Harsh college football weekend. Congratulations to Florida, but shame on the BCS voters who had no intention of letting UM play for the national championship three weeks ago when they voted them number 2. Does anyone really think Florida would've moved ahead of Michigan, if USC hadn't lost to UCLA? Of course not, because very few people really think Florida is better than Michigan. I'm disgusted with the BCS voters right now, but I'm a "lemonade-out-of-lemons" kind of guy, so I'm offering Florida plus 3.5 points, for anyone who thinks Florida is better than UM. UM lost to OSU by 3, at Columbus (home field advantage counts for 3 points on average), so this is a no-brainer opportunity for Gator folks. If Florida is better than Michigan, they ought to beat OSU straight up, yet I'm giving them 3.5 points. I'm a big-hearted guy.
Enough of this male stuff. Here's something for the female side of my readership:
Women earn less than men, on average, and call in sick more often, a new study has found. Two (male) Italian economists blame two-thirds of the sick-day gender gap, and more than a tenth of the male-female wage differential, on menstrual cycles. Analyzing three years of employee data from an Italian bank, they found that women were more likely than men to miss work in twenty-eight-day cycles. When women turned forty-five, however, the male-female difference vanished.
Thank goodness for new pills that stop menstruation . . . and you don't even have to be a 76-pound Russian gymnast.
"[C]ollege dining halls around the country are borrowing recipes from the ultimate authority on heartwarming meals: Mom." I ate at three different university dining halls. I liked the food at all three schools. Most people complained, but I thought the stuff was delicious. Of course, if you eat a ton of pasta for lunch and dinner, then top it off with beer at night, you're going to get the "freshmen ten," but that'd happen anywhere.
Great Christmas idea if you don't like your daughter: The Dr. Laura Action Figure. I generally like Dr. Laura (despite her bouts with hypocrisy), but an action figure? I'm not sure I'd want my daughter imagining ways to play with it.
A cautionary tale for mischievous lads: Police are searching for the driver of an SUV who chased and fatally shot a 14-year-old boy he thought had thrown an egg at his vehicle early yesterday. This happened in Columbus. Doggone Buckeye fans.
