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Ferrari Friday

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/res...ted-lanternfly

Flip through the photos to see their sages of development.

It's coming your way....

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I live in Philly. In addition to rats and mice being around where I live, we have possums and raccoons right in my alley. I think it was a 'coon that got into my trash on the back deck several years ago after I forgot to seal the lid to the can. I live pretty close to an expansive park area with lots of large trees. Perfect place for them to live and plenty of neighborhood trash nearby to feed on. One day my neighbor was on her ground-level patio reading when a mouse started running around. Maybe 3 month ago a possum was lurking around. He got into their space, waked along the fence and started staring in the neighbor's window and they were preparing dinner. I stated waiving at them and thing walked off. They have a little fountain out back they told me something stole a couple of their fake plastic fish. I will bet it was a 'coon. I once had one try to steal a completely empty pannier while on a tour.

Neighbor's fence back in early December 2021. The photo doesn’t do his size justice. He was really fat.


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Interesting. Cape May County in NJ is the only place in the state without an infestation. I camp in the forest down there a few times every year. I have seen a few, but not many. There are warning signs posted in the park. I wonder if it has something to do with the sort of plant life in that area.

This is more concerning:
(I was not kidding about it heading Trainsnorter's way)
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At some point, a section of the old fence that was there when we bought the house came down - rotted post footings. We put up a 3' tall fence of T-posts and 2x4 wire fencing, which kept the dogs in, but not the critters out. Mostly, raccoons didn't come into the yard till way late at night, but skunks were a lot less particular, and one time our Eskie, Kyoko, took a full blast to the face. It was so close it stained her fur yellowish, and so intense the smell was more like gasoline than skunk.

BTW, we learned that the way to de-skunk a dog is with Hydrogen Peroxide and dish soap. it is AMAZING.

Speaking of all these maps, where is our map wunderkind, Velo Vol ?? Did he go away angry, or did he just go away??

we get skunks now and then (unfortunately) - they dig into the yard to get to the grubs

Rustling up some grub, you might say. Once we put up a 6' deer fence, we stopped getting skunks and raccoons. And deer.

Reminds me of the end of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Let's just hope they can eradicate the murder hornets in WA before they spread. :twitchy:

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/05/...ets-this-year/

At least we are "safe" from the red fire ant.

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Since mrs datlas has vetoed the miata (for now), I am looking at a replacement for the Saturn. Since I only need it for going to/from work, I am thinking a budget EV may make sense. The 2023 Bolt is supposed to be the cheapest EV and looks worthy of consideration. It still will cost DOUBLE what I paid for the Saturn.

A cheaper option is a used Nissan Leaf. They apparently have crappy range but I only need 20 miles RT daily for work.

As my final work-related act of the week I penned and sent off to their supervisor and department head a testimonial describing the invaluable assistance two people in our real estate department provided in connection with a complicated deal we recently closed. I hope something good for them comes out of it. Maybe a little something added to future paychecks.

Oh, great. :mad:

I would avoid a Spark EV because GM has said they will not be offering batteries for them. I don't know if parts will be available for the internals of the battery. When I was still working I had a Spark EV which needed a DC charger and we couldn't get one. I think GM bought that car back.

I don't know if Nissan or other models have had replacement part issues but it might be worth looking into.

Mrs. GeneJockey doesn't want to get rid of her beloved 21 year old Sienna. Last time I suggested it, she said, "Do you know how much new Siennas cost?"

I tried to suggest that maybe she should buy something other than a minivan, since she never carries enough people or stuff to warrant a minivan, but she looked at me like I was nuts or something.

My local Costco has a freezer dedicated to meal kits for dogs. I initially mistook it as meal kits for humans. There is still some preparation involved but nowhere near as much as making food from scratch.

Shhhh! Don't say it 3 times. :D

Taycan! Works great for my 8 mile round trip commute. And for date night.

We have feral cats. They piss on our patio furniture cushions, and crap in the flower beds. PITA!

Wife says I can't use them for target practice. :(

I had read, years ago, that it was easy to swap the Leaf battery packs, and cheaper to get an older one and a new battery pack if range is the goal.

AG likes that idea as well; little commuting for her makes an EV tempting. My truck is still there for the trips and hauling.

Sounds like Mrs GeneJockey is a keeper.

How much range increase for what cost? I hear the early ones have 120ish mile range and the later cars have 150ish? Battery replacement is about $7K, at least.

I would be concerned if the car is capable of DC charging. Some Spark EVs are, no Volts are and most Bolt EVs are. Don't know about Nissans.

If I had an EV that I could put a bike in that would be ideal for me these days. I don't need a long range and gas is still $6 here. I actually considered a Spark when I retired because clean ones were around $10k. When gas shot up those same cars were listed for $16k.
Of course with the small amount of driving I do it wouldn't make sense, as long as my old car keeps going.