal my soul. sounds a little strange to most, but it means a lot to me, so my soul is in a sling so to speak. constantly in the healing process.

[zev_steinhardt]

Well, my first name is Zev and my last name is Steinhardt, thus my screen name is Zev_Steinhardt. :D

[Initial Entry]

Although, ironically enough, it's not the initial screen name I wanted. I tried to register as Brass Wimple but I was never able to get the confirmation link to work. Eventually I gave up and registered as this.

[xekul]

My first name is Luke. Luke backwards and lowercased is ekul, but that sounds incomplete. So I'm xekul. x, because aekul and bekul and cekul don't sound quite as nice.

I have another nick, Androgynous Mind, and it comes from a Sonic Youth song of the same name.

[ReservoirDog]

There's this movie I like...

[Greyson3]

My handle comes from my late cat, Greyson, whose name in turn came from the fact that he was grey. Everybody thinks their pet was the best ever, but you see, he really was. Even if he did push those casserole dishes off the table to get to the sweet, sweet roasts inside. The '3' is for singularity purposes.

[bedhog]

Entirely self-explanatory.

[jayron 32]

You see, Jason is my first name, and Ronald is my middle name. The 32 is just random.

[andyman]

Need you ask? I am the all-powerful Andyman! Here to fight crime and punishment and all sorts of really long books!




...I'm sorry, I'll leave now.

[orestes543]

I got my screen name actually from the title of a new song by the band, A Perfect Circle, but after doing a little research, I found that Orestes is also a character in Greek mythology. He was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. All in all, he led a very interesting life. :)

[Olentzero]

Olentzero is the Basque version of Santa Claus. He eats smelts and can drink 250 gallons of wine in one sitting. Gotta admire that.

Hey, Kiva (http://store.yahoo.com/barracuda/timelapse1.html)...

[Missy2U]

When one of the guys I work for says "(insert real name here), could you take care of this for me"?

I tell them "That's Missy to you!"

They laugh.

I don't know why. It's really rather stupid.

[Motorgirl]

Mine was from some graffiti spray painted all around my hometown.
No, it was not written by me, but when I started doing all things Net, lo these many years ago (coming up on 10), I needed an alias I'd remember easily, so I thought of motorgirl.
I haven't lived there since 93, but I can still picture it
scrawled across the side of a house on the way up State Street (near the junction with Stewart or Eddy, can't remember which). It was also in most of the Collegetown bar bathrooms.

[Sunshine]

I'm disgustingly sweet, eternally optimistic and perpetually cheerful.

A veritable "ray of...", if you will.

[SisterCoyote]

I guess mine's pretty self-explanatory, as well. ;D

However, I also often use "ngwalme", which is a word (and a letter) from Tolkien's Elvish, chosen for three reasons:

1. It means "torment" (what - like that doesn't tie in with Dogsbody?)
2. I didn't figure anyone else was using it
3. It was the name I chose for my AD&D character when we needed undercover identities. When the other players found out what it meant, well...I was stuck with it. And the jokes. I now own a bear in a chainmail bikini and a "bondage bear" due to this name. Sigh. :)

[wolfman]

Mines from long before I started posting. I smoke waaaaayyy to much and for the first hour or so after I wake up I do an unintentional impression of Wolfman Jack, so it just became a nickname I guess.

[gobear]

Mine comes from hanging with out with a friend (also gay.)
When he was pleased with something, he would say, "You go, boy!," and the name stuck with me.

[Ozone]

Mine is another one from a song. In 1978 KISS split up and all did solo albums. On the Ace Frehley (my "worldly" god) solo album, there's a song called Ozone.

"I'm the kind of guy who likes feelin' high
Feelin' high and dry, and I really like to fly
I'm your kinda guy, girl I'm not too shy
And I want you to fly, so I think you oughta try

Ozone, Ozone, Ozone, Ozone"

Great song, check it out if you can.... :D

As for my sig. Just reflects one side of my personality. Guess it's my dark side. You know...... Gemini. ;)

[Nen]

You might want to try here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=21677) and here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=19091) and here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=14389) and here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=11170) and here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=21109).

[Wonko The Sane]

If you have read all five books of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to The Galaxy trilogy you will find a man in the fourth book legally called John Watson. He has an inside-out house he lived in on a California Beach somewhere, and called himself "Wonko The Sane". He built the inside-out house in an effort to build the world a safe place to live because it was obvious that the world had gone insane. His evidence? He read the directions on the back of a box of toothpicks. He believed that any society that needed directions for toothpicks had obviously gone insane. Over the door to the outside of his house (where all of the furniture and rugs were (as well as the sky and sun- it was an outside out house after all!) was a packet of toothpicks (placed as a reminder) and a sign saying "welcome to the asylum" and on the other side of the door a sign saying "outside the asylum". I picked him because of the directions on the outside of a package of Kit-Kat(the directions tell you how to open it), and because he was a cool guy.

When I read my poetry (which is rare) I go by the name John Watson.

[Iguana Boy]

Mine is a nickname given to me by a work colleague because I have a very long tongue.

[Minxsmom]

Minx is the cutest little black cat in the universe. And, I'm her mom.

You probably could have figured that out on your own (especially since I've only told that 5 times already), but I need to pad my post count.

[brachyrhynchos]

Species name for American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos. It means something along the lines of "bristle beak" and refers to the corvid (crow, magpies, jays, and ravens) characteristic of having covered nostrils. It's pronounced "braki-rink-os."

I took this because I'm a corvidologist, an ornithologist with a corvid bent. I spent many years catching and radio-tagging crows and seeing where they went and what they did. Wonderful creatures. They have a special place in my heart.

[vanilla]

Well, simply because my favorite song is Ice Ice Baby and vanillanice sounded good, so I used that, then switched to orangecakes, another flavor name, then peaches, then back to plain vanilla.
ta da

[Falcon]

Falcon is my spirit animal, and the totem animal of the Goddess of my birthday.

[SuaSponte]

... but some are completely mysterious (SuaSponte, Esprix, Nacho4Sara).




He noticed me. He really noticed me!!

sua sponte is a legal term meaning "on its own motion". It's used by courts when they take an action that was not prompted by a motion by either party to a lawsuit.

In law school, sua sponte became slang for masturbation. ("on your own motion" - get it ;))

So I chose it because 99% of what I intended to read/post here was going to be mental masturbation. I mean, I don't need to know the origins of zero, but it makes me feel gooooood.

Don't hit me.

Sua

Sua

[Dragwyr]

Mine goes back over 10 years ago before I even knew what the Internet was. I started out connecting to BBS's in and around Kalamazoo (with cool names like "The Bathroom Wall", Au Contrair, and the Secret Citadel). The first one I connected to (at 300 baud) was a free one and I had to come up with a username. My friend from high school was heavy into roll playing games and suggested the name "Dragwyr". I wasn't too keen on the name, but used it anyway and it's been my handle on every BBS and then on the Internet ever since.

BTW, it is pronounced "DRAG-were", not "Drag-wear". I'm not into any of that cross dressing stuff. ;)

[Ellen Cherry]

You judge: Am I hopelessly boring or a complete egomaniac? It's my actual name.

[BigGiantHead]

(Wow, I did it! My first successful thread! They like me, they really really like me!)

....

Uh oh, was that out loud?

.........


Uh, anyway, thanks everyone for chiming in. I guess I should have checked the archive to see if I was being derivative (sorry Nen) - but hell, if everyone did that these boards would be substantially less well-traveled.


Annie X-mas, I'm sure we're all glad you're not stalking any celebrities. ;)

struuter, that's very cool. I missed it, but any reference to a Terry Gilliam movie (and these days, homage to WallyM7), is way much good.

mouthbreather, judging by your s/n, I'd have to say that makes you hydrocephalous. (Note to all: yes, I know, it's horrible, I shouldn't make a joke about people's serious afflictions, etc. Let it go. Please.)

Andyman, do you 'ave 'and tools, with which you 'urt your foes? Are you sent from 'eaven to save us? :D

Iguana Boy: yeah, right. You're just trying to impress all the lovely Doper ladies. Don't kid a kidder.

And of course, Sua, how could I not? You're all over the boards! ;) Plus, yours is one of the only that didn't even seem to be in English - and it's not! Two points for me.


Thanks, everyone. Now go over and corral some more interesting ones in!

[Saint Zero]

Hm. Let me go back in time here.

Once, while trying to put my initials into a centepede game, I missed the J and entered K instead. Unable to go back, I just filled it out with ID and used KID in all my high scores I did. So, that worked for awhile, until I needed to have an alias on a BBS I was signing on to, and had to have at least 4 letters. I liked KID, but needed something to go with it, and couldn't think of anything. Nothing. Zero... Thus was Kid Zero born.

I've gotten older since then, read more, studied some, gotten more cynical than possible. By now, I should have achieved Sainthood. Right, that is where we get Saint Zero.
My sig explains what I'm the Patron Saint of.

[Nen]

BigGiantHead, no apologies are necessary. Actually, I am definitely for started new threads with an old theme; however, I was just pointing out some information you might not obtain in this thread, not rebuking you. I think you'll find my explanation of origin in the first link.

[Mojo]

The first initial of my first name is "M", the first two letters of my last name are "Jo". I was going to make it M.jo but stuck an "o" in instead of a period. Exciting stuff.

[JoltSucker]

I drink lots of Jolt Cola.

[Iguana Boy]

Iguana Boy: yeah, right. You're just trying to impress all the lovely Doper ladies. Don't kid a kidder.


Hey, trust me - I'm a lawyer! ;)

[Cosmo's Ghost]

Thanks for the tip. I will include the explanation of my name in my signature line.

I was born the day Roland Young died, in the same hospital.

[seriousart]

Comes from a promo card I once sent out trying to solicit work for myself. (I make a living as a cartoonist/humorous illustration type person) The tag beneath the particularly silly drawing was "Serious Art for Serious People".
Isn't it ironic?
Don't cha think?

After 8 years of art school, it was also my way of thumbing my nose at certain "fine artists" who really do take their artwork way too seriously.

[Edwardina]

My name is based on a character in my favorite novel: "The River Why." Her name is actually "Eddy," but that is always taken, and it causes mucho gender confusion, so I extrapolated what her name might have been in order to get nicknamed Eddy. I liked this better than "Edwina," and because I invented it, I knew it would always be available. Of course, people still get the gender wrong all the time . . .

[MissMonica7]

I used to teach dance class for little girls, and in dance you always call your teacher Miss (whatever). Being that my name is Monica, thats where my name came from. Seven's my lucky number, my bday is 7/7/77. Born at 7PM. 7 pounds, 14 oz.

[Calredic]

Pretty simple: "Calredic" is just a cooler-sounding and -looking variation of my real name, Caleb.

Glad to finally clear that up and put an end to all the heated debates and baseless speculation...

[AuntiePam]

I responded to this in one of the earlier threads. It's AuntiePam because I'm the oldest woman I know who has children but no grandchildren! The situation hasn't changed. Sigh.

The earlier thread had at least one good result. (No, my kids didn't go on a breeding frenzy.) A fellow Doper sent me an e-mail asking me not to feel bad, there's still time, some people aren't cut out to be parents, yadda yadda yadda.

It's been over a year, and we've exchanged e-mails every day and are enjoying a neat on-line friendship.

But needless to say, if any of the kids (ages 29 through 36 -- yeah, it was a busy few years) produces an heir, I'll be happily changing my sig. Till then, hubby's got tons of grandkids, including a new granddaughter just three weeks old. Torrie Renee -- wanna see pictures?

[Retief]

Retief is the absolute coolest SF hero ever. Keith Laumer wrote many of his adventures that some day undoubtably will happen. Retief has savouir-fair (sp) of Bugs Bunny, absolutely nothing gets to him. Havn't read any of his stories in 15-20 years I guess, must get one down off the shelf.

[Balance]

Welcome aboard, Jame (Retief). I just reread a bunch of the short stories, myself. The two-fisted diplomat absolutely rocks!

[Sycorax]

Sycorax: witch and mother of Caliban in The Tempest. I just liked the name.

[Flutterby]

Oops! I just realized my sig didn't show.. here you go.

[Eposia]

Eposia is a Gaulish Celtic tribal goddess of animals. The horse is often considered one of her sacred animals. For those who care, Eposia is believed to be similar to the pan-Celtic goddess Epona. The difference is that while Epona is very horse-specific, Eposia is more generally a goddess of all animals. (The horse was an extremely important animal to the Gauls.)

While I don't consider myself to have a patron deity, horses have been a lifelong passion of mine. Epona is quite a popular username, whereas nobody has ever heard of Eposia. So it goes. :)

[tiggeril]

I like Tigger... and I live in Illnois (IL), so... I just slapped the two together. My God, that is boring.

[jamshid]

Oh, this is gonna sound lame...

I snagged the name out of a National Geographic from several months ago. IIRC, an out of work oilworker on the Caspian Sea. I used this name for <<oh dear god, why am I admitting this???>> a D&D character I recently rolled up--a Drow Spellfilcher, if you really must know...

Someone later told me Jamshid was also the name of some Persian deity--like it mattered to me at the time.

[fluffinator]

Several parts to this answer...

When I first started posting anywhere, the place I started at wasn't one where you'd want to use your own name and mine is fairly original so it was really out of the question....

However, I like my own true name and wasn't willing to go with Mary or Suzy or something common...

And I couldn't use a name that described what I think of as my true self or everyone would put me on ignore... I mean, who talks to somebody who already labels THEMselves as semi-arrogant and occasionally bitchy....

So I went for a name that was the exact opposite of anything I considered myself to be and became Fluff...

And then a friend would greet me as anything BUT Fluff... I was fluffolicious and fluffomatic and the fluffinator... so.......

[TroubleAgain]

Not very exciting, but Trouble is my eldest cat's name. I use his name a lot, thus, TroubleAgain. Also, I can be a bit of a trouble-maker when I want to.... :D

My favorite user names are ones that make literary references, or reference to TV or movies. I really like
1. Rincewind
2. CKDextHaven
3. Smeghead
4. Wonko the Sane

I'm sure there are others out there that have tickled me (I think I remember at least one that came from LotR, but I'm not sure...)

So why didn't I use a literary one? Dunno....Guess I went blank.

[tshirts]

I had a customer who's product was tshirts.
In the process of creating his website, I created a test email address for it as tshirts@email.com, which I happened to use when signing up at the SDMB.

[gunnera4]

the origin of my screen name is fairly mundane. way back in the stone age i was working for my (and your) rich uncle running a gadget called an "m1919a4 browning .30 air-cooled"


--------------------------------------------------------
whatever happens we have got the maxim gun, and they have not

[dpr]

dpr is a dirty acronym. Think pussy.

[Bluemonchichi]

My BF nick-named me. While I was growing out my hair (I had it shaved) I dyed it blue and looked like a monchichi. I fought the nick-name at first, but it kind of grew on me, so I decided to use it here.

[Kyla]

Excitingly, Kyla is my given name. At least it's unusual. It has a variety of meanings in various languages. It supposedly means beautiful in some Celtic language, but McCaffertA disputed that rumor years ago by pointing out that Kyle is Gaeilc for Harbor, indicating that Kyla must mean Harborina. Which is the basis for the the nick I often use in #straightdope and my hotmail address. It's also a derogatory term for Jew in Amharic. When I introduced myself to Ethiopians when I lived in Israel, they would be completely shocked.

[Monster104]

Monster is actually my nickname IRL. My friend dubbed me Monster because I'm so big. For quite a while that's how people got to know me, and they didn't even learn my real name for quite a while after they met me.

[mblackwell]

My first initial isM and Blackwell is my last name. Creative aren't I? :D

[andyman]

Actually my name can from a college buddy. My real name is Andy (duh!) and when he'd see me he's sing "The Andyman!!! The Andyman can!!!"

BTW, I love Smeghead and Wonko the Sane's names (being a Dwarfer and a Hitchhiker). Playing games online lately I've been going by Broomfondle, & I think I'm gonna change my SDMB name to it.

[spark]

I had a college roommate with the same name as mine. To keep us straight, I somehow picked up the nickname Sparky, and he was Dippy (I definitely got the better end of the deal). For online purposes, I just shortened it to spark (lowercase = lazy)

In addition, I am a huge South Park fan (think S. Park)

My sig? Obviously, I'm an Eliot fan, and it takes the edge off all this stuff

[Dinsdale]

Suffice it to say I get a kick out of it when Spiny Norman and I post to the same thread.

[Spiny Norman]

(pops head over edge of screen, roars in menacing basso profundo): DINSDALE! DINSDALE!!

[capacitor]

I tend to store energy if I am not needed. When everyone else is tapped out of energy or ideas, I got some in reserve and save the day.

[Hanofer]

Read a book when I was a kid about Queen Anhksenamun (Tut's wife). Her (fictional) handmaid was named Hanofer. Thought it was pretty and unusual. Means 'beautiful brows' in Egyptian.

[Dumbguy]

Huh? What's the question?

[nashiitashii]

skuggi is the icelandic word for shadow. i always liked the look and sound of the word, and if i ever got a horse or a dog, this would be his name. [skuggi is a masculine noun, and, therefore, is only suited to be used with male animals imo.] I added the s's and i's because it made it more interesting. [note: i choose nto to capitalize in this post b/c i am lazy.] this is also a sn i've been using for a while on aim and my email service.

[Peta Tzunami]

"First name"
Okay, so back in the day when I first started on-line (1992, I think), I had to pick a screen name (naturally) and I was primarily getting on-line to chat with Monkees fans. I was also a new vegetarian and very interested in the animal group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Well, if you've ever watched the Monkees, you'll hear Davy Jones pronounce my favorite Monkee's name (Peter) as Peta (Peta is also the name of said AR group and the feminine form of Peter), so it seemed a good choice.

"Last name"
At my first Doper gathering in DC (before I even posted here) we were joking around about something, Satan said something and I responded along the lines of, "no tsunami with a z!" (The joke being, of course, not only does it not have a z in it, but it starts with a t.) I liked the joke, so I took the name Tzunami.

The Dopers I met encouraged me to post (nearly threatened as I recall)...and really wanted me to post as "Phil's Wife," but both Phil and I thought that wouldn't be a good idea...so I used my usual screen name, Peta, with Tzunami. Ta da!

<subliminal advert>Watch the VH1 original movie "Daydream Believers: The Monkees Story"</advert> :D

[SILENT-BOB NOT REALLY]

:wally

[pepperlandgirl]

Well, when I was trying to think of a name, I wanted a subtle Beatles reference
In Yellow Submarine, the Beatles are recruited to save Pepperland. Pepperland, is also of course, named after Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. So, it's a double reference. I added girl, because, well, I'm a girl

[Nacho4Sara]

I got AOL five years ago, when I was a freshman in high school. My boyfriend at the time already had it and his name was "Taco4Barry" (his name was not Barry though). So to be cute, because we were so in love and adored each other so much (ech!) we wanted matching names. So I picked Nacho4Sara, even though I don't like Mexican food that much. It stuck, and I kept it even after I finally kicked AOL's ass. The relationship lasted a month, but the name shall live on forever (he got rid of his much sooner.)

[The Tof]

Well.. here's a story... :)
Screeme (also sometimes seen as screeme18-- 18 being my birthday, or screeme602-- 602 being a random #):

Short answer-- Screeme=sportscreme.. but I made a typo and added the extra E. (plus I took out the "ports")

OK, you're begging for the long answer, I can feel it.

Picture if you will, a young boy of but 14 years old, playing in a city baseball league. Our first baseman, Bob (not his real name :) ) used to get sore muscles in his leg, so he could carry around a tube of sportscreme with him at games. (I don't know why, but we always teased him about the bottle.)

Warming up for a game, our third baseman threw it over to Bob... it short hopped him, bounced up, and hit him right int he nads. And HARD, too. (Did I mention that Bob also never wore his cup?) Well, he's writhing on the ground in pain.. and I chime in from the dugout... "Yo, Bob... Put some Sportscreme on it!". My teammates erupted... and ever since then they called me sportscreme. Which got to be emberassing at school and stuff... so we shortened it to screeme. (pronounced "scream")

There, now you all have the story in your heads and you're stuck with it! Besides, It was gonna be "stouffers" (I'm also know as "topher" and some friends pronounce the S at the front). But how interesting would that be?

Screeme

[justwannano]

I was preparing for the worst scenereo Y2K.
I wanted to know if gas line antifreeze would be an acceptable fuel for an alcohol stove that I have. I started searching on the web and ran into a site where some guy named Cecil Adams was commenting on a fuel additive. I went to his web page and found SDMB. Before I could post a question they made me join. All this because I JUSTWANNANO about gas line antifreeze.

[Micro Furry]

My MB name should be fairly obvious, neh? ;) My online name for ages, half my life in fact, was Dracandros... a cookie to anyone who guesses where that one came from. (Hint: It has to do with nasty blue things.) My current one is Shiro, after my fave RP character, and also a tag-along nephew in a delightfully twisted book... anyone care to take a stab?

[ricepad]

...So I went for a name that was the exact opposite of anything I considered myself to be and became Fluff...

And then a friend would greet me as anything BUT Fluff... I was fluffolicious and fluffomatic and the fluffinator... so.......



I always thought it was because it was your job description back when you did porn...

[Balance]

My current one is Shiro, after my fave RP character, and also a tag-along nephew in a delightfully twisted book... anyone care to take a stab?

WAG: Wasn't Shiro Samurai Cat's nephew? It's been a loong time since I read that book. I can't even offer a WAG about Dracandros.

[Xgemina]

I've always been a big military history buff and my favorite has always been the Roman Empire, particularly late BC early AD.

Thus my name comes from the Legio X Gemina (10th legion Gemina) who was Julius Caesar's favorite legion and with him during the conquest of Gaul.

[Silo]

I remember thinking I want a short name so people will remember me easily. Meanwhile, there was this program on TV showing people residing/renovating missile silos from the Cold War. And that's where the name Silo came from. I didn't realize the phallic reference till I had the name awhile--oh well. :D

[Esprix]

I use America Online.

OK, would you all please stop pelting me with rocks and garbage?

Thank you.

{wipes off sleeve}

{ahem}

When I first signed up I had a boring screen name and needed a change. Of course I wanted something that was uniquely me without being obvious (like my name or something else equally as dull, which I most certainly am not), so I played around with a bunch of descriptive words.

At one point I was toying with "Max" (as in "maximum") and an adjective, such as "Max Joy"(*) or "Max Spirit." I finally went to a thesaurus and was poking up synonyms to "happy" and the like and found "esprit," as in esprit de corps. Looking it up, it means "vivacious or bubbly." Well, that's me, eh? :D So I took "Max Esprit" out for a spin, but after a couple of weeks I decided I didn't like "Max" and it was too long, and "esprit" was just a word, so I took the "x" from "Max" and... voila! Here I be, and haven't looked back.

Esprix

(*) Side note: when I came up with this one I kept hearing the line "maximum joy" from an 80's song, and although I thought it was a male singer, the only reference I've been able to find is Sade's "Smooth Operator," a song I don't even care for that much. I even used this very board to help me find out where I'd heard the phrase.

[Nodule B]

Nodule A sounded too new.
It's like when DBASE II was produced to seem like it had been though a shakedown version and been improved. (There was no DBASE I)

[Tymp]

A few years ago, a telemarketer called me to conduct a survey. The transcript of that conversation would look a little something like this:

Tim: (Picking up receiver) It’s your quarter, start talkin’.
Telemarketer: Um, hello? Is this blah blah blah?
Tim: Why, yes. Yes it is.
Telemarketer: Blah blah survey blah blah . . . ?
Tim: Um . . .
Telemarketer: To begin, I’ll need your first name.
Tim: Tim
Telemarketer: Could you spell that for me?

And so, after an amazed pause, I did spell it for her. You see, when pronouncing Tymp, you must remember that the ‘p’ is silent.

[Balance]

ROTF...Good one, Tymp! I just lay the phone aside at let 'em ramble--if everyone did it, maybe the wasted phone charges would bankrupt 'em. If I'm feeling particularly mean, I'll pick it up before they're done and say, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Then put it down again.

[Jophiel]

Jophiel: A Hebraic angel who's name means "Beauty of God" and is unoffically the angel who was sent to drive Adam and Eve out of the Garden o' Eden. A member of the choir of Cherubim and one of the seven archangels.

Why use it? Well, I'm interested in angeology and way back in the day when I started on IRC, I wanted an angel style nickname. Any of the more common ones were either always taken (like Seraph, Gabriel, Uriel, etc) and if I did get one, people would message me thinking I was someone else. Finally, I chose a more obscure one and things have been good ever since. Alas, as the net grows, it gets harder and harder to find a site where Jophiel isn't taken as well but I got here early enough to secure it.

[TheBori]

Ficticious Latin plural of my surname.

My family, while not overly large is more numerous than most, is often collectively referred to as "The Bori".

e.g.
"Who's coming to the picnic?"
"Oh, Bob and Marsha, Jane and her new boyfriend and The Bori"
"ALL of them?"
"Yep"

[BigGiantHead]

WOW! Thanks for checking in, everybody! I had no idea this would grow into such a monster. I think I'm heading for the record on threads of this variety.

And a special gracias to you three whom I specifically mentioned in my OP for dropping by ... finally... (Esprix ;))

[Archer]

This one is easy, my hobby is archery.

[Scotticher]

'kay, I am SO boring.

My user name is the same as my email name. When I signed up, I didn't realize I shoud pick something fun and/or cute and/or sexy. (All of which I am, I may add. Sigh)

So, you all got my heritage and name squished into the username Scotticher. I like it, but maybe I shoud have worked a little harder. On the other hand, then I would have had to remember yet another screen name.

Guess I am more into easy than fun/cute/sexy. Sad, isn't it?

Scotti

[Micro Furry]

Balance - YES! Shiro was the nephew of the Samurai Cat. *gives you a cookie*

Still no guesses on Dracandros, tho.

[DoctorJ]

Mine's pretty simple...we often call one another "Doctor" in med school to boost our egos or when we're putting someone on the spot. ("So tell me, Dr...") This started back before we knew each other's last names very well, so I was Dr. Jonathan. This was shortened to Dr. J, which stuck--partially because it's so familiar, and partially because it's so completely wrong for an unathletic short white guy. :)

Dr. J

[Balance]

Still no guesses on Dracandros, tho.

Waitaminute...Nasty blue things?! Dracandros...the Red Wizard from Curse of the Azure Bonds? Did I manage to hit this one, too?

[NothingMan]

It was what I was thinking at the time . . . "nothing, man".



Ok not really.



It is supposed to be a tribute to one of my favorite songs of all time : "NothingMan" by Pearl Jam. (Music is very important to me.)

Discovered some disturbing news recently . . . the title of the song is not "NothingMan" but rather "Nothingman". I have to say I feel very stupid. I chose the name on memory. I got it wrong. But, hey - its me now and I guess I am stuck with it.

I'll stand by my sig.

There you go,

- NM

[blokeychap]

I use blokeychap because I can never think of anything on the spot - blokeychap is like thingymejig or watchemacallit a word used for anything

e.g. 'remember that guy..........wossisname.....you know.......blokeychap......with the thing......etc'

[Altair_8800]

My nickname comes from the first personal computer, the MITS Altair 8800.

[etgaw1]

Ed
The
Great
And
Wonderful
One

The one was added so I could have the number the you need in some screen names and it fits so it stays.

[Micro Furry]

Balance - Two for two! :D *gives you a cookie jar* And here I thought I was the only one who plays/played (or at least remembered) the old Gold Box games. :D

[Vestal Blue]

This subject was covered awhile back, and will probably surface from time to time in perpetuity.
I'm too lazy today to link, though I think Nen was kind enough to do so.

My name is from a fictional Battle of Britain novel, the call sign of one of the pilots in the story.

And Dogsbody, on a historical note, Dogs Body was the call sign of Douglas Bader, one of Britains' greatest aces. He also flew with prosthetic legs, having lost his while showing off in a Bristol Bulldog and crashing.
He finished out the war in Kolditz Castle, as a POW. After the war he hired on with the Shell oil Company, and flew for them.

Hamadryad, I knew you were a Heinlein fan! You Hamadarling, you!

[BiblioCat]

Ellen wrote:
You judge: Am I hopelessly boring or a complete egomaniac? It's my actual name.

Ditto. Kinsey is my name.
I have no imagination for screen names, plus I am registered on some other MB's, so it is just easier to remember.

[my85car]

Alas, it does seem so very ordinary, eh? Actually, before I registered, I had in mind quite a number of screen names. But when I actually got to the registration page, my mind just emptied out. I mean EMPTY !!!! I was trying to figure out something before I lost my net connection, and I looked out the window in my driveway. There sat my 1985 Chrysler 5th Ave. Hence, my85car. Actually, in retrospect, since the pile of junk gets 5 or 6 miles per gallon whether it needs to or not, I should have maybe took the name my85P.O.S. or something equally descriptive. So, there you have it, in it's entirety. Aren't ya thrilled?

[Derleth]

My nick comes from my reading of H.P. Lovecraft, and my actually looking at bylines every so often. In some stories, a man named August Derleth collaborated with Lovecraft. I like the ring of Derleth, how it kind of slithers off the tongue. One pet peeve related to my handle: Nobody spells it correctly! I've seen Derlith as being the most common misspelling, most probably because it's a phonetic spelling. But come on, people! Derleth really isn't that tough!

[iampunha]

Thank God I'm not erlidh on here or we'd all be here until sunset.

1. My very first personal email account was punha@hotmail.com. I got punha from my first stuffed animal Paddington, which I pronounced Punha.

2. After being disgusted by the level of security on hotmail (2 years ago, I think) I switched to other SNs . . . none of them important. Finally I figured this was a waste of my time and switched to netscape webmail.

3. I wanted to be punha@netscape.net, but that was already taken, so I did iampunha (I am punha) instead.

4. I like to keep things simple, so whenever possible I use either erlidh or iampunha as my SN. Erlidh, however, is another story.

[Chronos]

Well, if you read any of my GQ posts, you'll probably figure out that I'm a relativist, and am specifically obsessed with time (my ultimate career goal is to either develop time travel, or prove definatively that it's impossible). Chronos is the Greco-Roman personification of Time, and specifically a character in Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. Connection is obvious.

[T G I F]

T.G.I.F. is Greek for "Kill The Keg".

Actually they used amphorae, but who's going to fault them now?

[Smart Bob]

If my screen name confuses you, try to lie down a while.
You're not getting enough blood to the top.

[Ann Onimous]

I've gotten older since then, read more, studied some, gotten more cynical than possible. By now, I should have achieved Sainthood. Right, that is where we get Saint Zero.
My sig explains what I'm the Patron Saint of.


*More* cynical? How could that happen, sweetie? ;)

Mine came from a character I created for an old Virtual BBS storyline back in 1996. I couldn't think of anything strange, so Juliana it was.

[Saint Zero]

I've gotten older since then, read more, studied some, gotten more cynical than possible. By now, I should have achieved Sainthood. Right, that is where we get Saint Zero.
My sig explains what I'm the Patron Saint of.


*More* cynical? How could that happen, sweetie? ;)

Mine came from a character I created for an old Virtual BBS storyline back in 1996. I couldn't think of anything strange, so Juliana it was.


You'd think I'd get some respect from my wife, but NOOOO! :D

[Palmyra]

I thought my name was a character in a book by Italo Calvino... however, when I tried to prove this to a friend, I discovered that the name in one on the stories was Pamela... not quite the same is it... Anyway, I can't belive I pulled it out of my ass or something because I'm not quite that clever, but very close though. :)

Still trying to figure it out though...

[Baglady]

It has nothing to do with my appearance, or how I shuffle around with a shopping cart down the sidewalk, muttering to myself.

I have a Web site called the Travelite FAQ, where I teach people how to travel with just one carry-on bag. I end up reviewing and recommending bags, hence my nick.

[Mr. Feely]

Palmyra: ever been to upstate New York? There's a town named Palmyra not far from Rochester. See this map (http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=&city=Palmyra&state=NY&slt=43.060501&sln=-77.217102&name=&zip=&country=us&BFCat=&BFClient=&mag=7&desc=&cs=7&newmag=6).

I got my screen name from an extremely homophobic friend of mine from high school. He had a really big hangup with accusing all his friends of being gay (we are all straight, as far as I know), and as a result he called me Mr. Feely. When I needed a handle for a BBS, I couldn't think of anything else, so Mr. Feely it was, and I've used it ever since. Ironically, but not surprisingly, my friend came out as gay a couple years after I graduated.

[silent_rob]

Oh well.
I'm a big fan of the Kevin Smith movies (a really big fan). I also look, and not on purpose, a lot like the Silent Bob character from his movies. I look enough like him that if I dress in an outfit that he would where, you'd have to look at me for a long time to make sure it wasn't him. The nickname actually started when I went to a Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween showing (my first) with a friend. He went as Jay and I as Silent Bob.
The nickname also stuck because of the irony of it. I tend to be more like a polite version of Jay (though not quite that bad). What can I say, I like crackin wise. Thus, it was also hard to shut my mouth for that entire Halloween night. Later all.

Also, I use the nick on the net all the time. So I didn't really check to see if anyone else had a similar name. Sorry for the confusion.

[VarlosZ]

One day in Junior year of high school, some friends and were eating in McDonald's after school and, as we got up to leave, I noticed an organizer on the floor. It had a HIP card in it belonging to Mr. Varlos Z. Brathwaite. I thought that was the coolest name I'd ever heard, and the name became something of an in-joke with my circle. I returned the organizer to Mr. Brathwaite in exchange for the use of his name as a pseudonym, in perpituity. (sp?)

[Jack Batty]

I just got my registration working, so I thought this forum would be the perfect place for my first post.

Way back in college I was a dedicated subscriber to National Lampoon magazine. In one issue, there was an article suggesting names for rock bands (no doubt Dave Barry read this issue as well). One of the suggestions under the Country-Punk category was: Cowboy Bob and the Jackbatties. For some reason, this absolutely cracked me up. I've used the alias Jack Batty ever since (what is a jackbattie?).

P.S. - I have to say that WallyM7 is the reason I took a shine to this message board. Until recently I considered most message boards as havens for flame wars and dumb blond jokes. The first thing I read here was Wally's cyber-sex rap; I haven't stopped laughing and/or soiling myself since.

[Jimpy]

Jimpy > Jim P. > Jim Petty

This is obvious, but when a girl I liked but didn't like started calling me this I resisted. However a girl I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LIKED I took up the name, very, very quickly.

[Unauthorized Cinnamon]

Officer Aeryn Sun is a character on Farscape (http://www.farscape.com/). She's beautiful, she kicks ass, she's an atheist, and she gets to make out with Ben Browder. What more could a girl ask for?

[Callina]

I signed up for AOL when it started (who knew?) and have used Callina ever since. I have a distinctive real name (only 4 of us that I know of in the U.S.), but I wanted to hide from my students. So, I grabbed a book off the bookshelf and flipped it open. It so happens that I grabbed a Marion Zimmer Bradley novel about Darkover since, obviously, all of my fiction books are arranged alphabetical by author's last name. From where I sit at the computer, I couldn't reach the A's and had to grab a book in the B's. Callina was the first feminine name that I flipped to. Stuck to it all these years.

[:D]

[Palmyra]

Mr. Feely, actually, after i posted, i started searching the net for clues, since i still couldn't find the name in the damn book... I did find all those towns named Palmyra [NY, MN, PN, ME, and about 9 others, including Austrailia... i had no idea] It's also an area in Syria that was once a VERY powerful state during Roman times.... but i digress and bore the masses...

SO, i started flipping through my book again. Apparently i was remembering the wrong one of two stories... "Palmyra" was indeed a character in the book, albeit a small one, mentioned in flashback. The best thing is that i proved i wasn't crazy to one of my friends, who thought i HAD pulled it out of my ass... BTW, the character i took my name from is a nun, Palmyra, who is kidnapped and taken to the middle east and sold into a harem, and renamed Azira. I didn't have those details in memory when i chose the name.

ANYway, learning is fun, isn't it children? Yes it is! ;)

[Achernar]

Back when I was registering with Bigfoot.com, I wanted an Astronomy moniker, but it seems every nerd with an Internet connection these days has become an amateur Astronomer (myself included). After poring over my starmap for hours, I finally came across the wonderful star Achernar (meaning "End of the River") which is, unsurprisingly, the last and brightest star in the constellation Eridanus (meaning "River"). It's one of the brightest stars in the sky, but because of our borealocentric world, and its close proximity to the South Celestial Pole, it's largely overlooked. (I like to think that I'm liked that, bright but unappreciated, but whom am I kidding? :)) Put another way, you'd be hard-pressed ever to see Achernar from anywhere more North than Miami, and so, I never have, and fortunately, neither has most of the Internet population, because it's usually free when I go to register for things like this Message Board. As an added bonus, I get placed at or near the top of alphabetical lists.

[Eo Echo]

Well, my first name is Jay, and like a lot of Jays I was dubbed Jaybird practically at birth. It was a nickname I carried indifferently through most of my life. Recently, in my early twenties, Jaybird metamorphosized into Birdman (to the point where some people I know thought Birdman was actually my name). 12 was my uniform number on all the sports teams I ever played on, and eventually that also became something of an identifier. When I logged onto my first ISP, I discovered there was already a Birdman there, as well as a Birdman12, so I added my first initial J to the front of it.

[GaWd]

In my younger days I was, how shall I put it...thinner, sexier, and quite egotistical. :) (not me, honestly)

My first AOL screen name(and still current one), was TheFab1. A short time later, my nick turned into God(with my family). Out of respect, I didn't think "God" would be appropo, so rather than calling myself G_D, I changed it to GaWd. It's been that way ever since.

You'll also notice on my sig there's an "ArchAngel". THat's my little bro. BTW, I also hung around with a guy named "Jesus" for a time :D

-Sam

[JimmyNipples]

We have a guy that works in the newsroom here at the radio station. His name is Jim. He wears these shirts that are quite revealing. His rather dark nipples are plainly seen through these thread bare shirts of his.



JimmyNipples ain't no troll baby.....

[Ruffian]

For copyright sake, this is not the entire article.

[quote]TV special Commemorates Ruffian
By Matt Hegarty

Stuart Janney III has seen the images hundreds of times. He was at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975, when Ruffian broke down during her match race with Foolish Pleasure. He has seen the videotape replaying the horrible scene - and he has lived with an erratic stream of flashbacks. His father and mother owned the towering Ruffian, perhaps the best filly to set foot on an American racetrack.
On Wednesday, nearly 25 years since Ruffian lost her life in one of the saddest events in North American racing, Janney replayed the scene once again. This time, it was at the invitation of ESPN, which has produced a 30-minute documentary to commemorate the date of Ruffian's breakdown.

"I think it's very well done, and very powerful," Janney said after a screening of the program at the Jockey Club offices in Manhattan. In the bright glare of the turned-up lights, his eyes were a bit red at the corners.

"Very, very powerful," he said.

The program, produced by Gerry Matalon and Gentry Kirby, will air on Thursday, July 6, at 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN Classic. Janney provides some comments for the program, but Thursday's viewing was the first time he had seen any part of the edited program.

Janney was 26 when Ruffian died. She was laid to rest in the Belmont infield a day after the sesamoids in her right foreleg shattered a half-mile into a match race with 1975 Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure.

The match race was arranged and feverishly promoted by the New York Racing Association, and 50,754 people came to Belmont to see it. Another 18 million watched on television.

The race was to be the sport's modern pinnacle, just two years after Secretariat had renewed interest in racing with his dramatic Triple Crown run. At the time the pair entered the gate, Ruffian, undefeated and never headed in her 10 races, had become associated with the women's rights movement, and the race against Foolish Pleasure had become another symbolic contest in the battle of the sexes, akin to Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King.

{snip}

...A quarter of a century after the fact, Ruffian's death is still a factor in Thoroughbred racing's decline in popularity. For an untold number of people drawn because of the drama of "girl vs. boy," Ruffian's last race was the last horse race they had the stomach to watch.

"It's as if the sport never stopped exhaling," said William Nack, who covers horse racing for Sports Illustrated and authored Scretariat's biography. "It just knocked the wind out of us."

ESPN did not shy from using graphic footage and graphic language in dealing with Ruffian's injury. At one point, the breakdown is characterized as if her bones "exploded like a hand grenade inside her ankle." The scenes can cause seasoned racegoers to wince and turn away on several occasions, even those who have seen the footage and heard the stories before.

Janney remembered how the Ruffian documentary that NYRA produced shortly after the match race used a blurred fade-out at the point of the breakdown, to shield viewers from the tragedy.

{snip}

As one of those interviewed in the ESPN program, Jack Whitaker, the host of the live CBS broadcast of the race in 1975, offered this view: "Nothing can take away the horror of seeing a horse break down. It's like seeing a masterpiece destroyed."

[GreenEyes]

Ummmmmm Might have something to do with my :eek:

[dpr]

A somewhat obscure reference to a character from The Princess Bride my friends constantly drew comparisons to.

[Myself]

May I add myself to the discussion?

I lurked a long time knowing I'd eventually have to name myself but I had a big disadvantage as I do not own a cat.

I suppose I could go out and get myself a cat, but what if I didn't like the cat's name? Whiskers, or Socks or Old One-eye? I don't think so. I wouldn't want to cheat myself out of a scrupuless and sexy synonym!

I no longer endulge in role-playing games myself and I couldn't take the name of my favorite board game; could you imagine: "Hello, I'm Sorry."

I just couldn't embarass myself that way.

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't want to immortalize my physical attributes or habits (good or bad) and there is no one thing with which I am obsessed. I certainly would not use my name or occupation as I prefer the mystery and anonymity.

I, myself, like a wide range of music because I often change my mood and mind. What lyrics I like today, might not work tomorrow if I didn't feel like myself. Likewise I can't think of a character from movies, literature, history or philosophy who captures the savoir-fairishness of someone like myself.

<Are we there yet, Daddy?>

Several weeks passed without inspriation; I continued to keep to myself. This was getting serious now. I was missing many opportunities to exercise my suberior intalect and Janet Reno-like wit (if I do say so myself).

Others made suggestions, but I had to come up with something <yawn> myself. I wanted a street-wise handle which expressed intellect, depth of character, worldliness, toughness, sophisication, sensitivity, warmth, wit, charm, a metaphysical peace with/in nature and wo/mankind, a sense of humor and, above all else--honesty.

But I couldn't lie, so I just had to be...

Myself

[hightechburrito]

Mine would be the name of the restaurant that I walked out of after seeing the prices.

The burritos couldn't be that good, could they?

[Smeghead]

Originally posted by dpr
A somewhat obscure reference to a character from The Princess Bride my friends constantly drew comparisons to.

Dread Pirate Roberts? I knew that would keep me up all night until I figured it out.

Oh, I already posted my origin. Thanks to all who mentioned that they liked it. I didn't think anyone noticed. <<Sniff>>

[Primaflora]

Primaflora is a character in one of Dorothy Dunnett's series _House of Niccolo_

[Mr. Feely]

hightechburrito writes:

Mine would be the name of the restaurant that I walked out of after seeing the prices.

The burritos couldn't be that good, could they?

They've gone downhill a bit lately (at least the Albany restaurant), but they are still pretty good and definitely worth the price. Give 'em a try! Just avoid the Spicy Cajun burrito. And don't be put off by the name. :)

[Apollyon]

Apollyon: the greek form for the Hebrew Abaddon, meaning "destroyer". In Revelation 9:11 Apollyon is the angel of the bottomless pit. In Revelation 20:1 he "laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." According to the foregoing, Apollyon is a holy (good) angel, servant and messenger of God; but in occult and, generally, in non-canonical writings, he is evil.
- Gustav Davidson, "A Dictionary of Angels (including the fallen angels)".

I've used the name for years. Like Jophiel, I wanted an angelic nickname and Apollyon appealed as he is one of the few angels to be named in canonical writings, yet is somewhat uncommon, and is thought by some to be upright and others to be apostate.

[Odieman]

It all goes back to my university days. I had (still have) this horrible habit of being slightly clumsy. I would set glasses on top of ashtrays breaking both, trip on cracks in sidewalks etc. Garfield had a strip where Odie tripped on his own tongue and Garfield called him Odie the Wonder Dummy. That was my nickname for two days untill it got mercifully shortened to Odie.

Fast forward to last year. I found this board and I was wondering what I could use as a user name. I noticed most people didn't use their real names. I started with Odie, but it looked awfully short so I added the man at the end.
The signature is self-explanitory.

You can call me Keith or Odie I answer to either one.

[Cervaise]

My screen name goes back years. YEARS, I tell you! But like so many others, it was a MFOOMB¹, and just stuck.

The name originates in a play-by-mail RPG my brother came up with eight or nine years ago. It was pretty cool, but it would take forever to explain, so suffice to say that Cervaise was the family name he picked for my group. My character's full name, as I discovered when I opened my orientation packet, was "Eathan Cervaise," upon which I immediately asked, "How the hell do you pronounce that?" His response: "You tell me."

Anyway, at about the same time, I signed up for AOL, using one of the "ten free hours" disks. (Remember those? Remember when they gave ten hours free? Instead of the current twenty million hours, or whatever it is.) In the registration process, picking a name, I discovered that all the cool ideas I had -- characters from Shakespeare, interesting mnemonics ("Roy G. Biv") -- were, to my great despair, all taken. So, in desperation, Cervaise popped to mind. I put it in, it wasn't taken, and that's that. It's such an unusual name, it's never spoken for whenever I sign up for stuff, so I've used it on everything ever since.

Incidentally, regarding the pronunciation question: Cervaise is a name in French, and is said, roughly, "sur-VAYZ." That's kind of dorky, so my preferred pronunciation, as I told my brother, is approximately this: "sur-VAH-yi-see."

Aren't you all pleased you know that? :)

¹Monkey flying out of my butt.

[HomeSlice]

My assistant manager calls everyone cuz at work (he is a huge hick) so I call everyone homeslice.

[The-Maxx]

I chose my own "special" phone number, and then named the company after it !

First I called the phone company to see what numbers they might assign me. They all started with 843-xxxx. I said to halt the order, and I would get back to them.

Then looked for words starting with those "numbers" T-U-V, G-H-I, D-E-F.

This got me a name starting with THE-xxxx.

I tried dialing about twenty of the words I liked starting with THE- THE-BEST, THE-MOST, THE-...

I ran out of ideas and my son said there was a cable channel cartoon spy, like James Bond, named The Maxx.
That one reached a "not in service" recording so I ordered it.

Then I registered the name downtown and in the papers.

So now my name is my phone number, and customers think I'm a bigger company.

My newspaper adds say " our name is our number THE-MAXX (843-6299)"

I get repeat orders every year from people who say they haven't seen our ad lately but remembered the number from the name!

[dpr]

Originally posted by Smeghead
Originally posted by dpr
A somewhat obscure reference to a character from The Princess Bride my friends constantly drew comparisons to.

Dread Pirate Roberts? I knew that would keep me up all night until I figured it out.

Oh, I already posted my origin. Thanks to all who mentioned that they liked it. I didn't think anyone noticed. <<Sniff>>

As you wish...

Sorry mate - didn't mean to deprive you of sleep. Especially considering you're a fellow Red Dwarf fan (with a cool name).

[gillygirl]

It's what I call my dog. (Her real name is Gillygoofang) Gillygoofang was a fish from an old childrens book called "The Gillygoofang" by George Mendosa)

[Bolo]

In grade school we all went on a field trip to Sacramento CA to see the state government in action. (This was a really big deal and my first airplane ride.) We were supposed to be seeing the state senate in session and we were all going to get a little paper proclamation welcoming each of us personally to the senate chambers.

All of our names were submitted by the school and apparently the person who wrote my name down had that kind of girly circley writing that is so endearing. Apparently this person did a bad job of connecting the up and down strokes with the circley parts.

We never got to see the senate. They were in some sort of closed session. We got our little papers though. When I got mine, to my horror (remember, I'm about 12 in this event) my name was spelled Bolo instead of Bob.

Now I ask you, what kind of dimwit do you have to be to think that some kid's name is Bolo instead of the highly obvious Bob? Sheesh!

[Cumulus]

Mine is rather mundane. I needed a name, looked out of the window of my office where I work, and saw a cloud. Thus . . .

Cumulus.

I especially liked my prior username, Misanthrope, when I worked at another office. Maybe I'll petition the moderators to let me use Misanthrope.

[Chronos]

Quoth dpr:
A somewhat obscure reference to a character from The Princess Bride my friends constantly drew comparisons to.Of course, you're not the REAL dpr, as he retired twenty years ago and has been living in luxury ever since.

[Sangria]

Start with Sandra Grias, and you see what happens.

It wasn't funny until I was old enough to party.

[kittenblue]

One of my favorite David Wilcox tunes (surely you've heard of him?) is Kitchen Blue, a song about spilled paint and acceptance. One day when I was particularly depressed about life, the universe and everything, and was faced with a trashed house and family cats and guest cats zooming everywhere, I mistyped the name of the song as Kitten Blue. It just seemed to fit my playful, vulnerable, semi-depressed state of mind.