Halliburton was first mentioned by Doc in a comment thread [here]. I think this article hits a little harder.

[Moscow Times Article on Halliburton]

While the article has a heavy editorial feel to it, and is an opinion piece, there is a large wealth of link reference at the bottom. You fact checkers at home can do your homework here.

I was approached by someone new to an office environment the other day. She needed some advice. She placed her confidence in the right place. I’ve worked in office envrironments all my life. Also, I am the smartest human being.

She asked me… “Shawn… You may not have dealt with this before in an office, but my boss wears a lot of purfume. I’m unsure how to deal with it. Sometimes I have to step back because it’s so strong.”

This, is an easy problem to handle. Here’s the advice I gave her.

“Simply handle that by saying, very quietly, beneath your breath “french whore” every time she walks by. The problem will rectify itself.”

I have answers for EVERY situation you may find yourself in. Feel free to [email me for advice].

Note: To explain my radio silence, I was out of town for a few days. I was in Moscow, ID. I was busy purchasing skater clothes.

On my way into work this morning, I heard a radio commercial looking for former and current users of a drug called “Baycol”.

It went on… “Side effects of this drug include: Muscle Pains, Fatigue, Dizziness, Fever, Nausea, Anxiety, Kidney Failure, or death.” (Emphasis not mine)

“If you have had any of these symptoms while taking Baycol, no matter how mild or how severe, you may have a claim for financial restitution…”

(Ring Ring Ring)

Operator. “Baycol Hotline…How may I help you?”
Caller. “rrrrrrrrrrrghhhhh Brrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaains.”

[MediaGuardian.co.uk | New media | Hackers divert al-Jazeera users to US porn and patriot sites]

I was clued into this site by [Cardhouse]

[War in Iraq - fighting the people]

The actual link on [Cardhouse] was a link to an essay at [Strike The Root] which goes into detail on the Truths and Lies behind the war in Iraq.

The jist, is that we’re not nearly as far into Iraq as we say, and we’re depleting our stores of supermega landshark bombs at an incredible rate, for no effect.

I’d have to say, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The embedded reporters are likely mouth pieces, like the Strike the Root article states. However, the Iraqwar.ru site they refer to (The link in the essay is dead, use mine) is pretty slanted in the other direction. They don’t have near the air of objectivity that Strike the Root implies.

Never the less, they are both interesting reads.

[Something Suspicious Is in the Air (washingtonpost.com)]

My boss and I got into a bit of an argument the other day over a news report. Gary Locke, the Washington State Gov. denied Tom Ridge’s request to activate the National Guard in Washington.

He was pretty ticked at that Liberal, Gary Locke. He told me I don’t know what information Tom Ridge has.

That’s true, but it’s a good bet that if the guy wants to activate the National Guard in all 50 states, Tom Ridge doesn’t know what information he has either. That’s just a shot gun effect on any problems we may have.

Besides, The National Guard wouldn’t be out to keep terrorists at bay. They would be out for crowd control, to keep citizens at bay.

This should be where my feelings on the war go. I don’t have anything organized or prepared for you. There are some people elsewhere on this site that can do that for you.

They sort of just set up shop in one of my [comment threads].

There’s almost 300 comments there.

To avoid the war coverage here, I’ve taken up Dance Dance Revolution. Daks picked up a few pads, and we’ve been sweating it out down in the basement.

Maybe I’ll offer those folks a message board or something.

[Red alert? Stay home, await word]

This is just… When will there be people on our corners with automatic rifles, and a list.

“You’re not authorized for travel. Turn around now, or be detained.”

When will we be detained without question?

I don’t like jumping the gun and getting all “SWEET JESUS IT’S BIG BROTHER” quickly. This article certainly piques my sense of worry.

I’ve gone down to updating every other day. That wasn’t planned. I haven’t run out of stuff to say. Here’s what I’ve been working on.

1) Flooding in my basement. This has been a bad winter for water down there. I’ve patched up a wall with some Hydraulic Cement.

The highlight of that, is the moment I got sprayed in the face with Liquid Plumber. That’s hard on the skin.

2) Work. I’ve been moving big boxes, and stacking little boxes on top of those.

3) Spending some time with Daks and Zeb. Daks’ schedule finally worked it self out. So now she no longer goes to sleep at 9 and wakes up at 5. This morning we actually sat down and had breakfast together.

Breakfast.

In the middle of the week.

[Cooks.com | Recipe | CORN ON THE COB]

Zeb requested corn on the cob last night. I’m pretty sure he wanted the experience of eating corn on the cob, instead of the actual food. He’s very tactile.

I had no clue how to cook this. So I had to go on the internet.

I got a lot smarter when I got on the internet. I mean, I don’t carry all this knowledge with me. [Google] has it.