Katcha Bug Humane Spider and Insect Catcher

When my children were younger we took a trip to Callaway Gardens in Georgia.  This must have been about 10 years ago.  While we were there, one of them picked out a cute little plastic bug catcher in their gift shop.  The thing was only about 6 inches tall.  It had a straight handle attached to a small, clear, plastic, pyramid shaped "trap" on the end.  The trap had a sliding door on the bottom.  Whenever you wanted to catch a bug you just slid the door open, placed the trap on top of the bug and then slid the door shut.  Since the trap was clear the kids could look at what they had just trapped without fear of it getting away (or actually touching it).  To get rid of it you just opened the door and let it drop out.

We caught everything from house flies to small lizards in that thing.  The kids loved it and I appreciated not having to clean up bug guts from the wall.  Unfortunately, the door broke on it one day.  I searched all over the internet and could not locate anything even close to it. 

Years passed and I had almost given up on finding a replacement to our beloved bug catcher.  The year was now 2009 and President Obama was giving some sort of interview.  I guess a fly was buzzing around him and he finally killed it after it landed on his arm.  Soon after that, I was reading a story about a humane bug catcher that PETA reportedly sent him after scolding him for killing that fly.  Well, a little more searching and I finally found the Holy Grail of bug catchers (at least in my eyes).

The thing is marketed by a company called the Birding Company and is called Katcha Bug.  Here is a picture of it:

I now own 2 of them.  They can be purchased for less than $10 through Amazon or at many other locations around the web.

In my opinion, simple is best!

Problems Installing the Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer?

I bought a refurbished Brother HL-2170W laser printer because I wanted to save money on ink and I loved the fact it was able to be setup using a wireless / Wi-Fi connection.

The printer works great but I had the hardest time installing it. I searched and searched for help on the internet and finally found this review on Amazon that saved the day. I don't want to lose track of the information so I am putting the summary and the premalink here. I hope it helps someone else.

This post was originally by Humble Patriot:

1. If you have already attempted an install, UNinstall the drivers. Do this FIRST.
2. Turn off the power to your Brother 2170w.
3. Turn off your Windows Firewall in your security settings (Start>Control Panel>Security Center).
4. Re-set the printer's internal print server!!
a. Holding down the blue GO button with the power OFF, turn the power on.
b. Make sure all the LED's illuminate (toner/drum/error)
c. Release the GO button, then press it seven times in succession
i. The manual says that the LEDs should illuminate again, demonstrating the reset was successful
ii. My LED's did NOT illuminate again, but the reset was successful anyway
5. Connect the cable between your router and the printer's ethernet port
6. Run the CD
7. Select Wireless Network Setup
8. Select Wireless Setup and Driver Install
a. initial computer only
b. for all subsequent computers select Driver Install Only
9. Select Step By Step
10. Select With Cable
11. Make sure that your router detects the printer by illuminating the LED for the selected port when cable connected
12. Look at the ethernet port on the printer and ensure the LED's are illuminated when cable connected
a. If none of the LEDs are illuminated, go back to resetting the internal print server again (step 4 above)
13. Click Next once your cable is connected until the software detects the Available Wireless Device
14. Follow the rest of the steps from page 23 of the manual (step 10)

When all is done, turn your Windows Firewall back on ...

...thank you Humble Patriot!

Also, here is the Amazon Link