tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post47149890930407645..comments2024-03-26T10:02:32.848-04:00Comments on The Adventures of Roberta X: Last Survivor In The Roach MotelRoberta Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09956807794520627885noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-78130414067204199652021-10-08T10:16:21.258-04:002021-10-08T10:16:21.258-04:00I lived in an apartment over an 1880's vintage...I lived in an apartment over an 1880's vintage hardware store near the University I attended back in the early 1980's. It had a steam boiler in the basement, with radiators and leaky piping throughout the building. With the brick construction it was a perfect place for cockroaches. We're not talking the little brown German roaches, but the big black Asian variety.<br /><br />They apparently tasted pretty bad since the cat had zero interest in pursuing them. Of the four apartments there only one was relatively roach-free, and that was because the gay couple there had a pet iguana that just loved eating the things. We used powdered boric acid along their pathways to try to slow them down a little.<br /><br />When a fire started in the basement of the store (faulty extension cord) it spread swiftly through the building. Wood construction with brick exteriors acts just like a chimney. My wife and I got out with the clothes on our backs, with her holding the cat and me carrying a fire extinguisher. The only things we recovered post-fire were where the big steel beam ran under the floor (ceiling of the store) and where the floor burned out from under the bedroom, dropping the entire closet into the fire-hose-water-filled basement; the building then collapsed on top of it. I was able to salvage some of the contents of the closet when the ruins were excavated by a backhoe to prepare the site to become a parking lot. It was much like an archeological excavation; I knew where the closet was by the layers just above it.<br /><br />Burning down a building is a VERY effective way to get rid of roaches, but I can't recommend it.<br />Blackwing1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-84664573225760262342021-10-07T16:18:14.229-04:002021-10-07T16:18:14.229-04:00The Reuters article is interesting to say the leas...The Reuters article is interesting to say the least.<br /><br />BTDT on the roach thing. We also took advantage of a garage (unheated, in the dead of winter).<br /><br />On the last day of a summer vacation, we spotted a single bedbug in the motel room, which surprised us, since we did the usual due-diligence when we moved in and found nothing. We got outta Dodge as fast as possible, and what articles we couldn't wash in hot water got steamed in the garage, including luggage. The car got steamed, too. No problems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5837660608809488753.post-83765981003401374392021-10-07T13:08:02.377-04:002021-10-07T13:08:02.377-04:00Interesting. We have had all our commo bundled wit...Interesting. We have had all our commo bundled with ATT for a long time. My email is ---sbcglobal.net. Yeah, their phone customer service is a disgrace, but the actual techs that have come to our house have been stellar. <br /><br />Having resided in Kalifornia for our entire lives, my wife and I escaped for Arlington, TX in 2015. Currently in parts of our neighborhood, ATT has local talent doing this--<br /><br />https://duckduckgo.com/?q=drilling+sideways+for+cable&iax=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTzGZl0jKRS8&ia=videos<br /><br />We are currently connected by cable that goes to one of those little green boxes on the ground. An ATT tech installed the current cable about two years ago to upgrade from the older one. Have also received a letter (on actual paper) stating that ATT will be shutting down their 3G network come February.RHT447noreply@blogger.com