If you’re thinking that airy.nu is a strange name for a blog then you’re not wrong. There isn’t any deep meaning behind it, but there’s a slight story so I figured I would share it here.
When I was a kid, I used to build websites about video game characters. I would finish a really good game and then feel empty inside, with a strong urge to give something back. I imagine that this is how artists feel when they create fanart of something but, alas, my artistic skills were lacking. However, I was good at making websites so I would create shrines to the characters I liked. This sounds obsessive and weird, but it’s not as bad as the word “shrine” implies; essentially these websites were just info dumps, where you could see all the available information about a given character consolidated into one place. Usually they would also include in-game screen captures of the character which i’m fairly certain are actually the main reason anybody ever visited these shrines; other webmasters would grab these images and use them to make layouts for their websites.
Anyway, i’m going off on a bit of a tangent here but the main point is that there was an entire community of us out there, building shrines. One of the things that I wanted the most was my own domain. There were so many cool ones; Leonhart.net and Firaga.net are a couple that come to mind, however the one that I liked the most was Ridell.nu. I thought that it had such a nice ring to it. It was a good length, and I really liked the look of the .nu extension. Somehow I feel like it looks cute, maybe due to the symmetry across the diagonal? not sure, but ever since I came across Riddell.nu, I always wanted my own domain with that extension.
Now if I recall correctly .nu domains had an annual cost of around CAD$60 back then and I was around 11 at the time, so $60 was pretty steep for little me. I was fortunate enough to get Winhill.org for a cool $8 and I treasured it and tended to it for a good number of years until I went off to university and lost all my free time.
After graduating from university and getting my first real job, I decided that it was time to have another website. With a steady stream of income under my belt, there was no doubt that I would finally be getting my .nu domain. For the name itself, I knew I wanted something fairly short and simple. I like the word airy and I like the imagery that it evokes. Luckily it was available so I grabbed it and it’s been mine ever since.
I actually tried to also get wimp.nu last year but it seems that they have tightened restrictions on purchasing .nu domains. I went back and forth with my provider for a few months, as they tried their best to secure the domain for me, until they finally gave up and refunded me. Although I’m disappointed that I can’t have wimp.nu as well, it definitely gives me an extra appreciation for airy.nu.