Dear Geoff the Giraffe,

I agree with you in principle but I must say I'm a sucker for cute coffee shop names: Witch's Brew and Java Jive are two local ones.

However, the trend toward "short-and-punchy-wins-the-race" I find annoying. Southern Bell Telephone is now BellSouth! Bank of Boston is now BankBoston! Go shout elsewhere, corporate types. I too, am not impressed.

Then there's the local convenience store chain called "E-Z Serve." I had some Brit friends visiting last year - they couldn't figure it out