2013-10-14

At an open source trade show

Jack (whispering): Why does Microsoft have a booth here?

Marcy (normal voice): They want to remind us that they think they control the industry.

Wally: Ma'am, I see you are interested in our new Windows 9 Jetro user interface.

Jack: Huh?

Marcy: Uhm, thank you, sir. You have a nice approach, but I'm kind of busy right now.

Wally: When you get a moment, can you come back? We can show you all the latest features.

Marcy: We'll see.

Jack: Chutzpah!

Marcy: Just a salesman. He has to try. We have better things to do.

Jack: Hey, there's the newest Core processor from Intel!

Marcy: Uhm, Jack, if we don't have time for Microsoft Windows 9, ...

Jack: Nine cores! 128 bit integer math!

Daryl: Sir, would you like to experience Fedora running on this processor?

Marcy: Jack, if you want to look at this, I'll see you over in the controls isles.

Jack: Later, I guess. Thanks anyway.

Daryl: Ya'll come back, now.

Jack: Thanks.

Marcy: Wow, this year there are two isles full of MariaDB and PostGreSQL applications. Mainstream.

Jack: Oracle's over at the end of that isle, still managing to keep a MySQL community going, I guess. Here we are, controls applications.

Marcy: We have four isles of controls stuff. Arm, SuperH, Cold Fire, .... The program even says there are a couple of OpenCore booths with applications. We're going mainstream here, too.

Jack: Robots. Washing machines. Vacuum cleaners. Refrigerators. Manufacturing equipment. What's this?

Takashi: Hello sir. Are you interested in compressor applications?

Marcy: As a matter of fact, yes. I see you have refrigeration equipment, but what's this?

Takashi: It looks like an ordinary doorway, doesn't it?

Jack: Yeah.

Takashi: Step through it.

Jack: You go first, Marcy.

Marcy: Oh, where is chivalry these days?

Jack: Equal rights?

Takashi: Shall I demonstrate it for you?

Jack (laughing): I'll give it a try.

(Whoosh!)

Jack: Whoa! That's a sudden shot of air!

Marcy: What's it for?

Takashi: This is called an air shower. It blows the dust off your clothes.

Jack: I think you're right about that.

Marcy: I guess I'm still not seeing something. What's it for?

Jack: Clean room?

Takashi: Most of our customers are foods manufacturers.

Marcy: So, not semiconductor or biological clean room?

Takashi: Yes. This model can be fitted with medium grade air filters, but most applications just need a jet of ordinary air to blow dust and other stuff off the workers' clothes as they enter food processing rooms. Ordinary filters work fine for that.

Jack: So where does open source software come in?

Takashi: Air showers tend to get ignored. And not maintained. So this model is equipped with sensors and timers, to help meet regulatory requirements, and to report when there are certain kinds of problems.

Marcy: Report?

Takashi: Standard interfaces in use by many open-source plant control packages.

Jack: Problems?

Takashi: Filters need cleaning and replacing from time to time, of course. Plant operators need to be reminded that it's time to give the whole thing a good vacuum cleaning and wipe-down. And we have some failure mode testing, as well, so that if a motor goes bad and quits running, that will be reported.

Jack: No Linux running the air shower?

Marcy: That's silly.

Takashi: No, not running the air shower, just the plant control programs. But we do have Linux controlling some of our refrigerators.

Jack: Really?

Marcy: What does it do? Can you tell us about that?

Takashi: Some of our refrigerators can read RF tags and interface to bar code readers, to help automate stock maintenance. And some of our refrigerators can do things even more interesting.

Marcy: Such as?

Takashi: We can set up sections that are kept at different temperatures, and you can also change the maintained temperatures according to things like the time of day, and humidity.

Marcy: Wow. Cool.

Jack: Do you have a blurb or something?

Takashi: Sure. What kind of business are you in?

Marcy: We supply controller circuits. Are you by any chance interested in controller circuits?

Takashi: Do you have a booth? Maybe I or a co-worker could drop by.

Marcy: Yes. We're supposed to be there in a few minutes to take our turn. Maybe we could trade business cards?

Takashi: Sure. Here's a few of data sheets on representative products, and this is my business card. Do you have some data sheets with you?

Jack: Thanks. Not with us. Here's my business card. I think we can get Bob to bring some data sheets by, if that's okay.

Takashi: That would be fine. Or maybe I can get around to your booth a little later, when my relief comes.

Marcy: That sounds great. Oh, look at the time. Guess we have to go. See you around later on.

Takashi: Okay, take care.

Jack: You, too.

2013-10-02

duking it out -- 力試し

One of the students in the local Free Missionary English Class gave me a list of words she wanted to see examples of several months back. So I made up a story using all the words.
この近くの宣教師の無料英会話に来ていただいている方の一人は数カ月前に単語のリストを渡してくれて、例文を作って欲しいと、頼んでくれました。そのリストをもって小さい物語を作って見ました。

---------------------------

Nishidani Sensei looked out the window at the playground as she walked down the hall. A commotion in a shady corner drew her attention. In the shadows she could see two children swinging their fists at each other.

[playground: いわゆる「グランド」の「プレイグラウンド」]
[shady: 日陰の良い]
[fist: 拳、げんこつ]

She looked back to the staff room and sang out, "Riku and Kenta are duking it out in the corner again!". Not bothering to change from her indoor shoes, she shot out the door like lightening. Several teachers and the headmaster spilled out of the staff room and followed her.

[duke: 公爵]
[duke it out: 殴りあう(公爵のように男らしく?)]
[like lightening: (雷のように素早く)]
[spill out: (漏れだすように)ぞろぞろと出てくる]

As Ms. Nishidani approached the boys, they stopped fighting and turned to face the teachers. Then Kenta threw a blatant punch and struck Riku in the back, knocking him down.
[approach: 近づく]
[blatant: 明確な(違反など)]
[knock down: 倒す]

"Kenta, that was not called for," she said, in a voice low and easy, helping Riku up.
[not called for: 求められていない、するわけがない(呼び起こされていない)]

"Well, he hit me first!" was Kenta's retort.
[retort: 言い返し、逆襲]

Riku didn't say anything, only avoided Ms. Nishidani's eye's.
[avoid: 避ける(さける・よける)]

"Both of you stop that right now!" shouted Headmaster Mabuchi, who then looked surprised that they had already stopped. The rest of the teachers looked a little non-plussed as they turned around and headed back to the staff room. Children began to gather, but Mr. Mabuchi waved them back. "Nothing to see here, back to your originally scheduled playing."
[non-plussed: 不満(そう)]
[wave {someone} back: 払い戻す]
[nothing to see: 見物するものが無い]
[originally scheduled: 元の予定に入った]

Ms. Nishidani checked both boys over and said, "Shall we go inside and talk?"
[check {someone} over: 様子を伺う、検査する]

Riku muttered something under his breath, and Kenta responded with muttering of his own.
[mutter: ブツブツ(文句)言う]
[under {his/her} breath: 声に(ほとんど)出さずに]
[of {his/her} own: 自分の]

Mr. Mabuchi said brightly, "Now, boys, just hold it for a few minutes 'til we've caught our breath and had a few minutes to sit in Ms. Teramoto's office."
[brightly: (cheerfully) 明るい気持ちで]
[hold it: (文句を抑えて)待っておく]
[catch {one's} breath: 一息つく]
[have a few minutes to {do something}: 何かをするための時間を取る]

"NO!" both boys exclaimed in unison. "Not Ms. Teramoto's office!"
[exclaim: 叫ぶ、感情を込めて言う]
[in unison: 同時に、一斉に]

"She'll make us listen to classical music!" exclaimed Riku.
[make {someone} listen to: (強制的に)聞かせる]

"She'll tell us what sweet, wonderful children we are!" cried Kenta.
[what sweet, wonderful {children}: どれほど可愛くて素晴らしくて気前の良い{子供}]

"No! Please!"

"I can't stand it!"
[stand {it}: {それを}耐える]

Ms. Nishidani and Mr. Mabuchi lead the pair into the school building, ignoring their repeated calls for help.
[ignore: 無視する]

And that's exactly what Ms. Teramoto did for the next half hour. And then she sent the boys back up to their classrooms, laughing and giggling, to where Ms. Nishidani was teaching the class arithmetic.
[exactly: ちょうど]
[giggling: クックと笑ったり]
[arithmetic: 算数]

"Dangit Kenta!"
[dang it: ダメだ(「damn」にちなんだ、それほどきつく感じのない無意味の、感情を訴える発言です。)]

"Yeah, Riku?"

"If we're not careful, Ms. Teramoto will come up and do a special math lesson."
[if {we} are not careful: 気をつけないと]
[do a {special} lesson: {特別な}レッスンを行う]


"Oh, man. If she does that, we're done for. She could make a guy like long division."
[Oh, man.: お前。(これも特に意味ない感情を訴える発言です。)]
[{we're} done for: {我々は}もう、終わりだ]
[make {someone} like {something}: {人}が{何かを}好むように(魔法を掛けるように)する、好きにさせる、好ませる]

"Yeah. Maybe we should quit calling each other names for a while."
[call {someone} names: 「悪い名前を使って{人}を呼ぶ」こと、つまり「悪い名前をつける」ことで悪口を言う]
[quit {somethng} for a while: しばらくの間{何か}を止める]

"No way, Division Head!"
[division head: 割り算頭、分裂頭]

"Well, oh, yeah, ya square root!"
[square root: 四角い根、つまり平方根(ルート)]

"What's a square root?"

"I dunno, something my brother said."
[dunno: "don't know"]

"Let's ask Ms. Nishidani," Kenta said as they entered the classroom.

"Hello, boys, are you feeling better, now?" asked Ms. Nishidani.
[feeling better: 気分が良くなった]

"I guess," said Riku. "Uhm, what's a square root? Is it some kind of a potato?"
[I guess {so}.: そうかもわからない。]
[uhm: エエっと]
[some kind of {something}: 何らかの{何か}]

"Now, there's a blatant attempt to disrupt the class. Where did you hear that?"
[attempt: 試み、企て、企み]
[disrupt: 途絶させる、騒がす、混乱を起こす]
[Where did you hear that?: どこでそんなこと(言葉)を聞いたの?]

"Riku called me one."
[call {someone} {something}: {人}を{何かだ}と名付ける]
[つまり、「陸くんが、ボクがそうだと言っている。」] 

"After he called me Division Head."
[つまり、「ボクのことを割り算頭と言いづけたからだったよ。」]

"Now, the both of you," Ms. Nishidani shook her head, suppressing the laugh that would have stopped the lesson dead in its tracks, "sit down and get out your math text books. It just so happens we are studying about squares today. After we understand those, I'll tell you a little about square roots. Okay, class?"
[the both of you: 君たち、ふたりとも]
[suppress: 抑える]
[would have {done something} {to something}: {何かに}{何かを}やったでしょう。]
[stop {something} dead in its tracks: {ものを}たったまま殺すように、止めてしまう]
[つまり、西谷先生がその言葉で笑っちゃったら、レッスンがその時点で終わったでしょう。]
[get out {something}: {何かを}取り出す]
[It just so happens (that) {something}.: 偶然に、{何か}]
[square: (四角の平方面積にちなんで)二乗]
[tell {someone} a little {bit} about {something}: ちょっと教えてあげる]

"Okay, Ms. Nishidani." The students sang out in unison, but not with great enthusiasm.
[enthusiasm: 元気、意気込み]

And the two boys sat down and looked for their math books while the other students returned a little disappointedly to their textbooks.
[look for: 探す]
[disappoint: がっかりする(させる)]
[a little disappointedly: ちょっとがっかりして(「ちょっとがっかりを受けた」、という感じ)]

[Japanese notes finished on the 14th. 解釈は14日に終わった。]