BACKYARD PIC 9 (Not My Backyard)

So I know I've posted a few things about snakes - and I know that it looks that I might be slightly obsessed with blogging about this subject (snakes). But I just got an email from my parents - who reckon that snakes in the jungles (or houses) of Borneo have got nothing on the snakes that they get in their backyard in Western Australia! - Bullsh*t - I say!!!!! - Do their snakes fly and have a reputation for being aggressive? - I think you'll find the answer is NO NO NO!

Anyway - as I haven't posted anything for a while I thought it was about time for another backyard photo. EXCEPT - this time it's not my photo and it's not my backyard. This is what my parents sent me on the the email as an example of snakes they find in their backyard.

This is a couple of photos of a South Western Carpet Python that they came across whilst taking a walk in their 'hood:

Generally the South West Carpet Python Morelia spilota imbricata is found in the south west region of Western Australia (from Geraldton down to Esperance and extending no more than 900Km inland). The species found in the hilly areas around Perth (e.g. where my Parents' live) tend to have a darker base colour than the specimens found in the more coastal areas. Some people think that this make them (the coastal species) more stunning / beautiful.

From www.pilbarapythons.com:
The southwestern carpet python predominately feeds upon small mammals and birds with juveniles also taking small lizards and the occasional frog.
The temperament of this species seems to vary somewhat between individuals although generally speaking I have found that juveniles seem to be a lot more pugnacious than most other carpet python species. With regular handling though, and typical of most other carpet python species, they tend to tame down and become amendable to handling.
Up until recently these carpet pythons were not widely kept simply because they were rarely available within the pet industry. Because
of legalized wild collecting in W.A over recent years however, there are now lots being bred anPersonNamed made available.

PTX 0.3
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BACKYARD PIC 6+ (Story - Continued)

In a previous post I told the story of the first "paradise tree snake" that I met in our house. This is the story of our second encounter.

Lets just go over some facts about these kind of snakes first. These are highlights from the FAQ page of the flyingsnake.org website (yes these bastards can actually FLY!):

How big are they? Most adult flying snakes are 3-4 feet long (1-1.2 meters).

Do they bite? Yes, quite readily - they seem to strike at anything moving.

Are they venomous? Yes, but only mildy so. Most people that get bitten have no problems

DISCLAIMER:
I'd like to state that although I paint an impression of a truly scary snake and I may use unsavory language to describe them on occasion - I actually have a great deal of respect for these very beautiful (and obviously talented) reptiles... It just happens that I am a complete pussy when it comes to dealing with them!

THE STORY:
OK - So remember that at the time we didn't know anything about the fearsome reputation of these snakes...

CHAPTER 1: The Awakening:
02:30am: Woken up by the sound of Riise (our dog) barking loudly.

02:31am: Cursed loudly about the fact that the dog was still barking (waking up Carol in the process). Went outside the bedroom and found the dog in the kitchen (where she knows she shouldn't be) repeatedly looking up and barking at the exhaust fan between nervous glances back at me.

"SHHH Ris'!!" - Barking continues. I decide I'd better investigate - OK "Show me, Show me" I tell her. She's used to this command - normally moves ahead and shows us what she's getting all worked up about - not this time. She stays riveted to the floor, the hair on her upper back sticking up like all dogs who feel threatened or are about to attack. My eyes track to the location she is barking at and I see the snake. It's found its way in through a small hole near the kitchen extractor fan and is checking out my collection of wine bottles.

Photos above: The kitchen fan / wine bottles and Riise the dog.

02:32am: SHIT! "Carol!, Carol!" I yelp. "What?!!" comes the terse reply from from behind the bedroom door. "There's a snake in the kitchen... HELP!". I know from previous experience that Carol is fairly comfortable around legless reptiles. If we spot them outside on the veranda she often goes outside to "check them out" and see if she can touch them!

So she somewhat begrudgingly comes into the kitchen and in a pissed off tone asks "where?". "Up there" I point. The snake flinches as if it knows its finally met its challenge. "Get me a stick" Carol demands - simultaneously ordering Riise out of the kitchen with a sweep of the hand (Riise knows not to fuck with Carol when she's pissed off and promptly leaves the kitchen to take up a rear support position). I whine - to get at the broom sticks I have to cross the kitchen, past the snake and towards the back door where we keep the mops and brooms. "How about the cob web duster stick?" I suggest in a moment of very-early-in-the-morning brilliance. "Go!" Carol orders - I've now adopted Riise's philosophy - don't fuck with Carol!

So I fetch the cob web duster for Carol and she immediately begins gently prodding the snake in an attempt to convince it to leave the house from where it came. I decide that its probably not a good idea to be in the vicinity of this insane effort but for various masculinity reasons don't want to look like a pussy in front of Carol. The solution I realise is to offer the very important and heroic service of leaving the kitchen to call the professional snake catcher.

I'm in no particular rush to go back to the kitchen but am keen to see the snake finally removed from the house. Pest control informs me that they do indeed have people on standby at 2:45 in the morning and will dispatch their "guy" straight away. I put the phone down after profusely thanking the lady on the other end. Just as I hang up I hear a "ahhhhh!!!!" from the kitchen. "Are you OK?" I gingerly shout. "ahhhh! s**t!!!!, the snake just jumped off the ledge and came straight at me!!!" screams Carol. "Where is he know?" I ask as I quickly prepare for an exit out of the front door. Carol informs me that the snake is now no longer visible and has retreated behind the cooking stove / oven.

Carol casually walks into the living room where I am firmly barricaded behind my bank of computers. "MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T COME BACK OUT!" I scream at her. "I know..." she says mockingly "...I'm just getting a chair". With a complete lack of acknowledgment that anything was out of the normal Carol grabs a chair, places it in the kitchen (carefully orienting it toward the stove), sits down on it and then asks me calmly if I could make her a cup of coffee..... GET STUFFED! I'm not going anywhere near the kettle - it's too close to the snake infested stove! I'm desperate for a "stiff" drink to help calm the nerves but that would involve going into the kitchen so I decide I can get by with just cigarettes.

CHAPTER 2: The PJ-Wearing, Snake-Catching Guy:
03:00am: The snake catcher turns up and I'm convinced he's still wearing his PJs. I have to put the dog away because he's afraid of them - OK - so this guy catches king cobras and stuff for a living but he's afraid of dogs!?! Despite the irony Carol and I show him where we think the snake is. He cautiously looks around the stove, doesn't see anything and proceeds to move the stove for a better look. Still nothing. Out of frustration he hands Carol the snake catching stick with instructions that she should use it to grab the snake should it suddenly make an appearance (he can obviously tell that I would be useless at this task) and begins to systematically dismantle the stove. Carol complies with his request without hesitation - I on the other hand peer meekly around the kitchen door to ensure that everything is going OK.

03:15am: Carol and the snake catching guy don't find any snakes and declare that it has left the building via a small hole in the floor situated behind the stove (where the gas intake pipe feeds the stove). As a preventive measure Carol crawls behind the stove and seals up all the holes with masking tape (even snake guy wasn't going to crawl back there).

03:20am: We thank PJ wearing, snake catching guy and go back to bed. Even I'm convinced that the snake has gone.

CHAPTER 3: The Return:
04:30am: Riise wakes us up with more barking. SHIT!, SHIT!, SHIT! - this time I know what the barking means - it's friggin' back!

I peer around the edge of the bedroom door and can see Riise in the living room in a defensive posture barking at something underneath the dining room table. Squinting harder to negate the fact that my vision was still a bit dodgy (due to my recently awoken state) - I witness the snake slithering forward directly at Riise who immediately begins barking louder and backing up (smart girl). Vision immediately clears, heart rate immediately rises, bowels loosen (but fortunately not enough to bring on an additional concurrent emergency).

Surprisingly I find myself creeping forwards out of the relative safety of the bedroom and towards the living room to make a more detailed appraisal of the situation - must be adrenalin kicking in, or perhaps its my emergency coordination training. Either way it doesn't last very long and I quickly retreat to the nearest safe observational post (the bathroom). The snake continues to advance on Riise who is bravely barking but backing up at the same time. Unfortunately Riise has decided to back up in my general direction.

"Carol!... It's back!!!" I scream from the bathroom towards the closed bedroom door. ..... silence..... "Carol! - help - GET OUT HERE!". "Where is it?" she asks through the bedroom door and with the same pissed off tone as earlier in the night but this time it contains a trace of nervousness as well. "Out here" I reply. "Exactly where" she demands impatiently but with equal nervousness. "In the living room" - I begin to shake as the snake inches ever closer towards my stronghold.

Carol peers out of the bedroom door and somewhat mockingly (in a tone that is reminiscent of me asking Riise the same question) tells me to "show her". From my bathroom safe area I point around the corner into the living room. Carol takes a look for herself and I follow carefully behind using her as a shield.

The snake rapidly advances on Riise who by now only has one place to back up into - the couch. Poor dog jumps onto the couch and continues barking down at the snake which is now arching up at having a go at her.

I'm a bit suspicious that Carol has some sort of elite special-forces military training that she's not allowed to tell anyone about - because she handled the next fraction of a second with the precision and command of a general under fire.

Carol kicks the bedroom door open. "Riise. Get In!" - "Nick get in the bathroom!". We both comply without hestitation. Keeping her eye on the snake she closes the bedroom door sealing Riise in and protecting her from the further onslaught of the snake. It becomes clear to me that Carol is following the emergency response procedures P.E.A.R - People, Environment, Assets, Reputation.

With "people" out of the way she moves on to "environment" and "assets"; "Nick close the door to the spare room and seal it so the snake doesn't get in. Do the same for the bedroom." she calmly orders me. "Oh and get me the vacuum cleaner pole from the spare room" she adds.

The snake continues to advance towards us - presumably looking for Riise. Carol adopts the fall back location with me in the bathroom. I retreat further and stand in the bath tub. "Shit! it's right outside!". In a last attempt to convince the snake to move away from our general vicinity Carol sacrifices our only weapon (the vacuum cleaner pole) by rapidly launching it at the snake. It doesn't work - the snake continues to head towards us. Carol slams the bathroom door shut.

CHAPTER 4: Barricaded In:
Both of us barricaded in the bathroom - and we begin to formulate our next plan of attack. "Where's the phone?" asks Carol. "It's outside with the Snake" I reply. Crap. I go into survival mode and begin calculating how many days you could live in a bathroom before you die... Sleeping on tiles would be a bit uncomfortable but we've got lots of water and surely you can get some sort of sustenance from toothpaste. Worse comes to worse there are plenty of things that could put us out of our misery in the drugs cabinet.

Carol decides that we must keep track of where the snake is at all times and takes a peek out of the bathroom door. "Where is it?" I ask from inside the bath tub. "Crap - I can't see it" she replies. She sticks her head out further for a better look but suddenly retreats and slams the door shut again. "Its right next to the door on the right hand side".

CHAPTER 5: Re-Taking the Living Room:
We develop a plan: I'll stay in the bath tub and Carol will use the bath towel to cajole the snake away from us and back into the living room. Using the towel as a kind of shielding wall Carol exits the bathroom and faces up to the snake. The technique works well and soon enough Carol gives the "all clear" as she has re-taken the living room ground. The snake is happily sheltered underneath the couch apparently eating a gecko.

Now that we have re-taken the living room we have all of our weapons and tools back again: Vacuum pole, cob-web duster, mobile phone, torch, towels etc. Riise is still locked in the bedroom.

I call back pest-control and they dispatch their "guy" again.

CHAPTER 6: The Final Stand:
After finishing its early morning snack the snake decides to venture out from underneath the couch and again begins making its way towards the bedroom / bathroom area. Carol and I are worried that the snake will find its way into the bedroom with Riise so Carol tries to convince it (using "stick power") to go back under the couch. It doesn't work.

Carol lays Riise's dog pillows in front of the entrance way to the bedroom / bathroom area in an attempt to create a barrier for the snake. The nasty little bugger starts attacking and striking the dog pillows!! Biting, rotating and curling its body with each strike!

The snake breaches our makeshift barrier and heads towards the bathroom. Fortunately in my rush to leave the bathroom I forgot to close the door behind me. The snake enters and Carol rushes forward and quickly slams the bathroom door shut. TRAPPED the snake has nowhere to go.

About 15 minutes later the snake catcher guy turns up but this time he's not wearing his PJs and is more appropriately attired. He cautiously enters the house and his first question is "where is the dog?". "Don't worry" I say "the snake is trapped in the bathroom".

Snake catcher enters the bathroom. "Whoaaa!" he says and takes a quick backwards step. Apparently the snake is still quite aggressive. He bounds forward with his snake catching stick and grabs the snake. Triumphantly he brings it outside to show Carol and I.

"Did you hit it?" he asks me. He's obviously forgotten that I wouldn't go anywhere near a snake. "Not me! ask her" I say pointing a finger at Carol. Carol claims she never hit it. "Must be the dog bit it then" concludes the snake catcher "its got an injury on its tail".

GOOD DOGGIE RIISE!

CHAPTER 7: Final Words:
Following this incident Carol and Riise enjoyed hero status for several weeks before Riise runied it by raiding the rubbish bin and leaving an old bit of raw chicken on the couch.

In researching Paradise Tree Snakes since this incident I discovered that most of the Chrysopelea family of snakes have a reputation for being quite aggressive. This incident confirms that observation and also proves that dogs have no ill effects from a bite from this snake.

PTX 0.3
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BACKYARD PIC 8

This is an "Oriental Pied Hornbill" Anthracoceros albirostris that just landed in front of my kitchen window.They usually hangout in pairs (breeding I assume) - in fact this particular hornbill actually landed on the branch with a partner but the partner was a bit camera shy and soon flew off. Apparently the area where I live is the only place in the world where Hornbills live in a residential area.

Taken at a focal length of 150mm: ISO 100: 1/160s @ f3.8

PTX 0.3
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BACKYARD PIC 7

Here's another "White Collared Kingfisher"... This one is mid flight.

BACKYARD PIC 6 (+ Story)

The picture to the left is of a "Paradise Tree Snake" Chrysopelea paradisi. The photo is a little out of focus but that's coz I was just nervous (didn't want to get too close for too long). I met this particular guy in my bedroom! (but more on that a bit later). This photo was taken in our carport after the snake catcher guy managed to track it down and capture it.

A little more about the Paradise Tree Snake:
It's actually a very beautiful snake with a yellow belly and black scales on top which are punctuated with red dots all the way down its spine. Some say its a rare snake - but I can tell you that they are by no means rare around here. Its only mildly poisonous and by all accounts a bite doesn't seem to effect humans adversely (or dogs for that matter- again more on that a bit later).
Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) thing about these snakes is that they can FLY! Actually its more like gliding (as Carol found out - more later). Check out the following link for photos of them in flight! http://homepage.mac.com/j.socha/aerial_images/paradisi/paradisi_air_gallery_1.html I've read that they can even take out prey in mid flight!

OK - so we see snakes now and again on our verandah - hanging out in the pot plants or wrapped around the light pole or even trying to crawl up the wall. The Paradise Tree Snake always seemed very inquisitive. When they're on the other side of the window I often have a good stare at them and they seem to stare back with genuine interest. Carol has even gone outside to touch one and it didn't seem to mind that much.

We've had two of these in the house now and thats where I draw the line. By all means hang out on the verandah - just don't come inside the bloody house!

The First Encounter:
The first time I met one inside the house I was having a nap (Friday afternoon lunch time nap before going back to work). I heard a rustling at the window on the venetian blinds next to the bed (too loud to be gecko) so I looked up - and bugger me there it was - elegantly draped between a series of lateral blinds! - I've NEVER jumped out of bed that fast in my life. Ran out of the room in just my boxer shorts and started working on my "what the f*!k should I do" plan.

"Call the snake catcher"! - SHIT! - wouldn't you know it mobile phone network is down. OK use a land line - SHIT! - don't have one! By this time my dog thought I was raving mad as I was asking her for advice. OK go to the neighbours house and make the call from there. - SHIT! - where are my clothes? - SHIT! - in the room with the friggin' snake! - OK - suck it up Nick... run inside the room keeping your eye on the snake and grab your clothes. DONE. Seal up gap in door to prevent snake from exiting room and entering another. DONE. GO next door to make phone call to snake catcher - no neighbours - SHIT! - It's a Friday afternoon and most people are at the mosque! - OK go the office and call from there...

Lady: "Hello sir how can I help you?"
Me: "Yeah are you the snake catching people?"
Lady: "Yes sir we are how can I help?"
Me: "Can you remove a snake for me?"
Lady: "Yes sure what is your location?"
Me: "[LOCATION]"
Lady: "And where is the snake now sir?"
Me: "In the bedroom."
Lady: "ohhhhh... that's not good! We'll send someone around straight away."
Me: "Cheers" (so when would they NOT send someone over straight away?)

So I go back home and wait for the snake catcher.............. 1 hour later he turns up.

Snake Dude: "Sorry sir mobile phones aren't working so didn't know to come here sooner".
Me: "Thats cool it's in the bedroom. I'll wait outside with the dog"

..... 30 minutes later...

Snake Dude: "Sir I think he's gone home already - can't find him."

- Well thats just not f*!k'n good enough! - If he can come in and go out again then he can certainly come back whenever he feels like terrorising me.

So despite the fact that I am a complete pussy when it comes to snakes (as if you couldn't tell already) - I actually help "snake dude" go through the room looking for the stupid snake (actually it was mostly so he didn't find my porn stash :) - jokes.

NO snake. So trying to be as reassuring as possible "snake dude" tells me; "it's OK sir if you see him again just call my personal number and I'll come and get him".... Yeah cheers thats gonna be really useful when the mobile network is down!

So "snake dude" bids me farewell and I close the front door thanking him for his efforts and immediately begin isolating the portion of my house where I last saw the snake... being careful to ensure that I have all my clothes and prized belongings with me so that I never have to go into that area again. I can live with sleeping on the couch in the living room for the rest of my time in Borneo and I can always pee in the garden and use the hose pipe for a shower.

...... 30 minutes later "snake dude" comes back ; "I found him sir!". "Did you catch him yet?" I reply. "No sir I thought I'd tell you the 'good news' first, I'll show you." So me and "snake dude" go downstairs to the carport and he shows me where the snake is and begins outlining his theory of how the hell the snake got into my bedroom in the first place... "DUDE! JUST CATCH THE 'EFFING' SNAKE!".

So - Finally "snake dude" catches the snake and thats how I got the photo. Turns out the damn thing crawled up through a crack around the hole where the air-con intake pipe enters the house. I spent the night sleeping on the couch anyway and the next day siliconed up and sealed all the holes around the air-con intakes around the house.

I'll share the next "Paradise Tree Snake Encounter" in another blog (the next encounter is quite scary - so stay tuned).

PTX 0.3
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POSSIBLY OF INTEREST TO OTHERS: Clarifying Quadrilaterals & Solids (LESSON 3)

In the last "lesson" we looked at the different types of quadrilaterals. Now we're going to answer some specific questions:

1. OK... so what is an Oblong?
   
2. Are self-intersecting quadrilaterals actually real quadrilaterals?
3. Is there such a thing as "kite" and "diamond" shaped quadrilaterals?

Oblongs:
When most people think of oblongs I'm sure they immediately conjure up in their minds a picture of a rectangle. Well fine.. a rectangle IS an oblong - but many don't realise that the term "oblong" refers to ANY shape that is "oblate" i.e. flattened or depressed at the poles. It's derived from the latin latus which basically just means "wide" or "broad". "Prolate" on the other hand means "lengthened" or "extended" (usually applied to time rather than shapes).

Usually the term "oblong" only applies to shapes that are approximately rectangular or ellipsoidal - some definitions even state the ratio of flattening (usually 2 to 4 times longer than broad). Other definitions also state that the shape must be approximately regular with near-parallel sides.

The term "oblate" is often employed by biologists to describe the shape of leaves or spores.

Self Intersecting Quadrilaterals:
So quadrilaterals are 4 sided shapes... so are the following shapes really quadrilaterals?

Could we not count the sides as follows?...

I work in a discipline where we deal with the "topology" of shapes for modeling things such as roads, pipeline networks etc. For us a self-intersecting polygon is an invalid shape. From a more mathematical perspective however the answer is yes & no!

It all depends if at the point of intersection a vertex exists or not.

In Fig 1 a vertex exists at the point of intersection. Side 2, 3, 5, 6 must either start or terminate at this vertex. In this case the polygon IS NOT a quadrilateral as it has 6 sides.

In Fig 2 no vertex exists at the point of intersection and the polygon IS therefore a quadrilateral.

Kites & Diamonds:
I've heard of people who describe the following shapes as either "kites" or "diamonds":

Well technically a diamond is a stone made from carbon and a kite is a fun thing to fly in your local park or on the beach. What we really mean is that these shapes are "kite-like" or "diamond-like". The terms are employed as similes.

A "diamond" is also commonly used to describe the layout of "bases" in the game of baseball. To ornithologists a "Kite" is a type of raptor (bird of prey).

NOTE: In the above case the "diamond" shape is actually a parallelogram.

If you think about it the "diamond" shape doesn't even really represent a diamond! Raw diamonds (found naturally) have amorphous shapes - they're only cut by a jeweler into a regular 3D shape with multiple facets for aesthetic reasons.

We could classify the following shapes (although not quadrilaterals) as either "diamond"-like or "kite"-like too...

PTX 0.3
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BACKYARD PIC 5

Another monkey...

This is the photo that I use as my personal photo. It was taken in the late afternoon in quite low-light conditions at ISO 800 (which is why its quite grainy). This guy is the most senior monkey in the troupe (and the biggest) he is eating a mango from our mango tree.

PTX 0.3
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