What's in a Name?

For the record, my full name is Kenneth Judah Freed. I've written as a journalist since 1976 under the name "Ken Freed." So, why do I use KF.com as my domain name?

The domain "KenFreed.com" belongs to the realtor Ken Freed in Bonnie Lake, Washington. I found on Google lots of other good people in the U.S. named "Ken Freed." Those who could have registered the "kenfreed.com" domain name include a former Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent who now teaches college in Ohio (people used to think I was him, but I doubt if he's ever been mistaken for me), a public schools superintendent in the Midwest, a public schools teacher in the Southwest, a nationally renown symphony musician and conductor, a prominent art collector and curator in Boston, a visual artist in Michigan, a digital video engineer with a leading electronics company, a street lighting engineer associated with the Dark Skies initiative (he actually knows my sister, an urban designer), a financial services executive in California, a Civil War buff in Pennsylvania, and an obscure namesake who's apparently known within intelligence circles in Washington DC, whom I gather may be a CIA spook -- if he exists at all.

The realtor Ken Freed registered our shared name first as his .com domain, and I honor him for it. KF.com was the best I could do way back in 1996. Overall, I'm happy with my choice.

By the way, some folks now know me only by my middle and last name, Judah Freed, the name I'm using since I released my book, Global Sense (I've registered "JudahFreed.com"). I cannot find on Google anyone else named Judah Freed. It's a nice change to have a name that's unique.