ThinkingSkull.com

Who needs cash or credit cards? On the day before I normally get my hair cut, I get a call from the shop owner asking me to bring my tools with me; the neon “open” sign I put up for them (and got a free hair cut for) needed to be moved. After a quick assessment once I arrived, I realized the real problem was that no one who worked there could really reach the on/off switch anywhere I put it, so I charged a remote switch to the shop and installed it so anyone can turn it on or off from anywhere in the store (cost for services rendered: one great hair cut).

Afterward, I met up with a buddy who drove us downstate to his folks’ house to help them install a top-of-the-line computer system and DSL connection. Sure, they could have just followed the instructions from the box, but my reputation for catching and fixing unforeseen problem had preceeded me. Sure enough, an undocumented BIOS isssue would have stopped the “easy setup” dead in their tracks had I not been there, the alternative being to ship the brandy-new system back for repairs. One edit later and all was well (cost for services rendered: one 12-ounce sirloin steak dinner with all the trimmings).

Of course, since my buddy drove, I didn’t spend anything for fuel, either, so I still retained the same five bucks in my wallet that I had left the house with that morning. Now, if I can just find someone who’ll barter my monthly rent to ensure their VCR doesn’t flash 12:00 all the time and I’ll be set for life.

While I have lots of projects cooking, they either break even (like MovieCrypt) or don’t make a lot (like Kindling Moon). So, to keep things running like rent, utilities, and the all-important health insurance, a “day job” with someone is always good.

Well, my last one went bye-bye (literally got up and left), but they paid me for two months and made sure I (and all the other employees) were ready to go out into the workforce and be productive. I picked a few jobs I thought I’d like, pursued them relentlessly, and ended up being called by two of them for almost identical offer, so I got to pick and choose from among them.

Officially, that makes today a bit weird. Technically, I haven’t worked for 61 days but I’ve been paid to look for a job and dedicate a little extra love to my wife and hobbies. Tomorrow I start working my new day job, which means today is the only day between these two jobs that I officially will not earn a dime. One single solitary day of unemployment; couldn’t have planned it any better if I had done so on purpose.

According to my records, I’ve been on-line since 09/30/1995 (don’t ask me how I know that), and for nearly all of that time I went by the “handle” or ID of “The Crystal Lich.” For those who know me or are in the know, the monster I’m referring to is an undead spellcaster who has, through spells and such, made himself immortal to continue his pursuit of magical knowledge and power… or, in my case, ‘Net knowledge and power.

Back in those days (mostly on AOL and IRC), anominity was all the rage. No one was known by their “real life” name, and trust came with repeated contact and quality of how you treated others (after all, you never knew if the person you were talking to was really the same person with another identity). As the Internet grew and became mainstream, the “secret identities” went out out as the mundanes started asking, “Well, if your opinion is legitimate and you stand by it, why are you hiding who you are?”

And slowly, real faces began to emerge from behind altered celebrity pictures and clever pseudonyms. And then the came spam, and with spam the scams, the worms, the viruses, the trojans, and the rootkits. There was identity theft, there were hacks, and there were cyber-terrorists who, if left unchecked, would become every bit as deadly as their real-life counterparts.

Then came the “blogs” and the popularity of the social networks and the glory of remaining anonymous again. Places like Friendster and MySpace started encouraging anominity because the knowledgeable few took advantage of innocent young and have learned the usefulness of a friendly white lie. Anyone who doesn’t understand this likely doesn’t lock their doors nor changes their passwords and likely has their PIN number written on their ATM card.

“The Crystal Lich” was a relic of the Old Guard, of which there are very few still remain. With video blogs, podcasts, and new venues for self-created content, “Grim D. Reaper” has emerged as The Lich’s replacement and the new identity to fit into a new online environment carry MovieCrypt.com onward (that is, for as long as anyone still cares about one undead guy’s opinion).