What a week. With Lucy gone, Alisa's article at Town Meeting, and the server replacement, this week has been something else. But today was Veteran's day. A lot of faculty at the University don't take off holidays like Veteran's day, but I stayed home gratefully. I hung out in the morning with the boys, did some work around the house in the afternoon, and tonight I get to hang out in the quiet house, with Alisa taking the boys to a swim meet. Ah, peace and quiet.
There was a news item this evening about 
obestatin: a newly-discovered hormone that appears to regulate hunger, probably in conjunction with ghrelin. Currently all of the work has been done in mice, which doesn't always translate into the same effects in humans. In the article, they describe a drug that was very promising in mice, but "in people, there was a surprise side effect: Men experienced prolonged, uncomfortable and unwanted erections." I can see how that might be a problem.
I had called Phil to ask about playing some SC, but he was still at work. I can tell when he's at work by the way he answered the phone. He talks in a supressed whisper and won't say anything that isn't absolutely required: "Hello. Yes. OK. OK. Yes. Good-Bye." But after he left work, he called back and we chatted while he traveled home. Always good to talk with my big brother.
StevenBrewer