25.08.06
    So what have I been up to lately? Well, there's this:
and these things:
Because, y'know, by posting it I can convince myself I'm actually doing something.

21.08.06
    Friday was the night of spiders. Now yes, I did work with spiders, and yes under 100x magnification or so, but they were dead. And they were small, most under a centimeter. And I knew they were there. Last night’s arachnid components were surprises.
    I saw the first one while I was driving. Never a good time, I assure you. I have had spiders drop down from the ceiling of my car to dangle in front of my face while I was driving. This one was on the driver’s side window, and it was dark, so it took a while for me to decide whether it was on the outside or the inside. It was of a significant size, about an inch in diameter, including legs, with a long, pointed abdomen. I cast many a wary glance at it in the passing illumination of streetlamps before I was sure it was outside. Still, I made sure my window was wound up securely. I drove a bit faster on some deserted stretches of road to see if it would blow off, but alas it did not. It crawled behind the pillar between the windshield and the side window and I lost track of it.
    So I really shouldn’t have been so unprepared for the giant spider on the basement wall waiting behind the door when I walked into the house. Right at eye level. A big grey thing 4 inches in diameter, including the spindly legs. I could have left it alone, but then I would get to sleep knowing it was not only in the house, but also highly mobile, and it knew what I looked like. I still had my hiking boots on, and considered a vertical stomp, but it was right at the upper extreme of how high I could kick, decreasing my accuracy. I opted for the tried-and-true whack-it-with-a-broom method. It didn’t move as I turned on some lights and retrieved a worn, green broom that has smote many a spider. I lined myself up and drove the broom hard into the wall. It didn’t kill it, but it lost a leg and fell onto the floor, where I quickly dispatched it with a few more sharp jabs.
    Then on Saturday I was cooking lunch when I noticed a small plant spider on the ceiling. A teeny thing, much smaller than the others, this one was taken care of with a paper towel and a distinct lack of drama.
    So this contradicts my usual mantra of coexistence with other species. Spiders aren’t so much harmful and creepy. They probably eat the things that we would consider more serious household pests. This is pure human fear and prejudice leading to the deaths of other organisms. And I sleep better at night because of it.