I like your list Kent, but somewhere in there you left off the real serious danger of loosing ones footing, gasping for air, and calming yourself down after a covey of quail blow up from beneath your feet.
Monte, post: 421352, member: 11913 wrote: I like your list Kent, but somewhere in there you left off the real serious danger of loosing ones footing, gasping for air, and calming yourself down after a covey of quail blow up from beneath your feet.
Oh, the quail and dove explosions just add a certain texture to the day. I've never considered falls - as in tripping on some strand of barbed wire laid down in the grass or on some loose rock - to be more than an annoyance and hazard to equipment. Usually, it's the equipment that takes the fall. It it's me, it's seldom anything that internal application of hop-flavored malt beverage won't cure later in the day.
Kent McMillan, post: 421355, member: 3 wrote: I've never considered falls - as in tripping on some strand of barbed wire laid down in the grass or on some loose rock - to be more than an annoyance and hazard to equipment.
But I will say that it's a good idea to carry a really good pair of tweezers along in the truck in case when you trip on that hidden strand of wire you end up in the prickly pear, as happened to me a couple of years ago. It's not 911 material, but will definitely ruin the rest of the day until the spines are extracted.
Kent McMillan, post: 421358, member: 3 wrote: But I will say that it's a good idea to carry a really good pair of tweezers along in the truck in case when you trip on that hidden strand of wire you end up in the prickly pear, as happened to me a couple of years ago. It's not 911 material, but will definitely ruin the rest of the day until the spines are extracted.
And you might want to carry a good sized can of wasp spray...
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/threads/the-survey-22-years-later.328380/#post-393582
paden cash, post: 421362, member: 20 wrote: And you might want to carry a good sized can of wasp spray...
https://surveyorconnect.com/community/threads/the-survey-22-years-later.328380/#post-393582
Actually, what I learned from that experience was that 3" PVC pipes in the desert are apt to harbor all sorts of winged creatures. These days, I give them a rap with some object and see what flies out before assuming that nothing is in residence.
That wasp sting was the one and only time in more than thirty years in Central Texas that I've been on the receiving end of that particularly famous species. Scorpions? Pffft!
The pro tip as to scorpions is to wear leather gloves when working in an area where you might end up on the ground or grasping random rocks. I do.
Kent McMillan, post: 421363, member: 3 wrote: Actually, what I learned from that experience was that 3" PVC pipes in the desert are apt to harbor all sorts of winged creatures. These days, I give them a rap with some object and see what flies out before assuming that nothing is in residence.
That wasp sting was the one and only time in more than thirty years in Central Texas that I've been on the receiving end of that particularly famous species. Scorpions? Pffft!
I did read this serious-but-highly-spiced-with-humor column about your dear Texas Tarantula Wasp. Titled something like "If this wasp stings you just lay down and start screaming"...
If a title like that won't get you to read the article, nothing will...;)
https://www.wired.com/2015/07/absurd-creature-of-the-week-tarantula-hawk/
paden cash, post: 421364, member: 20 wrote: I did read this serious-but-highly-spiced-with-humor column about your dear Texas Tarantula Wasp. Titled something like "If this wasp stings you just lay down and start screaming"...
If a title like that won't get you to read the article, nothing will...;)
https://www.wired.com/2015/07/absurd-creature-of-the-week-tarantula-hawk/
The Texas Tarantula Wasp is without a doubt the true professional among the wasp family I would in fact imagine that many rattlesnake bites would seem anti-climactic by comparision. Fortunately, the wasp carries less venom and the recovery is in terms of hours, but the first hour will lead one to question all of the other assumptions he might have previously made in his life.
I suppose one could dial 911 on his satellite phone, but by the time help arrived, all that he'd need would be the bill for the helo from Fort Stockton to some location 70 miles away.
Kent McMillan, post: 421365, member: 3 wrote: The Texas Tarantula Wasp is without a doubt the true professional among the wasp family I would in fact imagine that many rattlesnake bites would seem anti-climactic by comparision. Fortunately, the wasp carries less venom and the recovery is in terms of hours, but the first hour will lead one to question all of the other assumptions he might have previously made in his life..
I'm thinking if someone could isolate or synthetically manufacture a clone of the wasp's venom they might could put interrogation methods like waterboarding up on a shelf.
paden cash, post: 421366, member: 20 wrote: I'm thinking if someone could isolate or synthetically manufacture a clone of the wasp's venom they might could put interrogation methods like waterboarding up on a shelf.
Being stung by a Tarantula Wasp is very similar to having one's extremities hit by a hammer blow. The pain is almost hallucinogenic. In other words it's like watching one of Rupert Murdoch's cable TV outlets.
paden cash, post: 421362, member: 20 wrote: And you might want to carry a good sized can of wasp spray.
Around here the most common wasp likes to nest in open pipes, but they're fairly docile unless you actually bump the nest. Rather than spray I just duct tape the top of the pipe closed. If I know I'm going to return to a site that has open pipes (some of my longitudinal projects have stations with open-topped guard posts) I'll tape the pipes closed prior to nesting season as a preventive measure.
Just wait until Quinton Tarentino discovers this critter.
