Author: Masami

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Victrola

After having great smoked salmon with an organic bagle with the onion and chive mixed cream cheese for a breakfast, we left Uncle Mike’s around 9 am. Arrived at the Convention Center at 10ish and for the first time, I had a chance to walk around.
I would say this is a pretty unique type of a conference because people attending this conference are mainly male. Probably about 70%. Lots of people are in casual cloths like jeans, and some people pretty much dressed up with ties and shiny shoes. So the contrast of the dress codes is so clear.
Akinori is somewhat semi-formaly dressed. He picked one of two semi-formal shirts I bought him from Ralph Lauren for our first anniversary in June. He looks not overdressed and not underdressed either, and I think that’s really nice.
First we went to a room called “speaker ready room.” The oral presenters can go there to see how their powerpoint slides turned out on the computers the GSA prepared. Akinori checked his slides there and made a bit of changes. I thought his slides looked terrific. And then I went to the Seattle Public Library just across the road and sat down to do some of my works. I made it, I did not go to a cafe to do this!
Met up with Akinori for lunch on the first floor of the Convention Center at noon. We went to the Pacific Place and had hamburgers and shakes at the Johnny Rockets. Then we went down to the Barns and Noble Bookstore to browse some books and to have a cup of coffee. This is the first caffeine I’m having today, so it should be OK, I told myself (oops, I had a cup of earl gray tea this morning and who says I know that tea has more caffeine than coffee has?). Then wishing him a great deal of luck, I waved him and came to the 15th on the Capitol Hill. Here is a nice coffee house, “Victrola.” Though it is middle of a day on Monday, there are so many people. I almost gave up to find a table, but I waited for a couple of minutes because Victrola has a wireless internet inside. This is the big reason why I came here. Fortunately someone really nice told me that she was leaving so I’m here typing this and having an 8 oz coffee. Shame on me, this is the third cup of caffeine I’m having today.

カフェ情報

Victrola
411 15th Ave. E Seattle, WA
(206) 325-6520

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Bauhaus

Akinori and I use a software called “Quicken” from Intuit to manage our finances. This software is so far so good to see our “immature” financial pictures. It can be simply used to keep up-to-date with our several different “wallets,” but it is also really good to see the “breakdown” of our expenses. For example, let’s say that you’re addicted to caffeine and you want to see how deep your addiction is. Then you create a category, for instance, like “caffeine” or whatever you like (I simply call it “coffee”). And then every time you enter your expense toward caffeine, you choose “caffeine” as its category. Wait for some time passes, then you’ll be able to track down your expenses toward caffeine by week, by month, by year, or by entire period of time you use Quicken.
20031102So what I want to say is simply that my addiction toward caffeine is pathetically deep. I’m in Seattle this weekend because Akinori is attending a conference organized by Geological Society of America (GSA), held in Seattle from today to next Wednesday. He went to the Seattle Convention Center earlier this morning and I’m left alone in downtown Seattle. I have been to a nice coffee house named “Bauhaus” nearby the Convention Center, so here I am, at the Bauhaus ever since he headed off to the conference. The drip coffee in 12 oz mug is $1.50 and they offer a refill for $.50. Just a few minutes ago I was seriously thinking about whether or not I should get the second refill. Then the screen-image of my Quicken came into my mind so now I’m having a second thought that I leave here and go shopping or something.

カフェ情報

Bauhaus
301 E. Pine St. Seattle, WA
(206) 625-1600


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Factor Analysis

Just because I have learned a tiny bit of factor analysis, I cannot stop thinking about how I could possibly quantify my life. I would not go for counting “unobservable variables,” because I cannot imagine how many they are. Probably millions, could be billions. But I could somehow come up with some “observable variables.” Here are some of my ideas:
X1. the length of my life, in year.
X2. the total amount of money I have earned or I would ever earn, in dollar.
X3. the length of time when I feel “happy,” in year.
X4. the number of times I get really excited about things happening to me, in N.
X5. the number of people I unconditionally love and trust, in N.
X6. the number of people who give me unconditional love and trust, in N.
Y. The quality of my life (Response Variable)
I’ll see if I can come up with more. To be continued… someday.

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週末はシアトルへ

今週末は、来週の月曜日にAさんがGSAの学会（Geological Society of Americaだっけ?）で彼の研究を発表するので土曜日から月曜日までシアトルに行ってきます。そうなんです。彼の初学会デビューは偶然にもワシントン州シアトル。私は初デビューはニューオリンズだったのでなんだか大きなことだったような気がしましたけど彼は近くてラッキーというかちょっとがっかりというかそういう感じ。でもポスター発表ではなくてオーラルなので緊張しているみたいです。私もみたいなぁ。
ということで、シアトルのちょっと北のエドモンズというところに住んでらっしゃる、Aさんの伯父さま（あ、もはやあたしのでもあるか）のところにお世話になりに行ってきます。一緒にお食事にも行くので楽しみ。でも私は大きなペーパーのデューが水曜日にあるし、STATの宿題もあるし、今日と明日にかかってます。こんなことやってないでオフィスにいって勉強しよう。

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アンダードッグ

カッレッジフットボールも一番楽しい時期になってきましたが、今週末は全米のカレッジフットボールファンが注目する、全米３位のUSC（サザンカリフォルニア大学）と全米６位のWSU（うちの大学ですね、ワシントン州立大学）の決戦になります。わがWSUには残念ながらアウェイの試合。そして世の中の流れはUSCです。つまりうちの大学はアンダードッグ。
でもやっぱり注目ということで、ちょっとお下品だけど私も大好きなスポーツショウである、”The Best Damn Sports Show Period”のキャストがこの小さな町、プルマンにやってくるそうです。今週の金曜日。そしてどっちが勝つのか！みたいなショウをやるらしいですね。オンエアは金曜日８時から１０時の間。ネイションワイドの放映なのでWSUファンの方はみてみてくださいね。どうせシェイカーズ（バー）でヒューヒューいっている若い大学生がビールを飲みながらUSCの悪口を言ったり、USCの学生がWSUの悪口をいったりするだけでしょうけど。あ、でもセクシーな元プレイメイツのリポーターのお姉さんとかも来るみたいです。私は家で大人しくテレビを見ることにします。