Original Radioactive Jam

Just a dollop, on a donut with SPAM® Spread* ==>==>==> We've moved!

Friday, June 03, 2005

RadioactiveJam: the back-story

or, the origin of specious by means of unnatural selection
Shopping For Sanity's Carol Danvers recently commented,
Hey, I've been meaning to ask you - does your nick refer to radioactive toejam, by any chance? If so, please don't come near me because I have a very delicate gag reflex when it comes to smells....

When I stopped laughing I replied No, and explained how I chose this "name" -- in short, all the good ones were taken. Then I realized she'd given me a great reason/excuse for a post. Ready or not, away we go.

Believe it or not, this is all AOL's fault. I long resisted assimilation by their juggernaut; I never accepted their amazing free offers, and saw AIM as the mother of all annoying desktop applications. Or father. Whatever. I had a way-cheap ISP for internet access, and knew and liked ICQ for my infrequent messaging; who needed AIM?

Of course this couldn't go on. Eventually I gave in to the relentless pressure and decided to Create An AIM Screen Name. Imagine my surprise when I found all the good names taken. So - whether from inspiration or frustration I don't know, but RadioactiveJam popped into my head. Since it was (1) less than 16 characters long, and - amazingly enough - (2) not already in use, I chose it for an AIM screen name.

After that I guess it kind of grew on me, not unlike toejam (sorry). It's easy to say, and relatively easy to spell: always a plus when dealing with mortals.

The origin of radioactivejam.blogspot.com was pretty much an accident. Hmm, should this be considered a nuclear accident? Not sure; either way, I had no real interest and felt no desire to create a weblog. Then came that fateful day, possibly ordained and/or foreknown before the beginning of time, when I decided to post my first comment on a friend's weblog.

Except I couldn't; the setup he used at the time didn't allow anonymous comments. So I went through the Blogger registration process, thinking I was simply getting a valid username for comment posting. (Yoda voice on) Clueless, he was (Yoda voice off).

Anyone who's gone through this process knows where it ends: at a web page showing something like, congratulations, here's your new 'blog. Imagine my surprise - for real, this time - when I saw I was now the mildly dismayed (and yes, clueless) owner/creator of a bona fide weblog.

From the "should've seen this coming" department: I still couldn't post a comment on the friend's site. D'oh! Turns out it was a site-side problem, now fixed.

Time passed. I vacillated: at first content to maintain a do-nothing-.com status quo, I felt something gnawing on my long-held reluctance to start anything web-based. Not sure exactly what pushed me into action; at some point I decided to take a step or two down Weblog Way and asked, does this lead anywhere I want to go?

In a word, yes. I'm finding nice scenery and great fellow-travelers. And so it's you I salute and thank; hope we'll continue to enjoy this journey together, until our paths diverge.

And Carol -- thanks again.

3 Emissions:

Blogger Bill C emitted...

Got it. And "things" only seem indecisive; no confusion here. Thanks!

6/06/2005 06:07:00 PM  
Blogger J Incarnate emitted...

I just thought... if his intelligence is rudimentary compared to our standards, then when will he know when he is defeated? I say we all go to his blog and just start posting random comments.

6/06/2005 06:19:00 PM  
Blogger Bill C emitted...

Let's be realistic and fair: this isn't a Stupid Person. Might be doing things in a less than optimal manner; might be self-defeating.

OTOH, this could all be part of some big-picture plan.

6/06/2005 06:39:00 PM  

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