My friend OldRoadDog commented on my post about pine tree gum (which you can find here [linkie]) and hit a sore spot.  The comment read

Also, in Canada the mosquitoes hang out in the shaded tree areas. Pitch the tent 20 yards or more from the trees.

I hate mosquitoes.  A lot. A hatred based on intense familiarity at several points in time in my life.  So I started a response and realized that I was really writing a post.  So here it is- I wrote

I’ve had two nights with mosquitoes out of the whole trip. I’ve used a can of cheapoTarget 10% DEET spray to ward them off. It’s worked like a charm, but I’m well aware that I might come down with some DEET-induced cancer of the frammis gland when I’m 113.  And I don’t care.

Us old guys can do anything we want, pretty much. With a ~20 year life expectancy at this point I am not going to put up with getting bit by mosquitoes today in order to not use a product that has a miniscule change of hurting you if you use it regularly over a full lifetime. Sunburn is in the same category. I will finish this trip with parts of me baked pretty brown. Am I worried about skin cancer? Sure, in the abstract. Am I worried about it affecting me? Not a bit. Not one bit.

So there you have it. Sorry about the ranting… I do that sometimes. But, like they say, better out than in.