Daily Movement

I have started using the sennheiser pxc250 on the BART train. You can still hear the train noise — it’s reduced, but not as much as earplugs you might buy for a couple of dollars. Also, some of the BART noise is the metal wheels against metal tracks which is high pitched and is not cancelled by the circuitry that is designed for lower pitched noise. I haven’t tried adding music yet which is what the headphones were designed for. Probably an in-the-ear design (such as etymotics) would provide better noise isolation than open-air with cancellation circuitry. 15db reduction.

I tried it in a machine room with lots of equipment fans. You can hear noise, outside of headphones, but it does indeed reduce the intensity. It would be better if the phones fit the ears tighter.

I’ve been having ant problems. It must be that time of the year. It definitely is not because of food lying around in the open — they literally crawl out of the woodwork in the bathroom as well as the kitchen. The Raid Ant Baits, contrary to popular ePinion, did not work well for me. The ants did not feed off the chemical traps even though they were placed near the trails.

The Combat Quick Kill formula attracts ants more effectively. Ants were going into the feed containers within a few minutes of placing them. The Combat brand uses a different chemical than the Raid bait, so that might be the reason why. Although the package recommends using all the traps, I use just one at a time and wrap up the rest tightly in plastic.

Equal also seemed to work — there were little nibbles bitten out of the pile of equal — but I’m not quite sure if the ants died or if they just went elsewhere. They weren’t eating it up though. They seemed to dislike it at first.

Folks have pretty good experience using Equal as ant poison though, and best of all, it’s free if you eat at International House of Pancakes.

Updated 2004-12-14: Best ant killing formula is also a somewhat toxic one, but one to consider as a last resort. I have found the Raid spray containing permethrin to be effective. The best way is to find where the ants are entering and exiting the area and spray at that entrance point to create a toxic barrier. Then either spray and kill the remaining ants or wipe them up with a towel. Spray low, don’t breathe. If you spray inside the house, keep the window open for a while. If you can smell it, the active ingredients must besomewhere in the air too…

Update 10/19/2007: How to get rid of ants - part 2