When we went into town Tuesday night, there were four green LED street lights. When I went to pick up youngest son from work last night, there were eight green LEDs.

Tonight there were also four yellows, and four reds.

They're breeding.

At this rate, I predict that it won't be long before they take over all the streetlights in town. Then the country. Maybe the world....

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you zapped a common, ordinary housefly with a common red laser?

Yeah, me too.

So, now I know.

"What happens when you zap a housefly with a red laser," you may ask?

Nuthin'.

On the drive home tonight, the youngest son chose to tease his heeler, who was riding on his lap, by saying "rabbit!" out loud. I kindly reprimanded him for saying the 'R' word.

So then he shouted "Deer!"

About to reprimand him again, a little less kindly, when I saw them. Two bucks, in gorgeous velvet, munching away on the young trees the city planted along their new curbing.

Deer, it is.

Oh, on the fly and laser thing. Before I get nasty comments about torturing our six-legged fellow beings, the whole point to the laser experiment was to see if it would damage their eyes.

So I could squish 'em without having to hop all over the room and furniture with a folded up newspaper in my hand.

So, since there was murder in my heart anyway, I don't feel bad about trying out a potentially cruel, but more efficient methodology.

Wouldn't it be neat if all you had to do was wait for the little suckers to land, and then zap 'em into dust where they stand?

I should mention my test subject ignored the laser upon first exposure, but upon a second assault several hours later, went out of its way to avoid the beam. Perhaps they build up a sensitivity?

But at this rate, you would have to plan and commit assaults on houseflies hours in advance.

Think I'm back to leaping across the bed with paper in hand.

Youngest son worked late last night, so it was near 11 o'clock when his heeler and I brought him home. They're still paving 8^th Street, and have the main avenue blocked off, so I decided to detour a couple blocks north.

This change in routine got the masked heeler excited, and she stood eagerly on his lap, staring ahead at whatever we might discover. And then she went into Full Alert mode. And I saw what she could not recognize.

One of those expensive little tractor sprinklers. It had missed its cutoff, hopped the hose, then run down the sidewalk to the very end of its lifeline. And was sitting there, half in the street, tugging at its hose, bound and determined to sprinkle the asphalt.

And I feel guilty if a little water flows off our curbing into the street.

Oh, and back on the fly and laser thing.

If you get a fly to hold still long enough to focus the beam on their eyes, you get reflection of the laser light off each and every one of their compound eyes. Forms a really neat interference pattern of peaks and troughs, like in high school physics.

Probably not too good for your eyes, though.