Random crap with Uno.

[Unorthodox]

When the hell did I join "birdforum" and why are they spamming me with crap all the sudden? 

[Unorthodox]

Checked over there, standard password/username combo of mine, checked my single post.  Guess I was looking for info on why the magpies were eating my corpses and if there was any ways to prevent....

Thread has 535 views, 0 replies.  Guess I weird out the bird people.  Not so much as a welcome to the forum.   

We figured it out on the Halloween forum anyway.  Corvids are attracted to linseed oil, and I had stained those with a brand of wood stain that used it as a base (not my normal brand). 

Now I know. 

[Unorthodox]

So...they is running a photo contest, eh? 

Bet I could get a good shot of the magpies on the Barghest.  (they attempted to make a nest in it already, so I took it in)

Yeah, there's another 0 chance at winning photo contest for me. 

[Buster's Uncle]

The Cat With Hands

My dog with hands is my nightmare - no stopping her if she could work doorknobs.

[Unorthodox]

City trying to remove the irrigation ditch again. 

I have 3 means of watering here.  Cullinary, Secondary (pressurized system) and the Irrigation ditch, which comes out of a  natural spring up the hill.  I own a full share of the water rights on the ditch, and while I've never used it, and sold the water to some farmers down the line each year, I like to have it there in case of years like this, where there is already restrictions in place on the secondary water.  90% of the home owners have sold theirs back to the city, just me and a couple farmer holdouts.

Among the reasoning was "breeding ground for harmful insects".  Town meeting in a couple days, I think I'm going to have to dispute that particular point.  I'm sure they're referring to mosquitos that can carry west nile virus here.  Problem is, the ditch is providing the only habitat for the natural predators of said mosquitos. 

[Unorthodox]

Corn finally sprouting.  But, so far not impressed with this seed.  Less than 50% showing so far. Typically in a corn seed you expect near 80%. 

Decided to stick to the plan, though.  Will be killing all those volunteers along with the weeds this weekend.  Also time to plant the beans. 

Planted the mini pumpkin blend into the starter pots, they arent going in the three sisters bed, so doesn't matter if I start them early. 

Got some sprinkler work to do yet, as well.   

[Unorthodox]

Jobsite today. 

1 Semi truck, 3 engineers in big diesel pickups, 2 government pickups rounded out the rest of the crew.  Me driving up in my Tercel. 

Engineers get stopped at the gate.  Should know by now that you need hardhats and steel toes on the jobsite, so we have to wait for them to get all checked in with gear. 

Pull up to the facility, guy comes up to the semi driver. 
"Forklift is dead, we need to jump it" 

How you are driving a semi without jumper cables is beyond me.  NO ONE ELSE HAD ANY EITHER.  So, I pull mine out, and they get that going. 

Then the trailer has a flat.  Oh, no one has the tools for that either, so I pull out the 2 different stars from my trunk, sure enough, one of them has a head that'll work.  (One metric, one standard, my first car needed both)

Screwdrivers, crow bars, no one else had ANYTHING in their vehicle. 

We get done, foreman on site:  "Wouldn't have pegged the guy in the Toyota as the only one ready to work today." 

How do you not have the basic stuff in your vehicle?  Especially if you're driving a big truck?  Or am I just that old fashioned?  The car breaks down, I'm still more likely to have the broken part in my hand at the side of the road and looking for a ride to the parts store rather than calling for a tow.  My truck, there's a decent chance there's a spare part behind the seat already.  (starter, alternator, and fuel pump kept on hand as they like to keep stranding me)

[Rusty Edge]

City trying to remove the irrigation ditch again. 



Among the reasoning was "breeding ground for harmful insects".  Town meeting in a couple days, I think I'm going to have to dispute that particular point.  I'm sure they're referring to mosquitos that can carry west nile virus here.  Problem is, the ditch is providing the only habitat for the natural predators of said mosquitos.

I'd enjoy that meeting. The Council isn't going to sound too knowledgeable talking insects with a guy who knows them by their proper names.

[Unorthodox]

I'd enjoy that meeting. The Council isn't going to sound too knowledgeable talking insects with a guy who knows them by their proper names.

It wasn't pretty.  One of the baffoons had Dragonflies, Damselflies, and crane flies (which they thought were mosquitoes) pegged as harmful insects.

Closing this down will eliminate predators, not mosquitoes.  And bees.  Don't forget the bee habitat.  You know, since they're all dying and all.  (I only feel a little dirty for playing that card, ccd doesn't impact the species in question)

Subject was tabled for a later date as they now have 2 different University studies in hand on the beneficial insects that arise from such habitats that I may or may not have had a hand it writing.   

[Unorthodox]

Anyhow.  Just spent 4 hours compiling another huge bug report for the biggest waste of tax $ I know of.  Idiot program.  Would love to know how this company got sole source when they can't even make the program run.  They've offered me a job a couple times as I usually know more about their program than they do.  This is another case where they have no idea what's going on and I'm going to have to show them again. 

[Rusty Edge]

I confess I had no idea what a crane fly was.  I had to google-wiki them.

Where I come from originally, they are known as May flies, and are probably the favorite food of wild trout, when they "hatch" from the pupae and try to fly and mate. 


So you may or may not have had a hand in writing them.


Are there insects that you particularly don't like?

[Unorthodox]

Um...Mayfly:

Tend to hatch all at once, leading to veritable swarms, and fish gorging.  Typically 2 broods per year.   



Crane Fly:

Typically seen in pairs/small groups.  Hatch throughout the year in low numbers.  Resemble a mosquito...a REALLY BIG mosquito....that mated with a daddy long legs...Harmless, eat rotting plant material near ponds/marsh.       






I'm not fond of most the pests.  I just believe that your standard practice of chemical warfare does more harm than good.  Virtually all your predators recover from such methods at a much slower rate than the pests. 

My war against the squash bugs last year was not pretty.  Tachinid flies are not commercially available and the native ladybugs aren't fond of squash bugs.  Had to deal with the first brood by hand, inspecting and squashing eggs.  Rounded up and released a few hundred tachinid flies (from the farmer I typically sell the water to, he was going to spray, so I rounded up the flies first) to deal with the second brood.  There's a certain satisfaction with watching the fly crawl it's way out of the squash bug Alien style. 



And silverfish.  they creep me out for no logical reason. 

Fortunately, we're typically too dry for them here. 

[Unorthodox]

Extended forecast is for a very mild June.  Barely cracking the 80s by mid June.  This could be either great news or terrible news, depending on whether I can get the pumpkin seeds to sprout.  It might be too cool for direct sowing to be effective, but it's fantastic weather for established plants, specifically for fertilization.  Means my Uncle's patch should do quite well this year.  Mine will be more up in the air till July. 

Not sure I have the patience for this 3 sisters thing next year. 

[Unorthodox]

I aint no engineer. 

I need to amend that...my first design has gone into production, beating several actual engineer designs in the testing.   

I'm still more mechanic than engineer though.   

[Geo]

Who needs the other kind most? engineers or mechanics? My money's on the former.