Bill the Cat - some time back, when I was young and couldn't yet drive -- back when there really was a computer underground [tho, there still is] and you did things like spend your time in trash bins and running around in the rain hooking wires up behind the local florist -- I kinda hung around in "the" computer underground. I did this mostly cuz I was from the same town as a phreak/hacker known as The Motor City Madman (anyone know where he is now?), who made this awesome term program for the C64 that was called PhoneMan that did stuff like play music when you downloaded and had all kinds of boxes built into it; and, hell, I was just a kid.
ANYWAY, about all you had going for you was your reputation (I had none, save having done PhoneMan's titlescreen; I mostly rode the coattails of MCM) and your handle. Mine was Bill the Cat (I identified with the sickly, clueless, freak-cat from Bloom County.) Well, some loser dared to assume the name after I had, and I set him straight. I have used the nickname ever since.
Mumonkan - I use this nickname because of the zen text, The Mumonkan, which is a collection of koans by the monk Mumon. I don't even consider myself remotely a practicing zen buddhist, but I find a lot of this "religion" to be quite interesting. I especially like this book. I thought naming myself after Mumon himself might be disrespectful, though, I suppose it is pretty lofty to name yourself after an important text as well.
Howlie -
This name comes from the cheesy 80's surf movie, North Shore. A friend
started calling me this during our stay in the dorms. It is a (most likely misspelled) Hawaiian word that is a derogative term for non-local surfers and
tourists. Anyway, lotsa friends from this period called me, and my roommate at the time, John Lee, "Howlie" (and still do). We soon all moved into a student-slum-house that became known as "Howlie House". The rest is history.
Passion - The magic word. This is what it is all about folks. I love this word. It works for everything. I overuse it. Sorry. To me, it equates (somehow) to [the essence{?} of] life.