#unauthorized walkabout

[omg-snakes]

I was with @fractiousrvt at a reptile show this past weekend and heading to my car to grab supplies, and I found a little buddy cruising the floor unattended. It was pretty early and most of the booths were set up but unattended, so I got them into the hands of the event organizer until their right people could be found.

I forgot that I'd taken a photo of the wayward child!

[canary3d-obsessed]

Nie Huaisang reporting in after the gang’s unauthorized walkabout. 

for @needtherapy ‘s Dagecember initiative

[mysynthfetish]

3 Days With Ondekoza (part three)

Top o’ the morning to thee and thine, O droogs.

Day three began with me waking up at the usual Way Earlier Than Necessary Or Reasonable time. So, knowing that there would be no morning run, I quietly showered, got dressed, and went for a wee walkabout to see what secrets the ‘hood was hiding.

First, I climbed up the double-kiss-your-ass-turn road that winds up the hill directly behind the schoolhouse, which is where I shot the above video from. It was just around 6am, so aside from a few cars and bikes already out for fun and possible death on the twisty mountain roads in the area, it was mostly pretty damn tranquil. Just the sound of the birds, the wind, and the river. What an environment! The schoolhouse is situated in a sort of valley, with just a few houses sorta nearby, and a temple directly across the street (Chōkei-ji if I remember correctly). Interestingly, there were tea fields behind the temple. This struck me as a real coincidence, as one of the gifts I brought for Ondekoza was a selection of powdered green tea from Furukawa Seicha, a tea grower based in Uji (Kyoto) that has been around since the Edo Period and whose middle daughter is a former student (just graduated from elementary school in March), and one of my favorite students ever. Super sweet kid. I wish they were all like her. Anyway. Lemme blab on about the tea for a sec. One member (Naoto) studied agriculture at college, and spent time in the US doing so in Salinas, California. He’s a fantastic cook by the way—Naoto, those scones rocked the house, man! He’s also pretty goddam knowledgeable all around when it comes to the culinary arts, and when I said “here’s a little something I brought for you guys,” he knew from like a 0.5 second glance it was green tea, which took me by surprise. Ms Furukawa also hooked me up with a bamboo whisk for preparing the tea, and Naoto was stoked about that as well, so I was stoked too. Much stokage! Thanks a million, Ms Furukawa and Hoyuhoyu!!!

On my way up the road behind the school, I spotted this monument tucked away in the woods, just at the foot of the first turnback. I thought “Cool! Creepy shit! I’ll hit that up on the way down.” Turns out it was a monument erected in memory of the local boys and men who died as soldiers during WW2. Yikes. There’s a weird monument like this near my place that has a freaking howitzer type large bore gun made into a sort of flagpole, with the base of the monument having shells stood on end placed every so often around the thing. Weeeeeeird! Far less creepy than this one, obviously. Anyway, my walkabout continued.

Found a few oooold rusty signs. The rectangular one says Unauthorized Vehicle Entry Prohibited—West Elementary School. The round one has English at the top. I also found two other WTF things. First:

Is that not a gas-guzzling full-blooded ‘Murican car or what?! I dunno if the house was even being lived in as it was hard to tell if the debris strewn haphazardly around it had been disturbed at all recently. Weird! Next was this:

A fucking cassette tape, in its case, undamaged, not sun-bleached or waterlogged. Of course that fucker went straight into my pocket and home with me. I checked it out, and it’s super quiet recording of dialog straight off the radio. WEEEEEEEIRD!!!!! Next I trudged down the stone-walled sides to the riverbank and shot a wee viddy. Ok so it seems there’s a one video per post limit. See you in part four then!

[oppof9probackcover-blog]

Mobile Phone - What to perform In case your Mobile is Lost Or Stolen

A sad but correct fact is that mobile phone theft is around the increase and it could occur to you irrespective of exactly where you reside.

Inside the UK, far more than 1 million websites had been stolen in the course of last year. Within the identical time period, far more than 1 millions were also lost. With regards to harm of mobiles 200,000 had been sent via the washer, 400,000 had been sent plummeting into a drink, as well as a whopping 600,000 mobiles have been flushed down the toilet.

For those who then add to that reality that more than 15,000 have been left on buses or tube trains, they are not wholesome numbers. Of course, essentially the most you'll be able to do about harm is replace your mobile and hope that you just have some sort of insurance protection. Even so, after you shed your phone, somebody may possibly just come across it and be good enough to keep it for themselves which could cause high bills and revenue out of the pocket.

Two easy steps in case your mobile goes missing?

Step 1 - Report it for the Police as soon as you possibly can and ask for a crime reference number. This will make it easier to when you have to make an insurance claim at a later date.

Step two - Notify your telephone provider and let them know what has happened as they are able to block your telephone from creating any further calls practically right away. Ask them to to block both your SIM and handset. At the same time, in case your mobile telephone is equipped with a GPS program, they may be able to assistance the police find the mobile. To discover the appropriate quantity for the network.

Guarding your mobile

You will find a number of methods you could take to create your mobile phone a lot more safe, like keeping your telephone out of sight when not in use and utilizing the phone's safety capabilities like your telephone lock and PIN quantity access. These functions may possibly stop people today making unauthorized calls employing your telephone or SIM.

It really is quick for the telephone to "go walkabout" in the event you have a habit of placing it down on a pub table, or shop counter - so take additional care any time you are out and about.

Keeping quiet - you will discover times when it can be much better to possess your mobile on silent or switched to vibrate as popular ring tones effortlessly alert a thief for the newest telephone model you may be carrying in your pocket. Busy locations for instance tube stations, markets or sporting venues supply excellent locations for thieves to disappear into a crowd so you need to also think about silencing your phones in these places. Thieves have a tendency to be opportunistic so do not make yourself a simple target.

The UK government runs a service referred to as the National Mobile Phone Register which makes it possible for any individual to register their mobile telephone (as well as other products of home) by means of their Immobilise.com web-site. Immobilise is usually a free service that permits you to record the specifics of as a lot of of your possessions as you wish on a safe, offsite inventory. For those who wish you are able to upgrade your cost-free account and add photographs and certificates of ownership. The register is applied by the Police and other authorities to trace stolen and lost property so it really should be high on your list when your purchase a new telephone. You might need to have your IMEI quantity or serial number which is often retrieved from any sort of handset by keying in *#06# or alternatively eliminate the back cover and you'll find your IMEI under the battery.

Basic safety tricks to maintain your telephone safe

- Never ever leave your telephone unattended inside your automobile

- By no means place it down within a public place or leave it unattended - keep your mobile on you

- Preserve your telephone out of sight

- Be aware of the surroundings when using your phone, who's watching you?

- Steer clear of using your phone in busy places including railway stations and also other public transport locations.

- Switch your telephone to silent in situations exactly where a ring tone might attract the consideration of a thief

- Make use of your mobile's safety capabilities

- Register your telephone totally free at https://blackbora.com/collections/oppo-f9-pro-covers.

[omg-snakes]

I had a late class tonight, my phone was on silent, and Melanora Nightshade went on unauthorized walkabout.

[omg-snakes]

I have a corn snake who will be 2 in April, he escpaed at the end of November. I haven't been able to find him. I've had a heat trap out and have periodically left thawed mice out to no avail. I'm in the northern hemisphere and its been cold, but the temperature of the floor is consistantly around 60 degrees. Do you think its possible he is in brumination somewhere and might come out soon? Or is it time to face the inevitable?

Thank you

Hey friend!

You'd be surprised how long a corn snake can survive when they're in low-metabolism mode. My major concern at this point is kidney damage from dehydration, and he's little enough that if he were to succumb to the elements he might be so dry that you wouldn't smell anything. :(

If you want to give him a fighting chance, if he's still in the house, keep a few water dishes in spots where they won't get kicked over.

Hope for the best at this point, but be emotionally prepared for the worst. I really hope he turns up.

[omg-snakes]

Who is your smartest snake?

If we're talking corn sakes, Hatshepsut no question. She knows how her enclosure opens and has managed to wedge the door open with her nose twice, and both times she did so and went on unauthorized walkabout she parked herself in spots that smell like me (my spot on the couch and my slippers) in order to try to get me to feed her before her scheduled meal day. This is also the snake who figured out how to eat a quail egg that was hard to get purchase on by using her own body to help cram it into her mouth.

I think the rat snakes are more alert, though, and pay more attention to their surroundings and test things more readily. I'd say of all of my snakes, Melanora the black rat snake is probably the smartest overall.

I don't post about them as often because they're more challenging to handle and by extension to photograph. The corn snakes are easier because I only need one hand and I can take a moment to focus and line up a shot, whereas with the rat snakes I definitely need to be watching them every second.

[omg-snakes]

Why is fiasco named such?

Fiasco and his siblings were my second clutch of corn snakes to hatch, and they were highly intelligent and motivated babies who outsmarted the lid mechanisms of their incubator box and then their hatchling tub to go on unauthorized walkabouts. The first tub was understandable, they followed the heat probe cord through a tiny gap. The hatchling box, though, was a Houdini-level feat that required some level of cooperation and problem-solving.

I had 15+ itty bitty worm babies loose in a house with a cat (who thankfully was more interested in tattling on their location for a treat bounty than messing with them) and it was a multi-day disaster.

That was a learning experience for sure.

Never underestimate a snake.

[omg-snakes]

How do you feel about appropriately-sized tub setups for baby corns until they get some more size on them? I’ve found with baby ball pythons it is so much easier to keep humidity up and not too difficult to provide enough space/enrichment for them, but I’m not sure how it would work for a slightly drier species like corns.

Hello!

My opinion on tubs is: Yes!

Appropriately-sized tubs are great for corn snakes. They are a more temperate species than ball pythons but they still benefit from some humidity. Tubs also allow you to attach platforms, decorations, and climbing branches directly to the side to increase usable space.

There are even companies that offer conversion kits to mount a sliding door on the side of a tub, which is pretty handy.

My only caution with tubs is that some brands have flexible lids and a motivated corn snake can lift a side or corner and go on unauthorized walkabout. For my own tub homes if they have flimsy lids, I either secure the edges with binder clips or drill holes through the edge of the lid and lip of the tub and secure the lid in place with a twist-tie.

It's a minor inconvenience for an inexpensive and otherwise ideal enclosure.

[omg-snakes]

Story Time: The White Snake

Today I was roused by a soft male voice hesitantly calling my name from downstairs. I quickly dressed and peeked down to see my housemate, an adult man with a good thirty pounds and at least half a foot of height on me, cowering at the foot of the staircase. He informed me that there was a large white snake in his bathroom. Immediately I knew that one of my wily and borderline enormous leucistic Texas rat snakes, Blanche or Dilbert, had somehow breached the confines of their cages and had gone on walkabout looking for snacks and someone to terrorize. Texas rat snakes are an intimidating snake with quick minds and quick tempers, and I was not enthused about having to wrangle one at the onset of my day. I took a breath and steeled myself, feigning full confidence and nonchalance in front of my clearly terrified housemate.

As I peeked around the doorway into the bathroom I was ready to be greeted by six feet of furious indignation. What I found instead was whisper-pink Melody, the snow stripe corn snake, noodling around behind the toilet with a light drape of cobwebs on her face. She let me scoop her up without complaint and wrapped her tail around my wrist for support. My housemate was standing nervously in the bathroom doorway and took a large step back as I reassured him that this was a friendly and very harmless baby. I gave her a quick rinse-off in the kitchen sink and returned her to her enclosure, being sure to note her means of egress through the hole for her light fixture. I breathed a sigh of relief as I blocked the pathway to prevent future unauthorized adventures.