what i learned today

we don't have squirrels in our roof. we have raccoons. sigh. But I learned that raccoons hate the smell of ammonia and, unlike squirrels, don't really care for the presence of people near their nests. So if you make it be known that you're there and you don't want them there, the 'coons will probably leave. that being said, the little devils are smart. I put four layers of steel mesh over their hole in my roof. They didn't attempt to chew threw the mesh. Instead, they picked out the staples from the staple gun, peeled up the screen, and had a nice screened-in porch for themselves. Great. So, I got a couple gallons of ammonia, cleaned some windows, shined some floors, and then dumped the waste ammonia into that hole some 28 feet in the air. It was kind of scary, carrying the stuff up there so high in the air. In my mind, I began to pour the stuff down the hold and the raccoons, now really pissed off, leap upon my face, gouging out my eyeballs and causing me to fall backwards to my paralysis or death. Thankfully they weren't there at the time. Hopefully they won't come back, because I had to return the ladder. I also learned that I like Neutral Milk Hotel and that Muse is better than I first thought. Also, The Social Constrution of 'What'? is a good book. I'm not saying it's for everyone, but if you're interested in the whole concept of "social constructionism" then it gives a really detailed but still fun exploration of the problem. I should put an excerpt of it up here so you know what the heck I'm talking about.