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SilverFlower

Exactly, GG, they are really hard to kill and even if you cut them in half, the other half will still turn around and bite.  You have to make really really sure they are dead.

 I got munched on by centipedes twice in my first month of living here.  "Welcome to Hawaii",  Chomp.  They are vile creatures and, here in the tropics, they get to be, as Donald  would say, "UUUUUUGE".  Maybe the water from Fukishima has gotten over here and mutated them.

The thing I find helps is keeping the trees and other plants cut back away from the house.  And not having any rugs or piles of laundry on the floor.  They like dark places to hide.  Ew.

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Guest Jetsun Milarepa

We had wasps in our loft space when we lived in London. I only noticed them when they started to die off in the winter and were crawling out of the loft into one of the bedrooms...in their hundreds....I just moved my daughter from the room till they had all died (it was reminiscent of that scene in the film Evolution) , then hoovered them all up. That sounded weird, loads of dead wasps rattling around a hoover. The pest control man I spoke to was kind in that he said they would all die and the queen will move away to a new spot, so not to bother trying to exterminate them (in Dalek fashion). I've no tolerance for killing any creature. We have 3 northern Rhinos, Pangolins are being made into soup, elephants electrocuted , machine gunned and their faces being ripped off...for 'ivory' ...while over 7 billion humans wage wars over water, food, wealth. I choose animals. We became much less than them a long while ago.

 

Off to see Dunkirk, on a heavily rainy day (well, the melting Arctic Circle has to go somewhere, doesn't it?):D Actions always have consequences.

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Hiya all 

 

@Deja Vu, good to see you back :cake:

 

Mentioning wasps reminds me, I haven't seen one yet this year, despite the (until yesterday) unusually warm weather we've had this summer 

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Guest Jetsun Milarepa

Welcome  @Deja Vu, sorry I hadn't noticed!:cake:

 

Dunkirk was great...beautifully understated, just as the original heroes would have understated it. Interesting to see this Louis Tomlinson, I hear he's a pop star, but he made a decent actor too. I never thought I'd find myself willing Tom Hardy to 'shoot it! It's a Heinkel!'.....

 

 

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19 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

the tuxedo and ball gown doesn't do it for me. You'll never get me in a dress!

so not  'Chandra-skirty' then? ;)

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Finding myself

@Midland Tyke it is the Hurtigruten. Thank you for the info. So on the basis it is casual dress at meals, I just need to consider whether I can face being at sea if it is rough. 

 

@Deja Vu Good to see you. Sorry you are struggling with knee trouble; that sounds very hard. 

 

@chandrakirti your colleagues reaction to you being educated sounds just plain nasty. I hope they forget and move onto something or someone else soon. 

 

@daveb steampunk dressing up ... good one. 

 

 

I had wasps in the roof space above my bedroom a few years ago. Whilst trying to get to sleep I could hear them eating! I did get the pest people out to deal with them. 

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BobRossRules
On 7/21/2017 at 4:09 PM, daveb said:

I'm looking forward to Iceland, too! The info packet does say they are "Icelandic Ponies", but also says they are (or can be) considered horses. There's also a whale-watching tour. And, yes, I hope we will get to see geysers (at the hot springs, I presume), too. :D 

Oh goodie!!  

 

The soapy dishwasher did the trick for me.  It was instant!  I hate killing bugs, however.  If bitting/stinging bugs are not near me, then I will leave them alone for sure.  If I find a bug or spider in my house, then I'll take it outside.  I have this really cool bug catcher.  When I lived in Iowa, I found lots of centipedes in the house.  I worked at hospital for my internship, and I was known and the centipede (slash bug) catcher.  I'd catch them and then take them outside.  I would get calls from all over the hospital. I should have changed my job title. :lol:   

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4 hours ago, Finding myself said:

@Midland Tyke it is the Hurtigruten. Thank you for the info. So on the basis it is casual dress at meals, I just need to consider whether I can face being at sea if it is rough. 

I've only done the stretch from Tromso to Bergen. Because the coastline has many islands, most of the time the ship's route is protected from the worst of the Ocean by off-shore islands. There was only one stretch where the route was completely exposed. Unfortunately that was a bit of a rough day, so not everyone made it to dinner. I'd gone on a 'In search of the Northern Lights' trip, so this was early February. 

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Guest Jetsun Milarepa

Great one @daveb, beautiful comeback! (drum roll followed by cymbals...!:lol:)

So looking forward to the decorating , my little house will be respectable enough should I want to move. 

@Finding myself, I hope so too, however they are obsessed with me at the moment. There must be something wrong with someone who sits mumbling f....this, f...that about me all day while I sit silently working.

@Deja Vu, what a shame to have a sore knee , it must feel a lot worse at night, night seems to magnify everything. At least you are sorting out other things around you , good on you for that.

 

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@chandrakirtiThey're a lot taller than Shetland ponies - 13-14 hands (a hand is 4 inches) - whereas Shetlands are only 7 hands. @Autumn Sunrise They do come in lots of colours and look less chunky and draught horse-like when they're not in their winter coats. They're quite finely built underneath all that fluff!

 

@daveb and @Autumn Sunrise -  Tropical paradises are my idea of hell. I too prefer cooler places.

 

@daveb - I'm the same. I don't kill insects unless they come in the house and won't leave. Mostly I just catch them and chuck them back outside.

 

I hit the big 6-0 last year - did nothing to celebrate except take the day off and have lunch with a couple of friends. I turned 61 two weeks ago - did nothing at all! 

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Happy belated birthday, @Kazbe. One should always take your birthday off work! At least. @chandrakirti- how weird to go out of their way to give you a hard time about being "educated" :( I am afraid that is where the US is going, too. Reminds me of Maoist China. Good to see you back, @Deja Vu.

Not much going on here. It is going to rain again tomorrow... Again. And I am supposed to get my upstairs window ripped out so it can go in the dumpster before it has to get picked up. Maybe they can put plastic over the hole to keep the endless rain out.

 

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I was in Iceland in 1992 - in November, when it felt like someplace out of Dr. Zhivago. Really no tourism there yet, and it was very wintery. The hotel (I think there was only one) served a buffet made up of fish, fish and more fish. Plus whale blubber. Not great for someone like me who does not like fish!

 

I remember the ponies being VERY hairy, obviously getting ready for winter. As far as miniaturizing, yes I think that is true. On the Shetland Islands, ponies, cattle and dogs are smaller.

 

I'd go back in a heartbeat! Would love to see it now.

 

 

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On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 5:36 PM, Gentle Giant said:

We have wasps in the front yard. Mom is determined to kill them, but I think we should just leave them be if they are not bothering us. They were flying around while I was washing the car but didn't come near me. I just ignore them. They have nests dug in the ground and some are under a wooden peice on the edge of the driveway. Kind of near the door going in the garage. We put up some air filled paper bags to trick them into thinking they're hornets nests and scare them away. We'll see if that helps. She's been messing with the mounds and I think she should leave them alone. She's thinking of getting a spray to kill them with. I did mention the use of soap water but she doesn't want to pour that on the lawn. Do you guys use hot soap water? Or just soap water whatever temp.? Maybe we could fill a bottle with soap water to have on hand in case they get in the house?

This year has been a mild year for wasps, compared to last year.  There were several huge paper-type nests bigger than soccer balls all around.  Generally I let them bee (sorry for the lame pun) unless they were a threat.  The large nest in the bush by the hose faucet was a threat and I used two cans of wasp and hornet spray until they finally succumbed.   One year there was a very active hornets nest in the ground on the lawn where I groom the dog.  I used so much poison on that one that it killed the lawn in that area for the entire summer.  Another time, I discovered a wasp nest in a ditch I was excavating.  I emptied a can of spray on it but then things went horribly wrong.  The dog, knowing it was a threat, removed the nest after I had killed it and chewed it up.  I think it made her sick.  Why do dogs like to kill bees with their mouths anyway?  For that reason, I try to avoid poisons in my environment whenever possible, including mouse, and rat, and gopher poisons.  Well, that is not entirely true, as I currently have a "no pest strip" hanging above my kitchen table.  They work wonders for killing flies or some other insects that have ventured inside.  I also use fly swatters for the indoor flies and wasps.  I have a little battery operated insect electocutor that is about the size of a badminton racket with a steel mesh electrified grid that makes them sizzle if you can catch them while flying.  Remember those outdoor bug zappers that would just kill any and all bugs that they attracted with the constant crackle of death?

 

Welcome back, @Deja Vu We've missed you!

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Hiya peeps 

 

Welcome back @Deja Vu

 

Belated happy birthday @Kazbe

 

Round our way the insect problem at the moment is ants. They are attracted to the cat's dinner bowls, and I don't want to use Nippon in case it's toxic to the cats, as I can see them accidentally eating any ants on their food. 

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10 hours ago, chandrakirti said:

@Finding myself, I hope so too, however they are obsessed with me at the moment. There must be something wrong with someone who sits mumbling f....this, f...that about me all day while I sit silently working.

 

 

That is appalling, @chandrakirti  I hope they lose interest in you soon.  My sister worked in offices, and was often made miserable by office bullies who decided to pick on her for a while before choosing another victim.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

Round our way the insect problem at the moment is ants. They are attracted to the cat's dinner bowls, and I don't want to use Nippon in case it's toxic to the cats, as I can see them accidentally eating any ants on their food. 

When I had a cat I had his food bowl sitting inside a "moat". In that case it was a plastic thing that clipped onto the bottom of the food dish and you put soapy water in the dish. That keeps the ants from even getting to the food dish. The best thing with ants is to remove all temptations for them - that is, nothing edible for them. Otherwise you get tons of them. When they do show up in hordes soapy water helps wash them out and wipe out their trails. Also find out where they are going and deal with whatever it is that's drawing them in.

 

Personally, I'd rather deal with ants than wasps. At least ants usually don't fly around and don't sting (although some bite).

 

12 hours ago, Deja Vu said:

I was in Iceland in 1992

That sounds really cool! Too bad you don't like fish though. One concern for me when traveling is food. It's one reason why I probably wouldn't travel to Asia. I don't care for most Asian cuisine I have encountered. :( 

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BobRossRules

Happy birthday @Kazbe!!

 

I prefere cooler climates too.  However, I'd like to visit some warmer climate places too.  Cuba is on my list!!:D

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Guest Jetsun Milarepa

Iceland in the 1990s sounds very authentic and unspoilt @Deja Vu.

So Icelandic ponies are quite tall then, @Kazbe, they do have beautiful manes as well.:D

 

I always worry when I hear people taking so much pleasure in killing, my mother used to put wasps on the gas ring and laugh with delight when they burned. If you take the time to really look at a wasp, they are so beautifully marked. I love the close up photos of moths and other insects because they are so intricately formed. Some have furry shoulders , some have iridescent scaling on their wings. Oddly enough my mother eventually had terrible burning pain in her feet due to diabetes, so she understood how that must have felt for the wasps!

@faraday☘, Cuba was a very popular holiday for a colleague I used to work with, he went with his whole family every year and loved it. All that music and culture was a magnet. 

 

When I was in Nepal I loved the food, it was a twist on Indian food, but they had this really dangerous Lime Pickle, I'm sure it could eat a hole in anyone's stomach.

 

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Welcome back, @Deja Vu, and belated happy birthday, @Kazbe!

 

@faraday☘, in theory I'd love to visit Cuba, though probably not soon. Trump has been moving to retighten some of the travel permissions for Americans wanting to go there, it's still a restrictive country, and news reports have said increased U.S. tourism there has led to food shortages for locals. That said, I know some Americans who've visited in recent years (some on a group tour, and a couple surreptitiously) and thought it fascinating.

 

@daveb, if cuisine is the only thing keeping you from considering travel to Asia, there are many places you could go where you'd have no problem finding non-Asian foods, particularly in more cosmopolitan and touristy areas, and certainly in every major city. You'll find Italian restaurants in Vietnam, pizza shops in India, burger places in China, etc. Hotels catering to foreigners almost everywhere have western-style breakfast options. And southeast Asia in particular has plenty of French-style breads and pastries. :)

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India is out, as I have never liked Indian food. I think I could go everywhere else.

*Except for Ethiopia. They have a tradition of feeding each other the first bite of food. I couldn't do that*

**I mean, I'm sure hands are clean, but, no one is putting food they touched into my mouth**

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@chandrakirti I missed that bit about your work until I saw it mentioned later. That's almost frightening. Welcome to dystopia?! I don't get that at work as most people must have a Bachelor's degree to work in IT nowadays, but I have had to leave my PhD off my resume. However, more akin to what you are experiencing is socialising. I live a working class area and I've joined a few social groups out here. I've learned not to mention that I have a university education, especially in science. It opens up the way to all kinds of mean comments about 'ivory towers', 'science whackos' and 'money wasters'. I feel for you.

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Finding myself

@Midland Tyke did you see the Northern Lights on that trip? I am wanting to see them, so am thinking of October/November, if I go. Many thanks for the info on your experience of the Hurtigruten. 

 

@chandrakirti that is awful of the people you work with. I really can't understand people doing that. Here's hoping they stop very soon. 

 

My last art class today, until September. I really enjoy it. 

 

Tomorrow I am going to the exhibition of Grayson Perry's  work at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park. 

 

 

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20 minutes ago, Finding myself said:

@Midland Tyke did you see the Northern Lights on that trip? I am wanting to see them, so am thinking of October/November, if I go. Many thanks for the info on your experience of the Hurtigruten. 

 

I'm a double non-seer of the aurora. I'd love to see them! But the Hurtigruten trip was blighted by fog/mist. Until we reached Bergen which was a little too far south (and anyway it was daytime).

My second attempt was to the far North of Sweden. Abisko National Park and the mountain top 'Aurora Observatory'. It was a fun trip (overnight sleeper trains from Stockholm) and I had fantastic sunny days (from about 1000 to 1600, max). And then the clouds came in. Heh ho!

I'm willing to make a third attempt sometime, But I'd advise you to pick a different period (unless you believe in third-time lucky)! October might be a bit early, unless you go a long way north. Was the trip your were looking at the full 12-days (Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen)? Or where you looking at flying into and out of Tromso and just doing Tromso - Kirkenes - Tromso?

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I don't take pleasure in killing wasps, or anything. I just don't want them in my house.

 

A week ago Sunday they were saying it might be possible to see the aurora even where I live - I think it was due to some kind of solar activity. I don't know if I didn't stay up late enough, but I didn't see any Northern lights.

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Gentle Giant

@Kazbe happy belated birthday! :cake:

 

What kind of art did you do, @Finding myself? Anything you could share here?

 

We also have an ant problem. I don't take pleasure in killing anything either. Just don't want them in the house.

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(mind if I brag a little?)

 

The last couple of days I've been looking at things like my expenses so far this year and my 401k performance and such, and it looks like everything is going very well. At this rate I will end up with more money at the end of the year than I started the year with. Of course it helped that I got some pension money and proceeds from the house sale (although most of that went back into my current house to reduce my monthly mortgage payments). But even so, things are looking good. I don't expect that to be the case every year, but so far, so good. :D 

 

(on another note - speaking of insects, I heard this noise earlier today and realized it was a wasp buzzing loudly on the other side of my front door. Hopefully it doesn't try to get in the house!)

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