# I'm back! (In which Winston welcomes himself back to the Boards) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622 "2005-02-18T00:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/1 "2005-02-18T00:14:00Z")
I missed you all! I’m putting a really rough 18 months behind me, and I’m going to try to find more time for the boards. One of these days I’m going to chronicle my run of bad luck in a thread when I feel the need to purge. Hope y’all are well. I spent half an hour or so composing a completely different thread, hit preview, saw a coding error, and hit the back button on my browser. Bye-bye thread. CTRL-C is your friend. Posting to the Straight Dope Message Boards is not just like riding a bicycle, people. Anyways, I see a lot of familiar posters, but even more new ones. It’s good to see this little community is still flourishing. I’m looking forward to posting again with _Great Vigah’_. Peace, Winston ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/2 "2005-02-18T00:21:51Z")
Did you bring pie ? ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/3 "2005-02-18T00:32:52Z")
Welcome back, I still use a quote from you in my sig line. I have looked for you, I thought that you’d just gone away. Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/4 "2005-02-18T00:38:32Z")
Hey, thanks **Unclviny**. Yeah, life got in the way for a while, as it is want to do. Still toting? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/5 "2005-02-18T04:46:19Z")
Welcome back, **Winston**! :: consults terminal :: There have been a few changes in the newbie initiation rituals since you took them, but since you are a returnee, you can skip almost all of the “squishy” stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/6 "2005-02-18T05:46:23Z")
I REMEMBER YOU! Your name… …is Jim? ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/7 "2005-02-18T06:50:58Z")
\ There are those that call me… _Jim_… (after I clearly said “James”) \ ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/8 "2005-02-18T07:41:24Z")
Welcome back! 🙂 You might be interested in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=294783) thread about name changes. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/9 "2005-02-18T08:15:16Z")
> [@WinstonSmith](#): > > Hey, thanks **Unclviny**. Yeah, life got in the way for a while, as it is want to do. Still toting? I am at work so not right now (oil company property and all). I heard somewhere “life is what happens while you are making other plans”. I just bought 1 1/2 acres outside of Houston and well, septic, driveway, fence and a mobile home and I am in the process of opening my own business (soon to be self-unemployed Spam sucking trailer trash!). Unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/10 "2005-02-18T09:19:18Z")
Hey Winston, welcome back. You don’t know me cause I’m too new, but the name is really cool, so I thought I’d say, > [@](#): > > Hi! Strolls through thread, casually tossing walnuts here and there. Avoid the glowing ones if you like your thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/11 "2005-02-18T10:35:43Z")
I remember you, too! Welcome back! I don’t know if returnees get **Iampunha** running nekkid, though. And if they do, how long do you have to be absent before you get nekkidness? 'Cuz I was gone for almost two weeks once when I had surgery, and he didn’t drop trou for me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/12 "2005-02-18T13:06:39Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I REMEMBER YOU! > Your name… > …is Jim? You may be thinking of someone else. Welcome back, **Winston**. To commemomarte your triumphant return, please accept this gift of the [Ultimate Kimchi Recipe](http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/UltimateKimchi.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/13 "2005-02-18T15:01:01Z")
I remember you too. Have you really been gone for eighteen months? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/14 "2005-02-18T15:31:35Z")
> [@Earthworm Jim](#): > > You may be thinking of someone else. Yeah, but he’s still got that five dollars! [26F](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144522) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/15 "2005-02-18T16:29:50Z")
> [@detop](#): > > Did you bring pie ? > [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I REMEMBER YOU! > Your name… > …is Jim? Ah, humor abounds. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/16 "2005-02-18T17:16:04Z")
Once upon a time, I was the one and only _Winston Smith_ on this message board. Then _winstonsmith_ came along. I believe this is the gent who(m?) changed his user name to _Rune_. I may or may not have that story straight, but I can assure you all that I am and have always been, Winston Smith 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/17 "2005-02-18T17:21:49Z")
Winston Smith does not exist. Winston Smith _never existed_. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-in-which-winston-welcomes-himself-back-to-the-boards/290622/18 "2005-02-18T17:36:34Z")
**unclviny** , glad to hear you’re movin’ on up. I just purchased my first home two weeks ago, but I don’t have that much land - unlike Texas, everything’s _small_ up here in New England. **Priceguy** , I haven’t actually been gone for 18 months, more like 8 or 10, though it’s probably 12 to 18 months since I’ve posted with any frequency.