Continuing on My Series About the Food Chain

So I saw this today and wanted to make a quote of the day but just couldn’t figure out how.  The stupid is so heavy it hurts.

An Irvine resident is requesting that the city install a sign to memorialize the hundreds of fish killed in a traffic crash in early October as they were being taken to Irvine Ranch Market.

In the letter, Dina Kourda, on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, asks the city’s street maintenance superintendent to place the sign at the site of the crash on Walnut and Yale avenues.

I think my favorite though was this quote from the boy genius himself:

“Research tells us that fish use tools, tell time, sing, and have impressive long-term memories and complex social structures, yet fish used for food are routinely crushed, impaled, cut open, and gutted, all while still conscious. Sparing them from being tossed from a speeding truck and slowly dying from injuries and suffocation seems the least that we can do,” the letter continued.

Tell me, what hands do the fish use to pick up their “tools”?  They were food there sport and while you may be well intentioned, the fact is, death is a part of life and humans are omnivores.  That’s right, we eat both plants and animals.  You do realize a plant is a living organism too right?  It is the behavior of people like you who have created an environment where things like this occur.  Today I got a new one to add to the list.

Berlin authorities say they shot and killed a 120 kilogram (265-pound) wild boar after it attacked and injured four people including a police officer in a residential neighborhood.

I’m sure that Mr. Kourda weeps for the wild boar, that could have easily killed someone, and I’m sure he wishes that they erect a sign to remember the boar time immemorial.  This is what happens when animals stop viewing you as a predator.  We, as a species, have progressed to the point where many just go to the store and pick up food.  Many, like Mr. Kourda feel that it is no longer necessary to kill animals for food.

Well, here’s a random though, that pile of grain you eat because it’s not from the back of an animal?  How many mice were killed to prevent them from eating it so it can be on your table?  Say you avoid producers and go “organic” which doesn’t use pesticide or kill the little vermin, the reason for the higher costs, which not everyone can afford, is because the lower crop yield due to the pests.

Tell me, what about mouse infestations in your house?  See I live on the edge of town surrounded by farm fields.  The little bastards have chewed their way into my crawlspace and now into my house.  Would you like to put up memorials for all the mice I’ve had to kill Mr. Kourda?  They bring with them disease and damage to property.  Hire an exterminator I hear you say?

Well I’ve done exactly that, and they poison the little bastards so that people like you can think that they’ve just ran off to live somewhere else.  That way you don’t their handy work, or in this case my handy work.

We have been steadily removing ourselves as being a predator in the pool of animals.  Many, like Mr. Kourda would like to forcefully prevent those who still act predatory to stop.  The thing is, just because we stop being predatory, doesn’t mean other animals won’t view us as prey.

If you would like to voultarily vacate your position at the top of the food chain, that’s your choice.  Me, I’m going to stay right here at the top and keep my family and my self free from disease and vermin while keeping them healthy and well fed.

The War on Mice

Those who know me know I hate varmints and vermin with a passion.  We had a small problem last year but we quickly got it taken care of and didn’t have any further issues.  Well this year they have returned, with a vengeance.

Our cats clued us in to their return as they started staring at the access panel to the Jacuzzi tub again.  We opened it up and there was evidence galore they had recently come back.  Down went the kill traps and the wait began.

Yesterday morning I woke up to this:

The other trap had been set off but evidently they got lucky and didn’t take a metal bar to the face.  I reset the traps and away we went.  The wife got home and informed me of the following:

That’s right, two more of the little buggers took metal bars to their necks.  I reset the traps and not even 3 hours later I’m informed by the wife, they’re full again.

Now I’m saying, holy !@#$ Huston we have a problem.  I clean it all up.  Reset the traps and add in two more.  I wake up this morning to find the sneakiest bastard of the bunch:

The little bastard tripped three out of the 4 traps and some how didn’t get snapped… Well the 4th trap broke his neck and ripped open his nose.

Earlier in August the wife and I signed up for pest control which thus far had worked well.  Took out a couple of larger wasp nests that were forming in areas that were difficult for me to get to.  We’ve seen fewer creepy crawlies overall.  At that point we hadn’t seen much in the way of mice signs so they didn’t do much at that time.

Well now that harvest is in full swing, and I’ve killed 6 in 24 hours, they’ll be back out on Thursday.  TMW is less that thrilled right now though because I’m leaving with Joe tonight for Mecca and then we’re headed to Reno for GBR tomorrow morning.  So that means if there are any more of the little buggers she gets to clean them up and reset the traps.

As an FYI, just about everyone has mice problems this time of year in the area, even brand new construction.  It’s the down side of basically living surrounded by wheat fields.  I would poison them, but the last thing I want is for them to die in the crawlspace.  The house would stink to high heaven and then finding the little buggers would be an interesting venture all of it’s own.

Yet Another Lesson in Wild Animals

When you are in the wilderness you are not in a Disney movie.  The animals do not think of you as their friend.  You are either food, a threat, or something to be watched.  So with those things in mind, if traveling in the wilderness you need to be ready to deal with animals that may find you a nice dinner.

A 43-year-old professor says she fought off a grizzly bear that stalked her and her nieces by throwing everything she had at it – including a package of macaroni and cheese.

This woman though isn’t alone in her mistaken belief, preview this list of incidents previously discussed here:

So yet again we have the oh so familiar incident where a couple of people.  I think my favorite was she used bear spray and it continued to charge.  I think this is the money quote:

“All I could think about was this bear is so close to me I can see its teeth,” she said. “I could have kissed it. I wished I had a gun.”

Carry your damn guns.  You never know when you may need it, two and four legged varmints are both dangerous.

h/t Mad Rocket Scientist

On Being on Top of the Food Chain

So Tuesday I mentioned an incident where some enterprising individual thought he would stand his ground with a bison and lost.  I stated the following:

When armed however we are far superior to those other predators.  It’s tools that make the difference and for that reason your position on the top of the food chain is considered negotiable to mother nature.

I have also previously talked about how we are self demoting ourselves and our position on the food chain.  Well the situation isn’t getting any better.  Actually it’s going down hill fast and it appears it is showing no signs of stopping.

Like several other neighborhoods in West Seattle, the Seola Beach area is sandwiched between ravines and greenbelts, so it’s not surprising that coyotes live there. But in the last few weeks the animals have been showing up more and more, and residents say the coyotes are taking an aggressive stand.

The solution to this problem isn’t to kill the varmints.  No that would be bad.  The answer is to live trap them and relocate them.  Which is funny when you see the following shortly there after.

And the neighbors aren’t just worried about their own safety, either. Many believe the coyotes are killing off pets.

"Neighbors have talked about losing cats and dogs," said Kristi Coluccio. "Good dinner for coyotes, too."

The situation actually is bad enough that parents are fearing for their children and keeping them inside.  If you’re that fearful, why don’t you deal with the problem permanently.  Relocating the animals is only temporary.  Even then the animals no longer fear humans.  They have no reason to.

The animals are acting aggressively towards humans because they do not appear to be a threat, and actually appear to be walking 180lbs meat popsicles with much smaller juicier varieties that haven’t aged as much.  When their buddies bob and frank don’t eat dirt after being around humans they don’t associate humans as being dangerous.

For a long time wild animals avoid humans because by god if we saw them, we killed them.  Animals learned, and rightfully so, who the top predator was.  We have shoved our predatory status to the side though, and now many are acting surprised that wild life are learning there is no longer a need to fear humans.

Why should Wiley E. Coyote fear humans when a bunch of hippies have run to the state whining about how animals should be protected.  How humans shouldn’t be allowed to hunt them.  How the animals just want to live in peace and are not a threat to humans.

Yeah listen up there sparky and shut your patchouli eating ass up for a second and listen to me.  Any wild animal if given the chance would kill you, doubly so if it is any type of predator.  It is our tools and our history that causes animals to give us wide berth.  You’re meddling with the system has lowered our status on the totem pole and has opened up innocent people to animal attack.  Not only attack though but disease and pestilence carried by the animals is now left to spread unchecked.

Don’t come crying to me as this gets worse, and it will.  Mice are already problems in DC, and what’s that, you can’t kill the mice?  Mice that can carry bubonic plague and other diseases.

Do I like animals? Yes. 

Do I kill animals for the “thrill of the kill”? No.

I kill them for many reasons ranging from food, to pest control, to effective conservation.  Conservation? I hear you ask.  Yes conservation since over population actually weakens a herd as a whole limiting available resources limiting the overall health of the animals.

Besides, none of you tree hugging hippies can say a damn thing to me.  You know why?  Because while I try to act ethically and put an animal out of it’s pain and suffering, you tree huggers made sure I spent an extra 45 minutes waiting to get the O.K. from the state.  Why?  Because you were delusional about the condition of the deer and what needed to be done.  Yeah, who really cares about the animals again?  Not to mention hunters spend way more on conservation than you tree huggers.

My suggestion to the residents, get some of these and start shooting the damn things.

h/t Ry via email.

Quote of the Day – The Redneck Engineer(06/27/2012)

Now, for those who tell themselves, “Oh, that could never happen to me. I live in a GOOD neighborhood!’ or “That sort of thing doesn’t happen around here!”, let me tell you about my neighborhood. Most of my neighbors are retirees, many are veterans. Everybody is fairly close-knit, we all look out for each other. This is not a “poor” neighborhood, and while not quite a “rich” neighborhood, crime is all but non-existent here. Defense situations can (and do) happen to almost anyone, anywhere.

The Redneck Engineer Defensive mindsets can prevent defensive shootings.
June 27th, 2012


[First let me say, go read the whole thing.  Seriously, click over there and read it.  It is every man’s worst nightmare come to pass.  This nightmare had a happy ending though in that not even a shot was fired.  Even if it had turned south, it was obvious who had the deck stacked in their favor.

Evil doesn’t call ahead, it doesn’t give advanced notice, and it doesn’t have set boundaries.  While some places may have more frequent incidents no place is exempt from a visit by goblins.  There is a reason I carry a gun, even with how quite it is where I live.   

There is only one person I can absolutely guarantee will always be present when the SHTF.  Myself.  A cop may or not be present, friends may or may not be with me, but one thing is for certain, I am in that situation and the conditions will not magically change.  I have to depend on myself to get out of the situation, just the same ultimately my wife has to be able to depend on herself.  There is no question if danger comes around while I am present, I will be in the middle of that incident.  That however is of no benefit when I am not present.  She must be capable of defending herself from anyone who would wish to do her harm.

I don’t want my wife to have to depend on me.  Far from it actually.  I want my wife to be able to think and act independently so that when the SHTF she knows how to react.  Not only can she react, but I know she’ll be able to have my back without my asking or instruction.

My Spouse has my back - By Oleg Vok

Why would I want that?  See The Redneck Engineer’s story.  He didn’t need to be there and she rocked that situation like a boss. Yeah, it could have been a horrible nightmare, but in the end it had a happy ending.

This however also skips over what he said in his post title, that type of awareness and level headed thinking can mean that there won’t even be a shot fired.  So remember, be careful out there and carry your guns. There’s goblins in them thar hills, remember it.  -B]

h/t Bob S.

Sometimes it’s a 4 Legged Varmint…

Carry your gun, it isn’t just two-legged varmints that go bump in the night.

The unidentified 30-year-old man was sleeping at 5 a.m. when the black bear attacked him at Ponderosa Campground in the Tonto National Forest just off Arizona 260 about 12 miles northeast of Payson.

The man’s fiance escaped from the tent with her child.  During her escape the bear left and wondered into another campsite.  This time Yogi chose poorly.

The bear went to a nearby campsite, where a camper shot the animal several times with a 9mm handgun, and the bear disappeared.

Certainly not ideal for a bear but I would take that over a sharp stick without a doubt.  Evidently within the area this is the third attack within a month.

This should serve as a strong reminder that we enjoy our place at the top of the food chain not because of strength or agility, but because of our tools.  Firearms are a tool that levels the playing field quite well, especially with regards to an animal that can quite easily kill you without trying.

Also, remember while in bear country use bear boxes or bear bags and remove all foods and things could attract bears.  Also a suggestion, when in bear country where bears might be more prevalent due to wild-fire, don’t use the garbage cans in an actual campsite.  Yogi is more than happy to knock them over to get at the soda bottle tossed inside.  Even if it’s relatively close to your tents.  I speak from experience on that later incident… Thankfully it was just a yearling and a solid “Ya bear Ya. We don’t want you here” scared him off and we didn’t see him again.

Be careful out there and the life you save could just very well be your own, so carry your damn guns!