What are you doing today?

[MattW67 183]

Today has been a big change for me. After 12 years of being a type 1 diabetic I’m finally off pen injections and now on a pump! It’s quite a different experience to the traditional injections but I’m loving it so far. It should greatly benefit my overall health and hopefully keep my HBA1C under control

 

[GaryE28 26]

@MattW This is big news. As a type something or other diabetic (not type 1, not exactly type 2...), I haven't needed insulin (yet), but I can imagine going on the pump would be liberating.

I closed the last window in the fishroom this week - the nights are getting cold. That means the room temperature will go up from the dehumidifier, and different fish will breed. I have a bunch of Chromidotilapia kingsleyae breeding, but it's a rare fish no one wants - ditto for my Pelvicachromis pulcher, who are common but not sought after. The Nanochromis have gone through first spawns with no success, but no one here knows what they are, so there's no interest. They're beautiful, but unknown. In general, the second spawn is successful with them, but then what?
My killies are no longer moving at club auctions, so I'll stop bringing them for a few months to get that going again. It's an interesting conundrum for someone who likes fish breeding. If I want to move fish out or save and raise fry, I need to breed the same fish we see in petstores. So far, my most popular 'sellers' have been cardinals, pristellas and black neons. Hmmm.

I'll just keep and raise small numbers so I can keep the species going here.

I'm working on a trip to Central Europe to visit friends, and while I'm there, a few souvenirs might make it to my checked luggage. I'll be meeting up with dwarf Cichlid, wild type Betta and licorice gourami and killie breeding friends. Christmas markets are cool, and that's the objective, but hey, why not see what I can get to play with? I don't really celebrate Christmas though I like the holiday, so I wont be bringing back the usual...

 

[WhistlingBadger63 18]

Great news, @MattW !

 

[Tomsfish26 25]

Turned heat on this am just to get the house over 65.
Thankful for the sun.
Been in the low 40s at night for over week at least.

 

[MattW67 183]

Well, after the other news, I thought I'd treat myself by continuing the restoration of my 1960s workshop. I'm around 2/3 of the way done with reassembly of the main unit, which I finished today. Next, I'll give the drill a proper service, strip the beige paint and rust, and give it a new silver paint job along with a red oxide primer. I am also waiting on some end caps and 500-grit sandpaper for the arms.

Before - After

 

[WhistlingBadger63 18]

@MattW This is big news. As a type something or other diabetic (not type 1, not exactly type 2...), I haven't needed insulin (yet), but I can imagine going on the pump would be liberating.

I closed the last window in the fishroom this week - the nights are getting cold. That means the room temperature will go up from the dehumidifier, and different fish will breed. I have a bunch of Chromidotilapia kingsleyae breeding, but it's a rare fish no one wants - ditto for my Pelvicachromis pulcher, who are common but not sought after. The Nanochromis have gone through first spawns with no success, but no one here knows what they are, so there's no interest. They're beautiful, but unknown. In general, the second spawn is successful with them, but then what?
My killies are no longer moving at club auctions, so I'll stop bringing them for a few months to get that going again. It's an interesting conundrum for someone who likes fish breeding. If I want to move fish out or save and raise fry, I need to breed the same fish we see in petstores. So far, my most popular 'sellers' have been cardinals, pristellas and black neons. Hmmm.

I'll just keep and raise small numbers so I can keep the species going here.

I'm working on a trip to Central Europe to visit friends, and while I'm there, a few souvenirs might make it to my checked luggage. I'll be meeting up with dwarf Cichlid, wild type Betta and licorice gourami and killie breeding friends. Christmas markets are cool, and that's the objective, but hey, why not see what I can get to play with? I don't really celebrate Christmas though I like the holiday, so I wont be bringing back the usual...

You know, I've been thinking about converting my 29g to either a Congo basin or West Africa tank...if I decide to pull the trigger on that project, maybe you could help me out.

 

[GaryE28 26]

You know, I've been thinking about converting my 29g to either a Congo basin or West Africa tank...if I decide to pull the trigger on that project, maybe you could help me out.

I would be glad to. Where you live, you would have access to some very nice species.

 

[WhistlingBadger63 18]

How to explode a bunch of first graders' brains:
Step 1. Wear a kilt to school.

 

[GaryE28 26]

How to explode a bunch of first graders' brains:
Step 1. Wear a kilt to school.

Let us hope step 2 wasn't a re-enactment of the charge at the Battle of Culloden.

 

[WhistlingBadger63 18]

Let us hope step 2 wasn't a re-enactment of the charge at the Battle of Culloden.

No, but when they hit the drinking fountains after PE? It isn't that different.

 

[Essjay67 182]

The crows have been active again in our back garden.



Close up


My husband said if they finish the whole lawn at least he won't need to rake it.




[Please excuse the dead conifer at the edge of the lawn, this summer's weather killed it ]

 

[GaryE28 26]

Interesting morning. The sun isn't up yet, and the noise from outside is impressive. We've had two different weather reports going on - one saying rain with moderate winds and the other saying a rare September nor'easter could come in. It sounds, from the sea and high level wind, that the latter is possibly the correct one. I never hear the waves in the room I'm in with the windows closed, but it seems today is an exception to change that.

Being a nerd, I wonder how the fish will react? Maybe cory spawns.

I just saw a mutant skunk with white tips all over its very long fur to go with the usual stripe, running across the back illuminated by a motion detector light. It's a special looking one. Quite fabulous. They dig at open areas looking for grubs, and it can look like what @Essjay sees, only worse. The local crows also hit the same spots - there's a huge patch down close to the road that looks like it's been dug up. I really don't care about lawns and grass - I cut it to keep it short all summer and let it grow around now, so it'll provide some shelter for the open ground species. With the salt air, what grows out there isn't a traditional golfer's lawn.

We're right on the edge of a city, and if I look north, I can see industry. But this week, I've found myself in a stare down with a raccoon two feet from my face in a shed out back, been approached by deer bumming for apples, and seen a skunk with 1980s hair, while my wife encountered a couple of beavers while kayaking yesterday, and one of them passed a message about whose turf she was on by lightly hitting her boat. I found my neighbours interesting when I lived in a large city, but these neighbours are delightful.

The dog and I just have to stay away from that Farrah Fawcett skunk.

 

[bgarthe68 85]

Interesting about the beavers. When I went fishing for muskies in northern WI, I went to my favorite lake I’ve been going to yearly since the 80s. When I went fishing in this huge bay casting big lures for muskies, sometimes on a given evening, beavers would slap their tails on the water surface making a loud sudden substantial spash. If I didn’t move away, they’d do it closer to the boat. What was weird about it was the total surprise factor…..one never knew when, where, or how close the next splash would be. I did move off as I found the splashes annoying, potentially disturbing the fishing action, and I didn’t want one of them to try getting aggressive with a big musky lure full of rather sharp treble hooks.

 

[Tomsfish26 25]

We had beaver issues this last summer here in Upstate NY.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7476...rK29uK2xha2UrZ2VvcmdlJmZvcm09Q1NCUkFORA&ntb=1

Two people were bitten by a potentially rabid beaver at Lake George on July 4, 2026, prompting a temporary swimming advisory near Turtle Island.​

Incident Details​

On July 4, 2026, a 29-year-old Vermont man, Brandon Shortsleeve, and his friend were swimming near Turtle Island in Lake George when a beaver attacked them. The beaver first bit Shortsleeve’s friend, and when Shortsleeve intervened to help, the animal also attacked him, biting his finger, wrist, and stomach. Both victims were taken to a local hospital and began post-exposure rabies treatment. The attack occurred approximately 150 feet from a known beaver dam, and authorities believe the aggression was likely due to rabies rather than territorial behavior

 

[jaylach67 183]

LOL! I'm tending to punctures on the back of my hand. The bird from Hades was on my hand and stretched his wings. When he does this he tends to clamp down with his feet. Those talons may be small but they are VERY sharp. I wonder if I could train him to do acupuncture... No real damage to my hand other than a few drops of blood but MAN are those talons sharp!

Other than that I'm just watching baseball and college football.