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Some of the names are fascinating, some funny, some cryptic, or whatever. Can you tell the story behind how you picked your name?

I am "Sporty_G"....I got this nickname from a guy on my softball team in the early 90's...he used it once in public with the rest of the team there in a game and then at the bars afterward and it stuck. I have used it ever since...."thank you" for the name Carleton where ever you are now.

MCW stands for Molotov Cocktail Waitress, name of a three part hip-hop group Im involved in.

C Lewis is Chris Lewis, my name

fuck, i thought of starting this thread early on. damn! lol

"ZIMATAR" is an am radio show in the philippines from the late '70s to early '80s... it was on every 8pm... just before i go to sleep... i gave more attention to my very first transistor radio (i don't recall if it were fisher price or sesame street design) than television as it was given to me as a birthday gift when i turned 4 years old... every 8pm on school nights, the announcer would go:
ZIIIIIMMMMMMMAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
(think the way He-Man would yell "By the power of Grayskull!")

ZIMATAR is a Filipino action hero battling supernatural evil forces that endanger mankind. too bad it was not adapted as a tv show nor a movie

OMG I WAS WRONG!!!
ZIMATAR HAS BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE IN 1982 AND I HAD NO FUCKEN CLUE
it seems to be a hit in Germany
thank heavens for google!!!

http://www.amazon.de/Zimatar/dp/B000KF0F96

he's got a funny costume and a sword too! hello, masters of the universe, we started it first!!!

duglyduckling = D Ugly Duckling (The ugly duckling)

I think everyone knows the story...

Ursa Major (pronounced /ˌɝsəˈmeɪdʒɚ/) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. Its name means Great Bear in Latin, and is associated with the legends of Callisto and Cynosura.

RBY71 is just representational of the Red Blue Yellow primary colors that are also interchangeable with letters in my name with the year I was born tagged on at the end.

I chose to go with this one because on other sites I've always had to have kinda silly names like KillerGardenGome or RabidMonchichi and I wanted to have NowShowMeOnTheDollyWhereTheBadManTouchedYou as one, but the site in question did not allow that many characters in the name box.

I chose to go with a boring name on RJ because when I signed up it seemed like a very very serious site and I was unsure that any silliness would be appropriate, let alone tolerated. Thank you all for validating that assumption

It's my name.. I have nothing to hide.

RBY71 saidRBY71 is just representational of the Red Blue Yellow primary colors that are also interchangeable with letters in my name with the year I was born tagged on at the end.

I chose to go with this one because on other sites I've always had to have kinda silly names like KillerGardenGome or RabidMonchichi and I wanted to have NowShowMeOnTheDollyWhereTheBadManTouchedYou as one, but the site in question did not allow that many characters in the name box.

I chose to go with a boring name on RJ because when I signed up it seemed like a very very serious site and I was unsure that any silliness would be appropriate, let alone tolerated. Thank you all for validating that assumption

too bad "MatthewMcConaugheyLookAlike" is a bit lengthy too

I happen to be a very enthusiastic Pokémon fan.

Kidding.

ASH is my initials, and 557 is just a nice number.

x

I'm Kevin and I was born in 1982

My handle is what the Eddie Murphy character Buckwheat used to say when singing 'Lookin for love in all the wrong places' on an old Saturday night skit.

I think he said wookinpanub when trying to say 'lookin for love' but I like nookinpunub better.


'Lookin for love in all the wrong places' was used in theUrban Cowboy movie with John Travolta
.
Nookinpunub

Alright so everyone always asks why I chose such a dark name so here's the explanation:

Life sometimes forces us to make hard choices - it's inevitable. In the past I did something to help a certain someone that to them probably felt like betrayl. That pain is my own burden to bare, because even if I meant the best and believed it was the right thing to do, I still managed to cause harm. In the future it will be the same, but at least I can live with a clear conscience and with no regrets, and thus it is my life, my choices, that result in my pain, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

freakyninjamonkey...heh, well this name came about a few years ago. Was trying to make a name for my AIM account but everything I tried to use had already been takes (DAMN PEOPLE GETTING TO THE NAMES FIRST). After some thought, and help from the shirt I was wearing (the shirt read "No, it's not raining. That's actually my ninja monkey pelting you with poo!" ) I tried ninjamonkey...and that was a miss . Well my friend said that one of my other names I tried was knida freaky...and thus freakyninjamonkey was born. I can also say with a 99.5% certainty that when I use this name, NOONE already has it picked lol.

one of my friends actually say "geebus mcneesus!" as opposed to the blasphemous "jesus christ".

I thought mine would be obvious...

I've never seen Zimatar either, zim.

Sedative14

14 - my favorite number, since I was born January 14.

Sedative - hmm... one of the four handles I usually use.

One is my 'straight' handle (I'm still closeted and thus never use it), it has a much better background story. Heh. Coz I based it off a poem I wrote back in high school.

The other three, including Sedative, are used simply because I like the sound and I'm not a hundred percent sane anyway. If the ones I've chosen are unavailable then I'll pick between the three. In this case Sedative14.

Deep Ellum is an arts, entertainment and shopping district just northeast of downtown Dallas, close to my home. I've seen the area described as Bohemian, a bit rough around the edges. You won't find Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic or Starbucks in Deep Ellum. But you're in the right neighborhood if you're looking for a tattoo parlor or loud club with live music. From what I understand, "Ellum" comes from the southern drawl two-syllable pronunciation of the word, Elm, the main street in the neighborhood.

haha oh me and my screennames...
this one is self explanatory...it could mean a lot..
first the 23 is how old I am...well should have thought of that before making..cuz I guess I will always be 23? lol

but the notsoomuch is a name that coincides with my old(still use) Aim mileniumdoughboy..
add the notsoomuch-mileniumdoughboy
in high school nick named pimp daddy doughboy for all the girls I was friends with, then with y2k happening around then...made mileniumdoughboy, but since I am no longer a doughboy..I am notsoomuch

another screenname though pointless to share is dedicated to my ex.. overyoulikethat its on the same site he used daily to get hookups..so whenever I sign on he sees that...

You know the line, "Surfs up!" used to get thrown around a lot? I hated that line, and thus, surfsdown was born. It's not deep or cryptic, but damnit it's functional!

Its a nickname based on my initials--T.M. I should change it since guys think my name is Tim O.

Thygra is the god of prosperity and happines, i found Thygros sound more manly so Thygros was born

Tomi is my actual first name, R is the first letter of my surname and the nr 1 I added 'cause obviously TomiR was already taken (haven't found anyone using that screenname, tho). So, there it is: TomiR1. Nothing mystic about that.

klavierkonzerte is german for piano concerto
i just love the concerto form specially the piano concertos of the forgotten 19 century composers.

TWINCAM, refers to the dual overhead cams often found in small, advanced and powerful engines like me

One would think it was because my name is Colm, and I'm from Dublin, but it isn't. While both of these facts are true, Colmdublin is actually the ancient De Danaan god of miniskirt wearing chubby waitresses and cheese on a stick. It is all that I aspire to.

Well I didn't find out that "imperator" was an honorific title given to successful Roman generals until after I thought I'd made it up as the title for characters in some sci-fi I started writing years ago. Imperators the way I use it are superhuman special agents of a fictional government who carry out the 'imperative' missions crucial to the survival and security of their civilisation. So when I think of the word it basically means someone who does what must be done, which is a trait that I aspire to.

My name is Tim and I am a marsupial.

Mine is just what it appears:

Joe = my name
Scorpio = my astrological sign
1970 = the year I was born

citpolo = college + sport

Alright guys my real name is Zulkifle, but I prefer to call my self Zakariah. It more Westernize and easier to pronouce .....just Zak

TWINCAM....that's hot.

mine is stupid...First of all, my name isn't tommy...people have always called me JT and I was at a bar with friends once and this girl thought JT stood for Jeffrey Thomas, so she kept calling me Tommy all night...

JT does not stand for Jeffrey Thomas...its something FAR FAR worse, and has been a horrible nickname that I cannot for the life of me shake, so now I just roll with it.

so anyway, after that girl called me Tommy all night (and then for several semesters of undergrad afterwards, my friends wouldn't let it go, and that part stuck.)

the guns comes from the fact that I have kinda big arms...and when I'd workout with my friends and we'd do arms, I always thought it was funny to give a biceps pose and yell "Welcome to the Gun Show" (dork...I know)



(not mine...I wish they were)

Tommy and guns went together.

When I signed up for RJ, apparently tommysguns was already taken, so I had to stick a number on the end...I chose 2000 cause thats the number of MnMs I ate in five minutes to get the WORLD RECORD, baby!

Mine's pretty straightforward.

My name is Shawn and I live in Toronto. Creative genius at it's best.

It is my totem animal.

I'd be another of the uncreative screen name people. I've always been a nerd, and I'm currently a PhD student in Biology at MSU. Hence, MSUBioNerd.

such awesome creativity!

mine, not so much:

acuario - sign

salvaje - wild

Caslon: most immediately it is a swipe of my male cat's name. But his name, and the name of his sister, Bodoni, are the names of typefaces. Typography is one of my great blisses in life.

Caslon: extremely popular mid-18th century typeface designed by William Caslon. The US Declaration of Indepedence and Constitution were first printed in Caslon. The old printer's rule was: When in doubt, use Caslon.

Bodoni: first of the "modern" typefaces, designed in early 19th century by Giambattista Bodoni, court printer to the prince of Savoy. A form of Bodoni was used in IBM's print ads for years.

Last name begins with Matt, and it's always been a nickname because of that. The numbers are a mix up of the zip code I grew up in.

Warren is my middle name. its also the underground home of rabbits.

Well, I'm a "guy" and I live "in 773" area code of Chicago...hence.."in773guy"

Well I decided to take a new direction with my life. It appeared to be going no where. I guess I was trying to change the course by making it real with the screen name. I was born in 1966. Therefore, newdirection66.

Kev

colmdublin -- hahahaha

Caslon -- you should redo that photo of your cats so that their names are in the typefaces they're named after!

Satyricon = a gorgeous, homoerotic film by the famous Italian director Fellini, based on the extant shreds of Petronius' "Satyrica"

331 = my birthday

A friend was on Ebay & spotted someone with this name...and so I decided to use it too, due to my appreciation of the kitsch value of it (a la that so-awful-it's-painfully-good movie starring Olivia Newton-John...although I'm not a hardcore ONJ fan).

Well originally my name was WhiteGoodman, Ben Stiller's character in Dodgeball, simply because I find him hilarious, and then after a while everyone was calling me White or Whitey for short, so I just shortened it to Whitey.

Combination of pieces of my name and an important date to me.

it is actually get-to-know-it, some say (we will leave guiltygears name out) that its ghettoknowit like slumish.

formerly known as "expressionist" and deleted I went from doing things my way to demanding you to step into my shoes.

Mine is easy: R= Rick Sportsguy= my love for participating and watching sports for my whole life.

Rigsby was the name of my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that died of a heart attack during Hurricane Wilma. Since we brought him over from England we thought an English name was appropriate...Rigsby was the name of a dirty old man character on an English sitcom named Rising Damp.

I surf, obviuosly, see pics in profile, and i suppose the warrior came from the fact i used to do martial arts, i usualy look like i'm crouching for the kill on a surf board, the maori war face i'm pulling in the surfing pic i suppose explians the rest


hmm i think i might have some pent up angst somewhere

Cause I'm Black. And I'm a jock. And I was born in 1979.

first name starts with the letter j = jay
last name starts with the letter w (doubleyou, dubja) = dub

I run a lot and do so in the city.

mine is from a lyric in a Rufus Wainwright song:

"...you sat in your chair thinking 'boy, i'm such a prince.'"

a friend told me it reminded her of me, and being the huge Rufus fan i am, i thought it was appropriate.

Mine is OLD in computing power years. I picked it when I'd just crammed a whole gigabyte of ram into my computer which, for the day, made it blazing fast. So in thinking of a name for a geek board I frequented, I decided to call myself "gigaram" to show my 'street cred.' I've held onto it ever since.

eb925guy....eb = east bay of SF area, 925...area code and guy...well, think I'm still one of those.... it's lame, I know! LOL

I am originally from Southwest Louisiana and I was born in 1982 so, Southwest Louisiana man 82

mylifemypain saidAlright so everyone always asks why I chose such a dark name so here's the explanation:

Life sometimes forces us to make hard choices - it's inevitable. In the past I did something to help a certain someone that to them probably felt like betrayl. That pain is my own burden to bare, because even if I meant the best and believed it was the right thing to do, I still managed to cause harm. In the future it will be the same, but at least I can live with a clear conscience and with no regrets, and thus it is my life, my choices, that result in my pain, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I feel your pain there! I went through that not too long ago and am still feel like crap about it even though I know I did the right thing.

Mine is kind of generic. ASU is for Arizona State University (go devils!) and PAS are my initials. Boring!

My real name is Arthur Q. Smass.

I was trying to think up something creative for a different web site and everything I tried was already taken. "Lissenup" popped into my head - spelled incorrectly - and I went with it. I've used it on several sites and it's never taken. It has absolutely no conscious meaning for me but I'm sure it has some kind of sub-conscious meaning if Freud was right. Some people think I am into dominance so occasionally I get interesting e-mails.

Gasp! Arthur Q. Smass? You're my long lost half brother! Don't tell our children. It would destroy them

I'm a stripper... and my stage name is Rocco.

I used to strip under my real name, Alexander. When i took a little break ANOTHER guy started using Alexander so i needed a new name.

I was watching an old Italian flick called "Rocco and His Brothers" which is about a boxer around the same time i started boxing... and people always told me i looked Italian.

I also remembered that Rocco is the name of Madonna's son... and i thought that that would be perfect!

So there you have it!

Simple,

currently living in Kyiv, Ukraine... but there is a dispute as to whether it should be Kyivite (as in Moscovite), or Kyivan (which is a literal translation from Ukrainian)!! I preferred the latter!

DJ Bens has benn my nickname since
HS when I would spend hours making mix tapes. It carried over to my complilations I made on the computer and set through the internet.

Now its my DJ name, but soon to be changed to DJ Benson or just Benson, which is my name. I was born in 77.

Benign = No danger to (beneficial to others)

I like for everyone around me to have fun

(and no, I do not have cancer)

Gregg is my last name

SkyTran - I was so interested in this new form of transportation that I chose to use the name as a RJ screen name. Check out the website at www.skytran.net to see what it looks like.

I have been to one of their expos that was offered in Orlando Florida. They were talking with OIA and the Florida DOT at one time. I am not sure how that is coming along. The concept sounds incredible but they need funding to get it started. It takes up a much smaller footprint than mass transit does. I look forward to riding in one of these someday.

The word "Phoenix" is my favorite word. (Actually Nirvana is my favorite word, but I'm not a Buddhist and don't want people to think I am, and have ACTUAL Buddhists mad at me.) ANYWAY, I consider myself a phoenix for as many times as I have reinvented myself or was "reborn." But when you think of phoenix's you think of fire and burning, and frozen is the LAST thing you think of when you think of a phoenix. Since the two are COMPLETE opposites, and my life has been filled with almost NOTHING but opposites. Hence, FrozenPhoenix, but I didn't like it spelled out that long so I shortened the frozen to frzn.

FrznPhoenix

zdrew comes from my first and middle names, Zachary Andrew. The 78 comes from the year I was born.

Mysterious and deep, I know.

so now we can officially call you zach? thats one of my favorite boy names.

(the other one is Pequot...is doesn't come up as often as you might think)

DiverScience

I was trying to come up with something that contained the two halves of my life. I try very hard to balance the mental and physical aspects of my life. So... diver (I was a diver for years, masters programs are hard to find) and science (I'm a biochemist).

DiverScience saidDiverScience

I was trying to come up with something that contained the two halves of my life. I try very hard to balance the mental and physical aspects of my life. So... diver (I was a diver for years, masters programs are hard to find) and science (I'm a biochemist).

And because "CowboyStud" was already taken? Teeheee....

I don't really have an exciting story with my RJ name ... I was in graduate school, working towards a PhD in Chemistry, so chemguy79 seemed like a good fit. Well ... that and the fact that firecrotch79 was already taken.

Of course, I was incredibly naive and failed to realize that most gay men who come across my name typically assume that I'm into pnp, meth, *insert random drug acronym here*.

D'OH!

I have a cat named Comic Sans.

That's a lie.

When I joined, I thought this would be another site filled with douchebaggery. I was totally wrong. I was sick of the same, and this cured me.

On other sites, I am simonnewtboy because i had a pet newt name simon and people mocked me for it. I showed them.

My aim is CoDan01 because my cousin and his friends used to call me cousin dan. I'm too lazy to update a 15 year old aim name.

Arthur Q. Smass, thank you for living up to your name. You are 'laugh out loud at work' funny. My co-workers just don't understnad you...

Mine's easy JC are my initials. I went mostly by JC when I started bartending- I was pissed because my mom named me Jan and was tired of justifying it to people.

GWG - My initials

Trunks - Character from Dragon Ball.

Ruggers are rugby players. ATX is the nickname for Austin, TX. I added the other X at the front when I left the sport a few weeks ago. One of the easier ones to figure out.

I used to use "ranadelmaya"...rana=frog, del=of the, maya=maya. It represents my one and only tattoo.

another pretty straight forward one. name is nate, been called Nate the Great since I was kid, along with anyone else named Nathan.

So came up with n8dagrt, it's never used on any site, and it's what I always go with.

ursamajor saidUrsa Major (pronounced /ˌɝsəˈmeɪdʒɚ/) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. Its name means Great Bear in Latin, and is associated with the legends of Callisto and Cynosura.

Isn't this more commonly known as the big dipper?

mine is pretty straight foward. Just my name.

When I worked in government labs, they always taught us to choose user names and passwords by opening a couple of books at random, pointing blindly at the pages, and linking the two words and a page number. Then I got too lazy to walk to the bookshelf and started using two random pieces of paper on my desk. Eventually, this one came up and I thought it sounded pretty good, and there doesn't seem to be too much competition for it.

Boring as hell iknow, but i'm just j.k. it's my name nothing special or odd about it!

Surprisingly, since I make my living being "creative", I used my name and my zip code. Brilliant, I know...

my bf nicknamed me pit, for pitbull, cuz he says when I get mad I am like a pitbull, and I have red hair soooooooo redbull

Ten years ago I needed something original for my e-mail address. I didn't want my first and last name or even a use of initials, so I came up with an amalgamation of my first and last name. I simply added the 4u as a friendly way of saying here's my e-mail letter "for you." I kept that at all of the sites I post, so I used it here. However, it was pointed out to me that at sites where people meet and chat, the "4u" part might sound a little clingy, so I've dropped it for the time being.

Something that I find REALLY strange, is that people will address or cite me as "Demarco" replacing the first 'a' with an 'e.' What I find strange about it is that that only happens at this board and happens 90% of the time. I don't care as it doesn't really matter, I am just curious about why it only happens here.

I'm not very creative when it comes to on-line handles.

Mine, is practically my name. Mike or Michael, my first name, as I'm sure most of you know, and Phil is part of my second name, but not the full spelling.

i am both a nice person AND my upper body is freakishly smooth (hairless)...oh yeah, and i live in l.a.- tough to decipher, right?

JockBoyTroy

Jock Boy is because I own Jock Boy Clothing (JockBoyLocker.com) and Troy is my name.

omg, Troy...nice site...

North is my nickname and Fl is for where I live now

jc_online saidMine's easy JC are my initials. I went mostly by JC when I started bartending- I was pissed because my mom named me Jan and was tired of justifying it to people.

Well, Jan, at least your Mom didn't name you Marsha or I would be able to say.... Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

Note: to anyone under the age of 20 the above reference to Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! has to do with a popular 70's TV show called the Brady Bunch.

hahahahaha....

Mine is just Andrew J. M. move the "An" behind the drew, and add the initials JM. drewAnJM. Someone made it for me as a dj name.... DJ DrewanJ. Stuck with me somehow.

Just another stroke of creative genius: Denver is where I live, and Ryk is the way I spell my name (Rick)--so the two elided and....

tommysguns2000 saidomg, Troy...nice site...

I agree with Tommy--or JT here Troy! Great site!

Always been called BFG since I was about 6 I escape it for a few years and then it comes back again!!!!!

I thought I had done away with it in 2005 when I had to stop playing ruggers and when I joined Mens Health I was Bedfordguy. After a while people got bored of typing that and some smart arse called me BFG! Its been back ever since and I kinda think oh well may as well live with it. And not I dont have big ears, well in comparison to the rest of me ha ha ha ha

Long story but I'll try to keep it short. A group of friends used to call me Oracle because of my, then, keen insights and cryptic answers. When I came out, to keep my mom from finding out and being worried, I went with the psudonym Oren when I went out, and later, much later after mom found out, I changed it to AURYN (from the NeverEnding story) to really tie the old nickname and the new together.

SkyTran said

Well, Jan, at least your Mom didn't name you Marsha or I would be able to say.... Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

Note: to anyone under the age of 20 the above reference to Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! has to do with a popular 70's TV show called the Brady Bunch.

hahahahaha....

Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!

As for my RJ name, my Zaadz and MySpace logins are "paradox surfer" and I shortened it to paradox on RJ.

i play guitar? i was born in 1985? ... your call einstein

My name is ALexander and i was born in 89.
My original screen name was skippyhappy69 which i still use on seperate profiles like justguys and stuff.
I was given the nickname skippy by a bunch of kids in new hampshire and whil i was in jobcorps told somebody who told everybody else.
I thought using the word happy would be somewhat comical because anothe r wrd for happy is gay which by definition means happy and care free
And 69 is simply my favorite sex position. I love sucking cock and mine needs the attention too. LQTM

Twincam saidTWINCAM, refers to the dual overhead cams often found in small, advanced and powerful engines like me

A bit eccentric are you?

Mine is a nickname version of my favourite league player. I use it on most sites I am joined on.

Mine is pretty easy...

Alpha = Alpha-Male
Den = My name is Dennis

Alpha-Male + Dennis = AlphaDen

I think mine is pretty self-explanatory.

[quote]
Well, Jan, at least your Mom didn't name you Marsha or I would be able to say.... Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

Note: to anyone under the age of 20 the above reference to Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! has to do with a popular 70's TV show called the Brady Bunch.

hahahahaha....
[/quote]

thindy=terre haute indiana, where I currently live

24 is my age

I was sick of using opie for everything with a sign-in name...opie is a nickname I got as a kid because I guess I reminded people of Opie Taylor from the Andy Griffith show...and if anybody on here didn't know what skytran was talking about with the brady bunch...then I can't help ya with andy griffith.

Hmmm, and here was me thinking you identified closely with Thindy Brady....

my first boyfriend many moons ago used to tease me cuz i would be up and at the gym every day at 7 am no matter what. he used to say 'gee Mike do you think u are gonna die if you dont lift everyday?? is that it?? you have to LIFT OR DIE ???? LOL the rest....is internet history!! LOL

I pronounced it lift-ordy.

well now timber u know the true pronounciation as well as the meaing!! LOL

you learned me good

Mine is a childhood nickname

kinda like 'underoos'??!! LOL

That is an uncannily accurate guess.

Luckydog= A truly unique, purely New Orleans delicacy (hot dog) vended on many street corners in the French Quarter. Inspiration from my favorite book "Confederacy of Dunces".
Oh, "76", the bicentennial college graduating class.

I've used comale for years. Co for Colorado where I live most of the time and male for my gender.

i coined terra22 =D

haha no actually, Terra is the name of a boss from Final Fantasy 8

Terra was also one of the female heros in FF6. Wooo I get to use nerd knowledge lol.

I dreampt my name.
He was the King of Spade's Knight.

The major characters in the dream were 6 girls(mostly named after greek mythological figures who chose to be turned into trees and flowers and shit to avoid being raped by the gods) and 1 boy who were all facet's of some chick's multiple personality disorder.
In the dream they had to wake her up, but in doing so, would end their own existence.

However Briarhawk wasn't one of them. he was a character in the world they had to traverse to wake her.

Thank Goodness for serial dreaming!


if only i'd stuck around for the ending.
:-(
Been Briarhawk since umm...95?

My name has nothing to do with Star Wars--regardless of how much I like Star Wars.

Chewey is my fraternity nickname. It's a bit of a convoluted path to get there, but here goes.

John Clinton is my name (minus the middle name of course). The initials of that are JC. Those are also the initials of Jesus Christ. In Latin American countries, Jesus is a popular name, and many guys named Jesus are called Chewey. One of the alumni came up with this one.

Also, the Delt is short for Delta Tau Delta, my fraternity.

It's pretty much the same tag that I use on all boards.

Well now, let's see... I'd read so many profiles that began with "I'm just a down-to-earth, normal kinda guy..." and I knew I'd have none of that bosh – "just?"... "down-to-earth?"... "what's normal? and what sort of human aspires to such a thing?".

I was however inspired to come up with a nickname for myself; my real name being extremely uncommon on this side of the pond, I'd never been given a nickname growing up, never had a need for one. Also, my original RJ handle was DRKO, and I thought that it might, maybe, come off as dark, cryptic and gothic, so I wanted something that was the very opposite – light, buoyant, and effervescent.

All I knew from the get go was that I wanted something non-committal, non-descriptive, non-offensive, and non-numerical. Also, it should have no allusions to my real names, location, age, sport, personal interests, or overt sexual connotations. Yes, I was very certain that my new RealJock name should mean absolutely nothing at all.

It should be short and sweet – two syllables au maximum – and rather international in appearance and easily pronounceable to the greatest number of global citizens, and, hopefully, not mean something terribly rude in some non-European language.

I wanted something not too typically jock-like – surely Bubba and Moose were already taken, right? – yet nothing too far out in left field either. It should be whatever someone wanted it to be – cute as a puppy, or the nickname of a turbo-charged adrenaline junky, or be a cryptic anagram for a sadomasochistic cyberslut, or just as well be the sound of all antiquity like the echo of an oracle.

Furthermore, my actual surname contains the letter Ash (Æ) and I thought to myself "Gee, it'd be real nifty if I could work that into my screen name as well." "Something classical, perhaps? Grecian. Timeless. Immaterial. Hmmm." Oh, and it would be real sweet indeed if it could also end in "O" – just like my real given name – so that it would, despite all its intended obliqueness, sound unmistakably oh-so-very-masc, because – let's face it – some jocks aren't too swift on the pick up, if you know what I mean.

Naturally, me being the committed disciple of Minimalism that I am, I wanted the name to contain no more than four letters – the minimum required on RJ. Despite all of these many self-imposed constraints, I knew it would come to me, eventually.


Finally, while flipping through a magazine, I remembered the name of an interior design studio in NYC that I had visited on my last couple of trips, then – PIF! PAF! POUF! – voilà! Plus... a great-uncle in Europe – the relative I most resembled and admired – drove about in a pre-War Czech automobile up until the Eighties, the name of which I had forgotten decades ago:"Of course, the Aero!"


Keep it simple, I always say.

Mine has an interest