# What's the inspiration behind your user name?



## ruinexplorer

On many other forums, you are required to use your given name to identify yourself. Here on Control Booth, we don't have that limitation and many of us have chosen a different monicker to identify ourselves. I was wondering, why did you choose the user name that you have? If you use your given name, is there a reason that you stayed with that as opposed to choosing something different?

I identify as ruinexplorer on many forums. The main reason, for those of you who have seen my posts or read my intro, is that my original career goal was to be an archaeologist. In particular, I specialized in civilizations as opposed to tribal or nomadic cultures. I am extremely fascinated with how people create to make a world unto themselves and how external forces help to form their decisions. 

So, how about others?


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## What Rigger?

True story:

Random guy:"Hey! Go get that guy...hey, dude! C'mere...we need a rigger over here!"

Me: "Rigger? What Rigger?"


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## sk8rsdad

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. While he's more in to dance and drama these days, this was my son at age 7.


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## DuckJordan

My story not nearly as cool or interesting is, my nickname from high school and slowly becoming a college nickname and my first name combined.

Duck came from some duck tape that was on my shirt at the time our TD was assigning nicknames (he has issues with names). It slowly transformed into a Duck from Duck tape fixing everything which i evidently had to do.

And the other part fairly obvious.


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## DaveySimps

I worked on a crew where, out of 12 tech, 5 of us were named Dave. Since I was the newbie, they tried calling me Davey. That lasted about a week. Then they used my last name (Simpson), then Simps, then DaveySimps. At that time email was just catching on (yes there was a time when it did not exist). So, I randomly used DaveySimps as my hotmail user name. Ever since then, I just sort of stuck with it.

~Dave


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## 65535

I remember from years back when I played StarCraft I eventually found out that 255 was not the highest value the game recognized for most variables, but 65535 was, 65536 rolled back over to 0.

Eventually I found out that most computers systems had this issue due to the way things where coded.

I've found pretty much no where that has members using the number for a handle so I stuck with it. I generally try to put my real name in my sig line, but I have never had much of a nickname that stuck.


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## ScottT

Well... Scott is my name.

Yep that simple


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## gafftapegreenia

my last name is Greenia, and I like alliteration, and gaff tape. 

I kinda wish I had been one of those people that streamlined their user names across the webs....but I didn't.


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## ruinexplorer

~Dave, I had a similar experience with multiple "Dave"s. When I joined the union, there were quite a few of them already. So, in order to keep them all straight, each would be referred to Dave plus the initial for their last name (Dave S. for example). When I introduced myself, everyone thought that my last name started with an N, thus it was difficult for them to find me on the phone list.


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## 65535

Pageant of the Masters had 4 Dave's on crew this last year that I worked crew, surprisingly it went without issue.


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## drummerboi316

i have been a drummer for 11 years now, so thats how you get the drummer.
i didn't like the notion of drummerBOY for confusion with the famous boy who went parumpapumpum. so I chose the more chique BOI
and my anniversary of my girlfriend, and my favorite wrestler Stone Cold(when I was younger) 316

all together you get drummerboi316.

and I use it for everything.


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## cdub260

I don't use my real name for much of anything outside of official documents, preferring to go by my initials, C.W. At some point in elementary school, people began calling me C.Dub., a simple verbal shortening of my initials. At first I hated the nickname, but it kind of grew on me as time went by. That's where the cdub in cdub260 comes from. The 260 is part of the address of the house I grew up in.


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## Les

I used to go by "Lester" on here because I once had a theatre teacher from a neighboring school who always called me that (my real name is Leslie). A few years back, I had dvsDave change it to Les, which is what I commonly go by -- but there are still those who call me Leslie. 
I felt like 'Lester' had a somewhat negative connotation because, well, what rhymes with Lester?


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## DuckJordan

Les said:


> I used to go by "Lester" on here because I once had a theatre teacher from a neighboring school who always called me that (my real name is Leslie). A few years back, I had DVSdave change it to Les, which is what I commonly go by -- but there are still those who call me Leslie.
> I felt like 'Lester' had a somewhat negative connotation because, well, what rhymes with Lester?


 
Tester? I keep thinking adams family...


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## derekleffew

Les said:


> ...I felt like 'Lester' had a somewhat negative connotation because, well, what rhymes with Lester?


Dang, there's a lot! Chester, Hester, bester, nester, quester, rester, vester, zester, wester, tester, jester, fester, pester...

And here all that time I thought your old screen-name was short for "Moe Lester." :shock:


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## chausman

derekleffew said:


> Dang, there's a lot! Chester, Hester, bester, nester, quester, rester, vester, zester, wester, tester, jester, fester, pester...


Thank you Dr. Seuss

I have mine chausman because my name is Chase Hausman!!! And at school we have all these different log ins. for different websites as mine was hausmcha009 and I wanted mine to be the other way around. (Not to mention it is kinda weird since I always type it wrong being the first three two letter are the same.

And I like that when I type my name it gets the wiki tags under it! (Maybe I should add my name to the wiki!)


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## shiben

chausman said:


> Thank you Dr. Seuss
> 
> I have mine chausman because my name is Chase Hausman!!! And at school we have all these different log ins. for different websites as mine was hausmcha009 and I wanted mine to be the other way around. (Not to mention it is kinda weird since I always type it wrong being the first three two letter are the same.
> 
> And I like that when I type my name it gets the wiki tags under it! (Maybe I should add my name to the wiki!)


 
Similar reasoning here, except ours was on our PE shirts. You had to write your first Initial (S) along with your last name (Hiben). Anyhow, it became Shiben because I forgot to put the [dot] in there. Oh well. There, yall have enough to find me on Facebook.


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## cpf

'cpf' is completely meaningless to most people, it's difficult to pronounce as a word in english, and it's impossible to google and get any personal results (thanks, Canadian Parents for French!). A perfect username! Of course there is a real story behind it...


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## Tex

This is not a username I normally use. Thespis was taken, so I went with Tex. I hate adding numbers to a username...


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## LXPlot

I have mine because when I got this account I was in the process of mastering Lxfree, the free version of Maclux pro. Since I was logging in so much time to that program, the thoughts of it where just stuck in my head. Anyway, LXplot is a shortening of Lighting Effects Plot or Light plot. 

Good story, right?


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## MPowers

My user name for personal e-mail and things is mptecdir. It was dictated by AOL circa 1990 when I got my first account. At that time your AOL user name was limited to 8 characters, so my initials M, P plus my profession, Technical Director morphed to mptecdir, tech without the "H".


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## sarahsliefie

Aarahsliefie is Afrikaans for the one who loves Sarah. My family is central to what I do.


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## jwl868

Just my initials plus my fraternity pin number.

Joe


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## Grog12

DuckJordan said:


> My story not nearly as cool or interesting is, my nickname from high school and slowly becoming a college nickname and my first name combined.
> 
> Duck came from some duck tape that was on my shirt at the time our TD was assigning nicknames (he has issues with names). It slowly transformed into a Duck from Duck tape fixing everything which i evidently had to do.
> 
> And the other part fairly obvious.


 Soooo....neither your or your TD realized that its really duct tape? Dave can he get a name change? 


In middle school I had friends who said I looked like Grog from BC comics which stuck with me for many many a year...when I made my first email account back in the days of dial up grog was taken so I added my favorite number.


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## coldnorth57

because it is cold outside -30c and I live in the north and 57 hmmmm year I was born. I have been using some form of this name on-line for a long time.


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## DuckJordan

Grog12 said:


> Soooo....neither your or your TD realized that its really duct tape? Dave can he get a name change?


 
Nope we noticed... Just when we were attempting to correct it we found out I am very good at ducking under battens being flown in when the fly guy can't remember to call out fly coming in.


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## chausman

DuckJordan said:


> Nope we noticed... Just when we were attempting to correct it we found out I am very good at ducking under battens being flown in when the fly guy can't remember to call out fly coming in.


 
So maybe it isn't DuckJordan, it's DUCK! Jordan!


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## soundlight

In high school I did both sound and lighting (I didn't specialize in one or another). Thus the username. Pretty simple. I'm still fairly proficient as far as sound engineering goes, but I'm definitely better at lighting.


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## dvsDave

My initials are D.V.S. Which, when said out loud... is self evident. I am also a Third (DVS III) Oddly enough, the association with Devious and D.V.S had never occurred to my grandfather or dad. I had DVS on my LandsEnd backpack my freshman year of high school and some random guy walks up behind me and goes, "Huh... Devious! I like it!" 

There are 12 Dave's in my church. To most of the guys in the church, I am D3. It works.


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## MNicolai

Around here I'm known as MNicolai which is just an abbreviation of my name, but elsewhere on the internet (Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Instagram), I'm known as Smoketest (aka smoke_test aka smoke-test as was needed in one or two cases). Smoke tests are based on the very provable electrical theory that not electrons travel through electrical conductors to generate electricity, but instead purple smoke does. How is this provable? I guarantee that when working with electrical components if something happens and purple or blue smoke starts pouring out of them that your components will cease to function ever again.

Thus, a smoke test is when you first plug a device in after working on it (either building or repairing it) -- if it doesn't catch fire or start smoking, that's always a good first step. Doesn't mean your circuit does what it's _supposed to_, but at least it didn't blow up in your face.

There are also other varieties of smoke tests. Software developers call smoke tests when they first test a new build and go in and see that the basic functionality is still there without serious crashes and contractors laying pipe for natural gas and water lines will send smoke through the lines to test for leaks.


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## nd925a

When I got my first email account my mom said use a combination of your initials and a number you'll remember. At the time my favorite radio station was on 92.5 my initials are NAD so yeah


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## derekleffew

MNicolai said:


> ...Smoke tests are based on the very provable electrical theory that not electrons travel through electrical conductors to generate electricity, but instead purple smoke does. How is this provable? I guarantee that when working with electrical components if something happens and purple or blue smoke starts pouring out of them that your components will cease to function ever again. ...


But with this product for British motor vehicles, you can put the magic smoke back in.


Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke Kit, P/N 530433 -


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## cdub260

chausman said:


> So maybe it isn't DuckJordan, it's DUCK! Jordan!


 
In the 24th. and a half century!


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## chausman

derekleffew said:


> But with this product for British motor vehicles, you can put the magic smoke back in.
> 
> Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke Kit, P/N 530433 -


 
That is just a little scary. <cheesy announcer voice> "Do you get tired of completely ruining your cars electrical system? Than it's time you buy Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke Kit! That way when you don't know what you are doing and kill your car, you can just Do-It-Over!!!"


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## bdkdesigns

Grog12 said:


> Soooo....neither your or your TD realized that its really duct tape? Dave can he get a name change?



What if it was Manco Brand Tape? It has always been known at "duck tape". After 3M bought them out some years back, they simply rebranded it Duck Brand. They just slightly altered the logo and went on!


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## 65535

Should be "Duck_Duct-Jordan"

Or "Duck_Duct_Goose"


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## avkid

I was the A.V. kid in school.

Now i'm just awesome.
(however that's not near as catchy)


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## thatactorguy

Les said:


> I felt like 'Lester' had a somewhat negative connotation because, well, what rhymes with Lester?


 
Uncle Fester. Yes, I'm certain that's what you were getting at...


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## thatactorguy

With thirty plus years in theatre and running the gamut of duties, I still consider myself primarily an actor. Let's see, the last time I was on the stage....... April/May of last year, lol!

I generally try to lead a private life, so I joke that when people who have seen me perform see me on the street, they go, "Hey you're that actor guy!"


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## dramatech

I would think that my user name is pretty obvious.

Drama for what goes on in the theatre, and tech, short for technician. I suppose that it could also be theatre technician, but that doesn't sound nearly as clever.

I also have it on my auto tags. Drama TK, Drama TC, and Drama TQ on my three cars.

Tom Johnson


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## mstaylor

When I first got on the internet everybody said you should never use your real name. I am a longtime umpire so my user name was umpmst. Now I use my first two initials and my last name, then put my full name as a signature line.


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## museav

My user name is my company name. The logic behind that was the definition of muse as a noun (a guiding spirit or source of inspiration) and a verb (to consider thoughtfully or reflect) which seemed to fit what I saw as directly relating to the role of a consultant. The lower case "m" was to avoid confusion with Muse, as in the nine Muses of Greek mythology, as although the ties to the arts is nice, I am definitely not a goddess!


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## DiscoBoxer

My nickname was given to me in the ring when I boxed as a teenager, where I would tire out the competition by constantly moving. Someone in the club got a video tape of me in an awkward position where I knocked down a guy in the ring. Many joked about it being a "disco-like" move and the name evolved from there.

With a strong background in security, I support keeping an online "alias" as a smart thing to help keep separation from malicious intent by many people on the net looking to exploit your data. "Data minig" software is huge business not just for the government, but also for private advertising, and high-tech criminal organizations. Many people are unaware of how easy it is to consolidate information about a total random person on the net. If someone wants to really know me, I like the control of choosing that they should or shouldn't have access.


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## lighthouse

Mine's a play on my first job (writing software for boats) & my lighting design hobby.

I haven't seen n1ist posting on this thread but I know where that comes from!

73,
Larry


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## zmb

zmb are my initials. Doesn't give away my full name but is easily noticed by people that know me.


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## n1ist

Mine comes from the FCC. I guess I was next after Mark (N1ISS) got his. It's my ham radio callsign. Ether that or "no wonder I'm so tired"...
73,
/mike


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## What Rigger?

sk8rsdad said:


> They say a picture is worth a thousand words. While he's more in to dance and drama these days, this was my son at age 7.


 
I am moving to Ottawa now, to search for Animal Chin!


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## masterelectrician2112

Well, at the end of my freshman year of high school, I was made what was called the department's master electrician. I honestly had no idea that it applied outside of high school! I am by no means a master electrician as most people would think. I was head of electrics at the end of freshman year and now I am head tech, so my position covers all tech in the department now. 2112 is a song by my favorite band Rush.


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## seanandkate

Back in the day, my wife Kate and I shared an email. That concept has since passed, but the name stuck.


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## Morydd

Morydd was Merlin's Grandfather.

Back in the day when I was setting up my first post-school e-mail address, I was trying to come up with a username that was unusual enough that I wouldn't have to use numbers. I had a book from the library of Welsh characters in literature, and I was flipping through and landed on Morydd. It's served me well. I still don't have to add numbers.


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## Hairkid

my hair. i'm just a kid. HairKid. It's my nickname. some teachers even call me that. i think it's pretty bad-ass


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## whosaprettygirl

I am a rather small girl but I burp like a man and I burp often. One day working with my tech director at school I burped and he said "Who's a pretty girl?" and I said "I am!" I've taken to saying it everywhere just to ease the awkward moments when people stare after I burp.


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## WideEyed

When I first got the job I have now I was the only technician in the theater. I was coming in to replace the sound tech who was going off to college, who is a certified sound engineer, so the sound equipment was all squared away. I had done work for production services in college, so I also thought I knew lights. The sound system was spotless, but whoever the lighting person had been was a complete slob, and so the catwalks were a completely knotted mess of cables, lamps (broken and new), lights, and random tools. They were using Altman 6x9's in the cats, dimmers were acting funny(some still are) the Fresnels over stage need a hammer to focus, and, well you get the point. So the more I investigated the wider and wider my eyes got as I realized that there was a whole lot that I needed to do and learn! 

:shock:


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## ElectroCarp

Hey ya'll, new to control booth but not to theatre. I picked this username because I am usually doing electrics/ lighting design but I also can hold my own when it comes to carpentry and sometimes thats where the jobs are haha


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## TheGuruat12

I love the concept of time, and my room is on the north end of our house, so, according to a clock, I am, "at 12."

I started this username when I was the head tech at our middle school, and I was like "Oh, I know EVERYTHING about sound  . I'll call myself a guru!"


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## MarshallPope

For some reason, I have always read your username as "The Gurati 2." I had always wondered what a "gurati" was.


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## chausman

TheGuruat12 said:


> I love the concept of time, and my room is on the north end of our house, so, according to a clock, I am, "at 12."
> 
> I started this username when I was the head tech at our middle school, and I was like "Oh, I know EVERYTHING about sound  . I'll call myself a guru!"


 
I always read it as The Gurat and then people always add numbers to the end of their username so I thought that must be it! Just random numbers!


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## Edrick

It's my name, I know I'm original eh


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## thorin81

My dad was really into the LOTR series of books when it was time for me to be born. Since my mother would not let him choose my first name/spelling he chose the middle name. I use it because hardly anyone knows it is my name, but it is easy for me to remember. 

Yes, I am named after a dwarf. There. I said it.


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## vertigo

Hours..and hours..and hours spent atop a ladder or lift hahahaha.


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## rsmentele

I always admired C.S. Lewis, and always liked how various authors use only their first initials and last name when writing... also J.R.R. Tolkien. So when I started designing I decided that is how I will sign all of my documents plots, and drafts. And I also liked the slight anonymity of it when using it as an online moniker. 

R.S. Mentele


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## norwintd

pretty simple- Norwin( school district I work for) td- tech director


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## OTHScott

I missed this thread when I first signed up, as I needed some answers rather quickly. I got several replies that helped greatly. Thank you all. As to my moniker, OTHScott. Actually, my initials Oren Tyler Harrison Scott. Or as some of my friends have pointed out lately, Over The Hill Scott.


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## ruinexplorer

OTHScott said:


> Or as some of my friends have pointed out lately, Over The Hill Scott.


 
And how you will probably be remembered here!


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## Scarrgo

While trying to come up with a name when I joined CB, and not wanting to use my old nickname (Subway) giving to me by the locals in New Haven CT, I decided to use a play on my name, thats funny to me. I dont know why, it just makes me chuckle.
As I am getting older(I am in strict denial) I wanted something that if a parent or boss asked for, it wouldnt be seen like a kid nick( No offense meant in any way too anyone!)

Sean


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## ValleyTheaterKid

Well mine is pretty self explanatory, im the sound and soon to be light guy at my theater, valley high school, and im just a kid...kinda (does 17 count as kid, i would think so..)


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## facethewolf

Les said:


> I felt like 'Lester' had a somewhat negative connotation because, well, what rhymes with Lester?


 
Les,
Over in The Light Network, one of the prominent posters is named Uncle Fester...Is that you?


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## chausman

I wonder how ETCFred picked his username? And, if he'll ever come back!


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## facethewolf

I finally decide to get my own email that's not based on my name. My name is fairly common and I hate adding numbers onto the end-not-to-mention it would be a different number for every web account. I am looking around my room for inspiration and see this
posted above my computer. I love wolves. Since then I use it for EVERYTHING. No numbers, and I have yet to see someone else use it.


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## Kelite

Some great nicknames and reasons why- good thread!

I joined the LightNetwork forum August 1998 as *Ke*(ith) *lite* (what we do) and as a representative of our company, wanted to keep it simple. Having had the pleasure of joining the ControlBooth a few years ago, it seemed like a good idea to use the same moniker.

(Not very creative, but I like it!)


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## ruinexplorer

Ah, Keith, there are no judgements for creativity here. We're just happy to have you here. 

Now, if we could just do a contest to have our moniker become a new color. . .


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## MrsFooter

Well, Kyle was here first, and he's Footer. And I'm his wife, which makes me...

Awesome. I know.

Actually, this is the only place on the internet that I don't go by MonsteRawr. It's the name of my blog, but it originated from Kyle's nickname for me, Stephanie Monster. And because I RAWR!


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## ruinexplorer

Didn't I read somewhere that RAWR is dinosaur for "I love you"? What a kind and caring person you must be, on top of being awesome.


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## MrsFooter

ruinexplorer said:


> Didn't I read somewhere that RAWR is dinosaur for "I love you"? What a kind and caring person you must be, on top of being awesome.


 
Actually, (god, Kyle's going to kill me for sharing this,) we do have sort of a pet language between the two of us that consists entirely of the word RAWR. It's kind of our way of saying "I love you". I go into more detail about it here if you're in the mood to go "Awwww..." (Or vomit in your mouth. Results may differ.)


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## MrsFooter

ruinexplorer said:


> Didn't I read somewhere that RAWR is dinosaur for "I love you"? What a kind and caring person you must be, on top of being awesome.


 
Actually, (god, Kyle's going to kill me for sharing this,) we do have sort of a pet language between the two of us that consists entirely of the word RAWR. It's kind of our way of saying "I love you". I go into more detail about it here if you're in the mood to go "Awwww..." (Or vomit in your mouth. Results may differ.)


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## shiben

MrsFooter said:


> Actually, (god, Kyle's going to kill me for sharing this,) we do have sort of a pet language between the two of us that consists entirely of the word RAWR. It's kind of our way of saying "I love you". I go into more detail about it here if you're in the mood to go "Awwww..." (Or vomit in your mouth. Results may differ.)


 
I dont think it was quite cute enough for me to puke in my mouth, but I didnt go Awwwwww either until the discussion of pet names other than rawr was discussed... Interesting blog. I dont think I have enough comitment to blog about stuff that thoroughly or even remember when I started the d*** thing.


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## LDsLightUpMyWorld

Haha, mine's super corny, like bad corny!
My fiancee is a Lighting Designer...and what better way to express my love for him then by telling everyone that he lights up my world.... ...litterly since we work together....


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## MrsFooter

LDsLightUpMyWorld said:


> Haha, mine's super corny, like bad corny!
> My fiancee is a Lighting Designer...and what better way to express my love for him then by telling everyone that he lights up my world.... ...litterly since we work together....


 
Glad to see I'm not the only one who's made poor life choices.

Welcome to the Girls' Club!


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## jglodeklights

Pretty simple here. Last name is Glodek, first name is Joe, I do lights. Also is my e-mail and website.


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## gumboot

My nickname came from the actual boot. We call em Gumboots here in New Zealand. I think they're called Wellingtons overseas. Y'know, the ones made of rubber?

I was pondering using 'Lighting Guru', after my music teahcer (whos also head of tech stuff at school) gave me the name in a thankyou card after our schools production of West Side Story. But then I realised it's far from the truth and probably sounds arrogant.


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## LDsLightUpMyWorld

MrsFooter said:


> Glad to see I'm not the only one who's made poor life choices.
> 
> Welcome to the Girls' Club!


 
Haha, Thanks! 
And my man is a crazy tech, but I love him.


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## Grog12

LDsLightUpMyWorld said:


> Haha, Thanks!
> And my man is a crazy tech, but I love him.


 
LD's need love too.


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## ElectroCarp

Mine is pretty simple. I am an electrian and carpenter. So electrician + carpenter= Electrocarp.


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## PeterBuchin

The nickname I was known as (at least by some) when I was working off-Broadway in the late '70s and early eighties was Boomer. I came late to the CB party and Boomer was already taken so my username is my real name (well, there IS a space missing...)

So. Boomer...:

In the '70s there was an outfit in NYC called Technical Assistance Group (TAG.) Twice a year they'd rent the Entermedia Theatre for what was known as the Dance Umbrella. Week one was put-in, week two was the headliner group (the first time I worked it it was Louis Falco) and weeks 3 through 6 we had 2 companies in rotating rep each week (eight performances) and a 'breakout' person or company on Saturday mornings. We did this all with one basic plot plus specials. Needless to say, sleep was for sissies - but as a newbie in the Big Apple I didn't care. I was pretty broke and happy to have a 6-week gig.

Lighting control was two 2-scene presets with 36 dimmers each. That was stage left. Stage right was an old, ugly, dilapidated road board. It was probably auto-transformers, had metal sides, and was basically used as a flat surfaced storage area for paperwork, a large cardboard box with various rolls of tape, coffee, and donuts. Everyone figured it was long dead and we pretty much ignored it. The fly rail was also stage right - tee track with lots of pig iron stage weights.

We were in rehearsal one afternoon. The May O'Donnell Dance Company was onstage and Ms. O'Donnell was having trouble concentrating. (She was a bit rickety, very cranky, and her hearing aids were turned up to just-under-squeal.) 

Did I mention I had a really great flashlight? It took 3 or 4 C or D batteries. It was really bright, had a clear lens with a nice red lens shield, an all metal body, and a strong magnet built into the on/off switch. 

At any rate, I was tasked with getting some glow-tape and marking the edges of the pile of stage weights that were sticking out by the upstage crossover so none of the dancers would stub their toes.

Well, I turned on the flashlight, went over to the road board, and stuck it to some random place so I could dig around in the box of tape. There was a very loud boom followed by some banging as the flashlight hit the tee-track. Ms. O'Donnell screamed as she pulled out her hearing aids. My world temporarily halted as all eyes turned to me. I found the flashlight amongst the stage weights, sheepishly walked onstage, and gave a meager thumbs-up with one hand and held up my flashlight with the other. Is was slightly bent and had a 1/4" hole towards the back.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, and as her assistant helped Ms. McDonnell put in her hearing aids, the sound man (who was up in the balcony) yelled out "Does it still work?" Everyone laughed at the absurdity of the thought. But, to my utter amazement, it did! From then on, amongst many in the sub-community of off-Broadway electricians, I was known as Boomer.

That flashlight served me well for several more years until someone decided it should get run over by a truck. But that's another story.


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## Thelightinggal

Well...I do lighting design and I am a girl. I did not want to identify my self specifically because this is a very small business...and I have connections technically everywhere. BUT I wouldn't mind sharing sometime possibly! 

AND- ive seen those t-shirts at the trade shows and several of my friends wear that say "the lighting guy" I want one that says "The lighting girl" :-D


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## chausman

Thelightinggal said:


> ...and I have connections technically everywhere.


 
   ha...


----------



## extramusical

Extra Musical is my online shop.


----------



## DarthFader

Seemed appropriate for a sound engineer


----------



## misterm

i'm a teacher, but i don't want my real name online too much, so i'm "mister m". 
even though the kids stop calling me "mister" about 2 days into the school year.


----------



## Versha

My name is a character from a book i was writing in high school...


----------



## Zelma

It's my grandmother's name. It's unusual, and therefore it's unlikely I'll run into a message that "there is already a user with that name" when I join a forum.


----------



## Tex

misterm said:


> ...even though the kids stop calling me "mister" about 2 days into the school year.


I don't know why exactly, but I love the fact that I am "last name only", no mister. It's a different kind of relationship than most other teachers have with their students. I got so burned out at one point that I almost took a job teaching something else, but the thought of not having that special bond with my kids brought me back.
It's crazy that a simple thing like dropping the "mister" means so much, but it does.


----------



## katharine

It's my first name. Dull, but just dull enough.


----------



## patlienemann

Just like katharine... its my name 
Didn't feel like using my nick names as people might not get it or think it just plain weird.
Those are: Lindo (short version of Lienemann) and Doc (cause... im a medic)


----------



## 38octillionlumens

Mine is an estimate of the available light.


----------



## gafftaper

Well I just realized that I've never responded to this thread. I've always been a big fan of the tape and I've always joked with my students about the endless uses of gafftape. I love the websites and lists of crazy things people have done with gaff. My favorite use for gafftape: About 5 minutes to curtain a student who was playing a priest in a show came up to me distraught that he had lost his priest's collar for his costume. I grabbed a sheet of white paper from the printer and the roll of gaff and made him a new collar in seconds. It looked perfect and no one ever knew. 

So when it was time to join CB I wanted to be "Gafftape" but it was taken. So I decided to add the "r" on the end to make it more about me the user of the tape than the tape itself. Later, I was happy to discover that nobody was else is using "Gafftaper" on the Web so I was free to use it as my universal pseudonym. Not too exciting, but there it is.


----------



## Aman121

My names Andrew, I'm a dude, and I have no idea where the numbers came from. If I could lose them I probably would. but it's kinda distinctive so I dont mind to much. I made this account during a lull in a tech rehersal, and I had alot on my mind. 121 must have meant something to me then.......


----------



## UncleWalter

My name is Kevan, my user name came from a Ben Folds Five song, "Uncle Walter". Despite the fact that I haven't listened to that band in quite a while, I have always used UncleWalter as my username on the internet since 2007, I believe.


----------



## MPsx

mines mpsx, mp standing for marry poppins and sx for sound.. because one time i was setting some girls up with wireless mics so they could rehearse for some show and all the mics had dead batteries so i was like "you know what i think i got some in my pocket" so they named me marry poppins because my pocket reminded me of her purse... then we had to give my other techies names so we named the light op mclo (master cheif light up) and my assistant french guy and thats pretty self explanatory.. 
~Nic


----------



## Buttons

Buttons started out as an inside joke between one of my friends in high school and I then once I returned to college last year I got so excited to be able to play with my buttons on the light board again not to mention that they kept coming to me to fix their computer issues >.< so Buttons I became


----------



## EricMinton

Aloha

Nothing Special, just my name. I spent 43 years in Hawaii Radio, TV, and Theater. If you include the theater in High School and College I've been in theater over half a century. Heck got my first pay check in theater when I was 15. If you allowed for inflation and the number of hours on that project the $300 was more per hour than I get now as a union Stagehand.

Eric


----------



## paulsbutiq

My first foray into the internet when I was in 8th grade, America Online, needed a screenname and back then there were limits on how many characters your screenname could be. I was heavy into the Beastie Boys (still one of my faves) and Paul's Boutique was my favorite album (still is one of all time faves). shortened it to PAULSBUTIQ and that's become my go to user id ever since. Still is my primary email addy too, think I'm the last person to have an AOL address...


----------



## ruinexplorer

No, my parents still use AOL for email, though I finally got them off dial-up. Welcome aboard.


----------



## DuckJordan

my boss still has an AOL account XD


----------



## MightyRedDevil

Coming up with user names feels more stressful than naming my firstborn. So I went simple. I teach at a high school where our mascot is the Mighty Red Devil. So that's what I've become. It's not blasphemy if it's a mascot right? Although I found out from the kids that the mascot was named after an old cement company that used to be in town.


----------



## thechef

On my first tour my TM decided I talk about lighting the same way a chef talks about mixing ingredients in food. Describing rigs as "bland" and "We start with a blue base wash, and throw in a little cyan from the back for atmosphere, then a little strobe here and there for good measure". Couple that with my cocktail mixing skills, and I became The Chef.


----------



## bbudd2011

~bbudd2011~ The names comes from a character in my favorite movie "Urban Cowboy" (don't judge lol) and the 2011 was tacked on to make it more unique.
That's me and I am who I am...


----------



## JohnD

I figured JohnD would be suitable for this forum since that became my lighting guy road name. Long ago I got a call late one night asking what I was doing for the summer, we need a lighting guy, starting tomorrow. The tour already had two Johns, Big John and Little John, so I became JohnD since D was my middle initial.


----------



## TheaterEd

Theatrical Educator just seemed excessive.


----------



## 1deejay

My first and middle initials were too commonly used. Since I am the first born in my family I put that up there as well. Pretty simple. I'm found on quite a few sites but I'm not the only one with the name.


----------



## kenact

thatactorguy said:


> With thirty plus years in theatre and running the gamut of duties, I still consider myself primarily an actor.



Gee, I thought I was going to be the only "H"actor in tech land. I'm Ken the actor, hence kenact, though I'm equally comfortable with a script or a screw driver (powered of course).


----------



## jcuempire

I have been using jcuempire since junior high (I'm 52 now). It started out as a way to do projects without having to use my real name. Partly because of modesty, but mostly for fear that it would suck. JCU stands for Jenny Crawls Upstairs which was the name of an Edison short film that appears in his records but no copies of the film exist. More than likely it was a film of a baby crawling upstairs which would have been a revelation at the end of the 19th century. I had a band called that for a while then I added the empire part because I thought it sounded cool. The rest is, well not history, but, anyway.

Keith


----------



## jbreezy

In college, we would go glow bowling every month or so. I go just for fun, despite the fact that I am a terrible bowler. I used to be a pitcher in school so I just don't have any idea how to roll a bowling ball. It's just awkward to me. I tend to loft the ball, especially if they don't have a heavy ball that fits my hand. Since I catch so much air with the ball, one of the guys started calling me "J-Breezy", and it stuck. Now every time we bowl, that's what is in the computer. He's the only one that still calls me by that name, but it is the best nickname I have picked up so far.


----------



## Vamp Til Ready

Of course, the term vamp 'til ready is used in many different contexts across performing arts and live events.

In the radio context, it refers to when you force the on air talent to talk about nothing in order to fill time before the unknown start of a special programming event. The phrase also involves frantic communication through the glass that involves interpretive hand gestures informing the poor air talent member if they need to stretch it out or start wrapping it up. The most used signal is the universal, I don't know/WTF shrug while the host gives you the "help me, I'm in pain/ when can I stop" look on their face. 

I was trying to think of something radioy. On the engineering side, most of our communication comes in the form of hand signals and any spoken words tend to be profane...so vamp til ready it was...


----------



## Moose Hatrack

Moose Hatrack is from an obscure Jack Benny gag... "You need a <fill in the blank> like a moose needs a hatrack"


----------



## carproelsofly

Mine is my job title. I work at a Performing Arts Center with multiple venues. The other rooms have five departments heads: Carpentry, Props, Electrics, Sound and Fly. I'm the only one in my venue, and have all of the titles rolled into one.


----------



## MichaelPHS

Normally I go by mikklee, or mikklee1 if its taken (Mike = Mikle = Mikklee) but my nickname from college is the same as my dad's, Swanny. Started as there was three Michaels on my college course, and since my last name is Swann, it kinda evolved from that. Not sure why I went for MichaelPHS (Name and initials of my employers), probably because i was trying to come across all professional or something


----------



## sonicdeluxe

I was starting a hotmail account, way back in '95 when hotmail was hot. Since it was going to be used for porn sites I didn't want to use my name so I looked around and saw my guitar, a Gibson 180 sonex deluxe. So a slight spelling change so as to not dishonor my Gibson and voila, a nickname was born. I started to use it for log in names everywhere because it was unique and I never had to put any numbers behind it.


----------



## Jammer

ruinexplorer said:


> On many other forums, you are required to use your given name to identify yourself. Here on Control Booth, we don't have that limitation and many of us have chosen a different monicker to identify ourselves. I was wondering, why did you choose the user name that you have? If you use your given name, is there a reason that you stayed with that as opposed to choosing something different?
> 
> I identify as ruinexplorer on many forums. The main reason, for those of you who have seen my posts or read my intro, is that my original career goal was to be an archaeologist. In particular, I specialized in civilizations as opposed to tribal or nomadic cultures. I am extremely fascinated with how people create to make a world unto themselves and how external forces help to form their decisions.
> 
> So, how about others?


Well I used to work in Electronic Warfare when I was on active duty in the Navy and also played electric bass for many years so I love to jam : )


----------



## ruinexplorer

Welcome to the Booth, Jammer!


----------



## babylightgoddess

As a freshman I became interested in lighting, assisting the current lighting head with every show, and operating the light board, and since I will probably end up his successor when he graduates, my friend deemed me the baby light goddess and the name just stuck.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


----------



## Red leader

Doing a show in college I was on a spot my first year when the cue caller did a comms check by saying, "wings report in" so obviously I said "red leader standing by" and the name just stuck. No idea how I'm gonna transfer it to the new theater without sounding pretentious.


----------



## gafftaper

Red leader said:


> No idea how I'm gonna transfer it to the new theater without sounding pretentious.


Can't be too pretentious... he's dead.


----------



## CunningArtificer

Mine is more than a slight nod to Terry Pratchett, Ankh Morpork; coupled with the fact that I am often called upon to create illusions worthy of the West End, on a budget that doesn't even stretch to one shoe-string.


----------



## Diamond556

Nothing too crazy here. 
Its my last name with a sequence of numbers behind it that I've used as a username on several websites for quite a few years now.


----------



## LilLace

Hello fellow Techs!! My username came from my circumstances. I currently work on a college technical services staff and most of our staff are taller and stronger males. So I received the title of Little girl which then turned into Lil for short. Apparently two syllable names are too long hence Lace. Since then I have accepted my nickname and fully enjoy climbing truss and running DMX/snakes under even the smallest of stages.


----------



## KT the TD

My name is Caiti and I am a td and very proud of that. So kt the td popped in my head.


----------



## πr8qwn

I wanted to see if I could use the symbol for "pi" on my Mac. It was challenging and still looks more like an "n". Now, I've just given you a clue along with me natal date to puzzle out the pronunciation. I'll get an Avatar photo up soon.


----------



## Splinter

One of my idols in theatre from freshman year was an extremely talented tech and actor, and he gave me the nickname "Splinter" because, and I quote, "Kid, you are one [email protected]$$ booth tech." So thus Splinter, as in Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Oh, and I can also be a real pain sometimes.

That's it. that's the whole story.


----------



## MadADDer

I have ADD, and I'm pretty pissed off about it.

Makes waiting for cues a helluva chore, sometimes.


----------



## πr8qwn

MadADDer said:


> I have ADD, and I'm pretty pissed off about it.
> 
> Makes waiting for cues a helluva chore, sometimes.


I hear you MadADDer, (any chance a fan of "Black Adder"?) I manage to embroider when sitting on the board- no cross stitch or counted needlework, I have a SM friend who knits between cues, When waiting for props handoffs or FS cues I sometimes do a certain count of sit-ups or push ups depends on show and venue of course. Don't read anything more engrossing than a rehearsal report. I have missed cues that way. Its a great time to practice or teach yourself new knots or learn that ever-popular one hander bowline around the body.


----------



## wanderer

Let's just say that my road to theatre wasn't a straight and narrow path. Still doesn't seem to be, for that matter...


----------



## woolycd

Like all good sea stories, this starts out ... "This is no s....." 

It was a hot summer evening, late July, 1973 in north central Iowa. That was the year the drinking age in Iowa changed from 19 to 18. I was still 18 and sitting around with two of my buddies and two cases of cold PBR when we started playing a drinking game called Bull S___. Sometime during that game, the name "Wooly" was assigned to me. I don't remember any of the details of how to play this game (or much of the 70's for that matter) but the name stuck through my time in the navy and through school, some still call me Wooly to this day. 

Now if you have ever seen me, you might understand how I got that name. That was just weeks before I went to boot camp and my hair was almost to my shoulders I had a full beard. I still have a full head of thick hair and full beard. Since that July evening in 1973, I can probably count the number times I've been clean shaven on less than two hands. The last time was in July of 1985 for the part of a Samuel Chase in "1776". 

It wasn't until I tried to sign up for an email address that I found out someone else had already taken 'my name'. I had to change my name for an email address. After much consternation (about 3 seconds) I added my initials. And that's how I got my user name, woolycd.


----------



## The Gray Lady

My Technical Theater teacher actually chose this name for me. He was most likely going for some sort of pun since my last name is Gray. That, and when I was younger, I played a joke on one of my other teachers, pretending to be the ghost of the theater. Nothing harmful, just a few bangs from inside his office after he turned off the lights and shut the door.


----------



## SouthTownProd

I just used the name of my production company


----------



## LIGHTMOE

Everyone is a "Moe." Like a Carp "Moe" or a video "Moe" so I am a LIGHTMOE!


----------



## Britlite

ruinexplorer said:


> On many other forums, you are required to use your given name to identify yourself. Here on Control Booth, we don't have that limitation and many of us have chosen a different monicker to identify ourselves. I was wondering, why did you choose the user name that you have? If you use your given name, is there a reason that you stayed with that as opposed to choosing something different?
> 
> I identify as ruinexplorer on many forums. The main reason, for those of you who have seen my posts or read my intro, is that my original career goal was to be an archaeologist. In particular, I specialized in civilizations as opposed to tribal or nomadic cultures. I am extremely fascinated with how people create to make a world unto themselves and how external forces help to form their decisions.
> 
> So, how about others?


Was one of the first names I came up with for my company when I decided to go out on my own and try to take over the world with 8 cheap LEDS and a 48 channel board.


----------



## Britlite

DaveySimps said:


> I worked on a crew where, out of 12 tech, 5 of us were named Dave. Since I was the newbie, they tried calling me Davey. That lasted about a week. Then they used my last name (Simpson), then Simps, then DaveySimps. At that time email was just catching on (yes there was a time when it did not exist). So, I randomly used DaveySimps as my hotmail user name. Ever since then, I just sort of stuck with it.
> 
> ~Dave


The same name on the GIG stories are always cool!! Im Noah so that rarely happens, but I bet you get it a lot..


----------



## burgherandfries

Burgher - a person who is from or lives in the Pittsburgh area but does not identify as a Yinzer, homophone of the food item Burger
And - used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, or sentences that are to be taken jointly
Fries - Delicious batons of deep-fried potato, often put inside or on top of hot deli sandwiches, salads, and cheeseburgers by people from Pittsburgh

I went out for sustenance with a stage manager on a tour stop at my theater recently and she was appalled that the portions of food in Pittsburgh are so massive and that nearly everything you order has fries in it or on it. I can't imagine having it any other way.


----------



## Joel - Studio 52

Pretty simple; my first name and my company name.


----------



## NJJerrySmith

Well, I know where I live, and I know my name..... So I went above and beyond and combined the two.


----------



## Professor Ed Baker

My name is Ed Baker... that was taken. I am a Professor of Theatre Technology specializing, at present, in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the creative worker and artist.
I find that creating and supporting a Culture of Engagement and Sharing leads me naturally in the direction of imagination, creativity, innovation and invention. 

In order to share as broadly and openly as possible I need to use my name and my identity openly. 

Thanks for the Great Forum.


----------



## ruinexplorer

What a great specialty. Welcome to the booth!


----------



## bobgaggle

Never noticed this thread, but since its revived I'll contribute.

Bob Gaggle was the mascot of a company my friend and I set up in 5th grade. I forget what we sold, pretty sure we didn't sell anything. We were trying to think of a name for this character and came up with Bob, couldn't agree on a last name until one of us looked up and saw some geese flying over. (We weren't very creative) But I got my first email account shortly thereafter and couldn't think of a user name so I used bobgaggle. After that anything I signed up for online I used the name and have just kept using it. Only recently started transitioning away from it because people keep telling me its stupid haha


----------



## Rassna

Mine is pretty simple, used as a screen name in a game and just stuck with it.


----------



## Connor techie JR

The backstory for my name is my real name, my profession i want to do, and an inside joke with my group of being the theatre baby. I choice this so people known what to call me and they know what i do and a laugh for myself.


----------



## JohnD

JohnD said:


> I figured JohnD would be suitable for this forum since that became my lighting guy road name. Long ago I got a call late one night asking what I was doing for the summer, we need a lighting guy, starting tomorrow. The tour already had two Johns, Big John and Little John, so I became JohnD since D was my middle initial.


I just ran across this video, this was my first day on the job, last day of rehearsals in the Church studio, I was sitting in the "drum gazebo" back behind the back up singers. When rehearsals were over we got to load the trucks, oh yeah, the studio was up a flight of steps so everything got carried down. 

The dreaded steps:


----------



## DarthClown

I have a habit of randomly whipping out a red foam clown nose and just popping it on. 
Sitting in traffic, standing in line, sitting in a meeting, whenever. 
And then just sit there like, What? 
One day I did that on stage while in my blacks. 
One of my Union Brothers said "Oh My God, It's Darth Clown." 
And I kept it. ;O)


----------



## cdiamondz

My name comes from a longer version of it "Cold Diamondz" let's just say that it was rather cold outside and I found 2 diamond rings walking around town.


----------



## Jay Ashworth

I see this thread's got exhumed -- and I know why  -- so I'll pitch in as well.

My email domain has been at baylink since I registered it in 1994 -- back when that was still free -- so when I started needing user handles, that's what I used. Oh, the original source? A communications company -- well, a notional communications company -- offering what we now call "unified communications" around my Tampa Bay area.

The St Pete Times tried to buy the domain from me about 5 years ago -- for reasons locals will understand -- but it would have been such a massive pain in the ass to move everything that I decided they wouldn't offer me that much money.


----------



## Caroline

I have a common first name and this is the first time I've ever been able to use it as a username, so I ran with the opportunity.


----------



## TheTheaterGeek

Mine really started with a vision quest. Had to find just the right fit......Then I gave up on that and grabbed this one. 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Blassiter

My comes directly from my first and last name.


----------



## SpeedySP

Speedy because during the first hour on my first professional gig, I managed to almost cut three of my fingers off with a radial arm saw while cutting corner blocks. They called me Speedy Fingers for a while and it just eventually shortened to Speedy. There are still lots of techies I worked with for multiple seasons who don't know my real name. 
The SP is mostly because eventually Speedy was already taken on forums (though in the dark ages of the interwebs - I was just Speedy on a lot of chatrooms) and I added the SP (special projects) because members of my crew were often just referred to as SPs.


----------



## Silent Gordon

Back when I was making a go at being a musician, I used Silent Gordon as my stage name. I wasn't very good at making conversation with the audience. I still perform with the name, but now I talk to the audience


----------



## harmony

Never liked my name much and everywhere I go (like Dave) find many others with it, never liked conflict much but always loved harmony especially musical but friendships and teamwork too, so ...

ruinexplorer said:


> I am extremely fascinated with how people create to make a world unto themselves and how external forces help to form their decisions.


this is me in an online world and what I quest for as an individual in an environment with few small ponds.


----------



## Pyrotech

I wound up getting involved in theater because of a production my kids were involved in when they were younger. Helped with the special effects, mostly in the newbie end of 'move that over there'. One of the scenes also had some pyro involved in it, so while waiting back set began getting to know the pyrotechnician. He happened to have an actual fireworks show coming up and asked if I wanted to be on his crew to learn more about it. I did and enjoyed it and wound up getting licensed myself a couple years later.

I do more pyro than theater, but our church started a drama ministry a few years back and since I had a background in SFX, a pyro license and a day job with an electric utility, I've wound up doing a little bit of everything in the tech side of the productions.


----------



## Daniel Fowler

Cast98 is the name of a web app for theatre directors/stage managers that I built in 2016. I posted a board topic about its features so if you want to know more, give that a read-thru or visit the website.


----------



## Phantom_OfThe_TechBooth

I love all of these stories! Mine's pretty simple...who cares about a phantom of the opera? The real action is in the tech booth! I've used this one (or techboothpantom) for several years.


----------



## JonCarter

derekleffew said:


> Dang, there's a lot! Chester, Hester, bester, nester, quester, rester, vester, zester, wester, tester, jester, fester, pester...
> 
> And here all that time I thought your old screen-name was short for "Moe Lester." :shock:



Derek, interesting that you mention MOE. About 60 yrs ago in Cleveland I had occasion to end up working along side an IA crew (I'm not union) on a job. There were about 10 stagehands on the call, and every one of them called the other ones "Moe" for the duration of the job. And every time, the correct "Moe" responded. Absolutely amazing. And I noted the "Moe" thing on other jobs around that time, too. Is this "Moe" an IA thing? I've never heard it anywhere else.


----------



## Matthew Davis

ruinexplorer said:


> On many other forums, you are required to use your given name to identify yourself. Here on Control Booth, we don't have that limitation and many of us have chosen a different monicker to identify ourselves. I was wondering, why did you choose the user name that you have? If you use your given name, is there a reason that you stayed with that as opposed to choosing something different?
> 
> I identify as ruinexplorer on many forums. The main reason, for those of you who have seen my posts or read my intro, is that my original career goal was to be an archaeologist. In particular, I specialized in civilizations as opposed to tribal or nomadic cultures. I am extremely fascinated with how people create to make a world unto themselves and how external forces help to form their decisions.
> 
> So, how about others?



That's cool, I wanted to be an archaeologist too. Still kinda do, might work that into my future. Never had a specialty though. 

Didn't see an option for nickname or user name so just entered my name. Its mine. Its great 

My call sign from my paintball days was Marauder. For online gaming that name was always taken so I added an i: Maraudier... kinds sounds french...ish if you pronounce it Ma-raud-ee ay or Mar-rau-deer if you want lol


----------



## RonHebbard

Matthew Davis said:


> That's cool, I wanted to be an archaeologist too. Still kinda do, might work that into my future. Never had a specialty though.
> 
> Didn't see an option for nickname or user name so just entered my name. Its mine. Its great
> 
> My call sign from my paintball days was Marauder. For online gaming that name was always taken so I added an i: Maraudier... kinds sounds french...ish if you pronounce it Ma-raud-ee ay or Mar-rau-deer if you want lol


 @Mathewdavis Welcome to Control Booth. There are worse places to be. 
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


----------



## ruinexplorer

Matthew Davis said:


> That's cool, I wanted to be an archaeologist too. Still kinda do, might work that into my future. Never had a specialty though.



Funny thing is that my wife and I were just asked to volunteer at a ranger station to teach people about the native peoples who lived here. Originally, I wanted to specialize in the near east. It's kind of a rough area these days.


----------



## ShowNet

I'm interested in Show Control (second career) and Networking (first career), so.... ShowNet. When I was freelancing I had a domain name and business cards with "ShowNet" as the business name. I've since learned that Strand has a protocol called ShowNet. I very rarely see it mentioned, but now wonder if I can get away with having a business with that name...

But on here? Yeah, you can just call me ShowNet.


----------



## ravenboats

My first (and current) email, given to me by my dad. I also use it for almost all of my accounts.


----------



## iammargarette

Nothing special, but that's my real name. BTW, pardon me for being an intruder as I am a newbie. Thanks for giving me the privilege to join you guys.


----------



## ruinexplorer

iammargarette said:


> Nothing special, but that's my real name. BTW, pardon me for being an intruder as I am a newbie. Thanks for giving me the privilege to join you guys.


Welcome to the Booth, Margarette!


----------



## klimbo

Matthew Davis said:


> That's cool, I wanted to be an archaeologist too. Still kinda do, might work that into my future. Never had a specialty though.
> 
> Didn't see an option for nickname or user name so just entered my name. Its mine. Its great
> 
> My call sign from my paintball days was Marauder. For online gaming that name was always taken so I added an i: Maraudier... kinds sounds french...ish if you pronounce it Ma-raud-ee ay or Mar-rau-deer if you want lol


 hello my friend and welcome to Control Booth ,There are many places to be here with us


----------



## Cozy Roadie

It's the inspiration and ultimately what became our patented invention - an executive office chair in a box. It's easy to click, pack & stack, making the life of a roadie, well - cozy.


----------



## ahoffman50

Well now that I have a signature, it is easy to see where my username comes from. The numbers are arbitrary that came to me YEARS ago when I signed up for my first email on Hotmail.


----------



## Kat the LD

My real name is completely unrelated to "Kat" but extremely common for women my age, so I just... asked people to call me Kat one day, and it stuck. I'm also the only lighting designer on our staff, so there ya go.


----------



## ruinexplorer

Kat the LD said:


> My real name is completely unrelated to "Kat" but extremely common for women my age, so I just... asked people to call me Kat one day, and it stuck. I'm also the only lighting designer on our staff, so there ya go.



Funny. For the longest time I had two nicknames completely unrelated to my real name. Nik and Sam were names given to me by others, one because it just evolved from another nickname and the latter because my name had been forgotten, so they put in a placeholder which stuck.


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## Lasermike

I have a laser engraving machine, my name is Mike and I can't spell... Thus Lasermik. Someday, I may contact the admins to see if I can have them add the trailing e that would make my user name make more sense.

Michael, AKA Lasermike


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## Lasermike

Thought I'd drop by and thank @RonHebbard and David for taking care of my user name! 

Michael, AKA lasermike


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## Amcoffeegirl

I'm the morning crew- coffee is life- plus I'm a girl.


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## f_zzyslippers

Fuzzy Slippers was the unseen friend Gerald always mentioned from Hey Arnold!


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## R132

It's my favorite frost. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## JonCarter

Spent some time looking at threads I don't usually look at and found this one. My user name is (surprise!) my name. I figure if I'm going to post something I'm not going to hide behind a phony name when I do it. Now, I realize that some people have employers who don't like them "talking out opf school," and that's OK. But I don't.


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## TimMc

JonCarter said:


> Spent some time looking at threads I don't usually look at and found this one. My user name is (surprise!) my name. I figure if I'm going to post something I'm not going to hide behind a phony name when I do it. Now, I realize that some people have employers who don't like them "talking out opf school," and that's OK. But I don't.


It helps when you *are* the school... nudge, wink


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## Jay Ashworth

JonCarter said:


> Spent some time looking at threads I don't usually look at and found this one. My user name is (surprise!) my name. I figure if I'm going to post something I'm not going to hide behind a phony name when I do it. Now, I realize that some people have employers who don't like them "talking out opf school," and that's OK. But I don't.


Oh... so you *aren't* a warlord of Mars. Got it.


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## jtweigandt

It's me.. I'm real. But I picked the Avatar of the Philco predicta because I've always
coveted one of those. Just a cool looking future that never happened.


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