I am god! well, actually not, but maybe closer to being pat morita. or maybe i just cheated.
guess why i did tonight. and then guess how. (:
I caught about 10 flies, which were alive, that were flying around our house (though i'm not sure how they all got in the house, but they were annoying when i was trying to do the dishes, and they didn't seem to go away as i was catching them (and subsequently killing them and rinsing them down the drain)).
now, guess what i caught them with. this should be more obvious. there are hints above.
then, guess how i managed to catch them with the previous answer.
i'll post again soon with the answers to those last two.