[Ansteorra] Gulf Wars unpacking

[Tim McDaniel]

Tivar:
> It could be worse. At the first Ansteorra-Outlands War, a lady was
> walking across the field and discovered a rattlesnake. This was in
> the middle of the main battlefield just *after* we'd finished
> fighting for the day, which means the snake had probably been hiding
> in a hole out there all day.

So what was the problem?  A not totally stupid snake, refusing to
cause any trouble for several hundred stompy mammalian predators that
each outweigh it roughly 100 to 1 and have some protection of the only
places it can hurt.  Rather like one of us seeing one morning that
carnivorous dinosaurs with armored legs had invaded your lawn, and
deciding that today's a good day to stay home very quietly and
unobtrusively rather than cause anyone any trouble.

On Wed, 20 Mar 2013, Diane Taylor <diane.mulvaney.taylor at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Now THAT would have made me teleport to a different area of the
> field.  I like snakes, I'm not afraid of them, but if that rattle
> goes off, it means I'm about to step on the equivalent of a Land
> Mine.  Not a good thing.

Um, so don't step?

My only experience with a rattlesnake was just when I moved to
Michigan, of all places.  I took a walk in a state forest.  I was
standing on the path, admiring the view, when I heard an odd, almost
artificial sounding noise, like a beeper on vibrate on a table [1] or
something.  It stopped after a second, then went once more.  I looked
around and then saw what I later learned was a Massasauga rattlesnake,
coiled up very neatly on the path about 3 feet away.  Having seen it,
I walked a larger circle around it to continue on my way.  "Excuse me,
large sir, but I should be the happiest of snakes were you to come no
nearer."  "Oh, I saw you not at all!  Of course I shall oblige you."
A very quiet and polite exchange entirely.

Daniel de Lindecolina

[1] 1990.  I'd have thought of a different metaphor today.

-- 
Tim McDaniel, tmcd at panix.com