Mortein Naturgard

Sounds like a pretty cool product, right? Killing all of those disgusting bugs that we hate so much and without using all of those nasty chemicals that we also hate so much.

But it did get me to wondering how Mortein managed to create such a magical product using mostly nature. I mean, if they managed to can such an efficient and natural bug killer in a compressed gas form, why are there still so many bugs around annoying us and dirtying up our nice clean homes?

But then I noticed this:

Now, I don't know what plant based actives are. And after trying a few google searches, I can only assume that these plant based actives is in fact a typo, and what they really mean is "No plant based activities. Although, I don't really know what plant based activities has to do with killing those pesky insects or how Mortein would manage to can that in compressed gas form (which is probably where there's no plant based actives/activities.

Still, I thought that maybe the Mortein website could help me with this ... and it did help; Apparently the little disclaimer about the "No plant based actives" is accurate.

There's only one plant based active: pyrethrins, which comes from the pyrethrum flowers (thank you, google).

But apparently it's not all that, because right next to this statement is a ** disclaiming that there's also synthetic ingredients as well.

So apparently, there's no magical, natural ingredient/s that can just kill those annoying insects without the aid of those nasty synthetic ingredients. But then, anyone who's constantly complaining about insects would probably be aware of this, and wouldn't be foolish enough to buy this product.

After all, if there was there'd be no need to buy it.





http://www.mortein.com.au/product_nat_auto_ind_insect.php

Words That Vex Me

Colonel really is a stupid word.

Well, the way that it's pronounced is; kernel.

if it's going to be pronounced that way, then at least it should be spelt a little more phonetically ... or at the very least, it should be spelt a little less like colony.

Or are we just mispronouncing colony? Should we be, in fact, pronouncing it kerny?

Well, according to Google, everyone who pronounces colonel kernel is wrong: colo·nel.

I Think I'm Getting Old

Or maybe those pc bastards have finally got to me with their insidious ways.

But the Goosebumps episodes I watched last night seemed way more sinister and rapey than I remember them being. Plus I'm also convinced that many of the kids are high functioning schizophrenics ... no doubt a coping mechanism to deal with the sinister adults they find themselves with.

Although the dog people episode did allow me to see the Goosebumps dog, and I am wondering how I ever thought that Sirius Black looked similar when he's Padfoot.

Not exactly similar are they? But an extensive search ... I mean a quick google search did produce this;

It's a little closer to looking like Padfoot than the other dog. But I think I should look a little deeper into this and find the dog I swear exists that looks exactly like Padfoot.

Words I Hate

We all have words that we hate, whether rationally or irrationally ... actually, I think the reason why you hate a particular word is rational to you. It's just the rest of the world that thinks it's irrational.

For me it's "prehistoric" that really vexes me.

Google has helped me locate a definition just in case anyone is unclear about the definition of "prehistoric";

"pre·his·tor·ic/ˌprē(h)iˈstôrik/
Adjective:

Of, relating to, or denoting the period before written records.
Very old, primitive, or out of date."

Simple enough, right?

"Prehistoric" = very old/before written records.

Except that the prefix "pre" kind of implies "before history." "Pre" is what everyone adds to words when they want to imply that it was before something. But how can something be pre ... ahem! ... before history?

It can't!

Not unless that something happened to have existed before The Big Bang. So really, the only creatures that the term "prehistoric" can really apply to are the Nibblonians.

Or, alternatively, the term "prehistoric" refers to the fact that Time is in fact circular and just keeps repeating. In which case, "prehistoric" means what's about to happen in near future.

You see the confusion now?

And all because some fool decided to add a prefix to the word "historic."