Mosquito — Blog — Healy Chen

We're going to need a finer screen

While I am happy that San Francisco isn’t burning up like Europe is currently, nor are we experiencing record heat waves like rest of America, global warming for us is a bit more insidious. We may not get the extremes - thank god, but our overall summer temperatures have definitely been trending on the higher side in recent years.

Five years ago - when I first moved to this current spot on the west side of town - I didn’t even have to change out of winter blankets. Flash forward to the present, and there’s definitely a distinct summer season where the thinner material of duvet is absolutely required.

Mosquito season was never a concern in the years prior. Thanks to climate warming mixed with San Francisco’s renowned humidity, mosquitoes have become proper foes. Because I am on the first level of a house, I am particularly vulnerable to these critters coming in during the night to disturb my sleep.

Which revealed another problem. Because my windows are mesh screened, I’d thought it be fine to keep them open - you know, to cool down during the night - and not have to worry about mosquitoes. Not true! The typical bug screen installed on home windows isn’t fine enough to keep out the blood suckers. According to the Reddits, mosquitoes can squeeze through as fine as 2 millimeters of space. Damn buggers.

The solution was simple: get an even finer mesh. I bought this from Amazon that is dense enough to block No-see-ums. Because of that, it will defend just fine against mosquitoes.

First world climate problems, of course. I would still rather be in San Francisco weather-wise than anywhere else in the world.

Sick sucks, I know

Hello. I’ve returned to these pages after a month of involuntary off. The sickness got me good - for the third time this year! A lingering cold and cough that I truly did not fully recover from until just this past week. Mix in with two cold sore outbreaks, and a prolonged battle with invading mosquitos, August was a month to forget.

Never take normal for granted, folks. I try hard not to.

Today I was wondering why on the barbell bench I was failing at rep six, when two days I ago I was maxing out at nine reps with the same weight. Turns out my big galaxy brain used the incorrect plates. The barbell was 10 pound heavier than last time. That’s a jump I tend to avoid due to wanting to preserve my elbow tendons. I’m surprised I even got five reps out of it, and no lingering elbow discomfort afterwards.

I guess sometimes you just have to load up the bar and try to move it.

The aforementioned mosquitos: it took some trail and error - with the bites to prove it, but I’ve found the entry point for the invasion. It turns out the bug screen of my bathroom window isn't fine enough to stop mosquitos. Like Thanos’ army fighting through the Wakandan shield, these winged menaces have no qualms about squeezing though the blockade at the risk of their appendages.

One night I was woken up by four of those invaders. Naturally I did not go back to sleep until they were all dead. Moving forwards, my bathroom window will be shut at all times during mosquitos season. Thankfully there are other fresh air entry ways into this studio space. Chinese Feng Shui is all about fresh air!