When I got home from work tonight, passing by the cats’ food area, I saw an enormous cricket floating in one of the water dishes. I assume it was dead; I did not stop to check. I was toying with the idea of getting a picture and labeling it something like, “Water dish: 1, Cricket: 0,” but then I got entirely too grossed out trying to decide if it was dead or alive (it was about three inches long, and no, I’m not kidding), and picked up the water dish and threw the water and cricket onto the lawn outside.

I have no idea if it was dead or alive. I didn’t bother to look.

Anyway, so a little while ago, I saw another cricket—a live one, this time—and I tried to catch it, but it hopped too fast. (I have a 16-ounce blue plastic cup, not unlike the red plastic cup that Sean Penn used to bail out his leaking boat except, well, mine’s blue, his is red, mine catches crickets, and his probably got added to the garbage floating around New Orleans, and, um, digression, digression, digression). I forgot what I was going to say. Oh. Cup. It’s my catch-and-release cup which has seen service all summer long, and will doubtless last another month, maybe two. There are a lot of insects in my part of Richmond, and far too many of them want to live in my apartment.

Well, a few minutes ago, I saw the cricket on my wall, chased and caught him, and discovered that he’s got at least one partner, and I chased that one down and caught him, too. So now I think it’s time to be on the lookout for stray crickets. I know they’ll come inside when it gets cold, but damn, it’s not cold out yet. Sixties, people, sixties! Not cold!

At least they’re not chirping. Last year, one got into my kitchen and kept chirping. I couldn’t find it. I presume it died.

Then again, crickets make great cat toys. The cricket leaps, Gracie leaps, it’s all good, until she grabs it in her paws and its little legs fall off. No more leaping. Bored Gracie.

Yes, I’ll stop now. It’s all Lair’s fault. I was reading his blog before I posted this.

Folks, I darkened the blockquote text. I’d like to point out again that these pages are in flux at the moment, and all styles are temporary. Let me know which ones are bothering you the most, and I can make them more readable. My CSS muscles are definitely starting to work again, and let us all say: Yay.

And oh, yeah: I was using CHMOD and editing CSS styles tonight. I feel so—so—geeky.

Looks like I can squeeze a few minutes out of the day to post during my lunch hour.

Of course you realize this means I expect all of you to do your part as well.

Comment. Link. Things like that.

Especially links. I’ve decided I want this blog to get back up where it used to be in the various ranking systems.

You think I should post naked pictures of Tig and Gracie?

Mahmoud Abbas refused all Israeli and U.S. requests to disarm terror groups, insisting that he could “co-opt” them by inviting them politely to join his security service.

Apparently, when one of his chief ministers and buds from the good ol’ days of Arafattin’ around (corruption, corruption, terroris, and corruption being the main sports) gets murdered by terrorists, it’s time to disarm them.

Will Hamas be disarmed? Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ordered Palestinian Authority security officials Wednesday to prepare a plan for disarming terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

The move follows an explosion in a residential building in Gaza two days ago that left four people dead and another thirty wounded.

The move also follows the murder of Moussa Arafat. Here’s an interesting fact from Ynet’s article on the murder:

However, security officials say Hamas was behind Arafat’s assassination, even though the murder was carried out by the Popular Resistance Committees. According to the sources, the Hamas directed the assassins in a murder apparently motivated by the upcoming Palestinian elections.

According to the sources, the Hamas has recently used the Committees as an operational arm on several occasions.

Not that terrorists need much of an excuse to kill, but this does add some interesting byplay to the mix.

I do believe the civil war is in its first stages. I hope they take each other out, but better them than us.

The Israelis are evidently using their wily Jewish conspiracy-driven minds to entrap the pals once again:

PA foreign ministry official Abdullah Abudllah said any synagogue remaining in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal would be used as a “pretext” to retain a foothold and intervene in our affairs.

“This is a very sensitive issue. We are Muslims and our religion and traditions don’t allow us to desecrate or destroy places of worship.

“But we feel the Israelis are trying to entrap us by leaving these places intact and then tell the world ‘look, the Palestinians are destroying Jewish holy places, the Palestinians show no respect for Jewish holy places,” he told aljazeera.net.

One wonders how they manage to say this crap with straight faces.

And oh, yeah—That quote about their protecting holy places? I call bullshit on it.

Moussa Arafat was tried, convicted, and executed in the palestinian courts:

GAZA (Reuters) - Gunmen dragged ex-security chief Moussa Arafat from his Gaza home and shot him dead in the street on Wednesday, fuelling fears of turmoil ahead of Israel’s final troop withdrawal from the occupied territory.

[...[] he major-general, a cousin to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was a local strongman who had retained an advisory role to President Mahmoud Abbas after being fired as head of military intelligence in April.

Gunmen with rifles and anti-tank grenades battled the guards at Arafat’s house for more than 30 minutes before storming in and pulling him outside, witnesses said.

He will not be missed. Rot in hell, Arafatnik.

There’s a new word for you, folks: Arafatnik—One who follows the policies of Yasser Arafat, including greed, corruption, and the hatred of all things Jewish.

Here’s a much more detailed article. Oh, yeah, the war’s begun.