Palfrey's life

... peruse the bar menu, order some drinks and eventually find some spare seating. Not quite the joke you were expecting, but just my evening tonight. First day of conference was fairly boring. Am looking forwards to my presentation tommorrow (much advertising for it done during poster session today). On the plus side, ended up in a very cool bar/coffee house (with jazz musicians). Standard random conversations (work stuff, nature of PhD life, complexities of various languages, etc).

However the one little detail I feel the need to share is an addition to my list of "only in America" moments. This one is going next to the California warning signs and my hate for the dime coins that don't tell you how many fricking cents they're worth: standing in a bookstore at about 30 minutes past midnight, browsing through "Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad" (that's a damn good title), listening to the staff pump various punk rock (Black Flag et al) through the speakers, and resisting the temptation to wander into the bar at the back of the store. Very fun. Good night Seattle Washington...