This is of little consequence (unlike the rest of the oh so important posts on this page) but I can't be the only one to have noticed that the New York Times has a reporter on the high tech beat whose byline is Jennifer 8. Lee. She's written lots of columns over the past 6 months or so. Check the front page of today's Circuits section. My question, of course, is what's with the middle initial?
First of all, I didn't think your could have a number for a name (I remember reading about somebody unsucessfully trying to change their name to a number, but maybe that was an urban myth.) But beyond that, why the period? Is her middle name really 8675309 or something? Because if it's just 8 then there shouldn't be a period. And if it's a longer number that starts with 8 - well, I don't know - shouldn't it be Jennifer 8... Lee? Or is that only if it repeats?
Or maybe it's a pseudnym for an otherwise last named Jennifer who had to perform some oval office type acts on...
Oh forget it.
Now don't get me started about the umlauts in The New Yorker.
you could email her at jenny@nytimes.com and ask ; )
Damn, these computers are taking the distance out of everything.
8 is indeed her middle name. (Her parents are from China and wanted her to have a very unique and lucky middle name, to go with the very common last name of "Lee.")
I agree with you that a period is then unnecessary, but I guess people are just so used to seeing a period after a singular letter -- so they want to see it there when it's just a single number.
Or maybe the Times just desperately wants to formalize it, like calling Iggy Pop "Mr. Pop."
The Truman case.
Thanks for the info.
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First of all, I didn't think your could have a number for a name (I remember reading about somebody unsucessfully trying to change their name to a number, but maybe that was an urban myth.) But beyond that, why the period? Is her middle name really 8675309 or something? Because if it's just 8 then there shouldn't be a period. And if it's a longer number that starts with 8 - well, I don't know - shouldn't it be Jennifer 8... Lee? Or is that only if it repeats?
Or maybe it's a pseudnym for an otherwise last named Jennifer who had to perform some oval office type acts on...
Oh forget it.
Now don't get me started about the umlauts in The New Yorker.
- jim 7-12-2002 12:46 am
you could email her at jenny@nytimes.com and ask ; )
- big jimmy 7-12-2002 7:19 am
Damn, these computers are taking the distance out of everything.
- jim 7-12-2002 5:17 pm
8 is indeed her middle name. (Her parents are from China and wanted her to have a very unique and lucky middle name, to go with the very common last name of "Lee.") I agree with you that a period is then unnecessary, but I guess people are just so used to seeing a period after a singular letter -- so they want to see it there when it's just a single number.
- anonymous (guest) 9-20-2002 8:59 pm
Or maybe the Times just desperately wants to formalize it, like calling Iggy Pop "Mr. Pop."
- tom moody 9-20-2002 9:11 pm
The Truman case.
- alex 9-20-2002 9:46 pm
Thanks for the info.
- jim 9-20-2002 11:45 pm