Bill... short version of William. Eh?... a few reasons. Supposedly it is a Canuck thing. Also, it is pronounced the same way as the first letter of my surname. Lastly, I started loosing my hearing about seven or so years ago. At first I wasn't aware, but eventually came to realize i was asking my students to constantly repeat things as I wasn't hearing them. I would usually say pardon me, but can imagine that an occasional "Eh, what was that?" might have crept in. Have had hearing aids for about five years now. The sad part is that the highest frequency most hearing aids can reproduce is about 5K. My other hobby was my stereo gear, 45s, albums, and CDs. As for my avatar, a small graphic I created to incorporate my two initials.