Toilet paper shortage!!

[RONSLYCHUK]

I see what you did there Robyn?

[datzenmike]

Keith, remember when you were a kid, when Sundays were quiet, no stores open, dad had to drive out of town if you wanted gas for a Sunday drive? Well it's come back. Maybe it's just the fine weather but there were a LOT of people out walking on the way home around noon.

[bertvorgon]

You got it Mike!

As I kinda did my adolescent years in Richmond, in the 60's, the only two gas stations were a LONG ways away. We would do the Sunday drive in his 1962 Mercury Station wagon with the 390 four barrel. That thing held almost every kid in the neighborhood.

Lots walking here too, air temp is still cold, specially in the breeze here, warm in the sun if no wind. I have gotten so much done here now what with Betty laid up and our self quarantine, yard clean, bike tuned up, getting rid of stuff I dragged home from work when I retired, building a wiring harness extension for my son-in-law's 90 watt solar panel for his small trailer.

I hope to ride to Specialty tomorrow but cannot go inside due to their lock down. I will have a nice snack in the Air Park next to them, wave, and ride back. Nice 12 km ride.

I just finished a war with a rat, which I will write about in my next post.

[bertvorgon]

Morning World!

Coming to you from self isolation in White Rock, another day of cases ramping up in some countries, even our own.

Maybe you will find this story kind of funny.

Last summer, another two of the original White Rock summer cottages were knocked down close to me, to build massive 5,000+ sq.ft houses for 2 people to live in. When this happens any of the local wildlife gets disturbed and has to find new living quarters.

At the same time, I was laid up last August due to a surgery and was less than diligent about checking out the periphery of my old house, which was built in 1922 if the land registry records are correct.

All that being said, about a month ago I notice sign of a rat in my basement, Damn! So, time to drag out my traps.

I set up my usual narrow trail to get to it, with some peanut butter covered cheese.

Nothing the first night, then, on the second night I see the trap has been tripped, but, no rat. I had set up my game camera to record the action and the picture shows what happened. He got clocked good and after following the blood trail, I figured he went back under a crawl space under my back porch to die… maybe.

A few days later I see sign again and my camera catches sight of him but, he is WISE now.

I had gone and looked outside and sure enough I find his entrance to the outside world, which I blocked off with large rocks. ( should have checked over the winter). He now is trapped in the crawl space/basement.

I then decide it’s time for some poison, which I hate to use but, I have too much camping gear etc to let him maybe get into that. I get some Warfarin blocks and carefully put a few around the basement. The game camera catches him taking a few pieces. I figure at this point he will die from the poison and/or starvation.

Many days later I see sign again but the camera sees nothing, I figure he has put his cloaking device on, it was weird.

Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to get an air rifle again, .177 Cal.. As the Government has closed down any areas close to Vancouver for shooting, due to irresponsible people, the air rifle would let Matt and I plink away with no issues. I figured now was a good time as I could maybe “pop” this guy. My wife said I could NOT use my .22 Cal in the basement.

CDN tire had a nice sale on for a Crosman rifle, complete with scope, for 150.00 bucks. I set up a target range in my basement and sighted it in with the iron sights, getting 10 shots in the bulls eye from 15 feet away, good enough for the rat. I donned my cammo clothes and set up a sniping blind with a kill zone in the middle of my basement floor, with some food in the center. I am up with my wife at all times of the night due to her knee surgery, so what the hell. Bill Murray comes to mind!

After a few tries and NO more sign, I figure he has expired. I’m hoping he died under the crawl space where it would not affect air quality in the house, ARG!

Now, for my birthday my Family all pitched in and gave me this cool bore scope, after I had mentioned how cool it was when I used Andy’s to check out my methanol system in the 510, which was a major headache to check out. I thought this would be a good time to try it out.

I snaked the camera, which is at the end of an 11’ line, up into the ceiling, where I could not pop my head in to take a look. Holy Crudmucker Mother of God, first look and there is the dead rat. I would say he was dead for maybe 3-4 days, just starting to get ripe. I bent up a coat hanger and after a few tries was able to drag him out into my oil tray. How lucky and yucky!

I have now gone around with wood and then foamed the crawl space closed and the outside is secure again.

I will do a review of this bore scope next, has so many uses I can see for the 510 and it has proven it’s worth already, for $89.00 bucks CDN could not go wrong.

[MikeY]

I can see retirement is working out for you. Lol My wife has been feeding birds, and rats it seems as well. Her Toyota started poorly one morning. Noticed something ate an injector wire. Soy based harnesses. Who thought that was a good idea. Easy fix. Trap set in the car. 7 rats in 4 days. They kept getting smaller. Been a month with nothing so for now look like we got the whole clan. No toilet paper was harmed in this story.

[datzenmike]

My rat comes home around 8:30 evenings and clomps over the ceiling with boots on. No way it's a mouse, though I did get one in the spare (cold) room that got into my apples. The cat's ears turn like radar dishes towards the ceiling corner long before I hear him. I can't get at him so I settle for sealing the house on the outside.... and still he's there. I suspect he climbs a nearby tree and jumps onto the roof. I set a trap in the tree with P butter and a sliver of almond. Had to cover it so neighbor cats and the crows don't get hurt. After a few weeks I gave up checking till recently. Yeah baby I got him.

[gooned]

There will be a great amount of new ideas being shared with all the time home, looking fw to some productive minds.

Last rat we had was as big as my shoe, it ate 6 holes in our crawl space pex lines before I got it...grrr.

[510rob]

we have had rats in the lab that were over 900g (aka over 2lbs)...

[bertvorgon]

There were times in my life I felt like a 65 Kilo rat in a maze....trying to get home from Richmond....

[bertvorgon]

Afternoon World,

Another day in lock down here, the White Rock pier took major flack yesterday as it was FILLED with people, as was the promenade. I think they may have closed it today.

As they have also shut down "personal" services I will be revisiting my hippie days, as my hair is getting much, much longer. I already put back up my Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and Janis posters, along with my black light and other mind benders. I know I have a bong somewhere in the Bert Vorgon Archives.....

Weird to look out at the Border last night and not see 1 tail light.

My daughter did a catch up grocery shopping for us so I am good for over a week now. If it would just bloody well warm up a bit I would go and work on my Datsun for a few hours.

My wife is caught now too, as the physio is closed,so we have to be diligent here at home for exercising her knee.

Had my game camera outside last night, to watch the raccoons, saw a couple of rats, maybe able to use that air rifle yet.

[510rob]

If asshats keep gathering so tightly in public places like White Rock, English Bay, etc... my guess is that Trudeau will be forced to enact the Federal Emergencies Act, thereby enabling the RCMP and various law enforcement agencies to start dealing with people...

but how the hell do the police deal with such an anomalous situation?!? Shout at the perps from 2 meters away "you are under arrest so don't try to resist arrest!"

[datzenmike]

Lock them all up in a small jail cell.

[bertvorgon]

Morning World.

Last night the decree came down that all parking is closed off in White Rock, for the beach, and only 15 mins for a few of the meters..enough time to run into the small liquor store.

Matt and I went for walk yesterday afternoon, even practicing the distance between us, and went down past the Pot store.
They had a security guard there, only allowing 1 person in at a time and the line up was spread across the parking lot, with at least 10 feet between the next person. As it is on First Nation land, they also made free parking, that then allowed people to get to their store, as everything else is shut down. Get the income one way or another.

As they have stopped construction on that massive green house grow op on 99 and the one on Zero ave at 264th, the news talked about how the pot industry has taken a major hit what with legal pot being over double the street price. There was NOT the huge rush as they thought, to buy product. Too many thought this was going to be a licence ( pun intended) to make a ton of money. Maybe they will go BACK to growing FOOD!

https://www.delta-optimist.com/news/hug ... 1.24090390

At least as we walked, most people, other than obvious couples,were staying apart and making "space" as we passed, not much going on out on the East beach segment anyhow.

Gold has shot back up today, over $2,200 a troz CDN, a reflection of how they think the U.S. economy is going/has taken a major hit and that unemployment will hit 12% in the coming quarter..yikes. Our dollar is at 68 cents so our cost of goods will sure get more expensive.

Small project day today, wiring harness construction and will do review of that bore scope.

have a good one!

[Mattndew76]

We are having huge waves of public crowd into our coastal communities. The hubris of people is not an endearing trait. Thats what those small communities of retired people need. Assholes transporting virus when we are supposed to be helping this situation get better.......

[datzenmike]

I got off at 10 this morning and went home. Got a call not to come in tomorrow because no work BUT to make sure NOT to come in at all after hours. Office locked down because apparently our other crew was down by Qualicum Beach and must have been exposed. My work partner grabbed my work boots and a few other things an put them in the work truck he drives home before they locked the doors. I'm not biking in Wednesday to stand outside the office so he can come get me IF there is anything.

Roads very quiet but not bare. Lots of people walking the River Walkway. What else can you do if no stores are open? Nine months from now there'll be a spike in births.... or work on your Datsun.