I put some ground beef between a shirt in my garage. Will it turn into maggots?
It won't turn into maggots. That's spontaneous generation, which was disproved about two centuries ago. It will rot, though, and probably attract lots of flies. Depending on how its wrapped, and the mesh of the shirt, it may prevent flies from laying eggs on it, resulting in gross and smelly (but maggot-free) meat. The flies will probably be able to get to it, though.
There are maggots on my bed. Nobody in the house has wounds. How do I get rid of them?
It would be helpful to ascertain the kind of maggots, if they’re even fly larvae. Often, the ‘maggots’ are really mobile tapeworm segments shed by the family’s pet cat that spends time on the bed. On occasion, I receive presumed ‘fly larvae’ that turn out to be larval carpet beetles.What if they’re bona fide fly larvae? There are several options to consider. Perhaps, there’s a squirrel, bird or rat carcass within the ceiling above the bed. The carcass may have been consumed by larvae of muscoid flies. Once the larvae have finished feeding, they disperse. They might then fall through a ceiling electrical box associated with a light or ceiling fan.In a few cases, fly larvae might derive from food left in the bed (such as partially consumed steaks, pork chops, etc.). It may surprise many readers as to how often this is a reality. Then, there’s a chance that the flies are more closely associated with the person(s) who used the bed. Flies might infest wounds, or tissue folds of a person, or they may be attracted to, deposit eggs upon and develop within excreta from a person.So, how best to identify the ‘larva’? Boil some water. Turn off the heat, then drop the larvae directly into the hot water. That will fix the tissues within seconds. Once the water has cooled, transfer the larvae to a small bottle or vial and add alcohol (70 - 80% ethanol or isopropyl). Then consider contacting me to identify the specimens. See my site: IdentifyUS
Why do many repair garages decline to help the classic car hobby restorer with a difficult specific task?
Can't answer why since I don't live in their brains, they just are. As a previous owner of classic car, Chiao Mei Lim's answer to What was you first car and did you buy it yourself or was it given to you? which was largely problem free, sometimes they are reluctant to perform even a simple oil change. Well, life became markedly difficult when I discovered my petrol tank was leaking. Luckily I had a second car at that time. After waiting for months for my mechanic to do something while my car was deteriorating under his tree ( and I brought a plastic sheet to cover it to protect the frame) I took it upon myself and source for a spare. To cut a long petrol tank story short, after a few mechanics later, life improved leaps and bounds when I discovered a classic car mechanic in…. of all places, my own neighbourhood. Near enough I can just walk to their shop. It turned out that these guys actually NOTICED my car in the hood while I was oblivious to their existence. I appeared in person without bringing my car, when I told them about my car they immediately knew which one, “ Red starlet, often parked at x location?”Well, they know what they are doing. They are passionate about their job. They treated my car with respect even mine was a dumpy old car while their shop is frequented by lovingly restored classics with beautiful leather seats. The shop has a sign hanging inside that says ‘Association of Classic Volvos Malaysia’ ( they accepted my car even it was Toyota)In summary, don't ask why, just find a mechanic who loves old cars.
What was the cringiest thing you ever did or saw?
This happened on the first day of my first job. I was asked to try some fit samples. I was given 6 samples (tops) one by one and I was supposed to wear it and show it to the designer and HOD and tell them if it fits properly or not. So when I was done with the last change, the designer asked me to get all samples from the washroom and give it to her. I went, changed to my own clothes and came back with 5 samples. She told me there were total 6 So we went back together to the washroom to look for it. What happened after that is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened with me.She found the top lying in commode. So while picking all the samples or maybe while changing (I really don't know how) I had managed to drop the sample in the pot. She was clueless and I was scared. She told me that the boss is going to ask where did the sixth style go and we need an answer. I didn't know what to tell him. On the first day of my job I had managed to ruin one of his designs. We had no idea what to do. I asked house keeping staff to pick it up. And hang it for drying.We went back in the studio and to my horror he asked where is the 6th style, let me give my comments on it. My face was red with embarrassment. In a meek voice I explained to him what had happened. He looked at me and asked “how did you manage to do that?”. Everybody in the design studio burst out into laughter including him. I was a subject of a lot of jokes for a long time after that.I don't work there anymore but It is something that we still laugh about whenever we meet.
How was your experience with rescuing an animal (I would love pictures)?
I have had quite a lot of experience with this.When growing up I lived in the middle of nowhere, and we routinely found animals that had been hit or injured and took them to the vets.Once we rescued a dove that stayed in our house a while before it could be released. It stayed and lived in our garden afterwards and used to watch us and call back to us when we called to it.I worked at a horse and livestock sanctuary for around seven years. we rescued all sorts. mostly good stories. brilliant to see shy horses come out of their shells.A few years ago my aunt heard a kitten meowing in a thunderstorm. we watched for hours to see if the mother cat would come (there are a few feral cats around here). Eventually the meows stopped and we went to see. he was still there but very thin and weak. we took him to the vets and the vet said we should put him down. he had terrible conjunctivitis and the vet said no home would take him as he had cat chlamidia which cats are not routinely inoculated against, even if he didn't die anyway.we took him home. I wiped his eyes every hour or so for six months and he slept in my hair at night. He thinks I am his mum now and he is a happy and healthy cat.It makes me sad that some animals are put down when they could be fine with a little effort.