Last night I thought of a cute name for my design studio: Sparkbug Design Studio. Foolishly, I designed a logo before checking to see if the domain name was available. Then I discovered that someone had already bought sparkbug.com but had not yet put up a site.

I emailed the owner and asked if she would be willing to sell. This person emailed me today and informed me that she would not sell because she owns a web design firm called Sparkbug Design Studio and will be putting up her own porfolio at this address. So not only can I not have my domain name of choice – someone else is using it for exactly the same thing.

Staying positive, I decide to make a list of other potential names and check their availability. It turns out that there is a web design firm with every name I like. And my list got pretty creative as the hous dragged on. Here are some of the names I thought of that were taken:

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  Hedgehog Design

  Porcupine Design (maybe they could battle…)

  Loose Leaf Design

  City Mouse Design

  Intelligent Design (yeah, I know it was a longshot)

  Hopscotch Design

Some of the names I considered were available with some creative variation, but I don’t want people visiting another web designer by mistake when they look for my site. The problem is that for as many words as there are in the English language, there is a web design firm to go along with it. Is the market really so flooded? Maybe I should reconsider my career path?

Any ideas for a name? If you’re bored, play the “domain name game” with me and try to find a word that is not associated with a web design firm.

The Park Slope Singers, under our new conductor, David Thye, also resident conductor at Carnegie Hall, will present our winter concert on Sunday, January 28, 2007, at 2:30 pm. The place is St. Saviour’s Church, 8th Avenue at 6th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn. Join us for a program ranging from the Renaissance to the late 20th century, from a contemporary Mass setting to jazz, from Stephen Foster’s Song Book to Broadway.
And as usual, refreshments will follow! (ticket: $10. chance to see jodi sing in latin: priceless.)
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The first new workaround for the Port Security Act has arrived in my gmail inbox. Yes, Ultimate Bet has emailed me a way to buck the system and use my credit card to fund my online poker account. You can check it out here.

This system may not be new, and I’m not entirely sure it will work in the US regardless of what UB says. After reading through the FAQ, it does seem like a viable option. Could this mean the illustrious return of hotcookie42 to the world of online poker?? Or could it give the government the excuse it needs to start tracking the activities of online gamers…

Regardless of its viability, this system is inconvenient and also involves annoying fees. I likely will not be opening one of these accounts. My hiatus from online poker has afforded me opportunities to do other things – things which I have enjoyed more than online poker and which potentially provide a source of steady income free from government micromanaging. (DOES ANYONE WANT A WEBSITE?!?) Still, every once in a while I long for a 180 sng on Stars…