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E.B. White on Why He Wrote Charlotte's Web

Started by jimmy olsen, August 07, 2013, 07:41:59 AM

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garbon

I liked when I had that one dorm room where baby spiders were crawling all around. Finally made me be a bit more sane with regards to my arachnophobia. -_-
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Malthus

Quote from: derspiess on August 07, 2013, 02:43:54 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 02:31:45 PM
If I see one talk or write messages in its web, perhaps I'll reconsider.



Is that from an ad for birth control pills?  :P
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

viper37

Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 02:40:00 PM
The arthropods that really freak me out, and I'd happily consider DDTing the whole place for, are house centipedes.  Had them bad in an old apartment, but I've seen two or three here.  Those fuckers, while disturbing to look at, are actually pretty innocuous (they can bite but are not venomous) and in general they're of a cautious disposition, so they do their best to stay in the edges of rooms.  Unfortunately, they also consider the ceiling to be an "edge."  And sometimes they loose their footing.
I understand how you feel.  I'd want them out of my house too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKUVAOD0PnE
I don't do meditation.  I drink alcohol to relax, like normal people.

If Microsoft Excel decided to stop working overnight, the world would practically end.

Ideologue

House centipedes are only about 2cm long, not "as long as [my] arm." :x
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

Ideologue

Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

Syt

I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

Malthus

Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 03:14:21 PM
House centipedes are only about 2cm long, not "as long as [my] arm." :x

No - they range from 1 to 4 inches (that is, 10 cm).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata

You don't forget a 4 incher in a hurry.  :lol:
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

garbon

"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Ideologue

Quote from: Malthus on August 07, 2013, 03:42:09 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 03:14:21 PM
House centipedes are only about 2cm long, not "as long as [my] arm." :x

No - they range from 1 to 4 inches (that is, 10 cm).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata

You don't forget a 4 incher in a hurry.  :lol:

I guess most the ones I saw were small.  Could've been an inch, inch and a half.

Does the length count antennae?
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

mongers

Spiders get a welcome here, as they ensure there are no flies, mosquito and the like about.   :cool:

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"

Ideologue

Gee you know what's exactly as threatening and scary as a spider?  A gnat.
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

Malthus

Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 03:57:11 PM
Quote from: Malthus on August 07, 2013, 03:42:09 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 03:14:21 PM
House centipedes are only about 2cm long, not "as long as [my] arm." :x

No - they range from 1 to 4 inches (that is, 10 cm).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata

You don't forget a 4 incher in a hurry.  :lol:

I guess most the ones I saw were small.  Could've been an inch, inch and a half.

Does the length count antennae?

Nope. Body length.

That said, the pottery studeo had the perfect conditions for growing truly champion house centepedes: in some places it was permanently damp (to stop clay from drying out too fast), lots of dark places, lots of nooks and crannies, etc.

In normal houses, centepedes get detected before they reach full 10 cm size.
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius

Ideologue

Perhaps, assuming "detected" is euhpemism for "killed with a broom."

I liked the last line of the Wiki article:

QuoteIt should be noted that they are a non-toxic, safe method of pest control, as house centipedes prey on other arthropods.

Oh, noted.  And snakes kill rats.  I should infest my house with snakes.
Kinemalogue
Current reviews: The 'Burbs (9/10); Gremlins 2: The New Batch (9/10); John Wick: Chapter 2 (9/10); A Cure For Wellness (4/10)

mongers

Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 04:01:13 PM
Gee you know what's exactly as threatening and scary as a spider?  A gnat.

My post was from the viewpoint of infectious agents these creatures carry, flies are not good. 

Fun thing about increasing temperatures here, it's predicted that malaria carrying mosquitoes might make a comeback in another couple of decades.   <_<
"We have it in our power to begin the world over again"

Malthus

Quote from: Ideologue on August 07, 2013, 04:07:19 PM
Perhaps, assuming "detected" is euhpemism for "killed with a broom."

Yup.  :D

Quote

I liked the last line of the Wiki article:

QuoteIt should be noted that they are a non-toxic, safe method of pest control, as house centipedes prey on other arthropods.

Oh, noted.  And snakes kill rats.  I should infest my house with snakes.

Well, on the plus side, the snakes and centepedes will also discourage unwanted human visitors.  :hmm:
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane—Marcus Aurelius