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A better mousetrap
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2404
If you've been reading the blog you probably have seen mention of my pet mouse. Well, not a pet really, just a chronic houseguest. Sometimes I see him from the corner of my eye when I'm working on the computer, scurrying about the kitchen, for christmas I bought him (her?) a little hamster chew bar and hung it near the floor. I can now watch him cautiously poking out from underneath the stove, climbing and nibbling the chew.
Not that he needed it, but it's got to be a welcome relief from going through the garbage.
But I noticed the other day, as I watched him hanging on the chew bar, that there was still the rustling of the garbage bag, and a horrible thought came to me. And standing patiently in the kitchen, the garbage on one side, the chew on the other, it was confirmed.
No longer is it just mouse. It's mice.
And where I was reasonably laid back about having a mouse now I'm a bit worried. Because for anyone good with math there is at least a 1 in 2 chance that 2 will become a few, and those few will become many.
So there will have to be an end to the free ride. They were beginning to keep me up at night anyways, the nibbling of baseboards, the noise from the kitchen, the rustling, strange sounds as if of things being knocked over (although I've never yet found what they were knocking over).
I've tried the humane traps before, with no success. The idea is to catch the mouse unharmed and release him/her into the wild. But this mouse was a little too clever for it. Somehow he'd get the bait and escape. And when the boy and I were bored I'd assign him the task of building a better mousetrap from his K'nex set. None of them worked either. There is, however, another option. The toilet paper tube baited with peanut butter and set on a counter top, precariously balanced over a high walled bucket or vase.
This will probably be the way to go. I'll need to get a small cage to store them until spring before releasing them. And some seed so they have a good start on learning to forage. Soon the house will be mouse free....
Meet Karl Pilkington
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Audio & Podcasts
- Hits: 1901
As of late I've found myself listening again to the musings of Karl Pilkington.
Who is/was, if you don't know, voted the funniest man in Britain. Except that he wasn't joking. Formerly the producer at XFM, his views and opinions were found so amusing that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (co-writers of the hit BBC series "The Office", which spawned the US, German, French, etc... remakes) brought him into the studio to share them with the public. Completely raucous, with frequent baiting and swearing by Ricky and Stephen playing the straight man, egging him on, they make for strangely compelling listening. Look for those clips with "Monkey News" in the title, which focus on Karl's interpretation of archived stories, facts and miscellany about Monkeys. Chances are you didn't know any of it.
Having Survived Christmas...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2174
...and caught up on my work it's time to clean up the aftermath of christmas. Not that there's a huge mess, as Christmas was outsourced to friends and relatives this year, but I begin by trying to vacuum up the living room, and moving things around, picking things up, litter, toys, cards, it comes to me. I need a rake.
New Years Resolutions
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2177
So a very busy Christmas and New Years, with the last minute deadlines, visits to family, social commitments, etc. But I found time to make a list of New Years Resolutions. Actually, not really make a list, rather update the same list that's been kicking around for the past 20 odd years....
Pretty much the same, only I've scratched out lots of the places where it used to say "more", now it looks something like this:
Exercise More.
Eat More.
Make More Money.
Have more sex.
I've also added the Blog More to the list this year, a tack on as it's something new....
It looks like this:
Blog More
I didn't scratch the More off because I've never blogged before.
And so hopefully I'll find time over the next few days to catch up on this blog. Mostly rants and such, a few ideas, lots of dreams (sadly none recorded...). This in-between the despairing assessment of last years finances and achieved goals....
There's of course the standard list of things to give up, as there are every New Years. Like smoking, fast food, housekeeping. I always throw the last one on so I don't feel like a complete failure....
Anyways, a Happy New Years to all and hopefully you have better luck with your resolutions than I have....
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