It’s always something

This evening, as we’re relaxing, the cat started acting funny – sniffing around the floor, trying to locate a smell. I heard a ‘bonnng’ sound, like a pipe being hit, but didn’t think too much about it. A little while later, Marianne started thinking she smelled something burning. I smelled something but wasn’t sure I could place the odor. Yet. I started walking around, checking all culprits that could make burning smells – oven, heaters, computers, and finally, putting my nose down to floor level at a power strip, smelled the odor; not something burning, rather, the faint whiff of skunk... but getting stronger. I took a flashlight and started walking the perimeter of the house to see if there was a way a skunk could have gotten in and under the house. Almost immediately I found it. Mesh at a vent had been pushed in quite dramatically. This was a pro.

Great. A vent at a place where I couldn’t get to from the inside -- much further than the mysterious room I found under the house when we first moved in. Marianne, in no mood to talk about it, got snappy, as is her wont when something doesn’t appeal to her, and vanished. To bed, I surmise. Feminist diatribes aside, there are certain things that are the guy’s job, and 'skunk in the crawl space' would seem to fit that bill handily. So, I did a quick google to see if there was some neat remedy. Not wanting to spray fox urine everywhere, as suggested in one "Skunk Away" website, I realized I would have to roll up the old sleeves and get to work. Being reminded at another site that, not only are they the most rabid animals in California, but also nocturnal, I decided that there was no time like the present, the present being night.

I grabbed a flashlight and set about trying to get the mesh reattached to the vent from the outside of the house. Not an easy feat, as it was pushed in and there were only abut four inches of area with which to work. Using some number 12 gauge wire, which has become my all purpose bailing wire, I was eventually able to tie the mesh against the vent.

It won’t win prizes, but it will keep the skunks out.

Or in...

I’ve been re-writing and started playing with some software called Endorphin. I’m planning on using it for some animations which will be part of some animatic-storyboards I’m starting to build as part of the package for the Diamond Road Pitch. Pretty cool stuff, and if moviemaking and CG are of any interest to you, I suggest checking out their demo.

I still haven’t gotten around to writing any kind of review for the enemies of Stefon Avalos CD, but that should be coming soon. This cough still gets nasty towards the end of the day, which remains my excuse as to why my blogging remains iffy. I just don't have the urge. However, every day is a day better. If you get hit with this bug, be prepared for a one month ordeal. My recommendation is to get a vaporizer and use it every night. Among all the cold and flu remedies, that has been the biggest single help.

Did I just hear something rattling below my feet?

I have to go now.