When green lumber (not to be confused with "politically" green lumber) is used in the construction of homes, the shrinkage that occurs as the wood dries out can cause cracks in the wall finish materials and other cosmetic and minor structural issues.  This was much more common in homes as old as the Dinosaurs, and is somewhat alleviated with the use of modern kiln dried lumber and "engineered" or composite structural lumber. 

     It is not uncommon in older homes to find where green lumber has dried out in the intense heat of the attic resulting in pitch that forms little amber droplets on the surface of the lumber.  While primarily a cosmetic issue, these types of droplets were the source of the idea behind Jurassic Park.  A mosquito that had feasted on Dinosaurs was encapsulated in pitch that turned to Amber several hundred thousand years ago.  By harvesting the DNA from the mosquito, scientists were able to recreate actual dinosaurs. 

     Perhaps a mosquito that has feasted on humans will imbed itself in the pitch on this attic rafter, and then in a few hundred thousand years the intelligent beings on the Planet (or visitors to Planet Earth---like "The Man Who Fell to Earth") will be able to create a Jurassic Park of Humans.  I expect they will have to keep them pretty much caged the way the scientists did at the first Jurassic Park---unless it is an extremely lucky mosquito---and it bites the "right" people---the winners of the "Mosquito Lottery." 

Charles Buell 

     PS, for those of you that are new to my blog (or for some other "unexplained" reason have never noticed) all  pictures and smiley-face inserts (emoticons) have messages that show up when you point at them with your cursor.