My mom, God rest her soul - she liked nicknames. In the womb she named me Skip. There was another black guy in Piedmont, W.Va., and his name was Skip. They called him Big Skip, and I was Little Skip.

Astronauts cannot pick their nicknames and can only get their nicknames from other astronauts. Any astronaut who tries to give himself a cool nickname will regret it by getting just the opposite from his astronaut friends.

"Most of us have nicknames-annoying, endearing, embarrassing.

You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other.

My mom God rest her soul - she liked nicknames. In the womb she named me Skip. There was another black guy in Piedmont W.Va. and his name was Skip. They called him Big Skip and I was Little Skip.

I'm an unorthodox type of guy a funny guy - at least I think I'm funny. And one of the things I like to do is come up with nicknames for myself.

I love nicknames. It makes me feel loved. It makes me feel less alone in this world.