Buzz buzz

I killed a lot of bees today. At least I thought so. They were really wasps; yellowjackets, to be precise. They were nesting within the space where my outdoor faucet pipe meets the house foundation. (I knew I should've sealed that hole long ago. It's just an invitation for insects to come in. Darn me!)

I had seen the wasps congregating around the faucet weeks ago, but cared nothing for it until I saw one milling about in the basement yesterday. So I finally got off my ass and headed to Home Depot for a solution.

"Excuse me sir," I said to a Home Depot man. "Umm, where are your bee insecticides? I have some bees that I need to kill." The Home Depot man said, "Right here." And he pointed to a spray can that read 'Wasp and Hornet Killer.' "That'll do the trick," he said. And suddenly, it was then that the funkiness dawned on me. Hmmmm, I thought. What the f*ck do I know about bees and wasps? I mean what the hell's the difference?

So I bought the can, went home, sprayed the entire contents into the hole (no doubt everyone does the overspraying thing when it comes to killing insects), and then went upstairs to Google about the difference between bees and wasps (yellowjackets really, since these are the ones that everyone confuses for bees).

In a nutshell: bees are nice; yellowjackets are not. Bees are practically all furry; yellowjackets are more shiny. Bees hang around flowers. Yellowjackets hang around garbage cans. Bees sting only once then die. Yellowjackets sting, and then sting again, and then sting again...

Remember the times when you saw these really fat fuzzy things flying gracefully from one flower to another almost in slow motion, and you said, "awww, that's so cute; it's a bumblebee." Well, you were so right. It was. And then remember the other times you saw one of these thinner flying thingies scooting around your head and it seemed to never go away. You waved your hands in the air, spun around, ducked down and eventually ran off in contortions to avoid getting stung. Yup, that's the nasty yellowjacket; a wasp.

And now you know.

My basement floor is now littered with about 15 or more yellowjackets. I went downstairs to check an hour after I sprayed and saw them all either dead or gasping for life. I smiled in victory, of course.

So here's what I learned: I'll never think badly of a bee ever again. They'll always be my sweet furry little friends. But to all you yellowjackets, I say "be afraid; be very afraid, for I shall always be pointing my spray can at you."

Now I know the difference.

Shooting stars tonight

The peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower is tonight. Unfortunately, the forecast in our area calls for clouds and chance of thunderstorms starting early evening. Plus, we live in an area where there's too much light pollution. We'd need to drive westward to get darker skies.

If the conditions do become favorable for us, I'd really like to treat my little ones to the show. I think they'd get a real kick out of it. I think it was circa 1986 when camping that I had my first and only full viewing of the showers. Mother of goodness was it amazing.

For more info:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/050805_perseid_guide.html
http://www.jackstargazer.com/

My new training toy

Father, forgive me for I have sinned.

I bought a bike trainer today. A really nice one, too--a CycleOps Fluid2. Yes yes, I know I already have a 10 year old Minoura MagTurbo that's still kickin', but this new 2005 one that I just ordered is a fluid trainer, not magnetic. I've read the newsgroups and have been led to believe that the difference is day and night as it more realistically simulates outdoor riding. Plus, I found a 20% coupon that I could use if I purchased online, which I did. See, so I didn't really spend a fortune; I actually saved a wallop. And of course, wallop beats fortune.

So hmmm, did I really err on the side of impulsive shopping or was I simply blessed with a revelation that included a 20% discount? ... What was that? Uhhuh. Yup. ... See, I knew you'd understand. No doubt you have a road bike as well.

And now the final judgment awaits me as I must answer to an even greater authority. But first, I think I'll wait until she's finished cooking downstairs. And I'll take the kids off her hands for the night as well.

Lord, help me.

Seeing is believing. Not!

I love illusions.

Here's a webpage that shows how our perception of color and shade is strongly affected by its surroundings. Check it out as it's quite cool.

Makes me more conscious of how accurate or rather unaccurate my eye is when working with color swatches such as in webpage design or photo retouching.

Sunset Sprint Triathlon

7/23/05 -- The Sunset Sprint Triathlon in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Done. Finished in the top 85% (vs. 93% in the Devilman Tri). This was the infamous race that Melinda and I tried competing as a team in 1998 (more long ago than I thought). She would do the swim and I would do the bike and run. Unfortunately, shortly after the starting gun, she became overwhelmed with the madness of the swim leg and returned to shore a few minutes later, and we decided not to continue. This year was the first return to the race since that time. Therefore, my racing today was dedicated to Melinda. Perhaps, it would establish the stepping stones to re-entering the tri scene for her.

So here goes:

Five seconds...four...three...two...one...BANG!

Swam 1/2 mile in 26 minutes at the top 98% of finishers (98% in Devilman). (The top swimmer did it in 9 minutes!) As expected, I was practically last except for the remaining 2% of the crowd behind me. Ugggh. And I was trying so hard too. Note to self: join a masters swim class this fall or get fitted with an outboard motor up my ass. BTW, if you want to know what it feels like to have sex in an open body of water, join a triathlon. I've never been so thoroughly and violently groped in my life as when I do the swim legs. Never fails. Melinda's gotta be jealous. (Here's my swim pic finish.)

Biked 16 flat miles in 52 minutes at the top 51% of finishers (79% in Devilman). (The top cyclist did it in 37 minutes.) Yeah boy! Now that's an improvement. I'd been training to ride on the big gears for this race. Sure enough, it was about power this time. I used the big front chainring almost the whole time. I'm glad the hard work paid off. Another rider and I were playing cat and mouse the whole ride. Always chasing and passing. A fun leg. (Here's my bike pic.)

Ran a 5k trail in 29 minutes at the top 77% of finishers (79% in Devilman). (The top runner did it in just under 17 minutes!) Just a bit of improvement consistent with my progress on the treadmill at the YMCA, although I did expect to run faster. I think 'powering' through the bike took its toll. I felt dehydrated and was starting to get a headache. Still, I felt good crossing the finish and did my silly jump thing again like tri legend Greg Welch. I think I'll adopt it as well for all my future races.

I may consider a third and last race for this season, perhaps in September. For now, I'm pooped.

Official times are listed here.