otrops: jeff van campen’s personal blog

Jeff Van Campen (aka “otrops”) is a web developer. He lives with his wife Joanne and two cats, Luka and Leah. Despite what everyone thinks, the cats’ names aren’t Star Wars references. While both cats are females, they were named after male characters in American television programs. Luka’s namesake is Dr. Luka Kovac from ER. Leah’s is Leo McGarry from The West Wing. We initially thought that Leah was male and had to change her name slightly after her first trip to the vet.

What the hell is Otrops?

The short version of this story is simply that “otrops” is “sporto” backwards. I found that I could get otrops as a login name for most online services. Over the years, it has become my online identity. As Tom said when I told him I wasn’t able to get otrops on Windows Live Spaces, “but otrops is you.”

The long version is slightly more embarrassing. Otrops was originally a scarecrow that was used in an autumn display at the Whole Foods Market on Brodie Lane in Austin, TX, where I worked at the time. For a long time after the display came down, he lived on the loading dock. I gave him a name — Otrops, of course — and befriended him. I gave him a back story, most of which I forget now. It was supposed to be a joke, but I think that my attachment to Otrops may have freaked a few people out. I took a road trip out to California to see Joanne’s brother. When I came back, Otrops was gone. He was thrown in the dumpster, but the name lives on.

Does the world really need another blog?

Probably not, but I’m going to give it one anyway. Otrops.com is a personal blog, and probably won’t be of much interest to anyone other than my friends and family. It may not even be of interest to them. I need to find a way to start writing. I’m online for probably three quarters of my waking day, so a blog seems a good way to do this.

So does this mean you actually have something to say?

Years ago, when Cecily first encouraged me to start writing a blog, my response was, “I don’t really have anything to say.” This was a lie and Cecily knew it. Once I get over the initial discomfort of meeting someone new, it’s nearly impossible to shut me up. So, yes, I almost certainly have something to say. I’ll leave you to judge whether what I have to say is in any way interesting.

Note that the opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author. They in no way represent the opinions of the author’s employer