Origins of a Name

RiotPrrl. It's a rather silly handle for a blog about knitting, isn't it? Where did it come from?

We can start with a single panel from a 5-strip xkcd series. (Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5. There's also a bit of a prologue.)

So now we know that "riot prrl" (note the capitalization and spacing) is a fictional movement of programmer-musicians. The name is a combination of riot grrrl, the musical subculture, and Perl, the programming language.

And what about RiotPrrl? The reference to riot grrrl still applies. I am a woman and a feminist; and I enjoy listening to riot grrrl bands even if I'm not much of a musician myself. The reference to Perl is also applicable. I am a programmer. I like writing code, both professionally and as a hobby. (I don't use a lot of Perl, but "RiotC++" wouldn't be as catchy.) Finally, I am a knitter. With a sneaky extra reference to the purl stitch, RiotPrrl is a concise union of three major aspects of my identity.