Stinkbugs

Image from Stink bugs - Planet Orange

Image from Stink Bugs Are Active on Fruiting Vegetables | Kentucky Pest News

     Imagine planting a garden in the spring and tending to it all summer.  You're looking forward to your delicious vegetables and pumpkins and squash.  But all of a sudden, unwanted guests pour into your property and eat your produce.  Worse yet, after they have devastated your crops, they attempt to invade your home!  And they really are bugging you!

     The intruders you see in the images above are the very reason my family hasn't planted a garden this year.  These nasty guys are stinkbugs.  The last few years in August and September, stinkbugs have appeared in our yard and tasted our produce before we even had the chance!  They swarm into our yard like a platoon of brown-armored soldiers, and when they have eaten enough plants, they attempt to invade our home.  Their intentions are to reside in our house and avoid the frosts of October and November and the subsequent days of snow.
 
     Stinkbugs were first seen in the United States in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1998.  There's a theory that they were accidentally transported to America on ships from China.  To learn more about stinkbugs and their habits, check out this link: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug — Entomology — Penn State University.  They are an invasive species, and have been causing chaos ever since.  As opposed to many other insects, they cannot be exterminated with regular pesticides.  They also don't have many predators; in my neighborhood one of their only known predators is my family's dog!

     The problem with stinkbugs is that once they get into your home, they cannot be exterminated with normal means.  When they are disturbed or smashed, they are certain to give off an unpleasant odor.  Believe me, you do not want this smell in your house.  One of the best methods for killing stinkbugs in your home is capturing them in a plastic bag and tying the bag shut; they will suffocate.  A second method is to spray them with soapy water and then drop them into a cup of soapy water.  There are commercial traps that supposedly give off pheromones, but I am not sure if these work.  Or you could just borrow my dog!

    I hope you'll find my suggestions useful, because the notorious buggers are out for chaos this time of year!

   

DEADLINE!!!



Image from What to Do When You Miss a Deadline at Work

DEADLINE!!!  There is something about the combination of the words "dead" and "line" that strikes an ominous sensation, as if a noose was waving over one's head.  Where did such a severe word come from?  History suggests that the word "deadline" originated in the prison at Fort Sumter during the Civil War.  There was a line drawn in the prison grounds which prisoners were totally forbidden to cross.  If prisoners disobeyed the regulation, they were shot dead on the spot.  Check out the link to this story: History Spaces: WHERE DID THE TERM "DEADLINE" ORIGINATE? 

     With the exception of those who impose them, deadlines are most likely universally despised, especially by procrastinators.  Follow the link to a fun quiz: How Bad Of A Procrastinator Are You.  We all have deadlines, whether in work, school, or personal life.  Rather than cursing deadlines, let's learn to manage them with a game plan.  The game plan is simple: complete all tasks before you reach the line of death.  How can you do this?  You need a strategy-just as you do in exercise, dieting, or saving for retirement.
 
     Here are some great strategies.  Plan on spreading your workload throughout the week, rather than completing assignments in one day.  Schedule your work time and stick to the schedule.  Try holding sessions of work right before your favorite show, so that when you finish it, your show can be your reward.  If you really feel that you have no time to do your work in a day, set your alarm to 30 minutes earlier than you normally would; you'll find that it feels great to get something done before your day has actually begun.  This time can be quite productive with no one else awake to cause distractions.  Try taking your work materials with you whenever you are out of the house and use the time spent waiting at appointments, etc.  to accomplish something.  Accomplishing a little every day leads to big rewards in the end.

     Instead of grumbling about and despising deadlines, please consider that crossing them means that the noose has been tied around your neck.  Finishing tasks after their deadline impacts career advancement, academic records, and credit scores.  Don't let your neck get stuck in the noose.  Do something about it before it arrives.  Get the deadline before it gets you!

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

     "A picture is worth a thousand words." I did not post a picture for the following link because I want people to have the choice of viewing the slide show due to the fact that it is graphic and heartbreaking.  Here is the link: Aylan Kurdi: Photo shows refugee crisis' tiny victim - CNN.com.  The pictures in the link are not just "worth a thousand words," but are representative of more than a million shattered lives.  Unfortunately, pictures like these seem to be necessary to snag people's attention in our country regarding the refugee crisis in Europe.  European nations are being inundated by refugees fleeing the violence in Syria.  Half of the Syrian citizens have now left the borders of their country, fleeing for their lives.  These people have nothing and are seeking asylum and protection for their families, whom at home face oppression and death.  They have come for help, and they want to protect their children.  If you click on the link, you would see that the poor little boy lost his life as the refugees attempted to flee, a very dangerous situation.  Their journey, obviously, was also very risky.  The boy's brother and mother also perished at sea.  Hopefully the crisis has everyone's attention now, because these people need help.  Our country, the United States of America, is one of the richest, most wealthy nations, and we have a long history of helping refugees.  However, we have not yet stepped up with full resources to help the situation; Germany, France, Austria, Italy, and England are doing all they can, but they are overwhelmed.  Now it is our turn.

     Unless you are a Native American and full-blooded, then you are an immigrant as well, whether voluntary or involuntary.  I'd like to remind the readers of the "New Colossus" engraved on the foundation of the Statue of Liberty, which reminds our country how we were founded and what we stand for.  Link: EMMA LAZARUS; FAMOUS POEM :"THE NEW COLOSSUS"
   

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus



     Giving haven to the persecuted is part of what our country stands for.  After the photos in the link were published last week, the Obama Administration has agreed to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees, which is really a drop in the bucket compared to the amount displaced.  Some people will argue that we cannot take care of our own, but I assure you that our own are much better off than the Syrian refugees.  Let's all find charity in our heart and room in our land for these people.

Should the Punishment Fit the Crime?

Image from mysafetysign.com

     Without exception, every time I'm out for a spin in the car, I always see a driver with his phone in his face.  I usually notice this after his his car veers into my lane!  As of September 1st, 46 states, including my home state of Illinois, have outlawed texting while driving (State Distracted Driving Driving Laws).  I presume that these drivers know very well the law states that texting while driving is illegal.  However, their need to LOL, BFF, and OMG is apparently a greater priority than adhering to laws created to protect the population.  Why is texting while driving illegal?  BECAUSE IT INJURES AND KILLS, DUH-HUH!  Data published by the CDC sums up the casualties of this crime: Every day, 9 people die and 1,153 are injured because of drivers distracted either because of texting or cell (Distracted Driving | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center)!  Even more alarming was an informal study by the Car and Driver Magazine that showed that texting drivers perform even worse than do drunk drivers (Texting While Driving: How Dangerous is it? - Feature - Car and Driver).

The laws created for driving under the influence have pretty serious penalties.  For instance, a DUI conviction results in revocation of driving privileges for a year, suspension of vehicle registration, fines, and community service.  If one does this while transporting a young child, he or she can land himself or herself in prison for six months.  If the offense is repeated, the penalties for any subsequent convictions become more severe.  If people cannot police themselves and "hold their thumbs," perhaps the laws for texting while driving should have punishments similar, if not worse, than those of driving under the influence.  Maybe police checkpoints for texting, in which officers scan mobile devices for texts sent in the last five minutes, should be employed.  I bet license revocation and jail time would deter this inexcusable, unacceptable behavior from those who disrespect the laws meant to protect others.  From my observations, I think that the jails would be full.  I know so!

The message can wait. The population functioned very effectively a decade ago without texting while driving, and they can today.  Nothing that any of us have to message to each other is more important than preserving the lives of other people.