A consistant online identity

Some years ago there was a popular chat program called ICQ. It let you chat with other people based on either their email address or a unique number that was assigned to them. My friends in college and I used it for some time, and as a result I was rather late to AOL Instant Messenger party. When we finally did convert en masse I discovered that (of course) the handle I had been using, "The Walrus", was already taken. Since it seemed rather impersonal to call myself "tower3890" or some other alphanumeric conglameration of my life, I tried to think of something unique and catchy.

Unfortunately, I am not as clever as I would like. I ended up getting stuck with "hokietower". It was fine for a while, but pretty soon everyone started worrying about an online identity and how that could be traced back to your real persona. So I decided to come up with something that had no direct bearing on my life. "Hokiewalrus" was born.

I quickly started using hokiewalrus for all sorts of usernames. It was easy for me to remember and it was never taken by someone else. Even when I signed up for MSN Messenger in 2001 it was still available.

Recently a thought occured to me, do people know they are encountering the same "hokiewalrus" everywhere they go? Between my postings on ClubSi, Pc Magazine, twop, a host of other message boards, and things like Xbox Live, some people must have come across the name "hokiewalrus" more than once. I imagine it must be the virtual equivalent of walking down the streets of New York and running into your lab partner from junior high school back in Kansas.

I think the name is unique enough to be remembered, people comment about it all the time (often in the middle of a Halo 2 match). How comforting it must be for people new to a site or message board to see that they already have a friend to show them the ropes, or at least give them some sense of real online "community".

So my question is this, how come no one else does this? I mean, I'm sure there are people that do, but I can't think of anyone that does (with 1 exception). You would think people would want to be recognized online, yet it doesn't seem to happen.

Or maybe it does and I just never encounter these people more than once and the preceding wasn't enlightening to anyone.

Deconstructing media.

Intrepid sports fan Cousin Matt writes in with an annotated article for your perusal. Matt's comments are in bold--nothing else has been added or edited.


LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Colorado Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle was cited Friday on a charge of soliciting a prostitute after a woman in his car said he paid her $40 for oral sex, police said. (I don't know much about these things, but that seems a little on the CHEAP side to me)

After the officer asked Neagle why his belt was unbuckled, the woman said Neagle had paid her for sex. (Ouch: "Goddamn,  baby, now why'd you have to go and say THAT?")

Davis said the woman, Jill Russell, 40, of Denver was issued a citation on a charge of prostitution. Her phone number wasn't available. (Huh? Just in case an interested reader in the Lakewood area is looking for a cheap date???)

Neagle signed a five-year, $51.5 million contract with the Rockies in 2000 that includes a team option for 2006. He is set to make $10 million next year, with a $9 million buyout. (Now I feel sorry for the guy...tell me they didn't include his 10 million dollar / year salary just to make him look like an even BIGGER loser for paying $40 bucks for a blow job from a 40 year hooker who TELLS cops what she does for a living...cleary he could have afforded better!)

He is married and has three children. (OK, now,  I feel REALLY sorry for the guy...though I do wonder why there is no mention of whether his wife's phone number is available?)

In 2003, Neagle pleaded guilty to driving while impaired after his Hummer struck another vehicle. (So do you think this makes it into the article if he isn't driving a Hummer? I am just curious!)

Weird Request

This is slightly embarrassing, but does anyone have the Dead song, "Stella Blue," somewhere in theri collection? (And can 'yousendit.com'?) I saw the Grateful Dead Movie on TV the other night and was taken by the guitar solo at the end of the song...