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Back in about 1998 I lived northwest of the asshole of the universe, Houston, Texas. We had a screen door on our house and no porch light. I was heading into t

Back in about 1998 I lived northwest of the asshole of the universe, Houston, Texas. We had a screen door on our house and no porch light. I was heading into the house from the driveway when I saw a cockroach fly up and onto the screen, evidently attracted to the lights from inside the house and intent on getting inside. I grabbed a baby food jar from an outbuilding and went back to the screen door where I found the cockroach, still pondering the issue of how to gain entry. Cockroaches usually don't seek out the light but this one did so that was interesting enough for me to want to capture this insect. After capturing the cockroach and sealing it in the jar I noticed that it was light to medium green colored. It was clearly a cockroach but all the ones I had ever seen were various shades of brown to red. I dialed in to my internet at the time, probably AOL, and searched for cockroach pictures hoping to identify it. I finally found a photo and write-up about this insect. It was a Cuban cockroach. Evidently they had only been noted in the United States in a few places in Florida, probably brought in during one of the refugee waves of the past few decades. They were not common at all and had never been found on the Texas Gulf Coast. There probably had been a lot of Florida men moving to the Houston area and they carried their insect bros with them, probably inadvertently, though you never really know. I contacted the University of Houston entomology department and reported it. They were interested but not enough to need to see it. I ended up keeping that cockroach inside that sealed jar until it died since I didn't want it to spread. After more than 30 days alive inside, a large collection of dots appeared on the inside of the jar. I wondered what the heck those things were since they were not excreta as the insect had run out of that a while earlier. Eventually the question was answered as the jar suddenly filled with activity from dozens of small cockroach kids, each looking for a way out of their predicament. The adult died shortly after the little ones hatched. After more than 3 months, the last one of the baby cockroaches died. I eventually threw the jar out, I think. It may still be in a box of crap I have hauled around for unknown reasons though. People in southeast Texas living near the sweltering bunghole of the state and the universe can thank me for the small contribution that I made to preventing the spread of an invasive species. The last thing we need is a cockroach that loves to mix and mingle in a well-lit kitchen.

ubermonkey 4y ago
7 million people appear to disagree with you about Houston. I've lived here -- by choice! -- for 28 years. It's true we have no scenic vistas, and our summers are notoriously hot and muggy, but - You can afford to live here. Real estate is attainable, even fairly close in. - The arts here are on par with our status as the 4th largest city in the country. - The people are awesome -- friendly, helpful, and generally from all over the damn place. That leads to ... - The food is RIDICULOUS. There's a great meal to be had in this town at any price point you care to name. - It's immensely un-snooty. Unlike lots of nerds, I don't mind putting on a suit, but in Houston there's almost nowhere that polices dress codes beyond "no jeans, collared shirt". And even that's rare. Superficial snobbiness is just not much of a Thing here (vs., say, big parts of Dallas, or Atlanta). - The flip side of the summer is that it's almost NEVER cold enough to deter outdoor activities. You don't store your bike for the winter here. You just keep riding. - Finally, if you're a traveling sort of person, being centrally located makes hitting either coast possible pretty quickly. This has been handy for me in both business and personal contexts for sure. So yeah, step off. Houston's awesome. It might not've been YOUR favorite place, but maybe crapping all over it in your post about a roach wasn't the best move.
- doodlebugging 4y ago
  Thanks for your insight. I actually agree with a lot of it. I didn't come by my assessment by reading about Houston and latching onto someone else's observations. I lived in Houston, west of HWY6 for 5 years before buying a place out northwest on 290 and commuting from there for 5 more years. Then, after moving up near FtWorth and just when I thought I was done with it for good, I ended up commuting weekly to Houston for 18 more years. I saw and had the opportunity to enjoy all the interstate construction on I-10, 45 towards Galveston, 59, 610 loop, Grand Parkway, Beltway 8, and finally 290. It has been in a state of constant change down there. Some changes improved things, others appear to be boondoggles. I totally agree on the people and the food. I'm in the O&G industry so I had the opportunity to work with people from every continent including a guy who spent a season in Antarctica. Culture, arts, like you say is first class. Since I watched many of those subdivisions being built, especially on the southwest to northwest side of the city, I am less impressed by the housing. My family has been in the building business since the Depression and I grew up on job sites. I would be pretty persnickety about what and where I bought. When I first moved there, and likely when you did too, the Katy Prairie was a nesting area for migratory geese and ducks. Now they have lost all that so that developers could build huge subdivisions in the old rice paddies and interrupt rainwater drainage that formerly prevented a large part of the major flooding in Houston proper. I spent days down there after Harvey trying to help people who had lost all their stuff. Basically, I come by my overall negative impression of Houston honestly. We don't have to agree about everything and indeed we don't. That won't change my assessment though since that is based entirely on my own experiences and observations.

ubermonkey 4y ago

7 million people appear to disagree with you about Houston. I've lived here -- by choice! -- for 28 years. It's true we have no scenic vistas, and our summers are notoriously hot and muggy, but - You can afford to live here. Real estate is attainable, even fairly close in. - The arts here are on par with our status as the 4th largest city in the country. - The people are awesome -- friendly, helpful, and generally from all over the damn place. That leads to ... - The food is RIDICULOUS. There's a great meal to be had in this town at any price point you care to name. - It's immensely un-snooty. Unlike lots of nerds, I don't mind putting on a suit, but in Houston there's almost nowhere that polices dress codes beyond "no jeans, collared shirt". And even that's rare. Superficial snobbiness is just not much of a Thing here (vs., say, big parts of Dallas, or Atlanta). - The flip side of the summer is that it's almost NEVER cold enough to deter outdoor activities. You don't store your bike for the winter here. You just keep riding. - Finally, if you're a traveling sort of person, being centrally located makes hitting either coast possible pretty quickly. This has been handy for me in both business and personal contexts for sure. So yeah, step off. Houston's awesome. It might not've been YOUR favorite place, but maybe crapping all over it in your post about a roach wasn't the best move.

doodlebugging 4y ago
Thanks for your insight. I actually agree with a lot of it. I didn't come by my assessment by reading about Houston and latching onto someone else's observations. I lived in Houston, west of HWY6 for 5 years before buying a place out northwest on 290 and commuting from there for 5 more years. Then, after moving up near FtWorth and just when I thought I was done with it for good, I ended up commuting weekly to Houston for 18 more years. I saw and had the opportunity to enjoy all the interstate construction on I-10, 45 towards Galveston, 59, 610 loop, Grand Parkway, Beltway 8, and finally 290. It has been in a state of constant change down there. Some changes improved things, others appear to be boondoggles. I totally agree on the people and the food. I'm in the O&G industry so I had the opportunity to work with people from every continent including a guy who spent a season in Antarctica. Culture, arts, like you say is first class. Since I watched many of those subdivisions being built, especially on the southwest to northwest side of the city, I am less impressed by the housing. My family has been in the building business since the Depression and I grew up on job sites. I would be pretty persnickety about what and where I bought. When I first moved there, and likely when you did too, the Katy Prairie was a nesting area for migratory geese and ducks. Now they have lost all that so that developers could build huge subdivisions in the old rice paddies and interrupt rainwater drainage that formerly prevented a large part of the major flooding in Houston proper. I spent days down there after Harvey trying to help people who had lost all their stuff. Basically, I come by my overall negative impression of Houston honestly. We don't have to agree about everything and indeed we don't. That won't change my assessment though since that is based entirely on my own experiences and observations.