# Please welcome our newest mod, xash **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 18, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296 "2003-07-18T02:58:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/41 "2003-07-18T11:49:12Z")
Good luck, **xash**. (BTW, I picture the “initiation” as what the Dementors do in the Harry Potter books.) ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/42 "2003-07-18T12:05:00Z")
Congratulations and good luck **xash**. About two years ago I spent an incredible week in India on a business trip. Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. It is interesting to see that you indicate your location as Bombay, the old English name for your city. Habit? Or preference? ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/43 "2003-07-18T14:45:16Z")
Bombay by preference… and by habit. And then also in a stubborn show of rejection of the new name 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/44 "2003-07-18T14:53:21Z")
Sorry for this hijack, but this is interesting… **gouda** , do you also then still refer to Chennai as Madras? And may I ask, out of curiosity, why the preference for Bombay vs Mumbai? I was led to believe that those city names were changed back to what they were named prior to the British “occupation”, and that this renaming was a very popular move. From your post, and **xash’s** location, I conclude something altogether different. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/45 "2003-07-18T15:46:17Z")
**Xash** , welcome to [The Party!](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0063415) \* What is your average day like? What type of work do you do? Married, single? Do you consider yourself religious? How did you first find The Dope™? Do you think _Star Wars_ or _Star Trek_ is better? What is the square root of negative one? Do these jeans make my ass look big? Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls? Pick and choose what you want to answer, either serious or frivolous. and oh yeah… [Joel Grey] _ **Velcome!** _ [/JG] - a very good movie by a charming actor, hope I didn’t offend 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/46 "2003-07-18T16:15:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\*Sorry for this hijack, but this is interesting… > > **gouda** , do you also then still refer to Chennai as Madras? And may I ask, out of curiosity, why the preference for Bombay vs Mumbai? > > I was led to believe that those city names were changed back to what they were named prior to the British “occupation”, and that this renaming was a very popular move. From your post, and **xash’s** location, I conclude something altogether different. \*\* Well, _I_ refer to it as Madras, purely out of habit. Same goes for Calcutta (new name Kolkotta). I’ve no real affinity for either city. Bombay though is personal, seeing as I was born and grew up there, and love the city… IMO, the name change in the case of Bombay in particular wasn’t something too many Bombayites were very concerned about. Plenty of people called the city Mumbai (the name in Marathi, the state language) before the name change, and plenty of people called the city Bumbai (hindi corruption of Bombay, I think), and plenty of people called in Bombay - and all those people still call it what they’ve been calling it. Not much has changed on the street. Newspapers with ‘bombay’ in their name still have bombay; restauraunts with ‘bombay’ in their name still have bombay… you get the picture! It’s official, but hasn’t changed anything. I still resent the name change though - I could make a rant out of it, but i doubt it’ll last more than a few posts (mine and **xash’s** mostly), so it probably wouldn’t be very satisfying 🙂 In the case of Madras and Calcutta, I’m given to understand that they were popular moves, wanted by the citizens of each city. But I can’t be sure. And **The Party** is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen!! And the only Indians who still find that movie offensive are 70+ years old, so don’t worry about it! ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/47 "2003-07-18T16:17:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*BTW, xash. We expect, shall we say, intimate reports of the latest happenings with the Bollywood starlets. Of course, we’re only interested in the incredibly gorgeous ones. \*\* Speak for yourself, **Monty**. I’d rather hear about my favorite Khans (Aamir and ShahRukh). :insert drooling smiley here: Congrats on your promotion, **xash**! What’s your favorite sweet or savory, so that we may know better how to bribe you? 😃 ---
**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:** [July 18, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/48 "2003-07-18T17:23:04Z")
[Muppet Movie]\* Gonzo: I’m on my way to Bombay, India to become a movie star! Fozzie: You don’t go to Bombay to become a movie star! You go where we’re going: to Hollywood! Gonzo: Sure, if you want to do it the easy way! \*[/Muppet Movie] ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/49 "2003-07-18T17:43:46Z")
Hey, get crackin, **xash** , you got a lot of catching up to tdo for your NMPQ\*. (\*-Nazi Mod Pit Quotient- the name will stick if it kills me.) Welcome, and thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/50 "2003-07-18T19:11:31Z")
Man, am I ever out of the loop… I _do_ spend a lot of time in GQ, and I never noticed **xash**. I guess he fnord just has one of those names that sort of slips under the radar. All lowercase will do that, you know. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/51 "2003-07-19T01:04:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kabbes \* > **Are those my feet?** This just cracked my shit up. Congratulations, xash! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/52 "2003-07-19T02:37:46Z")
Oh! Computers! That explains it. I’ve been meaning to get a computer for ever. I freakin’ LIVE in GQ, and you aren’t there. The time zone thing explains it. \ Very big welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/53 "2003-07-19T02:38:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **No worries there, Joey G.'s got plenty of issues.** Daddy? ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/54 "2003-07-19T03:32:04Z")
Hey, now that you are the newest member of the Mod Squad, are you more of a Clarence Williams III or Michael Cole type? Or perhaps more of a Peggy Lipton kinda Mod? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/55 "2003-07-19T04:23:15Z")
G’day **Xash**. Welcome mate. Do we now have a mod who knows about cricket? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/56 "2003-07-19T09:52:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Algernon \* > \*\*Sorry for this hijack, but this is interesting… > > **gouda** , do you also then still refer to Chennai as Madras? And may I ask, out of curiosity, why the preference for Bombay vs Mumbai? > > I was led to believe that those city names were changed back to what they were named prior to the British “occupation”, and that this renaming was a very popular move. From your post, and **xash’s** location, I conclude something altogether different. \*\* **gouda** has essentially covered it. I’ve grown up and lived in Bombay most of my life, and I’ve always called it that. The move from Bombay to Mumbai was a political one. This country has an affinity for name changes. They rename airports, highways, streets, bridges, crossings, etc. every once in a while. The original name though usually sticks on in popular use. Every time a party comes to power they want to honour their heroes and their causes. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/57 "2003-07-19T10:36:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > **What type of work do you do?** I’m a computer guy. I develop software for handheld computers and specialize in the domain of wireless networks and network security. I also run the Indian Palm User Group. My work is mostly play. **Married, single?** Single. **Do you consider yourself religious?** I was agnostic, now I tend towards atheist. **How did you first find The Dope™?** 🙂 Good question. I found it through a link on [bored.com](http://www.bored.com). Initially, I just read Cecil’s columns and found them fascinating. It wasn’t until a Weird Earl got me hooked that I discovered the joy that is these boards and the people that live it. **Do you think _Star Wars_ or _Star Trek_ is better?** Yes 😛 **What is the square root of negative one?** This should be in GQ. I’ll move it for you 😃 i am the square root of negative one. No, wait, that should be i is. It is also known, in engineering terms, as the _j operator_. **Do these jeans make my ass look big?** Those are jeans ? :eek: **Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls?** You _want_ me to wake you up at 3 a.m.? p.s. Has anyone ever used one of each available smiley _meaningfully_ in a single post ? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/58 "2003-07-19T10:41:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sunfish \* > \*\*I’d rather hear about my favorite Khans (Aamir and ShahRukh). :insert drooling smiley here: > > Congrats on your promotion, **xash**! What’s your favorite sweet or savory, so that we may know better how to bribe you? 😃 \*\* Start asking your local sweet mart to stock up on _gulab jamuns_ and _rossogullas_. Incidentally, Shahrukh Khan lives a few buildings away from my house. You might want to send me more of each. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/59 "2003-07-19T10:57:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Man, am I ever out of the loop… I _do_ spend a lot of time in GQ, and I never noticed **xash**. I guess he fnord just has one of those names that sort of slips under the radar. All lowercase will do that, you know. \*\* 🙂 Well, you once locked down my thread. I remember you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296/60 "2003-07-19T11:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Troy McClure SF \* > \*_Hey, get crackin, **xash** , you got a lot of catching up to tdo for your NMPQ_. > > (\*-Nazi Mod Pit Quotient- the name will stick if it kills me.) > > Welcome, and thank you. \*\* Thank you, and welcome 🙂 Don’t I get a handicap ? I mean they’ve had at least a 1 year lead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-welcome-our-newest-mod-xash/189296.md?page=4)