Sunlightbay

I believe everybody knows what a pissant is–an insignificant person. I found a more expansive definition of a pissant, which I found kind of interesting.

But, the piss ants I’m writing about are actual ants that invaded our house. Although I didn’t examine them closely, they are likely to be a type of pavement ant of the genus, Tetramorium. They became piss ants when they got into our house and became a nuisance. The little bastards obviously didn’t know that I’m an entomologist and that I know how to get rid of ants.

I’ll share my simple method of getting rid of piss ants in your house. First, you need to locate where they are coming from. Although the ants were in several areas of the kitchen and pantry at one point, I determined that they were most likely coming in through a crack around the window. I just followed the trail of ants, and that’s where it led.

I use boric acid to kill ants. It is a very effective insecticide, but not very toxic to humans. I bought a fine powder containing a form of boric acid, specifically Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate. The kind I bought says it is for termites and carpenter ants and wood-destroying beetles. But, borate is effective against most insects, including roaches. It works great for piss ants too. You should be able to find a borate formulation at most hardware stores or home improvement centers.

I squirted a small amount of the borate powder along the window sill where the ants were entering the house. Then, I used one of Ann’s old makeup brushes to spread a thin, thin layer around the sill. If the powder is applied in a thick layer, the ants will walk around it.

The piss ants were gone the next day. Theoretically, after walking through the borate powder, the contaminated ants would go back to their colony and contaminate and kill the whole colony. I don’t know if the whole colony was killed (I doubt it), but I don’t care. I just wanted to get rid of the ants in our house and I did.

We recently saw the movie, Mud. Here’s my mini review.

I liked it a lot and give it a two “thumbs up”. Rottontomatoes.com gave it a 99% fresh (that’s kind of unheard of), and the fan rating was 87%!! For some perspective, Argo, the winner of the Oscar for best picture last year got a 96% and a fan rating of 93%. So, I’m not the only one who liked it.

The movie centers around the adventures of two teenage boys, who befriend a fugitive they happen upon on an island. It has an interesting story, and there’s plenty of excitement. It has several recognizable stars—Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Joe Don Baker.

I thought I might be positively biased about the movie before seeing it. We had heard a bit about the movie from the local press. It has lots of Arkansas connections. It was filmed in southeast Arkansas. The writer/director, Jeff Nichols, is from Little Rock. One of the teenage boys is from Yell County. He is from Briggsville, which is a wide place in the road a little west of Plainview, my home town. I loved his character and thought his performance was great. Maybe he will be nominated for an Oscar! Also, Russell, our neighbor across the street is from southeast Arkansas, and his nephew was an extra in the movie.

Go see this movie. I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Just as I pulled through the intersection with a four-way stop sign, I saw a police car parked a half a block away. As I slowly eased on through the intersection, I saw the police car pull away from the curb. Oh, shit, I thought. I bet he is going to stop me.

I fit the profile: Old white guy, in a late model Volvo, clean shaven, casually dressed. I had left my hoody at home; it’s a bit hot here today for the hoody. I had just switched the radio from loud rap music to NPR. I looked like I could be someone’s grandfather.

Sure enough, he was after me. I have watched “Cops” on TV, so I knew to turn off the engine and stay in the car. He came up to the door but stayed behind me somewhat. I had to turn my head way around to see him. He acted as if he didn’t want me to see his face. Since he was the one that stopped me, I thought I would let him start the conversation. He did. He wanted to see my driver license, registration, and proof of insurance.

I guess based on my profile, he didn’t feel the need to look up my license plate or call to see if I had any outstanding warrants, because he never left to go back to his car to do that.

He asked, “Do you know why I’m stopping you?”.  I ventured a wild guess and said, “Could it have been for that rolling stop I made at the stop sign?”. Yes, it was.  Honesty is usually the best policy.

Then, again probably based on my profile, he said he was only going to give me a warning. Or it could have been because I looked so pitiful, old, remorseful, non-combative. I can really turn it on if I need to.

After that the lecture started. I paid full attention. I would have taken notes but I didn’t have any paper. I nodded in agreement about how a ticket can go on your record, causing your insurance to go up. I got wide-eyed when he explained about all the reports from this neighborhood about drivers running stop signs. Ooo! I guess crime is rampant around here. Then, I interjected, “I live in this neighborhood, I hope that drivers obey the stop signs”. I should have been penalized for saying something so cheesy as that, but I wasn’t. Afterwards, I realized that I had broken one of the rules for how to act when you are stopped by the POLICE. Keep your hands in sight and don’t say anything unless you are asked a question. Only answer the question.

After the lecture, he just kind of disappeared back to his car. I didn’t get a chance to say how much I admired the police and that I rarely get stopped and how I have an uncle that is a retired police office. I didn’t even ask him his name.  I didn’t know the etiquette about who should drive away first. But, since I was in front, I left first. I stuck my head out of the window to look back for oncoming traffic before pulling away. I wanted to look like a model of driving perfection.

I must admit I came to a full stop at every one of the damned stop signs on my way home.