A New Year? Well, must be time for another pitbull mauling….

Sure enough:

A 65-year-old South Carolina woman was mauled to death by the family pit bull in a gruesome attack that unfolded as she babysat her three young grandchildren Tuesday.

oh, and I’m sure the 12 year old will totally not be fucked up for life over this

When the girl discovered the dog mauling Betty Todd, she attempted to stop the animal, but could not do it, so she gathered her younger siblings and took them to another room before calling her father for help.

UPDATE: Chra-heist. Another one!

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. —A 44-year-old Upstate woman is in serious condition after she was attacked by pit bulls overnight, according to Spartanburg Public Safety Capt. Art Littlejohn. Littlejohn said that at about 2 a.m. police were called by someone who said they heard a woman being attacked by dogs.
….
The incident report said an officer saw two or three dogs “biting/eating” a woman who was lying on the ground.

and another?

Deputies were told by the attending physician that the boy’s nose had been bitten off at a home off Highway 136 West. The pit bull had apparently eaten the nose after biting the child.

All just a complete coincidence I’m sure.

GrantRant VII

Everyone is going to hate you, pretty much.

Think about it. You have 7-10 grants assigned in your pile on a typical study section these days. Odds are good that at best one or two of these is going to be good enough to be in the hunt for funding. The rest of the panel is in the same boat, so it really doesn’t matter that the applicants don’t know precisely which of you* on the panel reviewed his or her proposal.

80-90 % of the applicants are going to be mad at you.

Since you have been selected for expertise in the relevant field…these are people who you know. You know their work and you probably like and cite it. They know you. They know your work.

And for at least a while after they see their disappointing score, and for another while after the pink sheets are posted, they cannot help but hate you a little.

Maybe even a lot.

Joyous.

__
*If you were triaged you do know for absolute sure that every member listed on that panel roster stood by and refused to pull your application up for discussion.