014

Some people might wonder why I would use alcatraz014 as a username. Well, for one thing, it's unique. But it does have a history. My folks took a trip to California once and came back with a T-shirt from alcatraz. It had a picture of a jail cell on it, colored in purple, yellow, and black. I loved the shirt, and I wore it all the time.

When I went to hockey camp one summer, I literally did wear it all the time (I forgot to pack enough shirts). So, I just went through the week with the same shirt on. After a while I was coined the nickname "Alcatraz." I liked it, and never objected to it.

Fast forward to my second email address. I had to get rid of the first because people used it as a trash can to send their spam. Even if I check it now, peope are still sending emails titled "SEND THIS TO 14 PEOPLE!! IT'S FOR REAL!!!!"

Yeah right.

There's no way that an email could cause neither luck nor love, nor any of the good things it so naively claims. I had forwarded them a few times, but I had gotten sick of them. It was time to move on.

So when I thought of what to name my brand new email address, alcatraz popped into my head almost automatically. It had been a long time, but I had loved that nickname and thought it would be a great username. So I started the normal process of checking availability: Alcatraz? No. Alcatraz1? No. 0alcatraz0? No. Aallccaattrraazz? No. Dr Alcatraz? No. It was all taken.

So what was I to do? I knew I would have to suck it up and pick a random number to put on the end. So much for individuality; I was only a number away from the rest. But instead of making that decision myself, I looked up 'random number'. I found a nifty little program with a 1-100 range and a start button. I clicked it, and found myself looking at 014. I hadn't actually thought that was possible. Wouldn't it just say 14 instead?

But I liked it. So I went back and entered in alcatraz014, and viola! I had my email address. And it was more than an email address. If any of you see the username alcatraz014 anywhere else, know that that's me. As I surfed the web over the years and found myself subscribing and unsubscribing to all sorts of things, I used that username. It had become an avatar for me, kind of like my own cyber-image.

So my life became synchronized. All simplified. All one username and one password. And I know it doesn't mean anything, but everyday, when I leave my locker, I set the dial to 14.


"You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical assistance. Everything else you recieve is a privilege." -- The quote on the back of the T shirt