About naming

So now that I have two blogs with virtually identical content (see the WordPress version here), I thought I might touch on one of the differences between the blogs...the name.

The name of this blog on WordPress is Terra Nova, which, as you can see from a Google search, is not an incredibly original name.  However, I think that it is a bit more original than the title of this version.  But this isn't a big issue, because both names are temporary (as is one of these blogs).  I named the WordPress version "Terra Nova", because WordPress was new terrain for me and I felt like I should have a name that was better than "Ben Main's Blog", which I have here.

One of the reasons that I have not settled on a permanent name for the blog is because I don't really have a planned aim with this blog.  I'll probably comment on Sci/Tech news and talk a bit about myself to start, but I don't think there's a defining characteristic I could use for a good permanent name.

Another difference in naming is the url for the blogs.  Beyond the obvious "blogspot" vs. "wordpress" difference, there is the first part.  In this blog it is "alethiareg" while on WordPress, it is "mengbomin".  To just about anyone, both are meaningless unless explained, so I'll do that now.

Alethiareg is a user name I've used for largely for second accounts, second email addresses, and as an otherwise throwaway login name.  I believe I came up with it a short time after reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which I would recommend as good reading material.  The "golden compass" for which the American version of the first book is named has the more technical-sounding name of "alethiometer", which according to Pullman in the book, comes from the Greek word for truth "aletheia".  I misspelled that and added reg, which I believe was short for "regular" to make "alethiareg".  The reason I continue to use it in many places is that it is now very easy to remember and it is very unique.  I doubt that anyone else will ever come up with it independently.

As for "mengbomin", this is my name in Chinese class.  In Chinese characters it is 孟柏民 (pinyin: Mèng Bómín).  I thought that this would be a better username for the future as it actually means something to me and is probably nearly as unique as "alethiareg".

If anyone wants to comment on my current names or give a suggestion for a future name for this blog you are more than welcome to do so.