The Shining, Acid Beetles, and the Dry Season
October 7, 2005
It’s been seven weeks. Only eight more until break. Claustrophobic is a good word, but it doesn’t quite get to the heart of things. Tomorrow we are going to look at a scooter someone is selling. We are hopeful that it works out so as to get us out of each other’s hair.
It’s amazing, actually that we haven’t killed each other. I have pondered more than once the Jack Nicholson character from The Shining. We work together, we play together, we live together, we can’t get away from each other. It’s very challenging. I knew it would be, but reality is always so different from supposition. Wednesday I took a bike ride all by myself. I rode all the way to another mine village; one I hadn’t even known existed. It was a great ride. The solitude was invigorating.
We have gotten a ton of rain lately. Overall it’s been a wetter year than normal with October leaving its average in the dust. 50mm of rain have fallen in the first five days of the month. This has made for some beautifully cool mornings and afternoons. It meant that my bike ride was not the sweat fest I previously experienced.
Right now is acid beetle season. Acid beetles are about one inch long. They are black and skinny and they fly. Like moths, they are attracted to lights. They will fly blindly towards them. If they happen to stumble into a human on their way, they are likely to deposit a liquid that creates a chemical burn. If the burned area is not immediately rinsed, the burn will worsen and the fluid can be spread through contact. If the fluid or bug is ingested, it is usually fatal. Fortunately they are supposed to be out of season in two weeks.
We should also be seeing the end of the rainy season which means mosquitoes will be less of an issue. We have to focus on these positive things or we will go crazy.
It’s been seven weeks. Only eight more until break. Claustrophobic is a good word, but it doesn’t quite get to the heart of things. Tomorrow we are going to look at a scooter someone is selling. We are hopeful that it works out so as to get us out of each other’s hair.
It’s amazing, actually that we haven’t killed each other. I have pondered more than once the Jack Nicholson character from The Shining. We work together, we play together, we live together, we can’t get away from each other. It’s very challenging. I knew it would be, but reality is always so different from supposition. Wednesday I took a bike ride all by myself. I rode all the way to another mine village; one I hadn’t even known existed. It was a great ride. The solitude was invigorating.
We have gotten a ton of rain lately. Overall it’s been a wetter year than normal with October leaving its average in the dust. 50mm of rain have fallen in the first five days of the month. This has made for some beautifully cool mornings and afternoons. It meant that my bike ride was not the sweat fest I previously experienced.
Right now is acid beetle season. Acid beetles are about one inch long. They are black and skinny and they fly. Like moths, they are attracted to lights. They will fly blindly towards them. If they happen to stumble into a human on their way, they are likely to deposit a liquid that creates a chemical burn. If the burned area is not immediately rinsed, the burn will worsen and the fluid can be spread through contact. If the fluid or bug is ingested, it is usually fatal. Fortunately they are supposed to be out of season in two weeks.
We should also be seeing the end of the rainy season which means mosquitoes will be less of an issue. We have to focus on these positive things or we will go crazy.
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 12:37 PM
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