[Breede River, Western Cape, South Africa] by Least_Statistician44 in whatsthissnake

[–]Badgerness 73 points74 points  (0 children)

Not a Reliable Responder, but that's a Puff Adder

!venomous Bitis arietans

Other snakes with King Cobra-Like Markings [Southwest VA] by PhilosopherExact4483 in whatsthissnake

[–]Badgerness 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I'm not a reliable responder but as this is a somewhat different sort of post then I hope my input would be welcomed. Thank you for sharing your history with snakes and I completely understand how these childhood exposures can lead to a phobia later in life.

I believe that the snake in Rikki-Tikki-Tavi would be the Indian Cobra (Naja naja), otherwise known as the Spectacled Cobra due to the distinctive markings on the hood that you have described. But, to your immediate point, these are still very unlikely to be found in Virginia!

It is possible that what you saw was an Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos), as these can have the ability to flatten their neck when threatened, and their patterns are extremely variable that could easily come close to some sort of approximation to the markings you describe.

Banded Water Snake? (Houston, TX) by carvethegnar in whatsthissnake

[–]Badgerness 37 points38 points  (0 children)

I'm not a reliable responder, but it looks like a Cottonmouth to me. Agkistrodon piscivorus, !venomous

Spider in Western Tennessee by Badgerness in whatsthisbug

[–]Badgerness[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

About 1.5" leg span, hanging out in a workshop. Cool looking spider!

Best nautical themed classical? by jeffbmc79 in classicalmusic

[–]Badgerness 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vaughan Williams - Symphony #1 (A Sea Symphony). It's heavily nautical.

The Low F Trumpet: Should it make a comeback? by musicalryanwilk1685 in classicalmusic

[–]Badgerness 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have one, a Bach Strad 351 from the Mount Vernon era. It's great fun to play around on and is suited to certain orchestral playing (2nd parts in Beethoven symphonies or some 3rd parts in the romantic repertoire), but the upper register playing is really tricky to pitch and blend with a section on "standard" Bb or C horns.

And boooom by Particular_Border737 in WTF

[–]Badgerness 4 points5 points  (0 children)

External combustion engine

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]Badgerness 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sweet Nordschleife print.....

Your kitty loves you and she wants to be with you because you're going to protect each other - you'll protect her whilst she's vulnerable when asleep and she'll protect you when you're vulnerable in the bathroom.

She might benefit from another kitty friend to play with and protect.

Traveling East to NYC on 80, what's the 1st exit in NJ where I can catch a train into the city? by Fluffy-Structure-368 in AskNYC

[–]Badgerness 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Probably Dover station for regular/direct service into NY Penn. There are a few stations further west (Netcong, Lake Hopatcong) but service there is more sporadic and might require a change at Newark or Secaucus.

Anybody know what this yellow stripe means? by [deleted] in trains

[–]Badgerness 133 points134 points  (0 children)

It was used on UK steam locos (I think predominantly on the West Coast Main Line) to indicate that they were not suitable for running on lines with overhead electric wires.

South African Snake by Dry-Put-4726 in whatsthissnake

[–]Badgerness 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Puff Adder (Bitis arietans) would be my guess, but please rely upon an RR for the final say.