What’s In a Name?

What’s in a name? Apparently that rhetorical question doesn’t have just one answer.

Shakespeare (if that’s really who he was, and all his stuff wasn’t written by some other guy) tells us that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But Pythagoras and the Chaldeans had a whole ‘nother opinion about that. According to the Chaldeans, whose numerology system is purportedly superior to and more accurate than the more widely known Pythagorean system, the number of the rose would be 17: r(2) + o(7) + s(3) + e(5). (The Chaldeans didn’t reduce the name to a single digit.) The number 17 is known for being, among other things, “…a highly spiritual number, and is expressed in symbolism by the 8-pointed Star of Venus – a symbol of ‘Peace and love’.” Sounds pretty rosy to me.

Stinkweed, on the other hand, works out to 35, indicating “…the gravest warnings for the future. It foreshadows disasters brought about by association with others…”. Perhaps disaster is a bit of hyperbole for an encounter with a stinky weed, but still.

Coincidence aside, I’m not attempting to convince anyone, and numerology has nothing to do with my goal for today. It’s all about the name. And, about the post. Earlier this year, I ran across the WordPress Post a Day Challenge. They have a version for a post per week, and that sounded reasonable at the time, so I signed up. And now it’s April 17th, and I haven’t updated my blog since February 13th. And nothing I’ve ever posted here has been really written, it’s all been links to stuff that amused me from around the net and from my inbox. So this is the post I would have written for the first week of January. Except for the fact that I wouldn’t have thought of it, a minor detail I’m sure you will forgive.

As for the name, ever since I put the blog up I have displayed a banner which read “The Grl Geek.” Once upon a time, when I was very, very young, and the number of people on the planet who could program a computer was very small, “The Grl Geek” might have made more sense*. Today, not so much. There are lots of us now, and more jumping into the frothy digital stream all the time. So I have decided to rename the blog “A Grl Geek.” One among many, a member of the sisterhood of Star Trek/Wars/Gate** fans, people who hope Netflix brings back Firefly, and professional code slingers.

But now that I’ve gone there… Shakespeare = 40: “Brings success in business, literature and statistics. Attains fame by lecturing, writing, or by occupying an authoritative position.”

A Grl Geek = 24: “2 (cooperation) and 4 (structure) leading to 6 (harmony). 24 scores in relationships. Signifies gifts and good fortune. Boundless courage and energy. There is a spontaneous and kinetic approach to life. Team player and leader rolled into one!”

Maybe things are looking up for my blog after all! 😉

* I know the name is missing either an ‘i’ or another ‘r’, traditionally, but “GRL GEEK” fits on my license plate.
** I also know that it’s “Stargate.”