On The Naming Of...

The title of this post should end with the word “cats”. A series of poems contained in “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by ts eliot. ts eliot, the poet/author who was possessed of a peccadillo of never capitalizing words, and only sparsely using punctuation. The book was eventually made into the Broadway play “Cats”, with the score done by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Much maligned in pop culture during its 17 year run, it won several Tony awards and is still one of the longest continuously running shows Broadway produced. Its run has been over for a few years. I got to see it live twice - once with the original Broadway cast. It was very good!

My conundrum at the moment is the naming of my new machine. It is small, fast, has a brushed aluminum exterior (stylish but also helps with heat dissipation) and has more computing power, memory and hard drive space than I’ve owned before. And remember that I’ve built several computers and only bought one – yes, one – desktop PC instead of building it myself. It will replace “The Machine”, which, when reincarnated, will become “The Beast”.

It’s a curious thing that man gives names and genders to inanimate objects. Various languages will designate everyday objects such as a table either masculine or feminine, and adjust spellings and conjugations of linking verbs accordingly. Ships are invariably female, from the smallest dinghy to the largest aircraft carrier – with only a couple of exceptions. Recall the film “High Society" with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm when Bing & Grace were recalling a sailboat they owned “My, she was yar!” The last word I’ll let you look up.

Our vehicles are masculine. Phred (named by Dad) and Steve (named by us). I know at least one niece and her husband name their vehicles as well. I’ve not yet figured out how people determine whether a certain teddy bear is male or female, but I know a couple of people who have been given that level of discernment, and have learned that they’re right so I don’t question it.

So then – my new computer needs a name. It’s silver, fast and compact – sports car elements in a box the size of an average toaster oven. I’m open to suggestions – you all have my email.

It goes online this Thursday. Let the suggestions begin!

Almost forgot – for those of you thinking “But Jay – you said in your last post that it would be the last one from The Machine”. I also have a laptop… ;-)