I became interested, and eventually fascinated with reptiles, especially the snakes in teenage years, generally because where I lived (and still do) they are everywhere. You could either be terrified and kill them all (only good'un izuh dead'un), or learn to identify which ones were dangerous and how to avoid them. Then I took it to the next level, and got involved with a group who were studying the idea that timber rattlesnakes (C. Horridus) in this region of the United States might actually migrate, not unlike some birds do. Not sure if they ever got anywhere with substantiating that theory, but I tagged along on quite a few tagging expeditions, and for sure we found that a number of our control group traveled up to twenty miles to a rocky outcrop on Little Onion Mountain in Bedford Co. annually to breed, then disperse. The fear went away when you began to understand what was going on.
I made use of what I learned later in life. Black rat snakes (E. Obsoleta) or what we just call a common blacksnake out here in the country, have a very high metabolism and consume mice by the dozen. If you import, and keep a few of them around the shed, they will hunt and gobble up the food supply a timber rattlesnake, mostly a slow, sedentary creature would need. So the dangerous animal stays up higher, out further in the wild, away from people, where it finds food. Timber rattlesnakes are among the most mild-mannered of all rattlesnakes. If you don't mess with them, most of them will ignore you. I remember very few exceptions that put up any fight when captured.
I do have one Monster Cable. It's a nice, heavy gauge, gold connectors, coils up nice too. I like that it has a right-angle plug on one end. Makes a nice, satisfying *snap* when you plug it in. Doesn't make my bass sound any better, and certainly doesn't help me play any better. Just a decent cable. One of the guys at Fret Mill Music gave it to me, iirc...
~Gregory (who didn't get much further than the required badges of the Webelos before other things got in the way...)
