Wednesday night

Was at gym tonight (though not store). Tired.

Glad to read this ("U.S. to Order Steep Pay Cuts at Firms That Got Most Aid"). Sounds like the right thing to do. Also, Barney Frank just said on Rachel Maddow that the House has written legislation that would disallow undeserved bonuses. Sounds right. We've got to stop this behavior by individuals who seem bent on creating perpetual dynasties for themselves and their progeny to the public's detriment. It's not right. Didn't we already decide that robber barons were bad for the country? (See more on the current "plutonomy" here.)

We had an insect incident on the terrace tonight after I got home from work (before the sun went down). I was sitting in here watching the NBC Nightly News and looking at email when I heard Lucky emitting an urgent meow in the living room. I figured he wanted to go out onto the terrace, so I put his collar on him and opened the sliding door . . . to watch Lucky go after a large, black winged insect (the size and shape of a wasp) with red markings. I'd seen these before, but not here. I then noticed there were a few of them. I immediately whisked Lucky back inside and shut the door -- I don't know whether these sting or are poisonous -- and proceeded to sweep three of them off the terrace with a broom I keep out there (hidden from public view, as per regulations).

Right as I was looking around for more of them, one dropped down onto my face from above. I immediately shook it off and swept it off the terrace. Then momentarily I noticed I was going blind and realized I had lost my glasses while I was shaking the insect off my face. I looked around and didn't see them (not that I could see much). I even looked down at the pool deck below, thinking they may have flown off the terrace, and didn't see them. Then I thought, well maybe I took them off inside (which I really would have no reason to do). But I went back inside anyway and looked around and didn't see them lying around anywhere I'd been since I'd gotten home.

Then I thought, they had to be on the terrace. So I went back out there and again didn't see them and again looked down at the pool deck. Finally, I spotted something linear behind a plant pedestal and grabbed it. It was the ear piece of the glasses. Thank goodness! (I didn't have to put on my back-up glasses to continue my search and was glad of that.)

I made sure there were no more of these insects around before I let Lucky back out onto the terrace.

It appeared these rather handsome insects had just hatched somewhere (on my terrace, I figured), since they were getting around a little awkwardly and their wings seemed to be a little crinkled, even though they could fly somewhat. They all acted the same, so I'm pretty sure it was a brood that had just emerged from the final stage of its development (pupa?). (It looks kind of like the insect in the picture.)

Calmed back down and took a pretty good nap before the gym.