(bolivia) bolivian stink-ants

dear bill nye the science guy,

you're not going to believe this (i didn't until i smelled for myself). here in santa cruz there is a species of ant that stinks. and when i say stink, i mean that you can smell a single ant from more than 10 ft away! this is no exaggeration. my sister was telling me about these ants and how when they get in the kitchen they smell up the whole room, and after she kills them and throws away the paper towels, she immediately has to take out the trash. the smell is uncannily similar to bad halitosis. today i was sitting on the toilet (upstairs) and i smelled the same smell she'd forced me to experience a couple days ago when two such ants invaded her kitchen. i thought there can't possibly be an ant in this bathroom - there's nothing there for it to eat, and she said they never come upstairs. but i got up and looked at the base of the toliet, and there it was. one lone ant hanging out on the toilet. i struggled for a long time trying to figure out what to do with it. the easy solution is just to pick it up in a piece of toliet paper and flush it down the toilet, but in bolivia, you're not supposed to put toilet paper in the toilet. i did anyway. down the drain it went. and the smell went away.

bill, you know about biology. please tell me how it's possible that a tiny little ant, no more than 3/4 cm long, can stink up a room! it's worth writing home about.

astonished in bolivia

(bolivia) frog check

i keep forgetting to check for frogs in the toilet before i sit. this will be a problem one of these days. i pity the frog who is just out for a sunday afternoon swim into one of my sister's toilets. it's just not an easy habit to pick up, checking for frogs. it was hard enough to learn to check the toilet seat position when i was married.

(lima -> la paz -> santa cruz) sigh

too. much. travel.
too. much. luggage.

(houston -> lima) before rita

hurricane rita coming. not enough hours in houston to prepare. hope for best.

(bozeman -> minneapolis -> houston)

(dc -> houston -> minneapolis -> bozeman)

beautiful big sky montana.

(iceland -> dc)

(iceland) mother lode

apparently, iceland is where they took all the spiral cement trucks. last night we saw TWO. one green spiral and one black sortofspiral. this is the place to come for cement truck viewing.



i believe all the icelandic elves and fairies scattered around the world, collected all the spiral cement trucks, and brought them to this peninsula in western iceland. yes, that would explain it.

(dc -> iceland)

(dc -> iceland)

(dc) pirate name

My pirate name is:

Red Jenny Kidd

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.