Ridiculous update:
Turns out if you sign up for an xbox Live account online you cannot merge that account with your local account easily or for free. Microsoft will let you merge the 2 accounts for 800 xbox points (about $10) and a completely confusing and unnecessary process. So, while I still have the cashbutter gamer profile I most likely will not be using it. I, instead, have come up with new account originated through the xbox (not the xbox website) which merged my old/local account information and will be using the accurate and appropriate gamer tag:
theREALbmills
I have login credentials at dozens and dozens of websites. They always ask you for a username and on every single site I am either:
bmills
or
bmills313 (if bmills isn't available)
For our 3-year anniversary, Katie got me a wireless adapter for XBOX and Modern Warfare 2 which I'm super stoked for. Part of the reason is that I'll get to play some MW2 and other games against Kuka back in Missouri, who will kick my ass but all in good fun.
Enter my online registration @ the XBOX Live website. I'm filling out the usual form entries and then it asks for a username. XBOX Live has been around for a long time so I believe that the chance of bmills being available is 0% (and I was right) so then I default to my bmills313, which is my birthday concatenated to bmills; it's never failed. Much to my astonishment:
Sorry, that username is unavailable. Please choose another.
Are you F'n kidding me?? Has Barney Mills born on March 13th been playing HALO for 3 years or Betty Mills who lives at 313 Elm Street beaten me to the punch??
[sidenote: I went and looked: bmills has no information on their profile. bmills313 looks like some fratboy who has his motto listed as "Big Daddy B." Ugh...he's ruining the bmills313 moniker.]
All of this got me to thinking: is it time for a change? Should I assume an online identity that offers no clues to my actual identity like millions of other people out there? I mean, how may people are really named "cutie girl" or Warhammer" or any of the millions of other completely anonymous usernames out there? If millions of other people can hide behind their "handle" and be complete A-holes and make themselves look like total douches, knowing there is absolutely no chance that anyone will know who you are and how to find you to make you say those nasty comments in person...then why can't I? Alter egos or 2nd identities are all the rage, I just never hopped on the bandwagon because I don't hop on bandwagons.
OK, so I'm not gonna be an A-hole and I won't shout bigoted and extremely hurtful comments over the headset while I pwn n00bs and become part of the fabric of online gamers, but the change should do me good, at least in online gameplay.
So what username did I go with? Well, let's evaluate who I am and we'll come to an appropriate alter ego. I am:
- A fan of humor
- A trader
- Not afraid of ridicule
- Inspirational; I'd love people to speak of me with great respect and envy
cashbutter
How about that?! OK, let me explain. When I first started learning about commodities trading I went through the CME's website and reviewed all the different commodity contracts out there and bar none, my favorite contract has to be "cash-settled butter" for obvious reasons (as noted above). Yes, you can trade butter; a lot of it, if you happen to be interested. In fact, here are the "udderly awesome" contract specifications from the CME's website (<-- get it, udderly...cuz it's butter and butter comes from...nevermind):
| Contract Size | 20,000 lbs. of Butter ( ˜9 metric tons) | ||||
| Product Description | Grade AA Butter | ||||
| Pricing Unit | Cents per pound | ||||
| Tick Size (minimum fluctuation) | $0.00025 per pound (= $5.00 per contract) | ||||
| Daily Price Limits | $0.05 per pound above or below the previous day's settlement price, with multiple expansions. No limits in the last 5 days of trading. See CME Rule: 5602.D | ||||
It's perfect. Seeing as I don't plan on playing a ton it should provide the occasional chuckle and maybe I'll even be mentioned in circles on the XBOX Live community as "The Butter Guy" or something else that accurately describes the awesomeness that is my gamer tag and the extreme envy that it conjures up in the minds of those late to the great GamerTag land-grab.
So, add me to your friends list on XBOX Live and prepare to be pwned by the uber-awesomeness that is cashbutter !!
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