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To Middle Initial, or Not?

Devor

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Sam Evren said:
Another fun thing to watch out for are similar names that have, oh, say, a criminal past. There's nothing so depressing as finding your favorite-sounding pen name (or your actual proper name) and realizing it's exactly the same as someone who's stolen the candy from thousands of babies.
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I share the name of a child molester down in Florida, down to the middle-initial. That's always fun to think about. :eek:
 
T.Allen.Smith

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
That's bad...mine might be worse. At least it's far more trouble.

My business is pharmaceuticals. My name here is my real name. There is another T. Allen Smith in Detroit with a warrant for felony cocaine possession. Additionally, another of the same name is on the Federal Domestic Terrorist Watch List. We all three share the same birthday. Warrants are issued based on name & birth date.

I've been fingerprinted a multitude of times & jumped through hoops to get an alphanumeric code issued by the FBI that proves I am me, and not these shady characters. It took a long time. I still get hassled occasionally, but it's better than being held up at customs for hours, being unable to rent a van or truck, or prove my innocence to employers, let alone the risk of random traffic stops.
 
Sam Evren

Sam Evren

Troubadour
T.Allen.Smith said:
That's bad...mine might be worse. At least it's far more trouble.

My business is pharmaceuticals. My name here is my real name. There is another T. Allen Smith in Detroit with a warrant for felony cocaine possession. Additionally, another of the same name is on the Federal Domestic Terrorist Watch List. We all three share the same birthday. Warrants are issued based on name & birth date.

I've been fingerprinted a multitude of times & jumped through hoops to get an alphanumeric code issued by the FBI that proves I am me, and not these shady characters. It took a long time. I still get hassled occasionally, but it's better than being held up at customs for hours, being unable to rent a van or truck, or prove my innocence to employers, let alone the risk of random traffic stops.
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And thus the pseudonym Phineas Abeldeen Notmeiswear is born!
 
GeekDavid

GeekDavid

Auror
T.Allen.Smith said:
That's bad...mine might be worse. At least it's far more trouble.

My business is pharmaceuticals. My name here is my real name. There is another T. Allen Smith in Detroit with a warrant for felony cocaine possession. Additionally, another of the same name is on the Federal Domestic Terrorist Watch List. We all three share the same birthday. Warrants are issued based on name & birth date.

I've been fingerprinted a multitude of times & jumped through hoops to get an alphanumeric code issued by the FBI that proves I am me, and not these shady characters. It took a long time. I still get hassled occasionally, but it's better than being held up at customs for hours, being unable to rent a van or truck, or prove my innocence to employers, let alone the risk of random traffic stops.
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For a while I dated a lady who was a dispatcher for a small town police department. I was talking on the phone to her at work one quiet day (to help her combat boredom) and she set the phone down on the desk to answer a radio call. I heard her ask the cop if the man he had pulled over had a wooden leg or not. Of course when she picked up the phone again I had to ask her what that was all about.

Turns out that at the time (and maybe still, for all I know) there were two men living in town with not only the exact same name, down to middle name, but also the same date of birth. One had a rap sheet and set of warrants as long as your arm. The other had a wooden leg. Finally the innocent man convinced the PD to put into their computer that the one with the wooden leg is not the wanted man.
 
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