Solving performance problems is easy in comparison to choosing a "handle". Sure, I could have gone for something obvious, but that didn't really sit well with me. In the end I chose my nickname from the 1980s when I played Australian Rules Football competitively.
Now back then I had a very slight build...not the normal shape associated with a fairly rough sport where bodies routinely bounce off each other, where you wear little protective clothing, and its been a good game if you come off the ground without injury.
When I finished my Uni degree I was physically run down. A friend at the Cricket Club (I played Cricket competitively too) suggested I have a go at Australian Rules at the club of which he was President. So I did, promptly heaved at the first training session, but kept coming back for more punishment. The first two seasons I didn't have a nickname, but a new coach decided I should have one and chose "Wizard".
In some ways this was a private joke—football clubs aren't known for being bastions of intellectual activity. Tongue-in-cheek, the coach and I used to tell each other "you're not here to think!". That is of course nonsense in any team sport, yet footballers are a varied lot. Some loved to rant and rave before a game, and pump themselves up. Others (me included) preferred to sit in a corner quietly and visualize what we wanted to do. The noisy lot didn't really understand us, and would frequently intrude on our preparation.
Although some people might find it hard to believe now, I was shy back then. But gradually I felt more comfortable in the football club environment, and definitely enjoyed being part of the team despite it being such a diverse bunch of people.
So many year later I look back on that time fondly. Geoff, the coach who gave me the "Wizard" nick, died of cancer tragically young. By using it here it gives me a link with him and the club I played for over 10 years. It also represents, for me, that people can have a range of surprising talents. I like the combination of being very technical, but be able to talk to people from very different backgrounds and enjoy their company. It may sound incongruous for somebody who plays classical piano to have also played such a rough sport, but not to me.
And so I now find myself working professionally on computer system performance issues, in which I roam across the entire hardware/software stack. Part of the fun for me is finding a problem that motivates me to learn something new, and then (maybe due to the Teacher gene I inherited from my parents) share that knowledge. It may not be quite what Geoff had in mind when he gave me the nick, but I try to live up to it.