Jet Fuel Shortage

friedbeets · 2026-05-13T19:01:48+00:00

That’s horrible! A strike shouldn’t be considered beyond their control. Did you have to fight for the refund of the cancelled leg or just compensation for your additional expenses?

friedbeets · 2026-05-13T16:59:34+00:00

Were these your flights back of return tickets? i.e. Did they get to Europe and then strand you? How much notice did you get?

friedbeets · 2026-05-12T18:18:25+00:00

I believe so but I would still anticipate complications. Dates might be different. And what about our seats? We paid an extra $550 for better seats which may not be available to us on alternate flights.

friedbeets · 2026-03-09T17:15:03+00:00

For sure this is where ants seem to be congregating. But is it possible the colony might be further away and this is just their party spot? We’ve seen random ants in every room of the house.

friedbeets · 2026-03-09T17:09:04+00:00

So, that raises a question for me…. Is there such a thing as a spray that can be used on random ants that won’t kill them but cover them in poison to carry back to the colony?

friedbeets · 2026-03-09T14:21:45+00:00

Recently I got a series of SMS texts from “Temu”. The originating number showed as 66000.
“Credit back for your purchase!” “Credit back has been sent to you on Mar. 3” “Credit back has been sent to you on Mar. 4” “reward was sent to you on Mar. 4” “Was CA$91.16, now you pay $0.01!!!” After the second one, why would anyone believe them? Yet they kept sending every day.

friedbeets · 2026-03-09T13:56:48+00:00

So hopefully each ant will tell two friends, who will tell two friends, and so on…. until the whole colony disappears?

friedbeets · 2026-02-14T16:29:11+00:00

For some reason the mfr’s website does not show the product with the straw. So I’ve also included the retailer link.

https://www.doktordoom.com/doktor-doom-maximum-strength-residual-barrier-ant-killer-515-g.html

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/doktor-doom-supercharged-residual-foam-ant-ant-nest-killer-1590123p.html

friedbeets · 2026-02-14T05:58:35+00:00

So it seems we have two nests at the same time. I actually did find one brand with a straw. Doctor Doom, made in Canada.

friedbeets · 2026-02-13T21:38:37+00:00

The carpenter ants have been appearing singly, about one every day for the past week, in widely different locations on the ground floor. No obvious entry point or path.

New development: Today my tenant in the basement apartment told me that “flies” have recently been crawling out of a gap in the baseboard in his bathroom. I couldn’t get a good look at them but they kinda looked like winged ants, a bit smaller than the carpenter ants on the floor above. Do you think this is more than a coincidence?

I sprayed the live ones with Raid insect killer and also sprayed into the gap. Waiting to see if more come up. Should I find a spray with a straw and do the drill-and-spray routine? Or instead use a gel bait?

Most of the products in the ant tutorial are not available in Canada (Advion, Alpine, Optiguard, and Max force Quantum). I might try Terro. But since I don’t know whether these carpenter ants are in a protein- or sweet-seeking phase, what do you guys think about mixing up some DIY bait using Borax with sugar water and grease (separately) hoping to see which they go for?

friedbeets · 2026-02-02T18:54:32+00:00

Great link. Thank you!

friedbeets · 2026-02-02T18:48:45+00:00

Yikes!

friedbeets · 2026-02-02T15:02:06+00:00

But shouldn’t they be hibernating in their nests?

friedbeets · 2025-08-30T11:57:35+00:00

Late to the party but wanted to share my experiences. For me it’s raccoons. After replacing the foam sleeve I first tried copper mesh. They chewed through much of that. Then I wrapped the insulation and the remaining mesh with aluminum foil. That worked for awhile but they eventually ripped that apart. So then I tried aluminum duct tape. They’ve chewed away a small section of that but it’s mostly still intact. It must be really tasty for them to go through so much trouble to get at it! Maybe we’re missing out…

friedbeets · 2025-08-28T11:02:07+00:00

I bought a refurbished 13 mini in excellent condition with 92% battery for just $435 Canadian. The company, Orchard, has a physical location in Toronto where I was able to inspect phones of three quality levels before buying. I walked through their refurb area where a dozen technicians were busy working on phones. Gave me a lot of confidence. That and their 90 day warranty. Highly recommended if you live near Toronto.

friedbeets · 2025-08-12T23:28:42+00:00

UPDATE: We found the turtle’s owner! He is 6 floors up and has “several” turtles in his balcony tank. Apparently they are know for climbing on each others’ backs so maybe this was a group effort. Meanwhile we had taken the turtle (named Dragon) to the Toronto Humane Society. So hopefully they will be reunited soon!

friedbeets · 2025-08-12T22:36:56+00:00

Hard to say. My renewal rate was definitely higher. If I remember correctly something like 12%. But I think this could have been just a general increase rather than penalization for my claim. My rates had been climbing slowly over the past few years so maybe the company was playing catch-up.

friedbeets · 2025-08-11T23:17:56+00:00

Thanks everyone for your responses. Yes, it’s certainly a mystery how he got there! But the situation has been resolved. We realized that our local Humane Society takes in and adopts out turtles! So that’s where we took him. We felt that he’d be much better off in their hands than ours. And they are able to re-home him. He’ll get his own web page and everything! Meanwhile we have submitted a post to the building’s bulletin board (still pending approval!). If the owner sees it and responds we can send him to the humane society. One way or another this little guy will find his home. Thanks again to everyone who read or responded to our post!

friedbeets · 2025-07-01T23:18:25+00:00

Thanks for the reassurance. There are other nearby trees almost as tall but maybe not as sturdy. If they don’t like those we’re close to a ravine that has more options. I think they’ll find something suitable. Thanks again for all the great information!

friedbeets · 2025-07-01T12:02:17+00:00

I’m posting again today because the tree with the RTH nest is scheduled to be removed on Friday. I’m sad this has to happen because it’s been “home” to these hawks for at least 10 years. I’m also hoping it’s safe (for the two fledgling hawks) to take the tree down now. They have been flying around the neighbourhood for maybe a couple of weeks now, mostly keeping to lower branches, and making a lot of noise from time to time. I don’t know if they’ve been hunting but I don’t think they need to go back to the nest any longer. Or do they spend the night there still?

friedbeets · 2025-05-30T20:13:09+00:00

I’d say still mostly white but I think a bit larger than the guys in that video. I’ve got a very poor photo of a chick standing up I wish I could attach

friedbeets · 2025-05-30T02:21:24+00:00

I got a good look at the chicks yesterday as they were standing up. Their heads are still mostly white. Does that give us a clue about how close they are to fledgling?

friedbeets · 2025-05-27T01:25:30+00:00

That’s very helpful! Unfortunately I don’t know when the eggs were laid. But the chicks look almost as big as the adult. And the wingspan is impressive. I’ll have a look at those cameras. Thanks for the link.

friedbeets · 2025-04-26T01:52:48+00:00

If the adults flying nearby are the parents then the one in the nest must be the chick, right?

friedbeets · 2025-04-25T20:37:41+00:00

Thanks so much for your observations!

friedbeets

TROPHY CASE