New Study Announces That I’m Screwed. — Women who keep their homes clean and tidy are less likely to develop breast cancer than those who let the dust and dishes pile up, according to a new report.
     Saddam Hanged — Saddam Hussein is dead. The former Iraqi leader was hanged in Baghdad this morning at dawn. Saddam clutched a Quran and refused a hood as he went to the gallows in handcuffs.
     I half suspect that lots of Iraqis are privately thinking to themselves, “At least the bastard kept the damn lights on.” What a joke. Does anyone even care that we managed to kill Saddam at this point? Pfft. Where’s Osama, Mr. President? You know, the guy who actually attacked us? Well, congrats, Dubya. You managed to pretty much completely destroy a secular, sovereign country in the Middle East. You managed to be as bad to that country as Saddam was, except for the part where he kept the lights on and the hospitals running, and the women had rights, and everyone had jobs and food and gasoline. I mean, I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’.
     And by the way? That tag line — “I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.” — that belonged to my husband before Hummer swiped it for their new commercial. That’s his, just so everyone knows. We expect a check and a new Hummer to arrive any day now.
     Crooks&Liars Has Some Interesting Things To Say About Saddam. — The very inauthenticity of the whole farce amounts to Bush Administration fingerprints. The confusion of pageantry and progress, of substituting photo ops and symbolism for actual accomplishment, is a hallmark of the Bush Administration. Yes, they’re all about covering up their ineptitude, but I wonder if at least some of them (like the President himself) honestly don’t know the difference.
     PS: There’s Still No Such Thing As Global Warming. — A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada’s far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions and shipping lanes next summer, a researcher said on Friday.
     And by the way, how about this lovely winter weather we’re having in Michigan? I’m gonna go out and catch a tan in a bit. Well, not quite . . . but not too far off some days, either.
     From Pharyngula, “The Grand Canyon Is How Old?” — There is a book called The Grand Canyon: A Different View, written from a young earth creationist perspective, which the [National Park Service] has approved for sale in its bookstores. It is a truly appalling piece of crap; I wrote about in in July of 2004, and you can read excerpts from it online. One might argue that the appearance of the book is simply due to a lack of discrimination by the Park Service, which just shovels the gimcracks and gewgaws into their stores to make money, but apparently they try to exercise some due consideration in product placement.
     I read about this yesterday, too. Apparently, the folks who run the tours at the Grand Canyon aren’t allowed to say how old the canyon actually is, for fear of offending some young Earth religious nutters. What a complete crock of shit. I mean, seriously. Come to think of it, weren’t we a secular nation at one point, too?
     
     In the meantime, both dogs have been to the vet. Jazz has a sinus infection. Apparently, all that gasping, snorting, and wheezing that I thought might be an asthma attack is actually how dogs try to clear their sinuses when they’re all clogged up. They do a regular sneeze, too, obviously, but the snorting is a kind of reverse sneeze thing that happens, also. So, she’s on antibiotics and an antihistamine. Grimmy, on the other hand, seems to be suffering from shedding, dry skin, and a low-grade bacterial infection of the skin, which is what’s causing all the misery and itching. He’s also on a mild antibiotic, plus Benedryl to help with the itchies (for future reference, dosing for Benedryl for dogs is one milligram per pound of dog). The vet also gave me a special vitamin for Grim’s dry skin — basically fish and cod liver oils, with some other oils mixed in. So, they’re both on the mend, now, even though it cost a freaking arm and a leg.
     And apparently the Benedryl just kicked in for Grimmy, because he’s looking at me with the exact same half-stoned, falling asleep expression that I get when I take cold meds. Heh.
     I’ve also been job hunting the last few days, because I’m just about all done at the Restaurant Where I Work. No raises for anyone again, which makes two years running for most of us, longer for some. No title for me, after six months. Bugger this, I says. So I’m hunting for replacement jobs. I’ll probably have to get two of them, which is seriously crappy, but what else am I going to do?
     I’ve applied at seven places in the last two days, and posted my resume in a couple of places online, so hopefully something turns up. Preferably, something non-restaurant-related. It would be nice to get out of food service, if possible.
     Apparently, when I wasn’t looking, businesses stopped taking applications in person. I got all dolled up the other day and hit six or seven places to put in applications and resumes, and out of all my stops, I only actually put in one paper application. Everyone else directed me to their corporate website. WTF? Whatever happened to doing things in person?

Playing the Popularity Game:

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