What does your username mean?

[truthman]

I'd love to know the origins of your username, what it means, and anything else significant to your username or profile.

Mine has a mildly unique history to it.

Back in January of 1999, I had just gotten my first computer ever, a Gateway piece of junk. Anyways, at the time it was top of the line, 450 mhz processer, 2 gig memory and the usual 1990's innovational software like, Microsoft Works 1997 or something like that.

Anyways, I got on this thing called the internet with my then friend John, and wanted to do what I had heard people call, "chatting". So, I went to excite.com with him and thought that I could just get in one of these "chat rooms" and see what was going on.

Oh no. Little did I know that I had to pick a username. Being as computer and internet illiterate as I was, I felt like the whole world was watching me and had to pick a username quick! So, I quickly thought of something and typed it in, 'truthman'. It worked, the net had me in its grasp.

I quickly found that one site (no need to mention its name) and used it there too.

I've been truthman ever since.

Let's see, who have I been posting with since those early days at various sites on the net? Brother Vinny, Jade, and a few others here as well, but I don't know who you were because your names have changed.

truthman

[Minnesota]

"Minnesota" means "land of sky blue water."

[Ric]

Ric means :Ric:

[Da Lone-Warrior]

yes, but why did you pick MN as your user-name?

I got mine by mistake. I think there was some sort of computer-bug. I had initially tried to use my initials dlw as a user-name, but it was too small and so I then chose dlw2003 and had Love-Warrior as custom user title, but then I tried to change my custom-user title and I lost Love-Warrior and I wanted to change it back but I couldn't and so I wrote to the board admin's for help and they ended up changing my user-name to Love-Warrior, instead. But then I realized I liked that name so much better and I've kept it ever-since.

dlw

[Ric]

Ric = :Ric3: because :Ric: is my name.

[Dave G]

Mine is my name. My previous username in my sig line is my initials with my zip code. I need usernames I can remember.

[Jade]

I have had the privilage/curse of having several different user names over my history on the Net. The earliest that I recall was Lightbearer, recalling the scripture that we are the light of the world. I later found out this is one of Lucifer's names.

Another time I chose the name BereanDisciple after the Acts 17:10-11 passage, but I never seemed to really be able to live up to it, and it seemed too much like bragging anyway.

Then I chose Mara, after getting burned by one website, after the name Naomi wanted to take on. Then when coming here to TWeb, I decided to choose a name that went with Mara but more cheerful (Thus Jade, as in Mara Jade from the Star Wars Novels who would become Luke's wife). Plus it's tons easier to remember than my real name (of which I'll not burden y'all to remember ).

[truthman]

And I was the first one at TWeb to know who you were too! Cool!

Unfortunately, I can't find that thread, it must have been deleted.

I also remember one of your usernames was Paideia

truthman

[Pinky Pie of Doom]

I just put the first thing that came into my head,wich happend to be a reference from Ghostbusters that I had picked up.

[Rubia Warren]

And I was the first one at TWeb to know who you were too! Cool!

Unfortunately, I can't find that thread, it must have been deleted.

I also remember one of your usernames was Paideia

truthman

truthman, was that you who posted on the thread in the beginning when Patroclus and I were trying to figure out who Jade was, and we made a bet about it? It was like on Tweb's first or second day ever.... I was thinking it was either you or geebob who posted and said you knew who she was previously, but wasn't sure if she wanted people to know or not. How time flies!

[Jade]

And I was the first one at TWeb to know who you were too! Cool!

Unfortunately, I can't find that thread, it must have been deleted.

I also remember one of your usernames was Paideia

truthman

Oh yeah, I forgot about her. That was a name I pulled directly out of Greek although I forget what I means now...

*Runs to find find out.*
:scram:

[Vorkosigan]

Vorkosigan --

from the Vorkosigan Saga, a collection of about 14 books by Lois McMaster Bujold, some of the best SF written in the last two decades. I heartily recommend it. Here is something I wrote about it a while back:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here to introduce to you today something I love: the Miles Vorkosign Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold.

There are now fourteen books in this continuing saga. In the series chronological order, they are:

• Falling Free
  Shards of Honor
  Barrayar
  The Warrior's Apprentice
  The Vor Game
  Cetaganda
  Ethan of Athos
  Borders of Infinity (one story in this book takes place prior to The Vor Game)
  Brothers in Arms
  Mirror Dance
  Memory
  Komarr
  A Civil Campaign
  Diplomatic Immunity

Between them, these books, published over the last 15 years, have garnered 4 Hugos (the highest fan award), 3 Nebulas (awarded by other SF writers), a Japanese Hugo, and a number of other nominations for those and other awards. Because she had her first two novels published the same year, she also has the rare distinction of having two different books be runners-up for Best New Novel awards. Not since Robert Heinlein's extraordinary run from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s has any writer sustained output at such a high level. And no writer has ever done it with one series spread over so many years.

Miles Vorkosigan, the focus of the series, though the hero in only 9 of its 13 books, is the son of Cordelia Naismith, the hero of the second and third books. Miles is a high lord on the planet Barrayar, a galactic secret agent, an admiral of a mercenary fleet and a possible heir to the Barrayan imperial throne. He also suffered damage while in the womb from an assassination attempt on his father, then the Regent of the boy-emperor, is abnormally short and weak. He is an extraordinary creation, witty, driven, incredibly human and hugely entertaining. Witness this discussion about him from A Civil Campaign. In this scene, Simon Illyan, Miles' former boss in Imperial Security, is explaining Miles to someone he wants to marry:

• "Hm." Illyan's lips twisted in sympathy with her expression. He traced a finger over the tabletop in a cross hatch pattern. "You know -- speaking of ambassadors -- I began thinking I ought to come to you and put in a good word for Miles in the romance department. I figured I owed it to him, for having put my foot down in the middle of things that way. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I have truly no idea what kind of a husband he would make. I hardly dare recommend him to you. He was a terrible subordinate."
  Her brows flew up in surprise. "I'd thought his ImpSec career was successful."
  
  Illyan shrugged "His ImpSec missions were consistently successful, frequently beyond my wildest dreams. Or nightmares…He seemd to regard any order worth obeying as worth exceeding. If I could have installed one control device on him, it would have been a rheostat. Power him down a turn or two…maybe I could have made him last longer." Illyan gazed thoughtfully out over the garden, but Ekaterin didn't think the garden was what he was seeing in his mind's eye. "Do you know all those old folk tales where the count tries to get rid of his only daughter's unsuitable suitor by giving him three impossible tasks?"
  
  "Yes."
  
  "Don’t ever try that with Miles. Just…don't."
  
  She tried to rub the involuntary smile from her lips, and failed. His answering smile seemed to lighten his eyes.
  
  "I will say," he went on more confidently, "I've never found him a slow learner. If you were to give him a second chance, well…he might surprise you."
  
  "Pleasantly?" she asked dryly.
  
  It was his turn to fail to suppress a smile. "Not necessarily." He looked away from her again, and his smile faded from wry to pensive. "I've had many subordinates over the years who've turned in impeccable careers. Perfection takes no risks with itself, you see. Miles was many things, but never perfect. It was a privilege and a terror to command him, and I'm thankful and amazed we both got out alive. Ultimately…his career ran aground in disaster. But before it ended, he changed worlds."
  
  She didn't think Illyan meant that for a figure of speech. He glanced back at her, and made a little palm-up motion with his hands in his lap, as if apologizing for having once held worlds there.

I've always loved that last sentence. This passage shows more than just what kind of person Miles is. It displays the wit and energy of Bujold's writings and the way her characters live and breathe, and talk in a way worth listening to. The Vorkosigan novels are filled with extraordinary passages, deeply moving and extremely witty. I won't reproduce any of them here and spoil the fun.

In addition to wit and energy, Bujold's novels are strongly character-driven, but descend neither into soap opera nor sitcom, an amazing achievement. Because of this, her characters have history; there are constant references to past events, like normal people, and they change over time, are perceived by others much differently than they perceive themselves, and create their own problems. Her plots, by contrast, vary wildly; The Vor Game and Mirror Dance are Hugo Award winners with fabulous, convoluted plots of galactic intrigue that span her entire universe, while A Civil Campaign is a light-hearted comedy of manners. Shards of Honor and Barrayar are novels of war and politics concerning Miles' even more amazing mother, Cordelia Naismith, from freewheeling Beta Colony, who falls in love with Miles' eventual father, Aral Vorkosigan, while his prisoner. Barrayar is a tour-de-force, certainly one of the great SF novels of the last decade or so.

As an added bonus, many of her novels feature atheists as major characters, such as Leo Graf of Falling Free (which takes place 200 years before the events of [Shards of Honor) and the dying Emperor Ezar:

• "Ah, yes, I recall from your file that you are some sort of theist," said the Emperor. "I am an atheist, myself. A simple faith, but of great comfort to me in these last days."

Let me stress that atheism and theism play no role at all in the novels, and are hardly mentioned. But it's always nice to see a writer take it for granted that it is normal to be atheist.

In addition to her strongly developed characters, Bujold also has worked out a universe rich with interesting peoples and places. In her SF universe, ships move about through wormholes. Inhabited planets each have at least one wormhole connection to other systems, and some have more than one. The number and quality of such connections determines the strategic usefulness of a particular planet, and much of its economic clout as well. Her books are often technical and extremely well-researched, and she puts a lot of emphasis on biotechnology. Her universe also has a rich political and economic life, which underpins the series and provides the reason for many of its stories. Refreshingly, there are no supernatural powers. Although Miles is an achievement, he is not the only one of the Vorkosigan series.

If you are an SF fan who hasn't read this amazing series, or just a non-fan seeking a good read, I can't recommend these books enough. I suggest starting with The Vor Game which gives a portrait of Miles and Barrayan society (and happens to be a wonderful book). Save Barrayar for last; not because it will spoil you for the others -- every single book is excellent -- but because it is such a treat. Personally Barrayar is my favorite, but I love A Civil Campaign and Memory (in which Miles' career goes down in flames and he re-discovers who he is) very much.

Enough! I've talked too much! Get thee to a bookstore!

[Jade]

Oh yeah!

I found it. . . still only vaguely remember though.

Paideia sorta means Disciple, Learner.

*whispers* I guess that's where Lucas gets "Padawan" (or from a similar language anyway).

[truthman]

truthman, was that you who posted on the thread in the beginning when Patroclus and I were trying to figure out who Jade was, and we made a bet about it? It was like on Tweb's first or second day ever.... I was thinking it was either you or geebob who posted and said you knew who she was previously, but wasn't sure if she wanted people to know or not. How time flies!

Yeah, that was me, and it was even before the site was officially launched.

I just wish I could have been more active in year one. Here comes year two!

truthman

p.s. Since TWeb's inception, I've used Lego characters for my avatar. I just love Legos so much, (please see this thread, http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/sho...95&postcount=5 )

Actually, it's time to change my avatar, I'll see what I can find

[NSMinistries]

NSMinistries = www.naturalspiritministries.com

easy i guess...