Death To Insects That Bite!

As I look out my back window, I see a glorious sight. Dozens of tree swallows are swooping and gliding, eating insects and perusing the newly refurbished nesting boxes located around our property. Whether you have several acres or a small plot, there’s good reason to make these birds welcome.

“What?” you may ask. “They’re cool and all, but why bother to attract them to nest?” Well, here’s a reason – mosquitoes! Here’s another one – no-see-ums! These birds will eradicate most, if not all, of these pests from around your home.

Imagine, sitting outside on a summer’s evening not covered in Deet. Leaving your windows open and waking up welt-free. Plus, they’re pretty. What more do you want?

So how do you do it? What does it take?

Not much, really. They will happily settle in an old tree cavity, so almost any nesting box will do. We’ve even picked them up at garage sales. We have 18 boxes now and they will all be used at least once this spring and summer. Often a second pair of birds will nest in the box once the first pair is finished with it.

It’s good if they are hinged, so that you can clean them out later if you want to. They need to be several yards apart; we have one or more on each side of our buildings and some in trees. Place them about 8-feet off of the ground. We like to attach tree branches or dowels so the birds have a place to perch and we can get a good look at them. Our cats enjoy looking out the window and seeing them, too!

In a short amount of time, a few weeks, you will hear little babies trilling in the nest and the parents will be feeding them like crazy. Congratulations! Your pest control brigade has just tripled in size.

Here’s to an itch-free summer.


Photo 1 (c) Boris
Photo 2 (c) TrilbyKat

Robots Will Have Your Back

I’ve always been fond of robots as far back as I can remember. Maybe it was the prepubescent exposure to Isaac Asimov. Maybe it was my fascination with mechanisms of all types. Or maybe it was because I didn’t envision the kind of future that Fred Saberhagen proposed in his Berserker novels, but one rather more along the lines of I, Robot - the book, not the movie – please!

My dad just had robotic surgery. Ironically, I had discovered the da Vinci Surgical System some years ago and applauded the effort and concept of it. Thanks to Robert Heinlein’s Waldo story, I was long familiar with the concept of human manipulation of objects and tissue via remote control. This surgery probably not only helped save my dad’s life and functions, it did so with minimal invasion. He was extremely lucky to have the machine available locally and to be operated on by a doctor who trains others in its operation. How cool is that?

Robots will someday enable the elderly and disabled to have and retain their independence. They will be our companions, caretakers, workers, servants, entertainment, warriors and lifesavers. They will enable us to care for the planet, explore its depths, heights and breadth and reach out for a foothold on other worlds. In the future I envision, robots will do so much more than care for our floors, act as geeky toys, or battle in an arena. They will be our helpmates, instilled with the programming and AI to do for us more than we can do for ourselves. Give me The Door Into Summer and I will gladly go through it.

All American Alley Kat

I never know what to put on those forms. You know, the ones that ask you to label your ethnic background? What to choose, what to choose? Do I go by skin color? How about by largest percentage of heritage? Do I take into account the trip to Mexico my parents took when I was little? They were stopped at the border coming back into the States and detained to make sure I was really theirs and not some orphan waif. Personally, I think we need a new form, and so I have invented this:

Please Self-Describe Your Ethnicity:

100% this ethnicity:

50% this ethnicity:
50% that ethnicity:

Approximate percentages of multiple ethnicities:

Any possible ethnicities that you have no proof for:

Any suspected ethnicities that your family won't talk about:

Ethnicities that you would like to be:

Ethnicities that you lay claim to from a past life:

Species that you lay claim to from a past life:

Note: Genetic testing for ethnic markers will in no way invalidate your self-described ethnicity and is merely for medical risk factor associations only.

Really, the only reason for these kinds of forms is for the gathering of statistical data or for identifying medical risk factors. Someday soon it may be possible to trace every person's ancestry down to the last little detail, but for now, self-description will still have to do for most of us. In the meantime, when confronted with a form of this type, I may just have to write in a description or add the choice: All Of The Above.

Things That Make Me Go W00t (Or Not)

I’m ridiculously fond of Topix right now. It gives me news, lets me edit and I can blog there to my heart’s content. I highly recommend checking out some of the 360,000 plus categories they have.

Speaking of ridiculousness, there’s an invention coming soon to a restroom near you. It will dole out toilet paper just like those automatic paper towel holders do. Sorry, but you’ll only get 5 sheets with each wave of your hand. This company just wants a little piece of the $1 billion away-from-home toilet paper market.

Robots are always cool. They can perform surgery, clean my floors, poop out bricks of snow while clearing the streets and entertain me in so many ways. I will need a robot of my own soon.

The International Space Station is getting some Japanese food this year. Yummy. How have they managed without it?

There is a gorgeous Japanese website that has the most elaborate bento box food I have ever, ever seen. It is way too pretty to eat, but I would.

Sanrio has made some bodacious Hello Kitty products – even a sushi bar – but I’m not too sure where I stand on the Hello Kitty Urinal Target that I saw at Hello Kitty Hell. It seems wrong to pee on her, you know?

There’s this guy I discovered named Baron Bob who will sell you the most ludicrous crap in the most entertaining way. Do you doubt me? Just watch him sell you on this Singing Dancing Tequila Worm.

Here’s something to do. Determine if you are left-eyed or right-eyed. It really works and you’ll be so proud. It’s like you joined a special club.

When I want to get my cute on I go to the purveyors of the adorable, the folks at Cute Overload. There’s more fun to be had at Stuff On My Cat and of course, the LOL cats at I Can Has Cheezburger?

Ridiculously Easy Ways To Spread Some Kindness Around

When I was little and our family would camp in the woods or go fishing in the wilderness my dad would have us picking up cigarette butts, beer bottle caps and tangled lures to haul them back out and trash them. Some may teach the principles of “Leave No Trace”, but my dad did them one better. His motto was to leave things better than you found them. That’s a good way to live your life, in fact.

There was a challenge recently set before those of us who blog to step away from the keyboard and do something kind in the real world this month. This month? Heck, that’s easy enough to do every day. It can start right at home, too. In fact I think I’ll go put a load of my husband’s clothes in the wash for him.

Okay, I’m back. That was pretty easy. You know, I went to an awesome Switchfoot concert in Salem a few weeks ago. Everyone that bought a ticket donated $1 to Habitat For Humanity. Jeez, go to a concert and help build a house. Switchfoot itself donates and supports even more charities, including a home for abused children, so that ticket money was well spent.


Feed hungry people using my mailbox? All I had to do was stuff a bag full of food and put it out for the mail carrier. That food headed right out to food banks in my area and from there went on to fill people’s pantries and tummies. I can also provide training and employment for people when I drop off my used stuff at Goodwill. That place is great for finding records, books and all kinds of things so I shop there, as well. It’s only the best second hand store around, according to the locals. Way to recycle, huh?

Speaking of recycling, can I fund jobs, help the homeless and save the earth just by getting rid of trash? Sure, if I sort it first. Now I can keep those empty food boxes, junk mail and more from going into my local landfill and recyclers get paid. Those old newspapers, magazines and phone books go into a bin to support a homeless mission. Some people take it a step farther and turn their trash into fashion accessories, like this girl. It takes a child to raise a village’s awareness, I guess.

Oops, got to go put that stuff in the dryer and make lunch for the family. Charity begins at home, you know.

That was pretty painless, and now back to the blog. There’s another blogger doing the BlogCatalog.com challenge who made multipurpose wheelchair - walker tote bags from recycled plastic bags and donated them to her local VA hospital. Check it out here. She even gives out the pattern directions she created. I think that’s pretty rad.

Well, it’s time to put that laundry away, so I’d better go. If I see you in the real world, I’ll be sure to give you a smile, hold the door for you or give you a friendly wave. In the meantime, here’s an online smile and a wish for an amazing year to come.

Why Photo Booth Rocks Really Hard

When my husband got an iMac we found that there was an addictive little program on it called Photo Booth. It completely rocks and here's some reasons why:

It entertains children - even the adult ones. Okay, okay, especially the adult ones.

It can convey a mood. A mood like honorable or cute and sweet or brooding musical genius.

You can even get your pets in on the action. Your long suffering pets that can put up with this sort of thing.














It's the perfect icebreaker for parties. Hey! Wait for the real party snacks.






So if you want to be ridiculously good-looking (even with four eyes or something),







Combine pop art and modern technology,









Scare your dental hygienist,









Or just shoot laser beams from your eyes...






...Then this may be the right program for you, too. I'm also intrigued by Freak Show. It might well be the next software we install. I'll be sure to let you know.

What The Heck Is In My Candy?

(Cue scary music)

It’s late in October, the moon is full and the cupboards are full of candy. Soon, in a strange ritual, one parent will hand out various types of sugary consumables whilst the other takes their children door-to-door in search of other people’s contributions to tooth decay. Later, after checking the candy for any hazardous additives and calling dibs on their favorites, parents will dole out these treats for weeks. Any candy leftover in households will also be consumed with glee over the coming weeks. Real sugar addicts may even buy it on markdown to satisfy a sweet tooth.

There are things (not necessarily these things) in some of that candy that chill my blood. If you are faint of heart or have a medical condition then please be warned. This may get disgusting (or interesting – depending on your outlook) and it’s okay to look away, feel nauseous, vomit in your mouth a little or go running for a healthy snack.

The catalyst that started me thinking about what was in my candy was a sweet little tutorial called, “How to eat fewer insects”. Whoa. Wait a minute. There are insects in my candy? These insects did not just wander in while the candy was being made either. Candy makers were deliberately using insects in their manufacturing process. I want to know if I’m eating bugs. I might even choose to eat them. If you try to slip them in on me though I’m apt to say, “Hey, what else are you trying to pull here?”

All vegetarians and vegans are probably completely appalled by now because insects are technically meat. I’m not done though.

My mom and I once stored a huge bar of chocolate on top of the refrigerator where it was nice and warm. You might have thought we’d have learned our lesson after the powdered sugar doughnuts we’d sat up there grew a well-camouflaged white mold that we discovered only after taking a bite. Chocolate wouldn’t get moldy was our reasoning. It was perfectly safe there for weeks – except from us, of course. Then one day I broke off a piece and “Aaaaaaah!!!” there were worms living in it. How did they get there? Well they didn’t just crawl in. They hatched from their eggs. Yuck!

The FDA says no more than 359 insect fragments and 5 or less rat hairs in six 100-gram chocolate samples or we’ll have to take action, even though it’s only of aesthetic significance. They call it “filth” and yet set levels for it “because it is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects.”

Does this mean I'm giving up candy? Well, no. Even if there's lead in my organic dark chocolate or car wax in my Almond Joy I will still indulge occasionally. Candy is yummy and there are so many varieties. There is candy with caffeine, candy I get for free, candy that kids will love, candy from all over the world and candy that will burn my lips off. Besides, I can always make my own candy if I want to be really safe. So don't be afraid to eat candy or try new kinds. It's not like it will kill you. Probably.