thedrifter
10-07-06, 08:06 AM
Just how much is your name worth?
October 07,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
daily news staffIf the clock struck midnight, and today were New Year’s Eve, then Marine Sgt. Cody Baker would no longer be Cody Baker. He would be Sgt. Finest Freshest Fastest.
Sgt. Fastest would also be $26,333.31 richer.
Baker, a 29-year-old from Pell City, Ala., who is transferring into Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Marine Logistics Group this month, is the latest in a long line of cyberspace entrepreneurs who believe that supposedly sacred things — like one’s flesh or name — actually aren’t.
Or at least not off-limits to creative schemes to raise some scratch.
The new moniker will be decided at his Web site, www.choosemyname.com, where interested parties can bid to alter Baker’s legal identity forever. The highest tender when the calendar flips will become Baker’s new name.
“I’ve always thought about different cool inventions and neat ideas like this,” said Baker, who is currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan, with 1st Marine Air Wing. “It’s just the way my mind works. Most of them are off the wall like this. They just sound ridiculous.”
Ridiculous or not, something made Baker actually stick his name out on this one.
“I never really stepped out and did (my ideas) because I’m not a huge gambling man,” he said. “I had seen other things that seemed to be ridiculous upon beginning them and they seemed to be successful. So I thought, ‘What does it matter? What do I have to lose?’ ”
Baker hopes to raise enough money to finish his college education when he gets out of the Marines in a year-and-a-half. He wants to become a full-time student but needs to find a way to support his wife and infant son, Noah, in the process.
“It would take me three to four years to finish the degree,” he said. “I figure this would be a cool way to supplement my income.”
Part of the proceeds will also go toward Im Jai House, an orphanage in Thailand that Baker has contributed to and tried to help in the past during his six-year career in the Marine Corps.
The first bid was cast on July 20, a $5 proposal to become ‘Mr. Clean.’ Subsequent bids inched upwards, as early candidates like King Taco ($10) and Vanilla Ice ($15) fell by the wayside, as did Table Shocker ($200) and Mr. Right ($250).
The auction exploded on Aug. 10, when Kontraband.com, a “funny video clip and movie clip site,” took the price from $444 (an offer to name Baker ‘Ian Vestinaustralia’) to $2,000 to change his name to ‘Mr. Kontraband’ and wear a ninja suit for a year.
“They don’t know it yet, but I’m getting over on them,” Baker wrote on his blog. “I already wear a ninja suit.”
Even while the prospect of changing his name to something like ‘SwapAce Dot Com’ or ‘George Bailey of Bedford Falls’ or even ‘Oprah Winfrey’ remains real, Baker said he is not backing down. However, when the change does go through, Baker will still be in the Marine Corps. What will the name tape on his uniform read if his name becomes something like ‘Mr. MyFatRobot.com’?
“It will be my name, legally on paper,” he said. “I guess everything that comes with the name Cody Baker will transform into whatever my name becomes.”
Headquarters Marine Corps referred comment to his command. Lt. Philip Klay, a 2nd MLG spokesman, said they can’t comment because Baker has yet to officially join the unit.
“Whatever his name is, we’ll put him to work doing what the Marine Corps does best: accomplishing missions,” Klay said.
Now 21 offers in, Baker said he’s enjoying meeting new people and the running conversation between the various bidders and site visitors. He especially enjoys the creativity of the names.
“I think its pretty cool,” Baker said. “I am still having fun now when it’s really getting serious. I’m really liking the creativity the people are coming up with now.
“I’m having more fun with all that than I am about the prospects of having thousands and thousands of dollars. The money is a necessity. My focus is more on the enjoyment.”
Naturally, Baker has received lots of feedback from friends, family and random strangers.
“I’ve had people indifferent, people who don’t get it, people who say: ‘Awesome, man; you’re going to be a millionaire,’ ” he said.
Informing his parents that the name they picked for him was not long for this world was another matter entirely. Baker pitched his father, a “conservative and traditional” man, by describing it as a business, which seemed to win him over. Mother, who finalized the name Cody 29 years ago, also seemed cool with it, if a tad confused by his actions.
“She doesn’t get it,” he said. “When I told her, she said she was praying for me.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie
October 07,2006
CHRIS MAZZOLINI
daily news staffIf the clock struck midnight, and today were New Year’s Eve, then Marine Sgt. Cody Baker would no longer be Cody Baker. He would be Sgt. Finest Freshest Fastest.
Sgt. Fastest would also be $26,333.31 richer.
Baker, a 29-year-old from Pell City, Ala., who is transferring into Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Marine Logistics Group this month, is the latest in a long line of cyberspace entrepreneurs who believe that supposedly sacred things — like one’s flesh or name — actually aren’t.
Or at least not off-limits to creative schemes to raise some scratch.
The new moniker will be decided at his Web site, www.choosemyname.com, where interested parties can bid to alter Baker’s legal identity forever. The highest tender when the calendar flips will become Baker’s new name.
“I’ve always thought about different cool inventions and neat ideas like this,” said Baker, who is currently stationed in Okinawa, Japan, with 1st Marine Air Wing. “It’s just the way my mind works. Most of them are off the wall like this. They just sound ridiculous.”
Ridiculous or not, something made Baker actually stick his name out on this one.
“I never really stepped out and did (my ideas) because I’m not a huge gambling man,” he said. “I had seen other things that seemed to be ridiculous upon beginning them and they seemed to be successful. So I thought, ‘What does it matter? What do I have to lose?’ ”
Baker hopes to raise enough money to finish his college education when he gets out of the Marines in a year-and-a-half. He wants to become a full-time student but needs to find a way to support his wife and infant son, Noah, in the process.
“It would take me three to four years to finish the degree,” he said. “I figure this would be a cool way to supplement my income.”
Part of the proceeds will also go toward Im Jai House, an orphanage in Thailand that Baker has contributed to and tried to help in the past during his six-year career in the Marine Corps.
The first bid was cast on July 20, a $5 proposal to become ‘Mr. Clean.’ Subsequent bids inched upwards, as early candidates like King Taco ($10) and Vanilla Ice ($15) fell by the wayside, as did Table Shocker ($200) and Mr. Right ($250).
The auction exploded on Aug. 10, when Kontraband.com, a “funny video clip and movie clip site,” took the price from $444 (an offer to name Baker ‘Ian Vestinaustralia’) to $2,000 to change his name to ‘Mr. Kontraband’ and wear a ninja suit for a year.
“They don’t know it yet, but I’m getting over on them,” Baker wrote on his blog. “I already wear a ninja suit.”
Even while the prospect of changing his name to something like ‘SwapAce Dot Com’ or ‘George Bailey of Bedford Falls’ or even ‘Oprah Winfrey’ remains real, Baker said he is not backing down. However, when the change does go through, Baker will still be in the Marine Corps. What will the name tape on his uniform read if his name becomes something like ‘Mr. MyFatRobot.com’?
“It will be my name, legally on paper,” he said. “I guess everything that comes with the name Cody Baker will transform into whatever my name becomes.”
Headquarters Marine Corps referred comment to his command. Lt. Philip Klay, a 2nd MLG spokesman, said they can’t comment because Baker has yet to officially join the unit.
“Whatever his name is, we’ll put him to work doing what the Marine Corps does best: accomplishing missions,” Klay said.
Now 21 offers in, Baker said he’s enjoying meeting new people and the running conversation between the various bidders and site visitors. He especially enjoys the creativity of the names.
“I think its pretty cool,” Baker said. “I am still having fun now when it’s really getting serious. I’m really liking the creativity the people are coming up with now.
“I’m having more fun with all that than I am about the prospects of having thousands and thousands of dollars. The money is a necessity. My focus is more on the enjoyment.”
Naturally, Baker has received lots of feedback from friends, family and random strangers.
“I’ve had people indifferent, people who don’t get it, people who say: ‘Awesome, man; you’re going to be a millionaire,’ ” he said.
Informing his parents that the name they picked for him was not long for this world was another matter entirely. Baker pitched his father, a “conservative and traditional” man, by describing it as a business, which seemed to win him over. Mother, who finalized the name Cody 29 years ago, also seemed cool with it, if a tad confused by his actions.
“She doesn’t get it,” he said. “When I told her, she said she was praying for me.”
Contact staff writer Chris Mazzolini at cmazzolini@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 229.
Ellie