Game Theory meets Real Life

I feel like I'm stuck in a twisted, poorly played Ultimatum Game. [Explanation of the ultimatum game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimatum_game. Quick recap: Player A offers some fraction of a commodity to Player B, who then accepts or rejects the offer. If accepted, the commodity is split according to the offer; if rejected neither player gets anything. Since any amount of the commodity is beneficial, the rational choice is to accept any offer greater than zero.]
In my case the commodity is dates (not the fruit kind) and the two players are me and Girl X. I offer various dates - lunch, dinner, movie, party - and have my offers mostly rejected, usually not flat-out but with some sort of dignifier/apology (e.g. "I'd love to but I have to finish a project for class").
There are a few ways to interpret this.
One is that the commodity offered (i.e. time spent with me) is considered to have negative value. This is perfectly legitimate, but if it is true I'd like to know for my own benefit.
Another is that time spent studying/researching is considered more valuable than time spent with me. Again, I'd like to know so that I can stop worrying about the situation and move on with my life.
Another option is that she is insane. I don't know how to describe or deal with this possibility.
[Note: there may be other possibilities, but I think these are the main three.]

[Note: Nobody reads this blog, so I feel safe posting this stuff here. I'm debating posting this as a note on Facebook, at which point this situation would be visible to more people including Girl X. My current strategy is to lay low.]

Trivia

Question: If you start in Vermont and go two states east, then keep going east, which province will you hit?

Answer (according to the trivia master at the pub last night): New Brunswick.

Now, I won't say that this is wrong, per se, because New Brunswick is the province just east of Maine. The problem is that if you look on a map none of New Brunswick overlaps with Vermont - it's too far north. Nova Scotia, however, shares most of Vermont's latitude, meaning if you start in Vermont and go directly east the first province you will hit is Nova Scotia (unless you start in the south of Vermont, in which case the first province you'd hit would be somewhere in China). Now, I have no problem with New Brunswick as an answer since it borders Maine and there was nothing precluding traveling north when in Maine. However, technically the first province east of Maine is Quebec, as part of Quebec lies east of the very top part of Maine.
I consider it a poor question. I don't have too much of an issue with one poor question, especially since it didn't effect the outcome, but we did have a lively debate amongst our team as to the correct answer.

Also, distinguishing this dude: from this dude:














really seems like a trick question.

At Barnes and Noble yesterday I saw that Anna Karenina was recommended by Oprah's Book Club. Do people actually base certain life choices, such as what to read, on what Oprah says? It seems to me that there are many better role models in the world of reading fine literature than Oprah Winfrey.

MLB Predictions

I've posted this elsewhere too - my predictions for the outcome of this baseball season.

NL West
1. Colorado Rockies
2. San Diego Padres
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Los Angeles Dodgers
5. San Francisco Giants

NL Central
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2. Chicago Cubs
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL East
1. New York Mets
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

AL West
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2. Oakland Athletics
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Texas Rangers

AL Central
1. Detroit Tigers
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Minnesota Twins
5. Chicago White Sox

AL East
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. New York Yankees
4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
5. Baltimore Orioles

If need be I will defend my picks.

I feel like my life has no direction now. I work, take data, analyze data, etc., and I wonder where exactly I'm going. Things are complicated by my falling self-esteem and self-confidence (caused by a combination of girl problems [see previous blogs] and mild problems with publishing and my adviser). The net result of this has been more drinking, which I realize is probably bad for me but feels so good at the time. Ugh.

I like reading, and learning about lots of things. I play games, like Scrabble, that require a working brain to be good at. Are these such awful things? Recently a coworker criticized me for playing Scrabble via the internet in lab - not because I was wasting valuable research resources for (God forbid) pleasure purposes, but because one shouldn't enjoy activities that tax one's brain. I say bah - if I'd rather read "Ivanhoe" than "Us Weekly," and would rather play Scrabble than stare blankly at a computer screen while the machines are taking and recording data for me, does that make me a bad person? Maybe a weird person or an elitist or some other such nonsense, but not bad or wrong.

Valentine's Day

Another day celebrating (sort of) St. Valentine is approaching. This day, for many, serves as an excuse to pay extra money for their significant other. For me, it is a reminder of my past attempts and failures, as well as my current situation. As if life as a graduate student isn't already stressful and ego-deflating enough.