Why are mosquitos a thing?
I understand that bats eat mosquitoes (thanks, bats!) but other than being vectors for disease, what purpose do they serve?! *screams the woman who got 5 bites standing outside for 30 seconds*
There is scientific evidence that mosquitos are, indeed, attracted to certain people more than others. (It's not in your head!) I am one of those people. Whenever mosquitos are around, they go for the ankles, back of the knees, and the one spot on your arm you can never comfortably reach to itch. If I don't cover up, use repellent, or stand in a cloud of citronella, I am guaranteed to be a feast for the blood suckers.
Within minutes, these bites erupt into raised areas of swelling, turn red, and itch like mad. If I can control myself through the first burst of itching, I tend to be okay. But, more often than not, I don't notice that I'm already itching a bite and then I'm stuck with scratchy spots for a few days.
But, seriously, would there be a global calamity if we eradicated mosquitos? It's October and I'm still smacking the buggers off my skin. Thanks, global warming!
Which bug annoys you the most?
I’m more than halfway through Hue 1968 which is a lot further than I expected to be by this time. The book is great but I do have a complaint about the layout. At the start of each major section, there is a map to help orient you to the physical action. Those maps, however, seem to be one section off. I always have to flip two sections back to actually be in the right place. Not a huge problem, but noticeably annoying
I’ve got new side reads! I just finished Journal with Purpose: Over 1000 Motifs, Alphabets and Icons to Personalize Your Bullet or Dot Journal by Helen Colebrook… which is just a glorified printed Pinterest board - lots of doodle ideas for those of use who bullet journal. I am now reading Journal Me Organized: The Complete Guide to Practical and Creative Planning by Rebecca Spooner. It’s more in-depth - focusing on the actual act of journaling and less on the decoration.
The rainbow colors of the moon. [GreenFlash.Photo]
The uniquely American invention of the Chinese food takeout container. [The Dieline]
I'm shocked - shocked, I say! - to hear that women took on additional office work during the pandemic but were not rewarded or recognized for it. [HBR]
Smart raccoon. [@notaterrornerd]
Are these the most iconic book covers in history? [Lit Hub]
Put these things in your dishwasher. [Apartment Therapy]
Honoring the foodways of your heritage. [Life Kit]
Gravestone recipes. [Atlas Obscura]
Would you say that to a friend? Self compassion is good for you. [Hidden Brain]
Feeding a sourdough library. [Atlas Obscura]
How nostalgia moved from disease to economic force. [Throughline]
Contagion is one of those movies I will always watch. It was a great movie before COVID and, while it's creepier now, it's still a great movie. When we watched this week, I was struck by just how prescient much of it was. [Amazon Prime]
John Oliver covering the topic of misinformation should be required viewing. [Last Week Tonight]
Our new salmon recipe of the week was sheet pan balsamic salmon. It was a touch more involved than I thought it would be (somehow I missed you had to reduce the sauce), but the result was tasty. I don't recommend making the reduction in advance. I did and it seized up so I had to thin it with more balsamic. [Sitka Salmon Shares]
I love soup but it's a bit tricky for our toddler to eat. So, I made a creamy chicken noodle skillet. All the flavor of soup with less of a mess. Despite adding peas - our kiddo's current favorite vegetable - she didn't touch it. I liked it and the leftovers aren't bad. [The Girl Who Ate Everything]
On Wednesday, I could not deep brain and needed a project that was productive but mindless. At work, I save a lot of "hey, I want to read this later" stuff. It's in my email, in my OneDrive, and on various lists. I decided to consolidate all my work reading in one location. I'm opting to use Zotero for this since it can save the citation material which I can use to track down full-text later. (It can also save PDFs if you have those.)
Even if you’re not an academic, I recommend Zotero because it makes saving citations, links, and reading notes easy. Plus, you can create folders and share things with other. And, there’s a handy browser extension I use almost every day. Also, it’s FREE.
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This coming Thursday, I’m going to be knocking off a HUGE to do item I’ve had on my personal list for years. YEARS. I am so excited to have this done.