Not a very inviting byline, I admit. People have asked what it means. It’s a joke of course.
It’s a constant reminder not to fall prey to something I’ve seen block people from getting things done and out there time and time again. People (myself included) are afraid to put something in front of their peers or the public because it isn’t quite perfect yet. There’s just a little more fiddling needed to get it just right. One or two more things needing just a bit of adjustment. “Then I won’t be embarrassed to show it to people.”
Maybe so, but the problem is that those few little tweaks often point to a few more, which bring up a few more, and so on. The end result is that nothing seems to ever get finished. All that great work comes to naught because it is never seen and used.
Now, it’s entirely possible that nobody else would be interested, but that’s another issue. If you never show your work, you’ll never know.
I’ve experienced this myself. Many times. Whether its a program, a painting, a drawing, a furniture design, a story, whatever. There is a strong tendency in many artistic endeavors not to share work until it is “complete”. (And I’m considering programming from the point of view as an artistic creation here.) A piece of art represents a single artists vision.
But if you have any aspirations for your work other than simple self gratification, people have to see it. If you have monetary aspirations, review and feedback is essential. Sometimes that feedback is brutal. And it’s hard not to take it personally because you’re exposing your personal vision. But you’ve got to do it.
The byline is a prod to keep myself from falling into this trap, or at least try to minimize it.