Zompist Bboard Again

/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/ wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 1:38 pm

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 8:24 am First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

first of many to come

Yes.

malloc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 11:33 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 8:24 am First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

How is that a contradictory feeling? Wasps in your house sound like an obvious bad thing.

It's a potentially disagreeable experience but a sign of biodiversity, essential as that is.

MacAnDàil wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2026 8:52 am but a sign of biodiversity, essential as that is.

Though for that, I prefer bees.

One thing I find a bit weird is that bumblebees (the main kind of bee we get here) don't scare me at all, even though I have been stung by them multiple times, while wasps (specifically yellowjackets) do make me afraid, even though I have never been stung by a wasp in my life. Of course, I can stand in the garden with bumblebees flying about, not caring one bit about my presence, and all the times I have been stung by bumblebees were due to them getting in the house and then my stepping on them, whereas wasps harass me (particularly in late summer) while I am trying to eat outside in peace...

As I posted at the time, I was stung by a wasp last year, but I don't remember if I was ever stung by a bee. Anyway, bumblebees are among my favorite animals by now. I don't usually talk that way about insects, but they're just so cute! I love watching them collect nectar.

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 3:34 am As I posted at the time, I was stung by a wasp last year, but I don't remember if I was ever stung by a bee. Anyway, bumblebees are among my favorite animals by now. I don't usually talk that way about insects, but they're just so cute! I love watching them collect nectar.

Bees are less aggressive than wasps, probably mainly because wasps can sting many times, while a bee can sting only once in its life and dies therein, so it won't sting unless as a last-ditch effort to save the hive. (But I am not an entomologist, so take this with a grain of salt.)

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 7:10 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 3:34 am As I posted at the time, I was stung by a wasp last year, but I don't remember if I was ever stung by a bee. Anyway, bumblebees are among my favorite animals by now. I don't usually talk that way about insects, but they're just so cute! I love watching them collect nectar.

Bees are less aggressive than wasps, probably mainly because wasps can sting many times, while a bee can sting only once in its life and dies therein, so it won't sting unless as a last-ditch effort to save the hive. (But I am not an entomologist, so take this with a grain of salt.)

Honeybees can only sting mammals once and die as a result, bumblebees can sting as many times as they want -- but provided you don't mess with their hive or do something like step on them bumblebees will try to avoid stinging you if they possibly can.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 8:13 am

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 7:10 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 3:34 am As I posted at the time, I was stung by a wasp last year, but I don't remember if I was ever stung by a bee. Anyway, bumblebees are among my favorite animals by now. I don't usually talk that way about insects, but they're just so cute! I love watching them collect nectar.

Bees are less aggressive than wasps, probably mainly because wasps can sting many times, while a bee can sting only once in its life and dies therein, so it won't sting unless as a last-ditch effort to save the hive. (But I am not an entomologist, so take this with a grain of salt.)

Honeybees can only sting mammals once and die as a result, bumblebees can sting as many times as they want -- but provided you don't mess with their hive or do something like step on them bumblebees will try to avoid stinging you if they possibly can.

I understand. Well, I am not well-informed on these matters.

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Sat Mar 14, 2026 7:10 am Bees are less aggressive than wasps, probably mainly because wasps can sting many times...

Wasps are hunters. They will catch bees in flight and kill and butcher them. They'll also strip fried chicken to the bone.

Why does the range hood have to be in the place where's it's been all the time, which just, today, happened to be right in the way of my head? Ouch!

On two out of the past three days, I managed it to get small but still serious chunks of rewriting done!

If it had been two days in a row, I would have posted this in the Happy things thread, but since I unfortunately wasted Wednesday, I'm posting it here instead. Still somewhat happy.

Part of the explanation might be something I posted in the Computer & Tech Thread:

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 2:38 pm Now that I've set up an old notebook as my secondary computer, I've put tools on it so that I can do various things with it, but I haven't put a copy of my password manager's database on it, so I can't use it to log in to anything. So far, the initial impact on my general productivity seems to be encouraging.