RE: [Leica] Re: Erica the Red?

[Paul Chefurka <Paul_Chefurka@pmc-sierra.com>]

>From: Jim Brick [mailto:jim_brick@agilent.com]
>
>It's not the name, it's the "gender reference". Boats and ships are
>referred to in the female gender regardless of their name.
>
>Martin said: "Eric the Red, the Longboat.  And so "he" was named."
>
>You can name a boat anything, but you have to refer to it as 
>"she", not "he".
>
>"And so "she" was named."

Ah, but Eric is a "virtual boat". I don't think the gender reference rule is
transferrable across that boundary.

In my experience cars are male (as demonstrated by the testosterone
apotheosis of the Ferrari, Corvette and Dodge Viper). Support for this
inference may be derived from the fact that the most common form of address
to a car ("Why won't you work, you no-good worthless #$*&!@ POS") is also
used by wives when addressing their husbands.

Paul