25-VI-2019 or The Spotted Menace!
by Aaron Shurtleff on June 25, 2019
...
Ok, you got me.
Lately, my life has been pretty busy, and I'll tell you all why. Spotted lanternfly! (Don't wait for a link. You know I can't do it right, and that was when it was fresh in my mind and not years ago and far away! Google!) I don't want to get boring and buggy up in the hizzy (as the kids no longer say, if they ever really did), but it's a fairly recent introduction from Asia (probably China...it's always China) that was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. It's been spreading out from there, but it just hit Maryland recently. Well, technically, we had a tiny population last winter, but we were hoping it we could deal with it. We missed a couple... The eggs are laid (lain? layed? pooped out!) and covered with a protective coating that makes it look like a smudge of dirt, so it's easy to miss them.
Whatever. The TL;DR version of the story is that they are nasty and gross, and they are a major pest of many different crops, but particularly grapes and tree fruits and hops. So, if you like beer or wine, you should be very unhappy!! Grr!
But, that's my life right now. That and try to keep my employees focused on work and not PLAYING AROUND ON THE INTERWEBZ!!!
Oh, man, I haven't done one of these in so long, I forget what goes into them. Do I do songs of the day/week/moment? I think so...
SoNg Of ThE dAy Let's say it's "Bad guy" by Billie Eilish, whose name I didn't know how to pronounce until my employees corrected me. It's a bit weird, but...it's pretty catchy. Trigger warning: Nosebleeds! And not the holy-geez-look-at-that-buxom-girl anime style nosebleeds!
Anywho, back to work! I got a few things to finish up before my big meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I got a sexual harassment training in the morning. No, not to train me how to sexually harass, ya nutjobs!
Be good. Be kind. Be kinda good.
Two Replies to 25-VI-2019 or The Spotted Menace!
Aaron Shurtleff | June 26, 2019
It is a quite handsome little insect, and we do have people telling us all the time how pretty it is. But, it doesn't matter how pretty it is if it starts eating everything in sight and getting out of hand!
Honeydew!
MiracleASSassin
Aaron Shurtleff uses this area as a dumping ground for his random thoughts... Read more »
22-XII-2006, or Time to set the auto-reply!
Well, it's my last day at work until January 2nd, so if you don't hear from me, that's why. Not that many people really hear from me, but there it is. :) My brother-in-law is in town, so craziness could ensue. Go »5-XII-2007 or I Think I Need a Break
I know this is the last thing anyone wants to hear, but I have been so unable to effectively play Rock Block lately. I can't think 2 moves ahead without forgetting what I was doing. I might be the first person to run out of cards from losing all the time! Go »19/20-II-2009 or Guilty Pleasures
Man, I feel like I never really post anything anymore. :( Fortunately (or unfortunately) for you, the wife is out of town (as usual), so I'm going to try to post something. Not that I really have anything to say.. Go »17-VII-2007 or To See Or Not To See...(SPOILERS?)
I have two revelations to make, one of which is truly momentous and possibly a sign of the Apocalypse, the other is just me being stupid, essentially. I'll deal with the stupid one first, just so that the second will be even more earth-shattering! And I know that most of you will be disappointed by the second revelation, after I've hyped it up so much, but trust me, to me if to no one else, this truly is an amazing turn of events. Go »13-VII-2014 or What The Hell Am I Doing With My Life
Title refers to a line from the Lonely Island song "After Party" as I have no questions about what I am doing with my life. I feel like I have three or so on-line communities that I post to, apologizing for the long absence, and claiming I'm going to start coming back and not ignoring the valuable friends I haven't spoken to in ages. And, typically, this lasts a few weeks to a month, and then I am doing other things, or getting busy, or just feeling blah, and there I go dropping off the face of the Earth for another extended absence. Go »
Scott Hardie | June 26, 2019
The spotted lanternfly is not boring. I don't know anything else about that subject or anybody else who knows about that. I always want to know more about weird stuff I've never heard of, especially if it's in my own national backyard. :-)
I looked it up. I have no doubt that it's an invasive species and a pest, but I could imagine it being considered pretty, like a monarch butterfly, when it's at its most colorful.