My First Personalized License Plate

By Daniel Miessler on December 8th, 2005: Tagged as Fanboy | Gentoo | Humor | Linux

So being in a new state and all I had to get a new license plate for my car. When making my selection of which “skin” to use (wildlife, colleges, etc), I remembered that I could go the personalized route too if I wanted to.

So, as of tonight, I now have my very own “GENTOO” license plate. I’ve been highly enthused about getting it, but to be honest it feels kind of lame now that I have it. I’ve never liked the whole “display” thing too much — bumper stickers, flags, etc. But here I am not only sporting a glider on my car, but now a Gentoo license plate.

I guess my only saving grace is that nobody knows what they mean. That makes it better, I think, but not much. The question I keep asking myself is, “What would I think if I saw a Gentoo plate on someone else’s car?” The answer is that I would simultaneously think it was two things — cool and lame.

I’d probably go up to the guy and share some Gentoo stories, but I am inclined to think less of people who fly flags for their causes. It’s so…”look at me”.

So what the hell was I thinking in the DMV when I got a damn Gentoo license plate? Oh, I remember, I didn’t want to get one randomly assigned to me. I wanted to define myself what went on it. I tossed around a few ideas and settled on Gentoo. Bah.

Oh well, most people won’t think it’s custom anyway. I went with the default theme and it’s not a common word by any stretch of the imagination. Most everyone seeing it will assume it was assigned to me.

So what are your opinions? Is it ok to support a distro like this since it’s obscure enough to not stand out, or is it lame to do anything that’ll be recognized? That’s my problem — I’ve always liked to blend in. I’ve never liked to stand out, and that’s what this runs the risk of doing (at least with a few people).

Thoughts?

Viewing 4 Comments

Brian 3 years ago 1 point
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Getting a vanity plate doesn't really further your goal of "not standing out" - but if you like the plate, then don't sweat it.

I have to say - I doubt anyone will think it was a random assignment, given that it's pronounceable (if not an obvious word to most).

I wonder if you'll get zoologists sharing penguin stories, too. You'll *definitely* have to let us know if that happens!

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Tim 3 years ago 1 point
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Smart people that aren't computer geeks will see it and go "That guy must be obsessed with penguins."

but I see what you mean about most people being bewildered. However, I think in February I'm going to get a DEBIAN vanity plate. You've inspired me.

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Dave 3 years ago 1 point
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Probably better to use a project name like Gentoo and be confused for a penguin fan that name it after a project like Bacula and be confused for a zoophile.

Main Entry: bac·u·lum
Pronunciation: 'bak-y&-l&m
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural bac·u·lums /-l&mz/ or bac·u·la /-l&/
: a slender bone reinforcing the penis in many mammals

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Matthew 2 years ago 1 point
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Snap - I have the license plate of GENTOO in Ohio - am kind of curious where yours is. I am also not big on standing out, but I think this is an interesting way of advertising Gentoo. It's probably always going to be a niche distribution, but always an interesting one :)

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