Ranting to /dev/null

I, for one, welcome our new insectoid overlords

Brood-X is out in force in Central PA, to the point that while I sit here, inside, shooting off one last blog post before driving back to Chattavegas, I can hear their drone from outside. It's loud. And they aren't even really all here yet. In a week or two they should be at their peak, when the entire ground will be crawling.

Cicadas are really strange. I mean, they spend 17 years mucking about up to two feet underground, then come out for a four to six week mating orgy and then die. Frankly, that's one hell of a lead-in time, but hey. Also, they don't fly all that well. They flap pretty spasticly, and are given to flying straight into large, immovable objects like trees and houses, then falling to the ground where they buzz for a bit before flipping over. The dog likes to eat them. And if you hit one with your car... Damn. The things contain a few ccs of the vilest goop you're ever likely to squeegee. In short, cicadas are really freaking cool, but I'm glad they only show up every other decade.