> > > > > > I can't hear Yoda without thinking of Grover! Was Beaker the assistant in the lab? We used to call a guy in high school "Beaker" because he looked like that muppet.
> > > > >
> > > > > Same here. I think that might happen in every school everywhere around the world. Either that, or there's some kind of conspiracy involving large numbers of scrawny neckless teenage boys who look like Beaker.
> > > > >
> > > > > >And remember the tall, bald guard on "Night Court"? That guy is Sam the Eagle's human twin.
> > > > >
> > > > > LOL. He sure is.
> > > > >
> > > > > > Mou"always wanted to name a pet Scooter"sie
> > > > >
> > > > > Brunnen-"I *have* a pet nicknamed Scooter!"G
> > > >
> > > > Here's what really kills me: People get a pet, they come up with a name for it that usually *isn't* Sam or Frank or Bob, but is, in itself, a sort of nickname, then they NICKNAME the pet!!! "This is my cat, Buster. I call him Doodles." (Never one to call the kettle black, I'm quoting MYSELF, here.)
> > > >
> > > > Hei"about a third of the people I'm introduced to announce, 'I had a DOG named Heidi!'"di
> > >
> > > .....i had a dog named Heidi
> > >
> > > uni"although in all fairness i didn't name her, and when i heard your name i never once thought of the dog until just now"peg
> >
> > That's okay (more than okay, really). The fact that you had one keeps my average alive.
> >
> > Mou"did my mother never hear of the name Jane? Or Mary?"sie
>
> ooh, i'm a staTIStic... "yes, 1/3 of the people i meet - even online - have had a dog named heidi!"
>
> well, who would want to be named Jane or Mary though? the perfect balance comes when you find a name that isn't too common, but not so odd that people are just like, what? like "Emerik" and "Odracer" and "Shaquita" kinda fall onto the bad side on the oddness scale. "Mary" "Elizabeth" "Jennifer" "Robert" "Steven" (etc) are all too normal. then there are names like "Lynette" "Brent" and "Elissa" (those would be my family), "Byron" and "Darien" (let us salute the RinkForum), "Tyler" (although that's supposed to be one of the top ten boys names in the US i only know one person (sigh) with that name) and "Colin" (what's with all the sibling names here? so far I've had 3 groups... aie)
>
> uni"and then there are the names that would be good but make people think aswiss alps and dogs"peg

You are SO right; I definitely have appreciation for the mere specialness of my name. It just appreciated it a lot more when I was, say, five. Just seems a little childish on a 32 year old woman. And my mom picked it out when she was 9 and stuck with it. I gotta love her commitment.