Fruit fly trap update

Well, the trap is still standing, and a total of 14 fruit flies have been lured into the jar containing white wine. A moderate sucess, as I expected a genocide. Then again, there are no living fruit flies in my apartment.
Disgusting, maybe. But effective.

To Catch a Fruit Fly

Summer is here, and for many of us, so are the fruit flies. Not really a big threat in any way, at least not if you give some thought to where you store your food. I usually keep all my food in the fridge or in closed containers, and I try to not have fruit out in the open. But even I get visits from the occasional fruit fly, and among things I really don't like, bugs are high up on the list.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I find bugs fascinating. But they belong outside. So for all bugs inside, it's game on. And here's my way of dealing with the fruit flies.

Take a small glass or jar, and fill it ever so slightly with white wine. It's possible to use citrus fruit as well. Or yeast. The flies seems to be attracted to fermentation, all though I couldn't possibly confirm this in a scientific way. Well, that's not entirely true either. I left a glass of wine on the table over the night, and in the morning it was filled with flies. That's a scientific confirmation, right?

Either way, I place two layers of plastic wrapping over the jar, and a string to hold the plastic in place. I then cut a tiny hole for the flies to enter. The hole does not need to be bigger than the size of a fly, but don't worry about the flies escaping. They're too interested in the smell of white wine to ever exit the hole.

It's not a delicate sight once the flies start filling the jar, so feel free to cover the jar with something. Or, if you feel all natural geographic, you can think of the jar as your own personal insectarium. Why not try to tell the flies apart? Give them names? Start cheering for them, and bet on who lives the longest? Everyone needs a hobby.

I will show the result of this Fruit Fly Trap in a few days, but as I can see exactly no fruit flies in my apartment right now, it may be rather uneventful. That said, I can confirm that this method works.

Finding the Christmas Spirit

These days it's difficult, for many reasons. The biggest reason is that Christmas starts way earlier than it used to. You don't even have to go that far back. 15-20 years ago, Christmas decorations in late November was unheard of, let along early November. This has watered out, weakened the esoteric emotion of a potential Christmas spirit. Then there's the fact that Christmas no longer is about emotions. Well, that's not entirely correct, but the emotions connected to Christmas today are different, in some way stronger.
Ideally, the holiday should be about getting together with family and friends, having nice meals and showing you care about them. For many, it's still like that. But there's the added pressure. The extremely high expectations. The rabid consumerism.

Make no mistake about it: I like to buy stuff, and I like stuff in general. I have closets filled with stuff.
I also love to give stuff to others. I take pride in finding tailor-fit gifts for the people I care about. But I'm not sure I like the pressure of having to buy and receive gifts just because the stores, the market forces tells me to. I don't shy away from the responsibility, I take it as a challenge. But that's just it, it shouldn't be a responsibility - and I know many people, especially parents, look at it that way. Where have we gone wrong?

I will  get back  to this topic, with even more rant. And hopefully some good words as well, because there are tons of elements of Christmas, and gift giving I love. Home made gifts, for instance. Love it! Whether it's custom made piggy banks from my sister, cakes from my mother, or a scarf from Roxi.

The point today was finding the Christmas spirit the right way. No Coca Cola commercials, no 24 hour open malls, not by spending thousands of moneys on gifts, not by being forced to live up to expectations.
But by getting together with good people, eating and drinking, having a good time.

We got told to bring seasonal cakes and cookies. We got presented with Christmas brewery - and after a while some really nice single malt whisky. A great evening, Christmas spirit the right way.

Isn't Renault a Car?

I was visiting a friend this weekend, and he presented me with a selection of Cognac. I tried the one I didn't know, a Renault Carte Noir. I'll admit I'm not a connoisseur, but I do like Cognac. And this one was pretty good. Of course, my friend didn't have proper glasses, but I honestly don't mind. Shot glasses did the trick.

What did it taste like? Well, according to the homepage of Renault Cognac, it's sweet flavored vanilla and honey. I'd rather say it was fruity flavored, with a strong presence of citrus. It was slightly short in the taste, but appropriately bitter. A good combination of spices and  fruit made for repeated shots.

Doesn't Renault make cars? My pepper grinder says Peugeot. I can only assume that all big French corporations have a culinarian department. Just like all big German companies have a beer and sausage department. And all big American companies have a fast food chain....

The Color of Evil

Art studies tells us that the colors have certain attributes. It's called symbolism... There are traits, emotions, connotations associated with each color. For instance, green is youth, health, luck. Blue is harmony, peace, truth. White is purity, innocence. Purple is nobility, mystery. Red strength, passion, love. If there was a color of good it would have to be white or green. The symbolism is vague about this. But on the topic of what's evil, there's usually a consensus. Evil is black.

If you have heard something similar to this, someone has lied to you. Good thing you are here, to read the truth. To be shown the truth. Obviously, at this point you kinda have to read on for more...

Single Malt Space Shuttle

I believe that the good things in life should be combined, no matter how unlikely the combination may seem. I'll explain this inside, and I suggest you make the jump, not only for amateur-level philosophy, but also for more pictures of this delicious combo!

Read on for more on the Lego Space Shuttle and the Laphroaig Single Malt Whisky.

Galactus' Dutch Trout

What's going on here? Read on to find out why The Devourer of Worlds is amazed by a ceramic bottle.