tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post982846954350315252..comments2024-03-18T17:03:24.900-04:00Comments on Sentence of Dave: My SAT Scores Were Actually Quite Impressive (But There Were No Questions About Wasps)Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10076160316071071272noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-22236358519012278692017-07-27T08:02:47.764-04:002017-07-27T08:02:47.764-04:00this sentence is about wasps? or is there a podcas...this sentence is about wasps? or is there a podcasting subtext . . .<br /><br />by the way, you've got to listen to malcolm gladwell's "revisionist history"! i used some of it last night at soccer practice.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10076160316071071272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-10929748726026661622017-07-26T22:57:00.774-04:002017-07-26T22:57:00.774-04:00I think Dave's a podmaster...I think Dave's a podmaster...S. Powershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05567954038285319768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-29755521394415008992017-07-26T22:41:50.063-04:002017-07-26T22:41:50.063-04:00Of course this was your reply. Podcasthole. Of course this was your reply. Podcasthole. kevyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17820131393472148314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-81239400641220640232017-07-26T22:01:36.617-04:002017-07-26T22:01:36.617-04:00it was just so apropos that-- despite my wife'...it was just so apropos that-- despite my wife's pain and suffering-- i wanted to celebrate the coincidenceDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10076160316071071272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-71581417060950110122017-07-26T14:30:03.011-04:002017-07-26T14:30:03.011-04:00It can be challenging to infer tone in blog commen...It can be challenging to infer tone in blog comments, but Dave's last comment feels celebratory.Whitneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03226312371632855194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-427805515939809452017-07-26T12:33:47.532-04:002017-07-26T12:33:47.532-04:00breaking news! catherine got stung by a wasp today...breaking news! catherine got stung by a wasp today while gardening at her school. it emerged from beneath a yucca plant and stung her on the wrist.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10076160316071071272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-60433718359084771722017-07-26T11:42:24.260-04:002017-07-26T11:42:24.260-04:00Thank you. The slingshot story is a nice parable ...Thank you. The slingshot story is a nice parable for my relationship with my father. <br /><br />Schmidt's book isn't as good as it ought to be but it empowered me to ignore the mud dauber and the nest she built between my family room windows, much to my wife's dismay. I showed her the mud dauber's feeble rating on the Schmidt Index but she was still scared. They're big and scary. Luckily Schmidt also explained that they eat spiders, and that was sufficient justification for Kathryn to let the mud dauber continue daubing.zmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435738243743797845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-65651689258624467192017-07-26T10:42:07.779-04:002017-07-26T10:42:07.779-04:00boiled! that was the word i was looking for-- nice...boiled! that was the word i was looking for-- nice. i listened to a podcast about the schmidt scale-- radiolab, i believe. it was awesome. that's quite a shot with a slingshot, i love that your dad abandoned you . . .<br /><br />nice use of the paragraphDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10076160316071071272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8350047293841073888.post-69714627564876514292017-07-26T10:38:10.105-04:002017-07-26T10:38:10.105-04:00I have a similar story from my youth involving my ...I have a similar story from my youth involving my stepbrother and his friends, a football, and a wasp nest embedded in the railroad ties that served as a retaining wall for the terraced front yard across from my stepbrother's friends' house. Everyone was trying to hit the wasp nest from across the street with the football, and when the older kids failed repeatedly and then grudgingly gave me one attempt I hit the entrance to the nest solidly with the point of the ball. I stood there, arms aloft, celebrating my athletic success in the face of their failure, as wasps boiled out of the hive. When I realized it was time to run it was too late and I suffered some stings. All I saw as I ran were the other kids' backs at least 25 yards ahead of me.<br /><br />Also, my father and I were once taking turns with a slingshot, shooting rocks from his gravel driveway at the massive paper wasp nest suspended from a tree over the driveway. As with the football story, I hit the nest solidly, putting the stone completely through the hive and out the other side. As with the football story, wasps boiled out of those two new holes and the normal ingress/egress at the bottom of the hive. As with the football story, I stood there, arms aloft, celebrating my slingshot success in the face of my father's failure. I suffered no stings, but my father started to run well before I did and did not make any attempt to drag me with him. As with the football story, all I saw as I turned and ran was my father's back at least 25 feet ahead of me.<br /><br />Finally, you should read "Sting of the Wild" by Justin Schmidt, in which he describes his misadventures in creating the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. He allowed himself to be stung by myriad stinging insects and rated the stings on a scale of 1-5 in increments of 0.5. He also includes little summaries of the pain, sort of like those short descriptions of fancy beers on a fancy beer menu. I hope he finds a new editor to tighten up his writing if he ever pens a new book (or a revised version of this one), but at least I now know which wasps to fear the most.zmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10435738243743797845noreply@blogger.com