Brett wrote:
> Not to mention Grace Hopper, who not only was 
> a prominent figure in computer history, she 
> was also a rear admiral in the Navy!

Um, that was the *U. S.* Navy and perhaps our very international Ruby
community might find that association somewhat less than attractive?  My
recommendation of Lady Ada fails equally by the same standard: she was a
noble of the British empire.  This whole discussion has pushed me toward the
Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  While I do like the idea of an anime figure, if
treated properly as homage to Ruby's Japanese origin, it may indeed be too
problematic.  If a few quick posts within this group has already exposed so
many objections to Ruby-chan, just wait until Ruby's detractors get going!
That's unfortunate, because I very much like the symbolification and
metaphorization of Ruby as a <strong>human-oriented language</strong>.

OTOH, I can't think off-hand of *any* serious objections to the precious
little Ruby-bird at http://www.rubyconf.com/whyrck.html.  Also, the
simplified monochrome version on http://www.rubyconf.com/mascot.html shows
that a workable practical logo is possible.

As for sheer cuteness, I'm in my mid 50's but I *do* have one of those
cuddly little stuffed Tux figures (from http://www.penguinpower.com) hanging
from my bookcase here at work!  A lot of very serious people *like* Tux as
the Linux mascot. Don't be afraid of using a cute mascot -- it works.

In conclusion, you can count this as a perhaps too long-winded vote for the
Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  

John Tobler
grepninja / diganet.com


PS: Some suitably creative minds could, perhaps, satisfy themselves with the
possibility that the bird may actually be the shape-changed avatar of a
kindly sorceress.