Magi?
Yes, Magi. It's a long story... And, yes, I know it's plural; I'm a big guy.
Well, it really begins with the Bible: some of the "older" translations used the word 'Magi' to refer to the Persian "kings" who came looking for Jesus after his birth. That word was replaced with "wisemen" in later translations. It seemed fitting :-)With special attention to definition 1b.
% webster magi magi pl of MAGUS ma-gus \'ma^--ges\ n, pl ma-gi \'ma^--,j[0xF5]^-\ [L, fr. Gk magos -- more at MAGIC] (1621) 1a: a member of a hereditary priestly class among the ancient Medes and Persians 1b often cap: one of the traditionally three wise men from the East paying homage to the infant Jesus 2: MAGICIAN, SORCERER
The Story
Many many years ago, back when some friends and I were installing what would be London's (Canada's London, not the other one) first UNIX system on a PDP 11/34 in the Nuclear Medicine department of St. Joseph's Hospital, I was asked what I wanted my login name to be. While I could have taken david, for some reason I didn't want to. I thought for a few minutes and then said "How about magi"? The person setting up the account looked at me, thought hard for a few seconds, snorted, and then said "Cute. Ok". And I've been magi ever since.
When I shared this version of history with the friend mentioned above, his response was "Wait a minute, I thought I came up with that name for you!". Truth be known, he could be right. But, whoever is right, the important bit is that I've been magi for as long as there has been a UNIX machine in London.
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