After an evening of worrying about various stuff (tornado sirens, sick cat, insomnia, my idiotic mortgage company), I decided to check my e-mail.
I noticed that Obscure Object of Desire* had sent me an answer to an automotive question I'd asked earlier in the day. I also noticed that he changed his e-mail name (not his email address, just the user ID). Now it's down to a single initial, but it doesn't stand for his first, middle or last name. It's not the title of a Thomas Pynchon novel or a book by Matthew Beaumont, either.
I initially thought he might have wanted to go incognito, but his first name is still part of his email address, so that doesn't work either.
Eventually I broke down and sent him an e-mail, asking him about the change.
20 minutes later, I'm wishing that I hadn't sent that e-mail. (No, I can't recall it.)
I should have played it cool. Damn.
* See Key to Characters at left.