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Preliminary Report

Victim is a female brown rat [rattus norvegicus] estimated to be 3 months of age, weight: 6 ounces, overall length: 14 inches.

Based on the state of rigor mortis, lividity and body temperature the victim died at approximately 6:00 AM, plus or minus 30 minutes.

While there are puncture wounds on both sides of the neck at the base of the skull, the probable proximate cause of death is assumed to be the fracture of a cervical vertebra.

None of those lived in the area had any knowledge of the individual or the incident.

The remains were removed for further processing.

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The Vestal Vespa has seen the future and it has two wheels. In the face of gasoline at $3/gallon and climbing something that gets 70 to 100+ miles per gallon is looking like a better choice than a 7 to 10 miles per gallon SUV.

While I drove a Lambretta for a while, they are out of production, as are the Cushmans that were once the American counterpart. Today there are a range of choices from around the world: Kymco [Taiwan], Piaggio [Italy], Vespa [Italy], Honda [Japan], Yamaha [Japan], and Bajaj [India]. Except for Honda, which jumps from 80cc to over 200cc, these are in the 150cc range, which will get you up to about 60mph.

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In the western Pacific region they are called typhoons, but Category 3 by any other name is a mess. My old stomping ground on the island of Okinawa is about to get a visit from typhoon Longwang. The briefing on that one at Kadina AB would be good for a few chuckles.

Closer to home the Mayan god Huracan would appear to have made time for the possibility of another visit according to Tropical Weather Outlook:

A vigorous tropical wave centered a couple hundred miles southeast of Jamaica is producing cloudiness and thunderstorms over much of the central Caribbean Sea. This system has become better organized today… and upper-level winds have also become more favorable for a tropical depression to develop during the next day or so. An Air Force Reserve unit reconnaissance aircraft is scheduled to investigate the system tomorrow… if necessary. Interests in Jamaica… the Cayman Islands… and in the northwestern Caribbean Sea should closely monitor the progress of this system over the next few days as it moves west-northwestward at about 10 mph.

At this point we know the drill.

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