The Blog You've Been Waiting For

Back in the 90's I was an avid ICQ user, if you can believe it. Eventually the world switched over to AOL's Instant Messenger - AIM, as we affectionately call it. Obviously, I recommend using AIM. If you are not currently using AIM, what can I say? I mean . . . Wow, you're behind the times. You are seriously missing out. Everyone with a computer and the Internet has at least one AIM screenname.

My current screenname is: PizzaDaHu9 (feel free to add me to your list). Over the years I have been asked many times the meaning behind my screenname: "So you really like pizza or somethin?" ... "Is that a rip-off from Spaceballs?" ... and my personal favorite, "Are you a delivery-boy for Pizza Hut?" Pizza Hut!? Jeeze people. LOL. I have heard them all.

But when, and how did I ever come up with PizzaDaHu9? ...

I was in 7th grade when my family bought our first puter. Like most people at that time, we were computer illiterate. I mention our illiteracy to explain why we did what we did. We were suckered into using AOL as our ISP. I still have nightmares about that terrible greeting: "WELCOME" immediately followed by: "YOU'VE GOT MAIL." Of course I've got mail! You SOLD our email account addresses to every advertising company on this planet! *takes a deep breath* Okay, okay, I'm calm, I'm calm.

Anywho, I was hangin out with my two best buddies: Scott and Ducky (ah yes, Ducky - some funny stories for later, perhaps) talking about Star Wars, when I had an appifany: PizzaTheHut would be a perfect screenname! What's amazing is that I came up with this before having seen Spaceballs (though Spaceballs would later become a favorite movie for the three of us).

Now, at that time AOL had a limit of 10 characters per screenname. I had to shorten my original name to PizzaDaHut.

After a few months of awful Internet experience, and endless ridicule from Scott I came to realize that AOL was not an ISP I wanted. When we switched to a new service, I could still use AIM, but needed a new name. Trying to stay as close to the original as possible, I substituted the "t" with the letter 8 to become PizzaDaHu8 (was anyone around who remembers me using this?). You see, 8 on the telephone keypad is also the letter "t".

Shortly after creating my new screenname, I forgot the password! Time for one more slight change, replacing 8 with 9. No, number 9 on the telephone is not also the letter "t". But 9 is one above 8. And whua la, PizzaDaHu9 is born! "I've created a monster, haha hahahaha!"

I have kept this screenname since 7th grade, and has sentimental value if nothing else.

By the way, I combined my two favorite usernames to create my website domain: rustypth.com =).

Now that you know, I'm going to have to kill you.

PizzaTheHut, PizzaDaHut, PizzaDaHu8, PizzaDaHu9, Rusty, RustyPTH