I've got an abiding interest in names. I've talked before about how names are important.

I love my given name. Cherissa. It's very unusual, and I like that. I go by cheri. Some people at work call me Cher. Normally I would not allow this, but they are good people so I'm gonna let it slide. Plus, as an adult I've discovered that the real Cher is a cool lady, so I no longer have a problem being named after her.

On the Internet, you can pick any name you want. I love to go through membership lists and see all the wonderful names people have picked out for themselves. On the 'Net, your nick is the first thing people see about you, so it is so very important to pick a good one.

I have two online personas. Static and rift.

The word "rift" just suddenly started showing up in everything I was reading. I specifically remember reading one of David Brin's books at the time. The Rift in his Uplift saga is on planet Jijo and it's a place in the ocean where plates come together and there's lots of volcanic activity going on. The people threw their trash in the Rift so that the planet could destroy/recycle it.

As for the static. Yes, I do hear real live static in my head. Mostly I ignore it. And mostly all those voices are talking over the static. :)

I once read a story about static that really struck a note with me. You know the saying that if you put some monkeys in a room with typewriters, eventually you'll get the work of Shakespeare? This story was about people who were taking the static off the tv and converting it to words. Again, the thinking was, that eventually the randomness would coalesce into some Shakespeare.

um. yeah, I have delusions of grandure.