By Kathleen S. Kirk
The wifi network I’m currently attached to is called Local System. Before my belligerent little MacBook connected, it was exclusively the primary network of two devices. There’s a frighteningly complicated desktop setup called Homeworld and a tiny, travel-friendly laptop called Luna here too.
Yes, us nerds have a sense of humor, but I can’t take credit for this naming genius. My laptop has the intensive misfortune of being officially named Kathleen Kirk’s MacBook Pro. This is a weird, clunky designation that makes me sound very much like I’m mildy crazy and speaking about myself in third person, so I try to avoid it whenever possible. I rarely reference the device informally, but if I do something’s generally wrong with it and I am reduced to scolding it as if it were a naughty pet, but more vehemently. In these moments, I call it Mac. Real creative, right?
I did better when it came to my gaming handle. A gaming handle is one of those things that some people can take to the extreme. Some nerds use one handle exclusively and develop a whole persona around it. Others have evolving handles spanning their gaming career. Still more have a whole bunch in continuous circulation. With my single, recurring handle, I fall into the first category, although I haven’t been gaming long enough to know if I will eventually evolve into the other types of handle-naming.
If you ever find yourself encountering a gamer named Railakas, it’s probably me.
Got a Kate-
