Szyzyg, yep that's my internet alter ego, I use this name on any systems outside of where I work, Bulletin Boards, Muds, anything where I need a username. Why do I do this, hey read the....

The Szyzyg FAQ

All those things you wanted to know about Szyzyg but were afraid to ask because you thought I was really sad

• OK Where did you get such an odd name?

• Many moons ago I had just been introduced to the internet, and after getting bored with Mosaic I thought I'd have a go at wasting some time on a MUD. Of course I logged on, and when prompted to give a username for myself I tried Scott, not surprisingly somebody else already had this username. So I though for a bit, being an astonomy student at the time I tried to think of some astronomical term which could be sutably adapted to the name of a great Knight/Wizard etc. I came up with syzygy, unfortunately my typing instead came up with Szyzyg and so the name stuck.
• Right So what does syzygy actually mean then?
• The Oxford English Dictionary says, after a bit of cutting...
1. A combination of two different feet in one measure, a dipody.
2. Conjunction or opposition of two celestial objects; either of the points (in space or time) at which these take place, esp in the case of the moon with the sun (new moon and full moon). Cf Quadrature
3. A pair of connected or correlative things; spec ( in Gnostic philosophy), a pair of opposites or aeons.
4. a: A suture or immovable union of two joints of a crinoid; the joints united in this way. B: The conjuntion of two organisms without loss of identity; insporozoans, close attachment of pairs of gametocytes prior to fusion.
• How do I pronounce Szyzyg?
• Well since there is no mention of the word in any reference guide you can pronounce it any way you like. I would pronounce it something like siz'ay'zig, but usually the name is used over a text connection so you're unlikely to need to know this.
• Hey I've just seen an episode of the X-Files called Szyzyg!
• No you haven't that particular 3rd season episode is called Syzygy, as you can see the name makes a lot more sense now. I haven't yet seen that particular episode, but having seen a list of titles for third season episodes it's one of the few that has any real meaning.
• Do you have anything to do with ADVENT?
• Ahh you mean the magic word xyzzy? I remember playing a version of the game in my youth, but I never actually learned how to complete it so I don't remember coming across the word. Since it's a magic word it's occasionally used by older hackers instead of other magic words.... I Wonder what would happen if you said szyzyg?
• Are the descriptions of Szyzyg accurate descriptions of yourself?
• Absolutely, I always make my character descriptions as accurate as possible, generally 6' tall, 170 lbs, blue eyes, dark hair which is falling out, lots of body hair everywhere else, a scar on the back of my left hand. And of course he speaks with a Scottish accent.
• So where can I find Szyzyg online?
• Probably the best bet is the Monochrome internet bulletin board. You need e-mail to get an account but it's free and very good for getting fast access to news and information. I'm on the staff there, in charge of the Science Fiction section and soon to be Space (and Wierd Science) section. I'm also an assistantin the Movies Section, and ran the Fantasy Gridiron comeptition this year, I also supply up to date Core War information to Programing Penchant and I have a diary which I update regularly. I also have a Spod index of 89.3, to go along with all my special duties, placing me in the top 3 users (or sad geeks, take your pick).

There are other similar boards which I have accounts on but they are visited less often. Szyzyg is often to be found Lurking around on IRC, I regularly use both EFnet and Undernet so look me up if you're in those neighbourhoods. #monochrome, #ireland and #jennicam are my channels of choice.

• Hey you said Jennicam there! I saw your name on Jennicam.
• Yeah you did, I made a little joke about one of Jennifer's Guests.... here's what happend.....

• On another note I met the lady herself when we did a TV interview for Cyber-Cafe in the UK......
• Yeah but I want to meet the man himself (yeah right....) where is he?
• Just click on Back at the bottom of this page and find out about Scott Manley.
• Are there any other places where the name can be found?
• I submitted a Core War warrior to the beginner's hill at Pizza. It wasn't particularly impressive, only reaching 5th place and dying of old age, there may be a version II released at some point.
• Are you not just some sad nethead who prefers some odd name to his own?
• Of Course Not! I originally had to choose the name because I couldn't use Scott, and since I moved from one system to another I've just kept the name because people identify me with it and I wan't to project a consitent image. That's why all the descriptions of my MUD charcters always closely copy my real world existence. It's convenient because I never ever find anyone else with my name on IRC so I always get my preferred name.
• Hey the Spice Girls must really like you - Listen to Wannabe
• 'I really really really wanna szyzyg-ahhhh' - I'm not convinced..... But I'll have Geri - you know I've always had something for red hair.
• It's too difficult to spell szyzyg - surely people make lots of mistakes.
• Sure, a lot of people abbreviate me to szy others call me szyzyzygzyzgyzygyzyg.
• Other popular misspellings
• Szygyg - Apparently made a contribution to the Jennicam Newsletter
• Syzygy - Has the strange property of being right and wrong.
• Suzy - An alarming number of people think I'm female
• Zyzzyg - Uses even fewer letters
• Sigue-Sigue Sputnik - I've never actually been called this but I've always loved the name.
• Why am I reading this?
• I'm not going to answer that, unless it's with the magic word Szyzyg!

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("Who Do You Want To Shark Today" Mono logoBorrowed from gid's page )