Roaches

[Michael]

I bet Geen's neighbors think he's running a meth lab.

I bet Geen's neighbors are taking notes and planning to start one next week.

Ya' gotta find work. Those roaches ain't gonna feed themselves

[G. Keenan]

I think you're supposed to mix the boric acid with cocoa or something to get them to eat it. I don't think they'll eat just the plain stuff.

Goddamit, seriously? I thought they just walked over it and that killed them somehow.

[docellis]

when you say thumb do you mean tip to palm?

[G. Keenan]

when you say thumb do you mean tip to palm?

Yeah, so it was like 2 inches long or something.

[New Pagodi]

I think you're supposed to mix the boric acid with cocoa or something to get them to eat it. I don't think they'll eat just the plain stuff.

Goddamit, seriously? I thought they just walked over it and that killed them somehow.

Maybe I'm wrong. According to this, you can use it either way - either by trying to get them to walk through it or by mixing it with something to get them to eat it. Sorry about that. I'd only hear about using it to make poisons before.

[G. Keenan]

I thought I'd read that. Still, I think I messed up the application. For starters I bought a box of 20 Mule Team Borox but upon further examination I don't think this is actual boric acid, just a precursor used in the making of boric acid.

I also laid it down way too thick, though I partially did this in the hopes that it would create a barrier they wouldn't want to walk across. Between that and the caulking I'm hoping to create a sort of physical defense. I should probably really go get some real boric acid though and apply it properly.

[Arthur Dent]

I use a bottle of roach killer labeled "100% boric acid" that seems to work well without any mixing.

[Tambourine Man]

I use a bottle of roach killer labeled "100% boric acid" that seems to work well without any mixing.

But there's the problem, Arthur. Those Austin roaches are all cool and take a hint.

What happens when you eat Chinese food and German food at the same time? An hour later you're hungry for power.

Same rule applies when German roaches and Oriental roaches mingle. I fear Geen shall meet a fate similar to that of the guy in the Creepshow clip Michael posted early in this thread.

[heyzeus]

I've been hoping for GRB to become more Kafkaesque.

Haha, absolutely. You'd be proud of me, zeus. I made my way to the Jewish cemetery in Prague to checkout his grave. He's a top 5 writer for me.

This short story is hands down my favorite.

[SHOW]

An Imperial Message

The Emperor—so they say—has sent a message, directly from his death bed, to you alone, his pathetic subject, a tiny shadow which has taken refuge at the furthest distance from the imperial sun. He ordered the herald to kneel down beside his bed and whispered the message in his ear. He thought it was so important that he had the herald speak it back to him. He confirmed the accuracy of verbal message by nodding his head. And in front of the entire crowd of those witnessing his death—all the obstructing walls have been broken down, and all the great ones of his empire are standing in a circle on the broad and high soaring flights of stairs—in front of all of them he dispatched his herald. The messenger started off at once, a powerful, tireless man. Sticking one arm out and then another, he makes his way through the crowd. If he runs into resistance, he points to his breast where there is a sign of the sun. So he moves forwards easily, unlike anyone else. But the crowd is so huge; its dwelling places are infinite. If there were an open field, how lightly he would fly, and soon you would hear the marvellous pounding of his fist on your door. But instead of that, how futile are all his efforts. He is still forcing his way through the private rooms of the innermost palace. Never will he win his way through. And if he did manage that, nothing would have been achieved. He would have to fight his way down the steps, and, if he managed to do that, nothing would have been achieved. He would have to stride through the courtyards, and after the courtyards through the second palace encircling the first, and, then again, through stairs and courtyards, and then, once again, a palace, and so on for thousands of years. And if he finally burst through the outermost door—but that can never, never happen—the royal capital city, the centre of the world, is still there in front of him, piled high and full of sediment. No one pushes his way through here, certainly not with a dead man's message. But you sit at your window and dream of that message when evening comes.

That was great, I'd never seen that story before. Do people leave little rubber roaches on Kafka's grave, like how people leave wine bottles on Jim Morrison's grave?

[Tambourine Man]

Do people leave little rubber roaches on Kafka's grave, like how people leave wine bottles on Jim Morrison's grave?

LOL, I wish they did. It's not near the touristy areas, so Franz is relatively undisturbed. It was late November when I was there and nobody else was around.