Octopus Overlords

Default wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:02 amNo mercy for mice. Look for every crack in the foundation, stuff it with steel wool...

Dealing with our own mouse infestation these last couple of weeks. Eliminating them only seems to have annoyed the colony and we're seeing droppings in places we hadn't before.

The kill count is up to 17, with one captured alive and freed miles away (on my way to work). We want to be nice - but the little turds aren't wandering into the humane traps like we had hoped, nor are they climbing into bowls of shallow oil to get trapped. Hell, somehow they're managing to eat the bait sometimes and not trip a kill trap. My best bet is the sill of the basement. I haven't caught a single one on the basement floor, or on the 1st floor. No signs of them on the 2nd floor. So my best guess is that they're climbing the walls inside to get around, and scooting up the gaps around heating pipes under the heat registers to pass between floors.

What prompted this crusade was discovering a mouse nest inside my wife's car... inside the engine compartment. It was a "Hey, what's that burning smell?" discovery. So we trapped a couple outside, under her car, and I put a trap inside the basement to check for signs there. Only after we killed the first dozen did we start seeing shit on counters and floors upstairs. I'm guessing they know something's reducing their numbers and they're looking for a new nesting ground.

We're using the Tomcat plastic jaw traps. They're pretty sensitive, and the bait cup is big enough to jam a piece of dog kibble into tightly.

I found the only way to control mice was poison. Make sure to keep it where the dogs can''t reach it.
I need a better way to control roaches tho. I think poison is one of their main food groups.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:16 amI found the only way to control mice was poison. Make sure to keep it where the dogs can''t reach it.

With the mice seeming to live in the walls, and using the basement sill for traffic, it could go there and be safe from the dogs - though I don't like the thought of possibly dozens of tiny corpses rotting in the walls, either.

Scuffle at the symphony

It is said to represent the composer’s love letter to his new bride. And, like love, the Adagietto transports those who receive it — its atmospheric notes offering release from the grim foreboding and frenetic outbursts of the earlier movements of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

But worldly concerns have a way of intruding: an iPhone light, a candy wrapper, one too many trips to the restroom.

The rustling of a gum wrapper at a performance of the symphony last week in the Swedish city of Malmo brought a section of the audience back down to earth — and several concertgoers to blows. Mahler’s late romantic epic became the occasion for an epic clash over candy.
...
As Andris Nelsons, an eminent Latvian conductor, coaxed the quiet notes from the string section of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, a woman in the balcony rustled a bag of gum, the Sydsvenskan newspaper reported. A young man sitting next to her glared a few times and then lost his patience. He snatched the bag from her and threw it onto the floor.
...
But as the concert hall vibrated with the final, resounding notes, and as applause rang out, she exacted her revenge.

The gum-rustler turned to her neighbor and uttered something, eyewitnesses told the newspaper, and then proceeded to smack him in the face, knocking off his glasses. The woman’s male companion then grabbed the man by the shirt and began to punch him, as the seizer of the gum sought to defend himself.
...
Other patrons intervened, establishing a cease-fire.

Who buys gum in a bag?

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:28 am Who buys gum in a bag?

People who shop at candy stores that sell in bulk.

And me:

Or baseball fans, I guess?

My wife called me a smart ass today. I said if I am I have a large brain.

I think it's pretty impressive when my physical therapist sees my strained hamstring for the first time today and says "Oh my God, what did you do?"

Wrestler Roman Reigns has cancer again and is moving away from wrestling.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/10/23 ... h-leukemia

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:50 am Scuffle at the symphony

Been there, danced that.

Of all the scandals of the history of art, none is so scandalous as the one that took place on the evening of 29 May 1913 in Paris at the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring.

The Rite descended into a riot, the story goes. Magnified in the retelling, it has acquired the unquestionable certainty that only legend can have. Everyone simply "knows" that there was a riot.

But is it possible to separate fact from fiction?

[...]

So I'm playing xcom this morning and my computer decided to shut off. I don't mean quit to desktop and it didn't shut off slowly, just a split second and it was gone.
I started it back up again and everything is fine. I guess it's just a matter of time now.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:05 pm So I'm playing xcom this morning and my computer decided to shut off. I don't mean quit to desktop and it didn't shut off slowly, just a split second and it was gone.
I started it back up again and everything is fine. I guess it's just a matter of time now.

Sometimes overheating trips a breaker. Check to see if your vents are dusty.

Paingod wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:30 am Dealing with our own mouse infestation these last couple of weeks. Eliminating them only seems to have annoyed the colony and we're seeing droppings in places we hadn't before.

Oh joy. We've been dealing with mice ever since this past winter when we noticed they'd been eating stuff in our cupboards. We've tried many things since, ie spring-loaded trap with bait, bounce sheets, ultrasonic device. Oh those buggers are resilient. I don't know if we need to be patient with the traps, but we had put some down earlier this year when we first found out about them, peanut butter as bait, and they were too quick , managing to get the bait without triggering it every single time. Droppings everywhere. In our basement last spring, we had found out they had nested in our lawnmower. They seem to come in when it gets cold.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:18 pm They seem to come in when it gets cold.

Wouldn't you?

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:54 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:05 pm So I'm playing xcom this morning and my computer decided to shut off. I don't mean quit to desktop and it didn't shut off slowly, just a split second and it was gone.
I started it back up again and everything is fine. I guess it's just a matter of time now.

Sometimes overheating trips a breaker. Check to see if your vents are dusty.

Makes sense. I'll check it out, thanks!

I just saw an article online about how much they take out if you win that 1.6 billion dollars. If you take the cash you'll end up with about a third of it.
I ain't gonna play for a lousy $500 million!

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:25 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:18 pm They seem to come in when it gets cold.

Wouldn't you?

Well, yes. That goes without saying.

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:54 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:05 pm So I'm playing xcom this morning and my computer decided to shut off. I don't mean quit to desktop and it didn't shut off slowly, just a split second and it was gone.
I started it back up again and everything is fine. I guess it's just a matter of time now.

Sometimes overheating trips a breaker. Check to see if your vents are dusty.

Probably wouldn't have come right back on, and if it did, would shut down again shortly after. If the video card is the culprit (in that it is generating all the heat, causing the motherboard to shutdown to protect the cpu) and dbt didn't immediately start playing something that pushes the video card, then *maybe it's heat*. But probably not.

Loose power cable got jiggled maybe? Lots of things it could be, and it could still be heat as Kraken suggests, although I don't think that's likely.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:40 pm I just saw an article online about how much they take out if you win that 1.6 billion dollars. If you take the cash you'll end up with about a third of it.
I ain't gonna play for a lousy $500 million!

You could buy Hogeye and have $499+ million left over!

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 4:24 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:54 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:05 pm So I'm playing xcom this morning and my computer decided to shut off. I don't mean quit to desktop and it didn't shut off slowly, just a split second and it was gone.
I started it back up again and everything is fine. I guess it's just a matter of time now.

Sometimes overheating trips a breaker. Check to see if your vents are dusty.

Probably wouldn't have come right back on, and if it did, would shut down again shortly after. If the video card is the culprit (in that it is generating all the heat, causing the motherboard to shutdown to protect the cpu) and dbt didn't immediately start playing something that pushes the video card, then *maybe it's heat*. But probably not.

Loose power cable got jiggled maybe? Lots of things it could be, and it could still be heat as Kraken suggests, although I don't think that's likely.

Or mice nesting in the case.

Right. You would think that would liquid cool the card, but no.

Probably short out a roach.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 23, 2018 3:18 pm

Paingod wrote: ↑Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:30 am Dealing with our own mouse infestation these last couple of weeks. Eliminating them only seems to have annoyed the colony and we're seeing droppings in places we hadn't before.

Oh joy. We've been dealing with mice ever since this past winter when we noticed they'd been eating stuff in our cupboards. We've tried many things since, ie spring-loaded trap with bait, bounce sheets, ultrasonic device. Oh those buggers are resilient. I don't know if we need to be patient with the traps, but we had put some down earlier this year when we first found out about them, peanut butter as bait, and they were too quick , managing to get the bait without triggering it every single time. Droppings everywhere. In our basement last spring, we had found out they had nested in our lawnmower. They seem to come in when it gets cold.

The 'headcount' is up to 21 now. Not saying I'm happy to be killing them, but I admit to being alarmed now at exactly how many we've caught.

I find that peanut butter is a great scent bait to lure them, but it seems too easy for them to get at it and leave. I think using solid dog kibble that jams into the tray tightly at least stops them from grabbing and running. It doesn't stop the snatching all together, though, but has seemed to increase the odds of catching them. I check every unsprung trap daily, and it seems like 30% of the time the kibble is gone.

Rotating Coke bottle over the gallon bucket trap... Lots of those on Youtube.

Paingod wrote: ↑Wed Oct 24, 2018 7:30 am I find that peanut butter is a great scent bait to lure them, but it seems too easy for them to get at it and leave. I think using solid dog kibble that jams into the tray tightly at least stops them from grabbing and running. It doesn't stop the snatching all together, though, but has seemed to increase the odds of catching them. I check every unsprung trap daily, and it seems like 30% of the time the kibble is gone.

Ok, that makes sense. We don't have a dog, but I suppose dog treats would work too. I wonder if chocolate almonds would work? I hear mice like chocolate.

Is it possible to utter the words "Grown Man" without interjecting ass in the middle?

UK

FINALLY found a good MOLLE phone holster / pouch with some other storage.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J3D1L98

It's actually a generic tool pouch, but it actually fits my Samsung Galaxy S6 w/ Mophie battery case. AND I can fit a flashlight into the side pocket. I can also put some business cards and pen in it too. Other than my wallet and keys that just covers all I needed. I've tried like 5-6 different holders and FINALLY, I found one that works! I'm using the MOLLE straps in the back as a belt loop and it works fine.

My only complaint would be I'd prefer a HORIZONTAL case rather than vertical, bu tother than that it's great.

I talked my wife into watching that the other day. Ive never watched the original or the remake. her type movie though. years ago would have been mine too. I think Im dead.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Sep 09, 2018 10:22 am I do. I bought this one late last spring, and it has been perfect. I was afraid it would be wobbly and wouldn't hold my weight, but it has been rock solid. The one I bought, by the way, has a full 18" of clearance underneath, specifically for storage. It's fantastic, and easily holds eight giant plastic totes underneath.

FWIW, I bought a "gently used" one off Amazon. Dang, this bed is tall now. But now I have TONS of room under the bed. I am not even going to bother with bed skirts Only paid like $80. Sure helps me getting off the bed. I was using just a foundation on the floor and mattress on top, no bedframe. And It was a PAIN to get up in the morning. Now with the bed like 18 inches higher it'd be a BREEZE to get up. Now to decide what goes UNDER the bed...

One complaint: the package is missing one of the two bolts with butterfly nuts to lock the two frames together. I'm not using them (as the bed is quite solid, being against the wall on two sides) but it's one minor complaint.

The height did take a little getting used to, but at 6'1" it's actually pretty convenient. I just roll over and put my feet down and I'm standing. There is no 'standing up' process anymore.

One day this shirt shall be mine......

WaPo: Whitey Bulger, Boston crime boss and elusive fugitive, dead in prison at 89

At the peak of his nefarious career, James “Whitey” Bulger, the long-ago murderous Boston mob boss, wasn’t one to dwell on his mistakes, even when he killed the wrong guy a few times. For back then, as whispers had it, Whitey was untouchable.

However, in 2015, after three schoolgirls wrote to him in prison as part of a history project, seeking his views on “leadership” and “legacy,” the octogenarian ex-gangster, a ninth-grade dropout, responded with a rueful letter.

In the Coleman II federal penitentiary in Florida, he filled a sheet of college-ruled notebook paper with tidy cursive, lamenting, “My life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame + suffering on my parents and siblings and will end soon.”

Now it has.

Mr. Bulger, whose bloody reign in the Boston underworld was aided by crooked FBI agents in the 1980s and who later went on the lam for 16 years, living incognito by the California seashore, was found dead Oct. 30 while completing the first of his two life sentences. He was 89.

The Bureau of Prisons confirmed Tuesday that Mr. Bulger was found unresponsive at a penitentiary in Bruceton Mills, W.Va. After responding staff members attempted lifesaving measures, he was pronounced dead by the county medical examiner. No other details were immediately available.

CNN

James "Whitey" Bulger, the notorious and much-feared former Boston mob boss, was killed Tuesday morning at the US Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, officials told CNN.

"He lived violently and he apparently died violently," Dick Lehr, author of "Whitey: The Life of America's Most Notorious Mob Boss," told CNN.

Mr. Bulger, whose bloody reign in the Boston underworld was aided by crooked FBI agents in the 1980s and who later went on the lam for 16 years, living incognito by the California seashore, was found dead Oct. 30 while completing the first of his two life sentences. He was 89.

I suspect the second of his two life sentences will be much smellier.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving thug.

For the past 10 years, we've gone to the family farm that's a couple blocks away to get our pumpkins. They have always had a great setup, with a huge pick-your-own-pumpkin patch, and a bunch of other family activities that cost a couple bucks each. Hay rides, an apple slingshot, corn maze, that sort of thing. It generally draws huge crowds for the entire month of October, filling multiple overflow parking lots and forcing cars to park on the street for a quarter mile in each direction.

This year, we were lazy and waited until the last minute. We loaded everyone in the car, and I was braving myself for what I expected to be massive crowds of people choosing their last-minute pumpkins and generally making a family night of it. I was a bit shocked to see the lot only about 1/2 full at 5:30. What the hell?

Turns out, they decided that they are now going to charge people $5 a head simply to come into their pumpkin patch. Even kids were $5 each. That $5 included two activities (or one hay ride), but no pumpkins...you still had to pay for those separately. So I would have had to pay $40 just to get in the door, then another $40 for overpriced pumpkins. Yeah, no thanks. While we were standing around deciding what to do, I saw at least half a dozen people walk up to the gate, talk to the gal taking tickets, and walk away. I would guess that by charging that entry fee, they cut the number of visitors this year by half to 2/3, at least. I can't imagine it was anything but a complete disaster for them financially.

We herded everyone back to the minivan, and drove down the street to another pumpkin patch...one that wisely had a huge sign out front which read "NO ENTRY FEE".

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:00 pm I would guess that by charging that entry fee, they cut the number of visitors this year by half to 2/3, at least. I can't imagine it was anything but a complete disaster for them financially.

Or maybe they made the same revenue from 1/3 as many visitors. In retail, at least, it's a lot less work to get $100 from one person than $1 from 100 people.

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:32 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 30, 2018 10:00 pm I would guess that by charging that entry fee, they cut the number of visitors this year by half to 2/3, at least. I can't imagine it was anything but a complete disaster for them financially.

Or maybe they made the same revenue from 1/3 as many visitors. In retail, at least, it's a lot less work to get $100 from one person than $1 from 100 people.

Maybe. Skinypupy will find out next year.