Scott's Thoughts

Moving back

I'm moving back to Live Journal. I have more friends over there, better communities.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 6:06 PM 0 comments

Starting the week with a BANG

I had a bad feeling before I even got out of bed Monday that it was going to be a bad day and possibly week. That feeling was confirmed when my alarm went off again while I was in the bathroom and rushed to turn it off. I ended up tripping over the audio cable to my LCD tv causing it to tumble forward damaging the screen and bruising my knee in the process. A hit was immediately placed and executed on the offending alarm clock. Now I would need a new screen and alarm clock. To add insult to injury that day there was an accident that had traffic backed up causing me to be 20 minutes late to work. I spent the rest of the day angry and upset.

Tuesday went well enough and I felt I got a lot accomplished but Wednesday was another matter. A major purchase order had gotten turned down by our site director. He wrote this huge long explanation of what seemed time itself instead of just telling what needed to be changed before he could sign off it. He had right to not accept it but he wasted a lot of time and caused confusion in this huge email. I spent most of the day Wednesday trying to get everything together to appease him. Most fo the staff don't like having to deal with him. He's not mean and he is doing his job, he just doesn't go about things in an understanding or tactful way. He has a tendacy to misremember or jump to the wrong conclusion about something.

I'm just ready for this week to be over.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 11:02 AM 0 comments

Fighting Obesity

First off, my new diet changes seem to be doing well. It's hard eating out and getting small or controlled portions but simple things like skipping the fries or only eating half can help. Buffets are death though and only from a mental point of view. The idea of a buffet is eat all you want and if you are eating half, you feel like you are not getting a bargain.

I was doing some curious reading for which HowStuffWorks.com is great for. I was reading up on Diabetis. I'm pretty sure at my young age that I don't have it and there isn't any family history or it save one uncle on my father's side. What I was curious about insulin's affect on the body. In reading I read about a counter compound to insulin called glucagon. When the body is "starving" or has a lack of blood sugar this is released by the body and triggers the cells that hold the energy stores (namely fat cells) to release their glucogen to feed off that. Insulin does the same thing but affects the glucose in the body produced from food. In my understanding this means both acts as door knockers to cell to let them know it's time to eat. In insulin's case it's telling cells that supper is on the table while glucagon is telling cells that they are going to have to eat left overs. In the case of the disease diabetes the cell become resistant to insulin or there isn't enough produced. Basically insulin is ignored or isn't heard loud enough.

Where my interests lie is in the glucagon. If this is the chemical that is responsible for making your body release it's stores, then wouldn't it make sense that this is what should be targeted for weightloss. The body normally maintains about 100mg of blood-glucose per 100ml of blood. I wonder what would be the affect of having an obese person fast but during that fast maintain the blood-glucose levels with glucagon instead of insulin. Would the body not feel hungry if the blood-glucose level is maintained? What studies have been put to the affect of low glucagon levels versus high insulin levels since insulin is the hormone that tells the body to use the available glucose (including fat cells). I think it might be possible with a diet that consists of a multivitamin and a cup of milk (need fat and water for the vitamins to be soluable with) and boosters of glucagon that one could lose weight in a controlled and semi-healthy state.

Hunger, the desire to eat, is always an issue. Two pieces come into play of which the first is the physically feeling of being hungry or full which then plays into the second part of the psycological need to eat. Even if you eliminate the physical pain there is the breaking of the mental addiction. Since the addiction (like most) is reliant on a physical trigger, removing the trigger should help suppress the need but not always. If you have an emotional tie to eating similar to a smoker's or drinker's reliance for relaxation and stress reduction than removing the physical pain won't help without a mental/emotional support system to take its place.

Science is still unsure what exactly causes hunger pain but so far they believe a protein called ghrelin causes you to be hungry while an equal but opposite protein called obestatin gives you the full feeling. Which triggers the release of the proteins is unknown. If I was a betting man I would but 100 dollars on insulin levels. Low insulin levels would be from low blood-glucose levels (assuming the body isn't at good at releasing stored glucagen as it is using glucose from food) and higher glucagon levels. The glucagon could trigger the body to release the gheralin protein making you feel hungry and thus eat. Eat increase glucose which triggers insulin increase and shifting your body to stop using stored glucagen and start using glucose from the food. The increased insulin then triggers the obestatin protein which signals the "full" feeling. This coincides with slow eaters who eat less because they give their body time to produce the increase insulin and trigger the obestatin versus fast eaters who intake a greater amount before the insulin trigger can take place. The lingering "over-stuffed" feeling comes from the larger insulin spike and thus greater trigger effect due to the increased glucose intake.

Some times I wish i had a research lab to test my theories.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 3:38 PM 2 comments

The Dream that was Atlantis

Not anything new going on, still attempting to stick with the diet. I've been eating a lot of watermelon with it though. I should look up how many calories watermelon is. I'm afraid it's more than I think.

I had a real lucid dream alst night, the kind where you can remember everything when wake up. I dreamt I was on a big ship like a cargo ship out in the atlantic somewhere in the bermuda triangle. An odd storm suddenly came up from nowhere but had no rain. There seemed to be an odd glow in the middle and instead of sailing around it, we went toward it. We went through it what only seemed as longer than what anyone else would have been brave enough to go through it for.

The next thing I knew I woke up on the shore of some tiny cove. Before me lead to a path of rough cobble stones. Something long forgotten but not ancient - more recent and neglected or poorly placed. There seemed to be various bamboo or wooden poles along the path and rough thatched huts scattered about. The path went not far from the shore to an open canyon between two rock cliffs just wide enough for the path. Beyond the canyon wall entrance was a valley where there where more of the huts and jungle trees. Amoungst all this there were various people walking about. They wore modern looking clothing and seemed to be from all walks of life. Most of them paid me no mind, like I had always been there. One man came up to me though and helped me off the shore and off the path. He was helpful for the most part but seemed not to take well to all my questions - like I should have just known everything already. Most he answered with "I don't know". Even though he appeared to have been here for some time he genuinely seemed not to know much about the place.

We walked the path up a hill and just through the opening between the two rock cliff walls and on our right side next to the path was a circular plateform maybe 30 feet accross with a cylindical monument about 4 feet in diamater that went up 6 feet, tapered in a bit with a brass colar then went up another 4 or 5 feet and ended in a cone point. The stone was a wet looking gray and polished absolutely smooth. It seemed out of place here with the rough stone path and had a feeling of something very old but looking as good as the day it was created. Something in the back of my mind made me think "Atlantis".

I had only stopped for a glance at the monument and continued up the path with the man asking more questions. "Is this Atlantis?" I asked and the man only answered "I don't know".

The path curved to the right down and went into the side of the cliff. There things took a different look. Carved into the side of the cliff was an opening with a smooth stone floor and carved stone passageways that went farther into the cliff. Just inside the large opening there was a large sunken circle maybe 3 feet deep. What was on this was definitely out of place. Inside of it was a very odd shaped brass or metal flat cone shaped saucer with a tall, skiny cone point extending from the top of it up of the pit a good 6 feet. From the top of the point, a metalic glode of the earth sat and a mobile of different aircraft were suspended around the globe. Some where model of modern aircraft, others looked like toys. What concerned me more was the metalic saucer at the bottom of the pit. It had the definite look of something that would fly in space. A little plaque next to it had a word I didn't know and the word probe. It was in English which I found surprising. The word I didn't know seemed know had the feeling of a name versus a word like it was named after someone.

We sat down next the to circular pit which had a raised wall about 2 feet high and about 1 foot think around it. I started asking more questions and I had gotten the feeling that most people weren't familiar with the aircraft types that were suspended from the mobile. Several people had gathered around us. I finally asked the man a question he had some answer to - how did he get here. He went into a tale about how he was driving his truck one day I think in Texas when he saw a light in the sky. He drove toward the light and next thing he knew, he was here. Most people had similar experiences they shared. There was also a feeling of these people being out of touch and apathetic to their situation. They seemed to have accepted their fate. It was then that I asked people if they knew the significance of the planes they say. No one knew. No one knew if they were real things or not. It seemed like everyone had come from a time of almost 70 years ago before most of these craft existed. I began pointing out each of the arcraft and if it was real or not. There was a large C-9 transport plane in army camoflage which I pointed at and said "that's real". There was a funny looking large plane of colorful plastic to which I said "that's a toy". I did this to all of them including to what looked like a 747 with a silly looking gattling gun on the left side of the fuselage near the nose. The large "probe" ship at the bottom was the only one I didn't know.

Not long after this when I started to ask more questions about this place did the man that found me offered to show me a different area of the complex. He lead me through only of the stone passageways that went into the cliff. Not long we entered a very modern looking warehouse or equipment room. The stone hallway emptied onto a metal grated open floor like you'd find in a ship cargo hold or storeroom. We where what seem like 100 feet up and on the left wall of a large square room. The walkway was about 6 feet wide and went down about 40 feet to a small set of stairs that went down about 5 feet and ended at a big red platform. The platform then had a long step slope of stairs and rails that you could grab both sides and slide down on like a ship. We walked down a few stairs before I got bored and used the rails. The man then followed me down on the rails as well.

We went through a double door at the bottom of the stairs and came into another square room. This one was about 30 feet tall and had a walkway about half way up and went around the perimeter of the room. We had come up at the bottom of the room on the right side. To the left of the doors was a huge rusted over turbine-looking device. It had to have a diamter of 30 feet and was embedded into the wall purposely. It was not working but it still spun freely requiring almost no effort to move it. Sparks of electricity would zap around the large flywheel as it was turned. The man just gave me a look like it had always been like that.

Back on the right side of the room there was what looked like the remains of a wooden power pole that had fallen over and shattered. The pole appeared mashed beyond use and only faded bits of wood remained in a giant T shape. While studying it I saw something move amoung the debris and immediately I thought "Aliens!" or some such nonsense and lost my lunch. I didn't even have time to react, my stomach lept to my throut and came out almost hitting the man. He just murmurred "what's wrong with you" as I looked back to what had set me off. All along the ground there where these silverfish looking magenta creatures. I had near seen anything like them but on close examination they appeared benign. Now that I had a good look there were lots of them covering the rear right corner of the floor. They seemed to move all at the same time like fish in a school. They hummed a low variable tone in unison almost like they were singing.

Forgetting the red silverfish for a moment I looked back allow the walls and could see the wooden pedastal where the power pole had sat and see where the powe lines had run. Between the entry doors and the generator was a small transformer or junction box attached to the wall. It had the signs of a major power short around it. Above it there was a trail of some kind of now dried liquid that had drips down onto it from a vent that was about 10 feet above the box. It looked like some kind of idiot designer had decided to put the condenser for a cooling system directly above the junction box so that if there was a leak, it would drip down right on top of it.

I took everything in and decided that I could probably repair most of it and maybe get it working again. The man that was with me looked at me again with a total lack of understanding of what any of this was as well as an apathy to doing anything with it.

It was then that I awoke from the dream.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 9:15 AM 0 comments

Back from the PNW

I just got back from a week's vacation up in the Pacific Northwest. Where I work we have mandatory vacation breaks equaling to about 4 weeks a year PLUS holidays and a few personal and sick days. One can literally say I only work 10 months our of the year.

Anyways, I drove up to Boise, ID (always a long time). I had to drive versus fly because I have Idaho plates and have to get a smog check every year - in Idaho. It gives a convenient excuse to visit my mom. Stayed there for a few days and got together one night with my aunt and cousin for dinner. We then drove over to the Oregon coast and stayed at this nice place called Inn at Otter Crest near Newport. It's another 8 hour drive to the coast but at least there is something to see for most of the trip. We spent the first day there driving north along the coast and stopped at any place that looked fun following no schedule at all. The next day we drove south under the same plan. I decided to wear a tank top the second day and later regretted it as my ill-exposed skin burned in the sun. I'm currently peeling skin off (yuck and ow).

The hotel was really nice and decently priced for the coast. You find a lot of flea-bag motels that charge way too much for just a bed and roof. We stayed at the cheapest rooms and was very happy with what we got. It made us wonder what the nicer rooms were nice. The whole place is setup with individual building quads that sit at various heights on a hill side. There are paths running every where that bellhops can run you and your luggage to and from the parking lot. It being the Oregon coast, the whole place was tucked into the forrest even though we were right on the coast. There is a really nice restuarant that is just below the inn and the inn has a little tram that goes up and down the hill for guests and takes you to the restaurant and pool area as well as beach access. I think I'll be visiting again next year but I'll see if I can bring a group with me next time and get the better rooms.


I also started my new diet yesterday. It's not much of a diet really as what I eat won't change much, just how much I eat. No more double burgers, skip the french fries and back to diet soda or water. I plan to eat about half of what I normally do. I'm goign to start hitting the gym more regularly too even if I don't have a workout buddy. It'll actually be nice considering afternoon traffic is such a pain. I tired of being fat and having women ignore me. If I do like how I look, how can I expect someone else to.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 1:45 PM 0 comments

Whew, work calms down

It's been too long since my last post. Work has calm down enough that I can squeeze in an update. I installed a new Exchange mail server at work and got us off the horrible GoDaddy accounts. It's fine for a small place but thinking about all that wasted email bandwidth that could have remained in house and lack fo features, I'm glad we're off it. The change over went fairly smooth this morning. I've got a lot of things brought under control and are eaiser to manage. I still want to update all the sfotware on the computers (which we did a few weeks back). I also have a service ticket system to roll out followed by some new copiers stuff and phone systems (items less sensitive and less management).

There has always been a slight possibility that when the new grant holder for my program has been chosen, I may not come over with it depending on their IT needs. If this happen, I may work for Rich (if he'll hire me). It's funny, I've been the one person amoung our group to not work at home with Rich on his work but probably the best suited. We'll see when the time comes. Heck, I might be able to get some of my ideas off the ground. I've got a couple from the experiences I've had working with the non-profs.

I've been spending my last couple of weekends relaxing and doing little other than watching movies and playing games. I think I'm ready to get back to projects aagin like building a covering for the dogs in the back yard or working on my writing site. Since its predecessor came back online I've been contemplating in giving it up. It is harding justifying my home time for it than it was. I don't, it's a good exercise for me, I just have issues being motivated about it as I once was.

I've got a week off coming up right around the 4th of July weekend that I plan on spending with my mom and maybe go to Yakima and then the ocean for a few days. I don't think I'll spend my entire week off up there, probably most of it though.

As far as my non-existant love life is concerned, I've definitely given up on the online sites. It's all the same people using it as a buffet to pick and choose. No one writes back. Even though I'm working for a new place I don't see a whole lot of possibilities - either too old or no similarities.

I'm getting kind of sick of the whole idea any more. I know that I am being hypocritical if I expect to find someone I have any attraction to and expect them to ignore than for me. It doesn't help that I'm looking for something that doesn't exist - especially in this town. Smart, funny, geek interests, understanding and caring and attractive? I've got a one in a million chance and less when you add myself into the factor. I care about these things so why shouldn't other people? I am becoming more prepared to live my life alone. I would never be happy settling. I must either suck it up and change that which needs to be changed or accept my fate.

It gets me down but I'm not all that depressed out it. In some regards it makes my life easier only having to worry about myself, living how I want, not worrying about some one else's happiness or welfare. It does get lonely though and it's hard not having someone I can talk to about personal matters - matters I could never talk to my friends about. The worst part is knowing that could be an excellent mate, lover, father, etc but never getting the chance. I feel that way about most things. I KNOW I can do and excell at anything (even most physical activities) given enough practice or learning, it's never been a matter of "if". I may never be the best but I'm not looking to be top dog, just be good at it - to have some skill and know I can improve given time.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 4:14 PM 0 comments

Work and play

I guess one could say I've been busy but at the same time not. Work is constantly busy. We are close to getting the last of the pices in place and we'll be turning up our sites all next week. I haven't had to stay after hours yet but that may come a bit next week (if Sprint actually installs).

At home I've been recovering for the day. Lately it is just go to my room and watch Farscape episodes (I'm re-watching the series). I've been playing Guitar Hero and almost put money down to buy a real guitar and amp. I took a second and reconsidered though, I want to know more about it before I get into it. All these games and tiredness though has caused a slow down in work on the writing site. I kind of wish I had not taken up the guantlet but at the same time it's something I wanted to do.

I've found a neat personal's site for geeks and tried it out. Unfortunately it's fairly new and not a lot of people on there yet. Half of the people are single mothers too and I'm not looking for limitations with a new relationship. I've pretty much given up on the other online dating sites. The more I look, I see more of the same people that are looking for that "WOW!" person. It's like a staving man at a buffet: even though he is starving, all that choice will still make him pick and choose. Besides, the general sites have a lot of general people and it's tough trying to figure out if you are right for someone when they are very general about what type of person they are and what they are looking for.

Sam set me up on a sort of blind group date a few weeks ago. A friend of hers has a daughter that works for Mandalay Bay and is about my age and single so they invited her along to a group get together at Firefly. While I love hanging out at Firefly with a group, it is not the best way to find out if you like someone. She didn't know anyone there except her mom and didn't talk or interact much with the group. From the little I did find out she is smart and well-traveled and likes where she works. She's not a grand beautiful but fairly cute and well within my parameters. I think it would have better if it was a more intimate setting and we had a chance to talk one to one more. So far it's a "we'll see" with her.

Overall I'm not quit ready to give up just yet but at the same time I realize that my goals may be unattainable (at least in vegas) or unrealistic but I know I wouldn't be happy settling for someone. I'd rather be alone than be miserable thinking I made a mistake and it would make thigns miserable for the other person too. If and when I do give up here, I don't think I'll be too broken up about it. All things change given enough time.

posted by Site Smith Scott @ 1:39 PM 0 comments