All About Us: S - Z

Welcome to Making an Impression.

This FAQ has been setup to introduce the Making an Impression family. Members have voluntarily submitted some background on where they are and from whence they came. Some have also provided the story behind the handle.


See Also
faq1256-5837
faq1256-6961


SamBones -- Irvine, California -- SamBones comes from a manager I used to work for a very long time ago. My name is Sam, and I believe he was the prototype for "the copier guy" in the old Saturday Night Live skits. Every time he'd see me it was "Sambo", "Sam Bones", "Sammy", "Mr. Sam", "Samson", "Sammy Boy", and so forth. "Whataya know, Sambo?". If I was alone it might be "Sam Bonly Only". It was always some mangled spur-of-the-moment concoction of a name. I didn't mind except for one awkward moment when he called me "SamBoner". It soon evolved into just "Bones", which was fine with me since I loved Star Trek. Being a budding Alpha Geek at the time, I got the reputation for being able to fix just about any computer problem, which in my mind fit the Star Trek "Bones" since Doctor McCoy could heal anything but death ("He's Dead, Jim!").

SantaMufasa -- My sig has always carried my location: Sandy, Utah. Sandy is 19 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Anyone who has ever skied at either Snowbird or Alta ski resorts has passed by my home (be sure to wave next time): we live about 8 minutes from Snowbird and about 14 minutes from Alta. To make connections with other Tek-Tipsters, I've also lived in these localities during my life: (in chronological order): Buhl, Idaho; Twin Falls, Idaho; Americus, Georgia; Mountain View, California; Menlo Park, California; Atherton, California; Rugby, England; Daventry, England;Royal Leamington Spa, England; Newcastle-under-Lyme, England; Stafford, England; Longton (S-o-T), England; Sutton Coldfield, England; Perry Barr (Birmingham), England; Lincoln, England; Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwll-llantysiliogogogoch, Wales; Beeston (Nottingham), England; Nottingham, England; Sutton Coldfield, England; Orem (Provo), Utah; Sunnyvale, California; Alamo, California; Danville, California; Pleasanton, California; Alpharetta (Atlanta), Georgia; Lehi, Utah; and finally (currently) Sandy, Utah -- Since "DaveHunt" is usually taken as a user name, I've had to be more creative. For many years, I wore a full beard. When my currently-27-year-old daughter was a 7-year-old member of "Indian Princesses", my "Indian" name became "Red Beard". Twenty years later, however, my beard is white and I'm shaped like Santa Claus, thus I've been known amongst friends and co-workers as "Santa Dave". Unfortunately, "Santa Dave" has occasionally been already taken by others as a screen name. I had to dig deeper. When my six kids were simultaneously teenagers (ages 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 19), they all thought it was too stodgy for their friends to call me "Mr. Hunt", and I didn't like the idea of snotty-nosed teenagers calling me "Dave". Since "Lion King" was the popular movie at the time, one of the snot-nosers called me "Mufasa", and it stuck. So, combining "Santa Dave" with "Mufasa", the logical progression seemed to be "SantaMufasa". So as popular U.S. commentator, Paul Harvey, would say, "So now you know The Rest of the Story."

sarahnade -- I'm Sarah. I'm 21. I'm going to school to be a computer programmer. I'm going to be a missionary, so we'll wait and see how well those two fit together. Sadly, I was born in the wrong decade. I should have been a hippie. I'm 4'10" and that is very short.

saw164 -- Seaside OR, USA -- I am an Information Technician in the United States Coast Guard, currently assigned to the USGC Station in Astoria, OR. I have been in the Coast Guard for 3 years, and I have been stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, and Petaluma, Ca. My handle is the first letters of my first, middle, and last names, along with my company number from bootcamp.

sbudzynski -- Born and raised in Maryland and currently attending the University of Maryland. -- No imagination for my nick (Steve Budzynski).

SF0751 -- I work & attend college in San Antonio, Texas, and Fiesta starts on April 15th! -- I'm afraid that mine is boring - It's the initials of my first and last names, and the last four digits of the telephone number that my family had when I attended high school (many, many years ago!). I'm not very good at thinking up clever nicknames.

SF18C -- In a former (much more exciting life) I used to be a Special Forces Engineer, which has the military occupation specialty code of 18C. I too had this handle back in the ôold days of dial upö and have kept it ever since.

Sheco -- Howdy from Texas!

SilentAiche -- I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina (yet another of the 13). Not the most exciting place, but I can't complain. Three hours east or west will get me to beaches or mountains, without leaving the state. Family tree shows our first Tar Heel came here from Virginia in 1759. Anglo name, mostly Scottish roots. Previously, lived in Shannon, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina. -- My handle probably confuses some folks, depending on how you think "Aiche" is supposed to be pronounced. The intent was a phoneticized "H". My last name starts with an H that everyone else on the planet pronounces when saying this name. For some reason, in my family (which has been in North Carolina since 1759 - came down from Virginia) the H is silent. Thus the handle. And no, I'm not some broken-hearted romantic suffering from a silent "ache" which is how I feared some folks would read it. I guess I could have gone with SilentH, but then it sounds like I have a speech impediment or that I'm making fun of those who do. Unlike the trouble some of you had in registering your handles, I had no competition for SilentAiche. My name has also led to another habit, since I naturally always think T and H should be capitalized. For years, I have ended emails as done below (and I only had one co-worker who caught on- everyone else thought it was sloppy typing even though it happened every time!)

SkipVought -- I grew up in the Philadelphia area, Norristown, the home of Tommy Lasorda. I have driven the Shure-Kill Expressway, getting on in Conchy (Conshohocken). Sang with the Wanamaker organ, circa 1957 -- "Meet you at the eagle." Currently in Fort Worth, Texas, "Cow Town", where EVERYONE, drives a pickup with a gun on the rack, dances at Billy Bobs, chews Skoal and says, "y'all." -- 1. I've been "Skip" since I was 5. 2. I spent 20+ years at LTV (Ling-Tempco-Vought)/Northrop Grumman. 3. SkipVought seemed pretty unique. Hence à

sleipnir214 -- Lafayette, Louisiana. The heart of Cajun country. -- Sleipnir is the name of Odin's magical eight-legged horse. The word has no particular personal significance -- I just discovered the word years ago and have been using it for my online activities for some time. 214 is there because, like aardvark92, there became many sleipnirs out there and I needed an additional number. 214 is related to my college fraternity days.

SnicoleK -- Mine's nowhere near eventful. Just the basics. The initial of my first name + my middlename + the initial of my last name.

snuv -- I'm back round the UK loop in Nottingham -- My handle comes from my cats name - I couldnÆt think of anything else when I needed a handle. He was named by my mother who likes Dr Suess. For the record, he's ginger without any white patches, weighs about 12 pounds and humorously mad.

spewn -- San Deigo, CA

spike0724 -- Northern Virginia... 20 miles from DC

SQLSister -- Well the SQL part is obvious, sister because it indicates I'm female and it was alliterative, I was also listening to a song called Sister Psychic or some such at the time I had to pick a handle. Most other places on the web I'm called HLGEM which is a shortening of the name of a horse I used to own, Holly's Little Gem.

Stella740pl -- Most of my handle, except one letter, I've got at birth, since it consists of my first name and initials (not very creative, I know, but it wasn't a requirement). The 740 part is related to my ethnical/cultural background. I don't feel like typing a lengthy explanation.

stinsman -- 26 years Philadelphia, PA; 5 years Phoenix, AZ; 9 months Wilmington, NC; 9 months (and permanently...hopefully) Tampa, FL

stormbind -- London, UK -- My unique handle comes from MtG, a strategy game that I played competitively at championship level.

stormcloudgathering -- My username is a corruption of a Colin Vearcombe song "Storm Cloud Katherine", but my first name is Lynne! It describes me very well: a sense of foreboding in the air just before I arrive, spectacular fireworks, a lot of noise, and a trail of destruction in my wake!

strongm -- Surbiton, just SW of London

stubnski -- Washington State, USA[/b] -- My name is Steve and I'm a pretty laid back country hick that loves a good joke. I live in Washington (not WaRshington) State and have lived here my whole life, and I enjoy the rain. Still in my 20's, I'll be the first to say I know very little. I enjoy reading the posts in MAI where some of the them really make the work day go by fast. As for the handle, it's a nickname I that my cousin made up when I was a kid. Neither of us remember why.

StuckInTheMiddle -- I chose my moniker a few years back when I first stumbled upon this site. At the time I was working on a web project that needed some speedy online help. I was brought in to fix said project when both users and management couldn't agree on its goals. I needed to appear to satisfy both sides while not appearing to compromise to either side, hence being StuckInTheMiddle. Also, itÆs a reference to a song from a favorite film of mine at the time, Reservoir Dogs.

Sympology -- While stuggling for a name for Yahoo / Flickr that wasn't Stu1834t6483762378 or something as stupid as that, I came across a Nissan Advert (Micra I think?) and that was their hook line. Tapped it in and bingo, nice and free.

tgreer -- I've worked in the commercial printing industry for many years, as a programmer and executive. I become used to commenting all my code revisions under the "tgreer" moniker. It was also my email address at each new job, and eventually became the name of my own company and domain. While all my friends call me "Tom", and all my poetry is authored under "Thomas D. Greer", online I've always been "tgreer".

Thadeus -- I live in Lansdale, a suburb of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. For those who don't know, Pennsylvania is one of the original colonies and sits right smack in the middle of those 13, giving it the nickname: the Keystone state. Philadelphia was the 2nd capital of the US and boasts a nice long history (long as such things go on this side of the pond). Lansdale on the other hand, doesn't boast much. -- I have been Thadeus ever since I got online in the early 90s -- sometimes BrotherThadeus as well as BroThadeus. It stems from an old joke in Catholic high school. The names of the apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon, Garfunkle, and Thadeus. We decided that every group has a prankster and therefore the apostles must have too. Thadeus was the guy in DaVinci's painting holding the bunny ears over Jesus' head. We came up with an entire mythology. On a side note, my teenage son has appropriated the handles LilThad and OtherThad in his online encounters.

thekl0wn -- Evansville, Indiana, USA -- Most people refer to me as a clown upon first meeting me. I possess a lot of sarcasm and multiple other senses of humor. Friends refer to me simply as "clown" or "the clown" when we are in a formal setting. The handle spelling is kind of an ode to the old school hackers I idolized throughout my grade school and junior high days, who used the modern-day "l33t" to spell out their aliases, even though the tables have now turned and more of my focus is now upon making applications less hackable.

TheRambler -- Mine you might have guessed already: "a person whose speech or writing is not well organized", that is why I wander in this forum. The other reason I chose it is because I like the song "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin (among many others).

TheVampire -- "Vampire" is military slang for a cruise missile, which is designated with a "V" symbol on radar displays. IÆve been using it online since the days of BBS. I would have just used "Vampire" but someone here already had it.

ToniL -- I am from Michigan, Detroit to be exact... Famous for, well, nothing, really... Unless you like cars and music, murder and mayhem, and Vernor's and Faygo!!! -- I suppose I have one of the more boring handles. ItÆs just my first name and last initial. I don't have the imagination to come up with anything interesting or cool like you guys, and I'm not enough of a dork to call myself something computer-related (no offense to anyone with computer-related handles). Just me. Period.

traingamer -- St. Louis, MO, USA -- I've been a board gamer for a really long time, and when that Internet fad hit, I chose traingamer as a handle. My favorite board game back then was Empire Builder and lately its direct descendents: British Rails, India Rails, Russia Rails, and China Rails. Other favorite games include Merchant of Venus, the Ticket to Ride series, and many other Euro- or German style games. I've been in IT as a programmer / developer / analyst (and several other titles) for over 25 years.

Tranman -- There is a scene in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemption", where Andy tries to talk to Red about when he will be getting out of prison. Red responds that he's an, "Institution Man" now. I was talking to a co-worker one day about my desire to get back into banking IT where I started out. He, knowing that I liked "The Shawshank Redemption", told me that I would never be able to leave here because I'm a "Transportation Man", now. Hence, Tranman. I still hope, one day, to get back into banking/check processing. Maybe then I can change my handle to MICRman or RegEman or Check21man or something.

Trevoke -- I was born in 1982, spent 15 years in France, and so far the rest have been spent in the USA. -- I study martial arts (isshinryu karate), enjoy technology and dislike people who won't think for themselves. Back in 2000, I joined my guild (back then, Diablo players, mostly) on a newer game called Everquest (I did a few years on Solusek Ro and a few more on Luclin). I couldn't use my then-current nickname, Muad'Dib, as it didn't really work as a fantasy name. The thought fleetingly crossed my mind to write "Muaddibb" or something similar, but I thought it was an insult to the characters (both my EQ character and Paul Atreides), so I let my fingers type. A few odd names later, Trevoke came out, and I liked it, and I kept it, and that's it. I enjoy the game of Go.

tsdragon -- I live about 20 miles south of Richmond, VA (another of the 13) in a small town called Hopewell. It's major claims to fame (besides me) are US Grant's Civil War HQ (it is strategically located at the confluence of the James and Appamattox Rivers), and a paper plant. I used to live in downtown DC. -- If you look at my signature you can probably guess most of mine. My handle comes mainly from the fact that I'm a dragon nut (I collect almost anything dragonish). However most of the common variations on dragon are usually taken. And since my last name sounds similar to dragon, I just took that and added my first two initials (my middle name is Stevenson). It's usually available.

ttmac -- Wicklow, Ireland (30 miles south of Dublin)

Turkbear -- Turkbear is a combination of part of the title of a movie I really liked (Turk182) and my wife's childhood nickname (Bear).

UniqueFD -- I'm another Nottingham-ite, this time West Bridgford. The complete list: Clifton, Nottingham (UK); Chilwell, Nottingham (UK); Bracht, Germany; Bicester, Oxford (UK); Paderborn, Germany; Osnabruck, Germany; Devizes, Wiltshire (UK); Telford, Shropshire (UK); Chilwell, Nottingham (UK); Clifton, Nottingham (UK); Gedling, Nottingham (UK); West Bridgford, Nottingham (UK). -- My name - Anthony (although everyone calls me Tony) - means 'peerless; without a peer' viz Unique, and FD is my job title, Finance Director.

vanka25 -- Born Ivan in Ukraine, and when I immigrated to the US, I became John. -- Since Vanya and Vanka are nicknames for Ivan (similar to Rob and Bob for Robert in English) I use vanka for my handle. If it's not available, I add 25 since that's my favorite number.

vidru -- I'm from New Orleans, LA, spent most of my formative years in Houma, LA (about 60 miles SW of N.O.), currently residing in the hurricane-magnet known as Gainesville, Florida. -- I was somewhat inspired by the artist Josh Agle (better known as Shag). Last three letters of my first name, combined with the first two letters of my last name.

Volk359 -- Fairbanks, the Golden Heart of the interior of Alaska! -- I used to go by Swansong from the Led Zeppelin & Bad Company record label. I thought the name and image on the records (remember those?) was cool and took it as a handle. Unfortunately a lot of people thought I was a girl and would get (virtually) hit on by guys a lot. Then I learned what a swansong is and dropped it. Volk is Russian for wolf (of which my daughter is really into) and Wolf 359 is the star system in which Starfleet battled it out with the Borg from The Next Generation.

WalksOnBeach -- San Diego, CA, USA -- My handle is short for Walks On Beach, as in I enjoy walks on beaches.

wahnula -- This name was given by our band to our most-beloved vehicle, a 1979 Robin's Egg Blue Volkswagen Squareback that traveled all over Florida with at least four of us inside, along with whatever gear fit in the back. One of the members coined the name, but I have no clue to its origins. It soon became band-speak in phrases such as "up the wahnula" or other non-professional phrases. It's a substitute for profanity, like "up the wahnula" or "what the wahnula is that?. I think it's a corruption of "Kahuna", but we'll never know, but the spelling is mine, and when joining up to websites it's always available! I received my degree in Landscape Architecture in 1981, while working my way through school playing clubs. Learned Fortran as part of the program, but I waited 16 years to apply my degree. I played, wrote and recorded rock music with a band, and toured Europe as a solo piano-bar guy. When my 3-month tour was canceled in October 1997, I visited my sister here in the Houston area and ran into my dream job, as a Landscape Architect for a small family-run company. I love my "new" job and get to fiddle with PCs as I built every machine on our network including the server and a laptop. There's always something to do, new hardware/software to install, and crises to resolve, so it's the best of both worlds: I get to exercise my creative side and keep my pockets full, and play SysAdmin between projects.

Welshbird -- Wales, UK -- Willif was my work login at a job I left in 2003, which explains how long I've been hanging around TT. Obscurely enough I find myself working there again now, with the same log-in name. I'm also known as Welshbird, for obvious reasons, and when I'm near the family I'm known as Fee. I spend my working days with my head in a bucket of data and my free time sailing on a tall ship called Tenacious.

wuneye -- My handle goes back to the AOL days. I never liked it much, but I stick with it for some reason or another. wun = 1 -- eye = eye -- j = first initial. I've been blind in my right eye since I was 12 due to a sports-related injury. The handle could also be short for "one-eyed jack". I used to gamble way too much.

WZUP -- Known as the being in the heartland of the US, St. Louis Mo. -- I borrowed mine from an old T.V. show. One of the characters work at a radio station "WZUP" what's up.

xaf294 -- I live in Southern Oregon (not to be confused with the northeners) 60 miles from the California border. -- My xaf294 comes from the memorable times I spent overseas in the Air Force in the late 60's. Ex Air Force. The 2, 9, and 4 were the first three digits of my AFSC. We were known as two, nine, fours.

xlbo -- Currently living in Nottingham (Long Eaton) UK - after stints in Manchester and Sheffield. -- Not been here for ages but what the hey. Very boring I'm afraid. xl = MSExcel, bo = Business Objects. My 2 applications, if not of choice, then of experience !!

XwBrendanXw -- LOL, that's a good way to come up with a new name!

Zathras -- My favorite character from the Sci-Fi series "Babylon 5".

Zen37 -- Laval, QC, Canada -- Zen37 is because I like the Zen philosophy, and because I'm 37.

ZoomerZ -- Z: is my favorite letter / oo: means I am four-eyed / m: married mother / e: I have an e-mail address / r: I am very restless, so I thought you want to know / Z: my favorite letter so I decided to remind you.

zutfen -- My last name is Sutphen. It's an Americanized version of Van Zutphen, and its alternate spelling is Zutfen. Zutphen is a history rich province in the Netherlands, and in recent years I have enjoyed reading about said history. I had many handles before this one, but I used to play EverQuest back when I was in school, and could just ignore responsibility. =P Getting a character name on EQ was a lot like getting a screen name for AOL, so I just plugged in the variant spelling of my last name, and it's stuck ever since. I have friends in my state that I met online that slip and refer to me as Zutfen from time to time, as it became, essentially another name I respond to. Creepy and cool at the same time.


Please contact me with any suggestions, comments, and updates. Thank you.