# avavtars & handles



## two dogs (May 25, 2009)

I've seen interesting handles and avatars here. I'm sure many, if not all tell a story. Be kinda neat to hear some of them. Any info is welcome.
I'll go first. My name is Mark, handle, Two Dogs. 
Five and a half years ago my wife passed away from cancer and all I had were these two guys; we had no kids. I said "well it's just me and the two dogs" and it stuck. They helped me thru a difficult time. 
They are Buster and Charlie. Buster was the big one. We had to send him to the big puppy playground in the sky last November, just short of his 14th birthday. He was an Akita/Black Lab mix. VERY protective and loyal.
Charlie is the smaller one. He is a Keeshond/Sheltie mix and a real character.
My avatar is a drawing my new wife made by looking at pics of the dogs.
I have said that if I start a company, I'll use the name Two Dogs as a tribute to my friends.
Anyone else have a story to share? Doesn't have to be as involved as mine. Just another way to get to know some of you here a little better

Mark


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## ksouers (May 25, 2009)

Mark,
Interesting topic. In fact this is the second time today I've replied to this very subject, though on a saltwater aquarium forum I frequent. You haven't been lurking on reefcentral.com have you?  ;D

No story about my handle, it's just my name. I've been programming computers off and on for about 35 years or so now and it has been my login ID on many Unix and DEC systems over the years.

Wareagle gave me the avatar when he noticed I called myself a "code monkey".


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## two dogs (May 25, 2009)

Hi Kevin,
Actually I've been thinking about this for a few days now. By the way, went to reefcentral and was impressed. I've wanted to get back into aquariums for a while. Never had salt water but wanted one (or several).
Take care and thanks for the reply

Mark


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## zeeprogrammer (May 25, 2009)

I had wondered the same Mark. Thanks.

I had been looking for some years for a hobby. I was turning 56...kids were leaving...starting to feel old...and I worried I'd end up like an uncle of mine...sitting on the porch watching the world go by.

I made a list of interests...I made a list of requirements...I thought back to when I was a kid and what I used to do...I looked for what was common...when the idea of a metal lathe came up...it was a Eureka moment. I had never done anything like this prior to this year...I dove into the deep end and have enjoyed the swim since.

My avator is me in the 3rd grade when I lived in France. My dad was stationed in Verdun. The following year I was living in Germany. My mom is German. My grandparents lived in Munich. My grandfather was a super in an apartment building and had been a German soldier with the motor pool. (He came home 2 years after the war...a prisoner of the Russians. A very lucky man...a man I miss very much.) He built me a go-cart out of a baby-buggy. He introduced me to mecanno and things mechanical.

Back to the avator...the sweater reminds me of that time...it's a German sweater. The picture reminds me of the kid in me. As I said...I'm now 56. This hobby has turned the clock back to when I was 12 or 14 years old. I am having so much fun.

I have to say...I am thinking of changing it. But I don't know to what yet.

As for my sign off ' To work. To work'. Two movies made a big impression on me when I was a kid...the wannabe inventor/builder/creator...One was 'The Great Race' and the other 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines'. 'To Work To Work' comes at the beginning of 'The Great Race' by Professor Fate. Evil aside...he made cool stuff.

Oh...almost forgot...'zeeprogrammer'. My wife (the most fortunate aspect of my life) is a writer. She goes by the name 'zeepen'. I'm a software engineer...well...you can see why I chose it.

Name is Carl. As it turns out...a compromise. Original name was Charles. At six I complained about nicknames. The folks suggested Carl (the same name)...how do you make a nickname of that? (Some people call me Carlos...or 'C' carl to distinguish me from the 'K' karl my friends know.).

Thanks again. I hope others take the opportunity to talk about themselves. Everyone has interesting stories. I hope this wasn't too long.


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## ksouers (May 25, 2009)

two dogs  said:
			
		

> Hi Kevin,
> Actually I've been thinking about this for a few days now. By the way, went to reefcentral and was impressed. I've wanted to get back into aquariums for a while. Never had salt water but wanted one (or several).
> Take care and thanks for the reply
> 
> Mark



Mark,
Be very careful! A reef tank is just as addicting, and nearly as expensive, as a machine shop!
I have three tanks going; 55 gallon freshwater to be retired when the last fish is gone, a 10 gallon fish-only salt with one damsel with a very nasty attitude, and my 125 gallon reef (fish and corals). My wife thinks I'm crazy.


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## Maryak (May 26, 2009)

Hi,

My Handle - Maryak - My wife is Russian and I spent some 16 years in the RAN, started as an apprentice and finished an Engineer Lieutenant. Maryak is phonetic English for Russian &#1052;&#1086;&#1088;&#1103;&#1082;, which means sailor,. seaman and possibly boat guy.

My Avatar, well this is the 3rd one   : :. It is HMAS Brisbane a DDG built by Defoe shipbuilding in Bay City, Michigan. I stood by her whilst she was being built as a CPO in 1967 and then returned as the Senior Engineer Officer in 1971, the RAN's last ship on the gunline during the Vietnam War. Of all the ships I served in she is very special to me, ( sort of from goa to whoa), and hats off to the USA who, (IMHO), build the best warships in the world.

Best Regards
Bob


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## Majorstrain (May 26, 2009)

Hi,

My Handle - Majorstrain is a nick name I have at work. I'm an electronics and strain gauge technician. 

Strain gauges are used to measure the deformation of a material under load, you find them in load cells and industrial scales.
The unit of measure is micro-strain and is the ratio of change from original material length under load. 
So Majorstrain works with micro-strain. ;D

My Avatar is my 2 year old son when I was moving the mill into the shed. It's still on the transport trolley in the pic.

Best Regards
Phil


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## gbritnell (May 26, 2009)

My name is George and my handle is nothing fancy, just my name, gbritnell. My avatar, at least for now is my Holt engine. I guess I picked this engine because of its mechanical interest, exposed valve train, bare metal finish, unique manifolds etc. In the future I will probably change to another one of my engines.
gbritnell


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## Ogo (May 26, 2009)

My handle started when my first grandchild was born. We were sitting around talking about what the grandkids would call us by. After several ideas I jokingly said "Oh Great One".  That was shortened to Ogo, and it stuck.


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## steamer (May 26, 2009)

I'm very much into marine steam.....I saw this photo often attributed with McAndrews Hymm, a favorite poem

It stuck......

Dave


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## Noitoen (May 26, 2009)

Ok, Noitoen is Neotion (sat receiver brand) spelled back to front and was the handle I adopted long ago, when I joined the first forum, a satellite decoder forum.
My avatar is a graphic animation of my Toyota Prius hybrid drivetrain ;D. Its the same as my pc's wallpaper.


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## Tin Falcon (May 26, 2009)

Handle : From the days of being a Tin Knocker on the F-16 Fighting falcon
Avatar: A recycled version of a now obsolete NJANG unit patch.
More info HERE
Tin


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## Lew Hartswick (May 26, 2009)

I guess I'll just never understand why people just don't use the name they were given.
Surely they got use to it by the time they learn to type.


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## cfellows (May 26, 2009)

Lew, there is a practical reason for not using your real name. Identity theft and/or invasion of privacy. On the other hand, maybe I'm just paranoid! :-\

Chuck


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## itowbig (May 26, 2009)

mine is just what ive built and my name is just what i used to do tow diesel trucks ect. i dont tow no mo. now im a milk man. (got milk need cookies) humm maybe i can change my name now.


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## radfordc (May 27, 2009)

Many years ago when I first became a member of the "internet" I was given a user name on my first email account that consisted of last name and first initial. I got used to it and thats what its always been since. My avatar is a picture of my Sonex airplane. I've been flying it for three years now and it's one of my favorite toys.

Charlie


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## tmuir (May 28, 2009)

My avatar is simply the first thing I made on my lathe.
A bush to fix a toy steam engine. :big:


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## arnoldb (May 28, 2009)

My avatar is a picture of the first attempt I made at cutting acme thread on the lathe... It's starting to look more screwy ;D the more I see it, so it's time to get my first engine done for a (hopefully!) better picture 

As to handle, I work in IT: systems administrator, programmer, systems analyst, database administrator, end-user support desk, IT systems' and physical buildings security, health & safety officer and some more. With all these comes multiple user login accounts - so years ago I standardised my "normal everyday" login at arnoldb, and that just stuck. The problem is, as I am "security conscious" th_rulze I have quite a couple of different passwords connected to it - now THAT becomes troublesome :noidea:

Regards, Arnold


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## rudydubya (May 28, 2009)

My avatar is just my first engine, recently completed. Middle name begins with a "_W_" thus "_dubya_" as in dub-ya.

Cheers,
Rudy


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## seagar (May 28, 2009)

My handle was the name of a boat I had many years ago and it became my nick name and has stuck.


Ian ( seagar)


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## stevehuckss396 (May 28, 2009)

My screen name is a combination of my name and my super sport chevelle. It was in the family for about 8 years. God I miss that car. 

Take a good look at the rocker panel. My email address is [email protected]

My avitar is the Co2 powered V8 that was a voted project of the month.


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## two dogs (May 28, 2009)

Hi Steve,
I recognized your Avatar. That engine is on my list to build (Ford blue of course) :big:
Nice car! What kinda horsepower did it have? Musta been a wild ride.
I have a 1965 Mustang hot rod with a Boss 351 in it that's constantly under construction. Currently rebuilding the front suspension

Mark


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## stevehuckss396 (May 28, 2009)

two dogs  said:
			
		

> Hi Steve,
> I recognized your Avatar. That engine is on my list to build (Ford blue of course) :big:
> Nice car! What kinda horsepower did it get?



It should be an easy conversion. Just put the intake manifold on backwards so the distributor is in the front and the blue paint should work.


540 CID 1223 Hp 990 FtLb torque


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## DICKEYBIRD (May 29, 2009)

My avatar is a finger operated emergency power unit. It's a modified HSM mag finger engine driving a "generator" (old printer 24v motor) and a R/Shack l.e.d. 

The handle is a nickname given 1st to my Father and then me derived from our last name. It was also the name I gave my 2nd scratch-designed/built r/c model airplane.


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## zeeprogrammer (May 29, 2009)

Hi DickeyBird,

I would be interested in building a similar 'finger operated emergency power unit'.
It looks very cool.
Are there plans available?

Thanks


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## cobra428 (May 30, 2009)

My avatar is the Myers 1/8 scale Rider-Erricsion. The toy I own is a 500 hp AC Cobra Kit Car which I built.
Now Steve Babes.....I don't know the news you get where you are but.......the Bowtie company is in big DO DO. The *F*irst *O*n *R*ace *D*ay company has not gotten any news. So Maybe you should turn your manifold around stickpoke. Two Dogs.... I love the Mustangs. Steve go get your SS with 1k Hp I'll run you.  I'll be kissing the girls in the bikini's while your still at the starting line turning your tires to *MUD*
Tony


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## stevehuckss396 (May 30, 2009)

cobra428  said:
			
		

> I'll be kissing the girls in the bikini's while your still at the starting line turning your tires to *MUD*



Might want to take another look. Those tires are almost 2 feet wide.
If you notice, the wheels on the wheelie bar aren't brand new either!


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## cobra428 (May 30, 2009)

Steve Luv Ya Buddy'
All we need now is a MOPAR guy to beat up on th_wav
Tony


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## DICKEYBIRD (May 31, 2009)

zeeprogrammer  said:
			
		

> Are there plans available?


Sorry Carl, I didn't draw any plans other than a few rough sketches that were undecipherable to anyone but me. I based the dimensions & angles on the original Finger Engine plans in HSM mag a few years back.

There are numerous threads here on finger/treadle engine construction; do a search and you' prolly find some plans.

Here's a thread with some bigger pics and the individual parts:
http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=877.0


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## zeeprogrammer (May 31, 2009)

Hi DICKYBIRD,

The larger pictures really show how nice the project is. Beautiful work.
I also saw the roller you made to do the cannon wheel rims. Also very very nice.

Thanks!


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## Loose nut (May 31, 2009)

Well my handle reflects what some consider the state of mental health is,* There wrong and I'll make them pay for that* :rant: :rant: :rant: , where was I,  the avatar is a 18PDR artillery piece circa WW1 that I an currently making a 1/6 scale model of.


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## Jeff02 (Jun 6, 2009)

I guess mine needs no explanation. :big:


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## cobra428 (Jun 6, 2009)

Jeff,
I "yousta" own the ACME Co. Wiley was my best customer Rof}
Tony


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