I'm sorry but you guys are weird. Unless required by some @!@#$! net system driven by paranoid corporate business concerns, I call my computers by what they are. Maybe the Grid 1520 with the failed HD when I have multiples, or the pristine PC that I have to do work on to distinguish it from my other ones that are referred to with identifying characteristics. Not that I don't have machines which I dote on, but they are not interactive pets like my dog or former cats or even some acquaintances who I name but have infrequent contact with. In this world of dehumanization it is well to remember that "Hal" is only a machine no matter how powerfull or lifelike. The state machine is removed enough that we need not concern ourselves with familiarity yet it affects our every action. The trends like "pet rocks" are only indications of our alienation from society in general. Rocks,as most inanimate things, like computers, demand little response and most of us take the easy way and identify with that which gives us the least amount of trouble. This analysis falls down when we consider the amount of time we can spend on some obdurate computer that refuses to respond to our tender care. But then again we are a spot weird, and not to be confused with ordinary mortals. A tech support for the goddessess of Delphi. And Death to the invading forces of Microsloth. Lawrence lgwalker(a)mts.net bigwalk_ca(a)yahoo.com