I'm not making that up; a few posts ago, I mentioned that I had named my flat-screen iMac Victoria Kerrie Reeves-Stevens, so, as soon as I bought Danielle, I had to come up with a similar name for her. Frankly, I haven't known that many people who have named their gadgets; a now-late friend and fellow Apple fan named his computer Mac because it was just that. Within the entertainment world, the only example I can think of--other than the infamous HAL and "his" parodies, such as MAAX in a Bill Nye computer game--is Bill Myers' Wally McDoogle series, where the protagonist carries around a laptop he calls "Ol' Betsy." Still, I have known people who named their cars; my sister's first car, an old Chevy of some sort, was dubbed Skippy, and the Le Baron convertible she got next was named Red. At least one other friend mentioned naming his/her automobile, but I can't remember what the name(s) was/were right now.
I expect you may have some questions, so, I will answer what I think most of you are wondering. First off: What are the meanings of the names you've given your devices? I know the names are long, but giving them full names was the only way I could think of to bring together my broad spectrum of interests. All of the following links are to Wikipedia articles about the person/people named, in case you don't know who they are. My iMac's name, Victoria Kerrie Reeves-Stevens, comes from my favorite actress, Victoria Justice, one of my favorite singers, Kerrie Roberts, and two of my favorite authors, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. My printer, Jennifer Shannon McKeehan, is named after my second favorite actress, Jennifer Stone, the 80's singer (who sings the awesome "Let the Music Play") Shannon, and, one of my longtime favorite musicians, Toby McKeehan, better known as TobyMac. As for my new iPod touch, she is named after television and film actress Danielle Panabaker, the protagonist of one of my favorite movies, Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, and, another one of my favorite authors, John Vornholt.
Second off: Why name devices in the first place? Those of you who have used technology for a long time probably have noticed that many mechanical devices--cars, computers, televisions, video game systems, etc.--tend to take on personalities of their own. I've seen it myself. I used to have a purple iMac which suffered from moodiness; seriously, for whatever reason, it had days where it just didn't want to work right. My second iPod nano, which I still have, tended to get addicted to certain songs. As mentioned in a previous post, the device I was assigned in fifth grade, known as a DreamWriter, would become so buggy that it just had to initialize itself every so often to "clear its head". I never officially named any of those devices, so, when I talk about them in retrospect, I just refer to them as "my big purple iMac" or "my iPod nano." However, a name like Danielle rolls off the tongue easier, and it sounds better as well. I was never allowed to name my family's pets--they didn't like the names I picked out--and I've never had a car, so, naming a device is as close as I've come to either.
Third off: What's with the female names? It's obvious that I have a penchant for such monikers; if I didn't, would this blog be called Siobhan Thinks Differently? Not only that, but, as pretty much everyone already knows, I get along better with the girls/women than guys. So, if most of my best friends have female names, why can't my constant companions, even if they happen to be digital? To be honest, my iMac's original name was Clark Kent just because of how strong and powerful "he" was, but I only chose that name because the computer was my parents' at the time, and I wanted a name they could appreciate. When Clark Kent became mine, I changed "him" into a "her," Victoria Kerrie Reeves-Stevens. I'm not planning on buying any new devices of any sort anytime soon, but, if and when I ever do get more, they will likely have full female names inspired by my favorites from the entertainment world as well.
Lastly: Is Danielle a substitute for a significant other? In a word: No. Though she may go with me everywhere and help me out quite a bit, I do not--and could not--have romantic feelings towards a piece of technology. If I ever do have a romantic relationship, I'm sure it'll be much more fulfilling than having an iPod I carry around with me everywhere.
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