Mentor Away: Little or No Internet Access Until Monday

[wolram]

Strange, but every time i hear of some one moving, i have a picture of an old truck with grand ma sat atop in her rocking chair and Jethro driving, and hillbilly music playing.

 

[Evo]

Strange, but every time i hear of some one moving, i have a picture of an old truck with grand ma sat atop in her rocking chair and Jethro driving, and hillbilly music playing.

I loved that show.

 

[rewebster]

I keep forgetting I'm not 25 anymore. I don't "feel" old.

well, it's a terrible way to be 'reminded'

 

[Evo]

Demon spiders

I can't find them, but every night I wake up with 4-6 new bites. I have changed all the linens, washed everything, vacuumed. I can't find anything!

Last night I woke to find bites on my neck, arm, and back. I tore the bed apart. Nothing.

I'm washing everything again, even the comforter.

It's not mosquito bites, they're very obviously spider bites. I need to buy something at the drugstore for them (the bites, not the spiders). I'm wondering if I get enough spider venom in me if I can develop an allergy and go into anaphylactic shock . Remember, we're talking about me here where the unlikely becomes the inevitable.

I believe that I am fighting a losing battle with a demon horde of spiders.

I'm beginning to understand the guy that burned his house down last week to get rid of some wasps.

 

[rewebster]

I guess I let you suffer long enough with this problem.


Probably Fleas---

and Probably from the previous tenant. Fleas were bad this year. You can't see them. They jump too often and are too fast to see.

You should bomb each room, if you don't they may come back again.

(it wasn't someone biting you from another dimension)

 

[Evo]

I guess I let you suffer long enough with this problem.


Probably Fleas---

and Probably from the previous tenant. Fleas were bad this year. You can't see them. They jump too often and are too fast to see.

You should bomb each room, if you don't they may come back again.

(it wasn't someone biting you from another dimension)

No, it's not fleas, flea bites are different. These are venomous bites, puffy with hard white raised heads that quickly develop, much different from the tiny red spots flea bites make.

 

[rewebster]

I think I would still bomb every room

________________________________

"Confirmed spider bites of humans are relatively uncommon. Most spiders are non-aggressive and only bite humans when accidentally pressed against the skin while hiding in clothing, shoes, bedding.

Although all spiders have some type of venom, most spiders are too small or otherwise incapable of puncturing the skin and only a few species of spiders have venom toxic enough to cause harm.

Spiders are often blamed for skin sores or apparent bites when no other cause is found."

http://www.badspiderbites.com/spider-bite-treatment.php

________________________________

have you been rolling in hay or grass lately?---

---maybe they're chigger bites

 

[Moonbear]

No, it's not fleas, flea bites are different. These are venomous bites, puffy with hard white raised heads that quickly develop, much different from the tiny red spots flea bites make.

Unless you've developed an allergy/sensitivity to the flea bites. They might not even be left from a previous tenant, but brought in by Dr. Foofer and now being shared during his confinement. You're not going to get that many spider bites overnight.

 

[Evo]

Unless you've developed an allergy/sensitivity to the flea bites. They might not even be left from a previous tenant, but brought in by Dr. Foofer and now being shared during his confinement. You're not going to get that many spider bites overnight.

Not even if it's a demon hoard of spiders? Or a single demonically possesed spider?

I'm pretty sure it's not fleas, perhaps bed bugs? I'm actually using a bed that was in storage for the Evo Child since it's smaller than my bed and gives me more room. I don't need a king size bed for just me and the two critters.

I guess some kind of bug bomb is in order, but I'll probably end up gassing myself. I killed a HUGE brown spider in my room yesterday and no new bites this morning.

 

[Evo]

New topic - calcium deposits on crystal.

I have some calcium deposits on two crystal glasses (it's not hard water etching). I was going to buy one of the calcium and lime solvents, but they come in huge bottles, so I bought some white vinegar to soak the glasses in. That should do the trick, shouldn't it? Anyone have any idea how long it will take to dissolve this way? (I want to know when to give up)

 

[turbo]

You might want to try scrubbing the crystal with toothpaste or a paste of water and Barkeeper's Friend. Vinegar is probably not going to do much for you. Calcium is tough.

 

[Evo]

You might want to try scrubbing the crystal with toothpaste or a paste of water and Barkeeper's Friend. Vinegar is probably not going to do much for you. Calcium is tough.

I'm afraid of etching the glass. I guess I will have to break down and get the scary stuff.

Oooh, hydrochloric acid. I found that suggestion through google.

 

[rewebster]

Vinegar may work--it has for me. But don't throw out the vinegar. It's good for spraying and killing both varieties of fleas (including the kind that lay eggs just below the skin that end up looking like puffy with hard white raised heads) and brown recluse spiders.

 

[Astronuc]

New topic - calcium deposits on crystal.

I have some calcium deposits on two crystal glasses (it's not hard water etching). I was going to buy one of the calcium and lime solvents, but they come in huge bottles, so I bought some white vinegar to soak the glasses in. That should do the trick, shouldn't it? Anyone have any idea how long it will take to dissolve this way? (I want to know when to give up)

Is the crystal from the old place, or was it washed in the new place? I presume hard water is the problem?

Vinegar should work - perhaps warmed. Lemon juice might work too.

I seem to remember Lime-a-way, but that's nasty on SS and metals, so one would use it in a plastic or ceramic container. One can get Lime-a-way in a spray bottle, but then dilute it before disposal. And wear rubber gloves!

I thought there were special dish detergents for use with hardwater.

One could also try a non-abrasive cleaner.

 

[turbo]

I'm afraid of etching the glass. I guess I will have to break down and get the scary stuff.

If toothpaste is mild enough not to ruin the enamel on your teeth, it should be safe for glassware. Test it on other (cheaper) glass first to see if you can scratch or dull it.

I looked up calcium, glass, etc on Google, and ran across this:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/tips/sick_glass.html

Toothpaste is one of the recommended treatments.

 

[Moonbear]

Vinegar should work...if it's going to work, an overnight soak should be long enough.

As for your bugs, yes, bedbugs are possible too. Look around the seams of the mattress. Actually, if the mattress had been in storage a while, it could have carried in some sort of mite as well. Yep, sounds like bug bombing is the best approach. If you're only getting the bites in the bedroom, then at least you know which room to treat.

 

[turbo]

Evo, look carefully at the bites. Spiders have paired fangs, and their bites leave two raised bumps side-by-side. I have a bite scar one on the inside of my left middle finger that has been there for years and years, unchanged. Some spiders can do some pretty impressive tissue damage. If your bites aren't pairs of injection sites, they are not from spiders.

 

[Astronuc]

Bed bugs (and possibly spiders too) will retreat to crevices in the mattress, in the walls/floors. They will migrate to adjacent rooms, and even adjacent apartments, so one has to be careful of attached apartments.

See if this applies - http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp

See also - http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/entfactpdf/ent58.pdf

In recent years, bed bugs have also made a comeback in the U.S. They are increasingly being encountered in homes, apartments, hotels, motels, dormitories, shelters and modes of transport.

. . .

How Infestations Originate
It often seems that bed bugs arise from nowhere. The bugs are efficient hitchhikers and are usually transported in on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture, etc. Outbreaks can often be traced to travel, especially in countries or cities where bed bugs are common. This is a particular problem for hotels, motels, and apartments, where turnover of occupants is constant. Bed bugs are small, cryptic and agile, escaping detection after crawling into suitcases, boxes, and belongings. The eggs are almost impossible to see when laid on most surfaces. Use of secondhand beds, couches, and furniture is another way that the bugs are transported into previously non-infested dwellings.

Once bed bugs are introduced, they often spread room to room throughout a building. Unlike cockroaches that feed on filth, the level of cleanliness has little to do with most bed bug infestations.

 

[Moonbear]

Bed bugs (and possibly spiders too) will retreat to crevices in the mattress, in the walls/floors. They will migrate to adjacent rooms, and even adjacent apartments, so one has to be careful of attached apartments.

Yeah, when she said the mattress had been in storage, that really bumped that to the forefront as the likely culprit (or source of the culprits). Of course, it also could have been picked up in the moving truck too.

One of my friends decided to just keep the rental truck an extra night and bug bomb the entire contents when moving into a new house, just to ensure none of the bugs of the previous apartments/condos/storage spaces or any hitch-hiking in the truck from previous users lived to move into the new house. Plus, when it was time to air things out, all they had to do was open the door on the truck. I just might try that when I move to a new home since the current place seems to attract ants, and I don't want to move them with me.

 

[rewebster]

For the glass, if the vinegar doesn't work, try working/rubbing/'laying a small piece of cloth soaked' in something with little sodium hydroxide or sodium hypophosphite ----and if that works (and/or even if it doesn't work)---get a little bit of jeweler's rouge and rub the spots little for 5-15 minutes (while you're waiting for something interesting to pop up on a thread, as some of us do as we bounce around the web).

________________

(sometimes I feel like a fly caught 'on the web' for as much time as I do --just once in a while---spend on the thing)

_____________________

I've heard 'soaking' glass in Coca-Cola works too

 

[rewebster]

OK--5 weeks now---need an update on the move, arm and back, and bug bites

 

[Evo]

Still moving. I'm waiting for the Evo Child to get here, she has promised to help. It will be so much more productive.

Arm is getting better, still hurts when I move it, stlll can't straighten it. Back is better, and I found my special pillows, so my neck is MUCH better.

Problem : I have very deep very tall cabinets, which is a waste of storage space. I'm considering making some shelves. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'm good at simple carpentry.

Haven't had time to befriend the squirrels yet, but I noticed I have some bunnies.

Also, the largest freaking hawk I've ever seen. I can't find a picture of it online, but from the head and beak I know it's a hawk. It's over 2 feet tall. The chest, down to the claws is pure white, with a white throat and the white goes up the middle front of the face in a bar that covers the eyes and goes above the beak. The rest of the bird is grey with an orange-rust tail, but I can't find a rusted tail hawk with the other features. Magnificent bird. It scared the living daylights out of the fruit bat. That's how I noticed it, he was a little upset.

 

[turbo]

Problem : I have very deep very tall cabinets, which is a waste of storage space. I'm considering making some shelves. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'm good at simple carpentry.

NOOOO! Use only hand-saws and have 911 enabled as a one-button dial on your cell phone, even then.

 

[rewebster]

Problem : I have very deep very tall cabinets, which is a waste of storage space. I'm considering making some shelves. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I'm good at simple carpentry.

really?---you mean, like cutting a board straight?

------------------------

sounds like a Cooper's Hawk (red-tailled)
they have some variation in the species

http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/CoopersHawk8.jpg


http://www.raptor-gallery.com/1-14-07-RT-Hawk/images/_MG_1747.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/Pages/CoopersHawkp.html

 

[rewebster]

turbo--I haven't been around here long (down here in GD anyway*)-----(is she really that...--uhhh--what's a good word as to not offend?)



(*it may seem like a lot longer to some people)

 

[Evo]

really?---you mean, like cutting a board straight?

NOOOO! Use only hand-saws and have 911 enabled as a one-button dial on your cell phone, even then.

I am within crawling distance of a doctor's office.

 

[turbo]

turbo--I haven't been around here long (down here in GD anyway)-----(is she really that...--uhhh--what's a good word as to not offend?)

Klutz and accident-prone are probably safe.

 

[Moonbear]

Hmm...might make it harder to befriend the squirrels with that photo lying around.

Evo, do you mean adding more shelves inside the cabinets? They don't have enough shelves, or you're adding shelving elsewhere? If they're tall and deep, I'd just put all the shelves low, and use the upper parts of the cabinets for storing all the big pots, tall vases, etc., that you rarely need anyway, and it'll get them up out of the way, while leaving all the lower shelves you can reach for stuff you need every day...dishes, glasses, canned goods, etc.

How do you plan on even cutting boards for shelves if you can't bend your arm yet? Y'know, they make pre-cut shelving...you might want to buy that stuff rather than turn on a saw...you know it's just asking for trouble to start using power tools when you're almost done mending an arm, because it's definitely time for the next injury.

 

[rewebster]

Still moving. I'm waiting for the Evo Child to get here, she has promised to help. It will be so much more productive.

Arm is getting better, still hurts when I move it, stlll can't straighten it. Back is better, and I found my special pillows, so my neck is MUCH better.

Hopefully you'll get moved today with the help


I'm glad to hear that you're healing, and you're (almost) back to normal

 

[Astronuc]

Arm is getting better, still hurts when I move it, stlll can't straighten it. Back is better, and I found my special pillows, so my neck is MUCH better.

Try to gently extend the arm to get range of motion back. I'm glad the arm, back and neck are healing. Don't forget to stretch - but gently. Perhaps one can treat onself to a massage.

Also, the largest freaking hawk I've ever seen. I can't find a picture of it online, but from the head and beak I know it's a hawk. It's over 2 feet tall. The chest, down to the claws is pure white, with a white throat and the white goes up the middle front of the face in a bar that covers the eyes and goes above the beak. The rest of the bird is grey with an orange-rust tail, but I can't find a rusted tail hawk with the other features. Magnificent bird. It scared the living daylights out of the fruit bat. That's how I noticed it, he was a little upset.

Probably a red-tailed hawk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk

We have a pair of them in our neighborhood. They can get up to 24-26 inches. There are variations of this bird.

 

[Evo]

Probably a red-tailed hawk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk

We have a pair of them in our neighborhood. They can get up to 24-26 inches. There are variations of this bird.

I can't find any red tailed hawks that are completely snow white except for the wings, back and the sides and back of the head, which are charcoal grey. I can't find anything like it and I've gone through hundreds of photos.

 

[Astronuc]

I can't find any red tailed hawks that are completely snow white except for the wings, back and the sides and back of the head, which are charcoal grey. I can't find anything like it and I've gone through hundreds of photos.

Any of these?

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-tailed_Hawk_dtl.html#description

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i3370id.html
Light morph adult:
- Brown head, nape, back, and upperwings
- White chin, throat, breast, and belly
- Dark belly band formed by vertical streaks in band across belly
- White underwings have dark carpal bar on leading edge, dark outer primary tips and a dark trailing edge and are otherwise pale with dark bars on the flight feathers on all but the outermost primaries
- Tail appears brick red above and pink below
- Breast and back pattern vary with geography, with some birds being intermediate between light and dark morphs

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/red-tailed-hawk.html

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Buteo_jamaicensis.html

http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/redtail.shtml

It's hard to find a good picture on-line.

Or perhaps

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5298/redtailedhawknm3.jpg

 

[Evo]

None of those. And the feathers had no stripes. The underside of the tail was a solid rust color

 

[rewebster]

Ferruginous Hawk

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...uggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1

 

[turbo]

Red-tails can appear very white from underneath. They are blocky-built birds, and you might take that into account.

 

[Evo]

I wasn't look at him from underneath, because the trees are already pretty high from where I stand outside my back door, I had a frontal view of him, it wasn't until he flew off that I noticed the rust underside of his tail. None of these hawks are fully white from brow to toe. Remember this bird had a bar of white going up the middle of his face and over the top of his beak. He was there for around 30 minutes and although he was less than 20 feet away, I watched him through binoculars, so I had an excellent close up view of him.

 

[Astronuc]

Ferruginous Hawk

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...uggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1

Could be. They are the same size as a red-tailed.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ferruginous_Hawk.html

 

[Evo]

Could be. They are the same size as a red-tailed.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ferruginous_Hawk.html

No, not even close.

 

[Astronuc]

Well the largest hawk is the Northern Goshawk which is mostly white underneath and grey on top.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Goshawk_dtl.html

Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are smaller than the others mentioned.

On the other hand, your hawk could be a variant of the red-tailed. In the picture I posted, the underneath is shadow, but has a very light whitish color. That hawk was probably more than 500 ft in the air when I took it with max zoom.

 

[Evo]

Damn I wish I'd had a camera, I didn't realize it was impossible to find a picture of one.

 

[rewebster]

http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=1052

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Northern+Goshawk&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

they all come in different shades (not like penguins) Astronuc may have hit it

 

[Evo]

http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=1052

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Northern+Goshawk&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

they all come in different shades (not like penguins) Astronuc may have hit it

No, those aren't even close.

 

[rewebster]

 

[Moonbear]

There seem to be a lot of variants of the red-tailed hawk, and it's a year-round resident of Kansas. Take a look at this link (hope nobody already posted this one...I haven't followed all of them).
http://www.gpnc.org/hawkrt.htm

And the goshawk fits your description, except for the rust tail...but maybe they just don't mention it on this site.
http://www.gpnc.org/goshawk.htm

Another possibility is that it's a juvenile of one of those species that hasn't fully gotten its adult colorings yet, so doesn't quite fit the descriptions.

Edit:
Here's a description of a juvenile goshawk -

Brown above and heavily streaked below. Back with some white or cinnamon streaks and white spots. Tail dark brown with jagged dark bars. Underparts whitish with broad dark brown streaks. Pale eyebrow stripe usually visible on brown head. Eyes yellow.

If it's sort of a "teenager," it might have mostly the markings of the adult on the body, and still be retaining some juvenile features, like the brown bars under the tail, which could look "rust" due to fading.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Goshawk_dtl.html

 

[rewebster]

http://library.thinkquest.org/18166/raptor_list.html

 

[Astronuc]

Damn I wish I'd had a camera, I didn't realize it was impossible to find a picture of one.

Well, it's complicated because of all the variations that can occur. I think Moonbear's point about juvenile vs mature adult may be a factor as well.

Charcoal grey on the back sounds like a N. Goshawk though. From the ThinkQuest link provided by rewebster, the description of the N. Goshawk -

The adults are identifiable by their gray and blue body, dark head cap and the white line above the eye. Their eyes are red, and has a black stripe running from the eye to the back of the head. The tail is blue barred black, and the underside is white streaked black and gray. The neck is also white, with some small black markings. Immatures are brown bodied and capped, with white undersides streaked brown.

It may be possible that the hawk is in it's first or second year and in transition from brown to white underneath, with charcoal grey on the dorsal area.

The ferruginous hawk would be brown on the upper side, and red-tails also seem to be mostly brown, at least the one's around our area are.
http://library.thinkquest.org/18166/ferruginous_hawk.html

Be careful with FruitBat because he's probably the size of a jack rabbit and could easily be prey of such a hawk if the hawk was so inclined. I think that would be unusual though.

 

[turbo]

Evo, the osprey fits every bit of your description, except the rust-colored tail. They are impressively large when seen up close, are all white underneath, and have a prominent mask across their eyes.

 

[Evo]

Thanks guys, but those pictures are so far off, that my bird would have to be a mutant. We're talking absolutely snow wite, the legs were heavily feathered like an eagle's, that was the first thing that caught my eye, no spindly legs. There is no brown, no speckling, no bands. The marks and coloring on the head are completely wrong, it was a single bar of white going up his throat to above the beak and extending out to the eyes on the side. Solid charcoal gray everywhere else. It was so striking that I made a pathetic sketch of it while I was watching it, I was also on the computer looking at it through the window trying to find a picture of it. It was HUGE. It was there so long that two squirrels actually charged at it on the branch it was on, but it just looked bored and never moved, I was sure one of those squirrels was going to be lunch.

Turbo, it doesn't match the osprey either. The head was solid charcoal gray except for that white bar going straight up the front of it's face. It really reminded me of an eagle, but the beak was more hawk like.

It's got to come back and I've got to get a camera. I've even considered some sort of buzzard, but the markings and color don't match either. Perhaps it's a heagle (hawk-eagle), or a beagle (buzzard-eagle), or a bawk (buzzard-hawk).

Keep posting pictures, we're bound to find it. Two weeks in Death Valley for the winner!

I wonder if the University here has a an avain expert that would know? Or the wildlife preserve near here, they have a bunch of pictures of wild birds in the area.

 

[Astronuc]

The head was solid charcoal gray except for that white bar going straight up the front of it's face. It really reminded me of an eagle, but the beak was more hawk like.

That sounds like the Goshawk. It would be great if you could get a picture.

With the squirrels and rabbits around, he or she will likely stick around.


As for a resource try - http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/zimgui.html

or somebody here - http://www2.ku.edu/%7Eeeb/

or contact the local chapter of the Audubon Society - http://www.burroughs.org (?)

 

[Evo]

That sounds like the Goshawk. It would be great if you could get a picture.

With the squirrels and rabbits around, he or she will likely stick around.


As for a resource try - http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/zimgui.html

or somebody here - http://www2.ku.edu/~eeb/

or contact the local chapter of the Audubon Society - http://www.burroughs.org (?)

It's no where near a goshawk, look at the pictures and read the descriptions! Where does my description sound anything like a goshawk?

Sorry to seem snippy, but goshawks don't look anything like it. The end. Of goshawks.