Being a David myself, I've had many of the same thoughts about the microscopic lapse of time between the moment when I introduce myself as "David" and the point at which I'm known to my new acquaintance as "Dave". I like that my wife still calls me David; being a Dave is fine with me, but I like for there to be at least one significant person in my life who calls me by my full first name.

Middle names are interesting to me. I rarely think about anyone I know in terms of their middle name, so that when I do reflect on the fact that they have the middle name "_____", it seems like a strange, unearthly appellation that has nothing to do with the person I know. For example, my dad's full name is Joel Roger DeBoe. To me and everyone else, he's Joel, and when I think about him as a "Roger" even for a moment, it feels weird all over. Same goes for my own middle name, Nathan. I can't envision myself as being a Nathan, although when I say my whole name at once, "David Nathan DeBoe", it seems to fit just fine. It's only when I mentally single out my middle name--or virtually anyone else's--that this strange, dissonant sensation comes over me.

It may be childish, vain, or whatever, but I like using a "handle" on the 'Net. I don't at all mind people knowing my real name in most cases, but the fun of having a different persona, or a virtual mask, or an alias, is something that seems to have automatic appeal to the human psyche. Or maybe the fun lies in the fact that all your life, your name has already been chosen for you, and with a nickname you have the opportunity to select a name for yourself that expresses some personal trait that you find compelling. I don't know; I'm just guessing. But I like to be "Issachar".

--DIasvseaDcehBaore