May 15, 2006

  • Getting it out of my system…

    I’m not foolish enough to promise that I won’t complain about the
    mosquitoes again this year, but you may consider this a big, overall
    complaint about the bloodsuckers.  I just killed my first skeeter
    of the season, and I’m gloating over the fact that I got one of them
    before any of them bit me.  It’s usually the other way
    round.  In Alaska, we have a number of jokes about our climate and
    environment.  Many of them start out, “In Alaska, we have two
    seasons:”

    • snow, and mosquitoes
    • tourists, and no tourists
    • mosquitoes, and no mosquitoes

    …and so forth.

    Last week, a man passing through on the highway in a rental car was
    killed when he hit a moose on the stretch of highway near the spring
    where we get our water.  He must have been going pretty
    fast.  It tore the roof off the car.  Presumably, the moose
    was killed, too, but that wasn’t mentioned in the news stories.

    After a series of sunny days, we finally let the fire go out in the
    woodstove yesterday.  Today is cloudy and cool, so it’s not
    particularly comfortable in here, but not bad enough to warrant
    starting a new fire.  It’s not life-threatening to the tropical
    houseplants, and I could put on extra layers for warmth. 

    One inconvenient factor in letting the fire go out is that my big cast
    iron mug warmer is now the coldest object in the room.  I now pour
    just a half a cup at a time from the insulated carafe, so I’m not
    forced to choose between drinking cold coffee and getting up to nuke
    what’s left in the cup.  Another downside to summer is the lack of
    readily available hot water.  Without running water or an
    automatic water heater, we use big cookpots on top of the woodstove to
    keep a warm supply on hand.  Now, when I want hot water, I have to
    heat it.

    Okay, that’s it.  That’s my annual lament at the turn of this
    season.  I feel relatively blameless for bitching about mosquitoes
    and a big, cold and usless hunk of cast iron taking up space in my
    living room, as I’m exulting in the greening of the outdoors, the
    chirping of the arctic wood frogs in the muskeg, and the lengthening
    daylight hours.  I tend not to bitch about the onset of winter,
    because it means no more mosquitoes.  Besides, wouldn’t it be
    stupid for someone who chooses to live here to bitch about the cold?

    I could use a little advice on Xanga netiquette if anyone has
    any.  Somebody with an identity I don’t recall having seen before
    has asked me to be his or her friend.  It could be someone I know
    quite well, with a new identity.  It could be a spammer trying to
    get as much site traffic and as many friends as possible.  I’m
    inclined to ignore it, and not even check out the inviter’s site. 
    Am I being rude to so cavalierly reject a friendly overture?

Comments (11)

  • I think it is good to be wary…..

  • not a recognizable identity? Ignore it. Probably a spammer. You’re not being cavalier at all.

  • I once heard that the mosquito is the state bird of Minnesota. But maybe it’s really Alaska.

  • My dad always said “for every curse there’s a blessing”. Thriving mosquitos mean you haven’t been inundated with DDT or other poisins. Somebody thinks this is Myspace and everybody knows, the more friends you have, the cooler you are. I don’t think it would hurt to add him, but it certainly wouldn’t not to. I probably wouldn’t, but I’m not cool.

  • *shrugs* I’d say it’s up to you. The friends thing is hardly compulsory. If it was me, I’d probably visit the site once just to see if it was someone I knew under a different id and then make my mind up.

  • …that was it? “be my friend”?
    i use icq from time to time…and if i get one of those “be my friend” requests my quickest reply is…”why?”. if they don’t have the time or the forthought to make it a reasoned request with some background? the IGNORE button is next.
    if this person can’t compose a simple explanation as to why you should be friends? i say forget them, if it’s important they’ll try again.

  • I think you summed it up in one sentance “It could be a spammer trying to get as much site traffic and as many friends as possible”

  • Feel free to ignore it if you don’t recognize the user.  If you don’t recognize, then it’s most likely a spammer.  If you don’t want to appear rude, feel free to reply with a “why? do I know you?” to the rrequest.

  • so.
    i’m sitting here thinking about what i would do.
    [of course i'd go there...read and wonder if i knew who it was...]
    [and then i'd do nothing because i've opted out of nudges, friends and footprints...]
    and then i read SteveJ’s comment?
    and i started to laugh.
    who knew alaska was the state bird of minnesota?

    so nice to know i’m not the only one who can turn a phrase into exactly what i didn’t mean.

  • What if you didn’t choose Alaska?  What if Alaska chose YOU?

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