Critters and crypto

Critters come in a wide range of sizes, and  a wide range of attractiveness. Maybe I should say wide range of unattractiveness. This week
we found some small critters with large unattractiveness factors. What is it about attachment to the human body that makes small critters so unattractive? Maybe it's because they suck your blood and cause pain. It's too early for mosquitoes, but it's not too early for the dreaded—head louse. Make that lice. Somehow there's a social stigma attached to them, too, which is their main defense against extinction, I think. People are embarrassed to report their existence, so they don't, so their kids share the little critters with their friends. We still don't know who our fourth grader's "friend" was, but we reported our finding to the school immediately. For a little critter, theycan certainly create a big disturbance. We spent the entire day vacuuming, laundering, and scrubbing all our heads with insecticide thinly disguised as shampoo.
Some of the laundry had to wait until the next day, but we all slept in really clean sheets that night. The loft in the girls' room is full of things we can't wash, like stuffy toys (George family term for stuffed animals)—in two weeks all the little beasties, if any, will have starved. In a week we re-process everyone's head, just in case. Then we can rest easy. Until next time. This blog must be going downhill, because here's another picture of two naked females, courtesy of the University of Nebraska.The U's of DE and PA were too embarrassed to have any.

Crypto. Related to the Greek word for secret. My job hunt has taken me to several job postings that are excellent matches with my skill set, until I get to the last line, that says something like "active Top Secret clearance required." This pretty well kills any chance of getting the job if you don't have a security clearance. Worse, you can't get a security clearance yourself (your employer has to pay for it) and it's expensive and time consuming, so employers are inclined to let some other employer foot the bill. Secure positions pay well, probably because it's cheaper to steal from the competition than buy your own security clearances. Last week I applied to a job that required only that I be able to get a clearance. Someone willing to foot the bill for the right person! Not only that, but the headhunter called me less than an hour after I sent in theapplication. I've since jumped through several résumé-tweaking hoops, and have more hoops to jump through, including a technical writing test. Then a required face-to-face at my own expense if I pass the test. I guess if they're going to invest five figures in someone up front, they don't want to spend anything on the ones they don't pick. I hear that at the higher levels of clearance they keep watching you, and you have to limit your lifestyle in certain ways to make yourself less kidnapable and so on. So if I suddenly disappear, you'll know I got the job. The employer is a big two-word-named defence contractor with locations in Utah (might as well start being secretive now—show them that I'm serious). I wonder how long it takes to ride out to Salt Lake City?