Since the launch of this blog coincided with the debut ofTech.co.uk in January, I've been more than pleased with the response it hashad.

According to recent figures, Rungsberry is now more popularthan the Readers Digest Guide to Analogue Optics, better selling than the NewScientist's Nigerian Phishing Omnibus, and more controversial than Steve Jobs'trilogy of philosophical blogbusters: 'Where Bill Gates Went Wrong', 'Some Moreof Bill's Greatest Mistakes' and 'Who is this Microsoft Person Anyway?'

And I hear that in some of the more run-down villages on theouter eastern rim of Stockport, Rungsberry hasalready supplanted the great Encyclopedia Bolloctika as the standard repositoryfor all falsehoods and idiocy.

Douglas Adams parodies aside, what I'm trying to say here isthat enough people have been reading for me to feel like I should at some pointexplain the ambiguous name for this blog - What better timethan right now?

(BeforeI start I feel I should mention that the Rungsberry name has absolutelynothing to do with ladders, or berries of any description. Especiallynot blueberries because I really hate them.)

OK, here goes: for some reason, throughout my life people havestruggled to get my name right.

I've been mistakenly called James Writhlington, Ribbington,Singington, Rington, Remmington, Wivington, Withingdon, Livingston,Riddington, blah blah blah etc etc. One of my floppy-haired, bearded and highly esteemed colleagues on Windows Vistamagazine thought my name was James Witherington until just last week. I don'tquite understand how it's so hard to get a name right, but it clearly is!

(I can't imagine the kind of trouble these people are goingto have when they find out that my middle name is 'Sangster'.)

It all came about when I was due to attend a Sony Ericsson launch party inLeicester Square towards the end of last year; my train tickets were bookedfor me by the technology admin department here in Bath. But to my surprise,when I actually got the ticket in my hand, it wasn't for anyone called JamesRivington (who is he again?), it was for a man named James Rungsberry.

The news of the foul-up produced this noise from mycolleague Martin, "hahaha hmmm hmhaha haha wahaha hehe aha" and also otherassorted noises of glee from the other Tech.co.uk team members.

Since then, I have been known to some as "Rungs" to othersas "Rungsberry" and the variations go on from there (Jimel Rungsbottom wasprobably the weirdest).

The most interesting part of the name was that a quickGoogle search for Rungsberry at that time returned precisely zero results.

The name also arrived at just the right time when pre-launchI was trying to work out what to name my new blog. I remember back then I wouldhave pawned my corneas for a good idea. And so Rungsberry's originality and itshumorous birth seemed a good enough reason to name this blog after and sothe Rungsberry weblog was born unto life.

And that's the end of the story. Not quite as interesting asyou perhaps thought. Sorry.

Here's a joke:

Q: What's the difference between a potato and a door?

A: They're both big

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Go back to Rungsberry HOME

Or try these other entries...

Rungsberry: The first entry

Aeulogy for a dead MP3 player

Savethe children: kill webspeak for good!

MP3sare great, just give them a chance!

Mybrick phone makes telephone calls

Make Mine a Rungsberry Ripple

Are iPods better than money?