Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on Apr 30, 2006 11:29:12 GMT -5
Oh, poor Kingsnake! A weedeater? I must admit I flinched when I read that word. That's just distgusting. >_< How can people actually stand to hurt another living creature like that? (don't answer that - we're studying WWI in social studies class).
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Post by pitbulllady on Apr 30, 2006 15:13:00 GMT -5
Many people will do things to reptiles, especially to snakes, that they would not think of doing to any other living thing. That's just how deep the hatred and fear of these animals goes. If a person did that to a dog, a squirrel or any other warm-blooded animal, at the very least they would be shunned by their neighbors and if they got turned in, or caught, they'd go to jail, but few people would have an objection to them taking a weed-eater to a snake, not even a snake that actually EATS other snakes, including those that do have the potential to pose a danger to humans.
Just an update on this snake; I offered him two frozen/thawed mice today, since I was feeding my other snakes. I really didn't expect him to eat anything, since most snakes, even captive-bred, healthy ones, will often refuse to eat for the first week or two in a new home, until they've had time to get used to the place. He's on the thin side, though, and I really want to start bulking him back up, since good body weight is essential for a faster recovery. At first he refused to take the first mouse off of tongs, so I just left it in the cage with him. When I checked up on him 10 minutes later, he was eating it! I offered him a second mouse when he finished with the first, and he ate that one, too. That's a very good sign that he'll make a complete recovery, since many injuried or sick animals won't eat, and just keep getting weaker and weaker as a result.
pitbulllady
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Post by RandallBoggs on Apr 30, 2006 17:54:51 GMT -5
A weedwacker!?
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on May 2, 2006 18:31:26 GMT -5
That's good Pitbulllady, isn't it? I hope that the snake makes a full recovery. :)
I was just reading some Good Omens fanfics (Good Omens being a book jointly written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, a comedy about the Armageddon - two of the many main characters are an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley -> who just so happens to have been the snake in the garden of Eden), and something occured to me... Why is it that most western cultures believe reptiles in general (specifically snakes, though) are evil, when there were so many other cultures who revered the snake as a symbol of healing? It's the same reason women were believed inferior to males for hundreds of years - the Garden of Eden story. You know, the snake which offered the apple to Eve the first woman (original sin, yaddayaddayadda)? It would make sense if that story from the Bible was the original source of Westerners intense hatred for even harmless snakes, wouldn't it?
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Post by pitbulllady on May 2, 2006 18:54:28 GMT -5
That's good Pitbulllady, isn't it? I hope that the snake makes a full recovery. :) I was just reading some Good Omens fanfics (Good Omens being a book jointly written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, a comedy about the Armageddon - two of the many main characters are an angel, Aziraphale, and a demon, Crowley -> who just so happens to have been the snake in the garden of Eden), and something occured to me... Why is it that most western cultures believe reptiles in general (specifically snakes, though) are evil, when there were so many other cultures who revered the snake as a symbol of healing? It's the same reason women were believed inferior to males for hundreds of years - the Garden of Eden story. You know, the snake which offered the apple to Eve the first woman (original sin, yaddayaddayadda)? It would make sense if that story from the Bible was the original source of Westerners intense hatred for even harmless snakes, wouldn't it? Yes, and the Book of Genesis IS, for the most part, the reason why Western cultures, even people who claim to be atheists or agnostics, hate snakes, BUT, in its ORIGINAL language, Aramaic, the Book of Genesis does NOT refer to the creature who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden as a "snake" or even a "serpent". The original word had no comparable word in any other language, so when the Bible was translated into Greek and later into Latin(the "Vulgate"), a substitute word was in order, and the closest thing they could come up with was "serpent". Keep in mind that the word "serpent", at that time, could mean ANY reptilian creature, not just a snake. When the Old Testament DOES mention snakes, REAL snakes, it refers to them NOT as "serpents", but by their actual specific common names, i.e., cobras, adders, asps, vipers, etc. You also must keep in mind that the ancient Hebrews, like many cultures that arose out of the Middle East, regarded women as inferior to men even BEFORE they adopted a belief in God, as we now think of Him, and this belief is still wide-spread throughout this region today. This is in direct conflict with the teachings and philosophy of Jesus, who made women an intergral part of His ministry, something which raised more than a few eyebrows during that time. pitbulllady
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Post by RandallBoggs on May 3, 2006 16:12:48 GMT -5
The same can be said as the dear dragon...
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on May 3, 2006 16:36:29 GMT -5
So... Go Jesus? :) I'm not Christian; I don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. What I do believe, however, is that Jesus was a real person who did a lot of good in the world.
More interesting stuff! I took the AP exam on Monday (English Language one - yay rhetoric! [/sarcasm]). Anyone else take that one? I think I did decently on the multiple choice, and the last of the three essays I went into a controlled rant, so I probably did well... the first essay, however, I may have read too deeply into, and the second I totally messed up... :P ...But on the good side, we all got free really nice pens with "AP" on them with which to write the exam (and we got to keep 'em afterwards).
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on May 5, 2006 15:02:27 GMT -5
Woot! I'm happy. I was actually rather stressed out about next week - I have a huge Social Studies unit test next Monday, Tuesday = a Bio quiz and a Physics quiz, and Thusday = a HUGE Physics test on stuff I don't really get yet. I also need to study for all of them (still do), probably mostly this weekend (plus I have work). ....And I REALLY need to do well on my physics stuff, because my average is only 62% (my first and only other unit test mark was 50%, so, uh, yeah...). And, to get the Rutherford scholarship (which rewards good grades for grade tens, elevens, and twelves), I thought I had to have 80% in all core subjets... and physics counts as core. And since the scholarship is like $1000, a lot's riding on next week... or so I thought. ;D Turns out they take ANY five core subjets, and you can choose. ^_^ Since my average (sans physics) is like 90%, I have nothing to worry about. I still want to do well on the tests, but I'm now distinctly less stressed. Woot! :)
Thanks for letting me rant, guys.... ^_^ Anybody else have any horrible tests coming up?
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Post by nauticusvergil on May 5, 2006 15:25:01 GMT -5
Yep, finals.
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Post by pitbulllady on May 5, 2006 15:50:26 GMT -5
Woot! I'm happy. I was actually rather stressed out about next week - I have a huge Social Studies unit test next Monday, Tuesday = a Bio quiz and a Physics quiz, and Thusday = a HUGE Physics test on stuff I don't really get yet. I also need to study for all of them (still do), probably mostly this weekend (plus I have work). ....And I REALLY need to do well on my physics stuff, because my average is only 62% (my first and only other unit test mark was 50%, so, uh, yeah...). And, to get the Rutherford scholarship (which rewards good grades for grade tens, elevens, and twelves), I thought I had to have 80% in all core subjets... and physics counts as core. And since the scholarship is like $1000, a lot's riding on next week... or so I thought. ;D Turns out they take ANY five core subjets, and you can choose. ^_^ Since my average (sans physics) is like 90%, I have nothing to worry about. I still want to do well on the tests, but I'm now distinctly less stressed. Woot! :) Thanks for letting me rant, guys.... ^_^ Anybody else have any horrible tests coming up? Yeah, I do-only I don't have to TAKE 'em; I have to GIVE 'em! It's still stressful, though, and goes right through my break period. I'm supposed to stay on my feet walking around and around, while the students sit and take the test, which lasts for several HOURS each day! I really, really HATE these things, personally. pitbulllady
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Beboots
Randall's Head Servant (300-799)
Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a plague in Equatorial Guinea that I have to attend.
Posts: 646
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Post by Beboots on May 6, 2006 11:57:37 GMT -5
Oh, isn't that boring? I always feel bad for the teachers who walk around during exams. Do you only teach art, Pitbulllady?
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Post by RandallBoggs on May 6, 2006 12:37:29 GMT -5
Yeah. Tests are gonna kill me. I suck at math...
"Algebra..."
Yeah Algebra. I passed my first term with a C and it looks like I'm gonna get a C, maybe a B, in my next one. But I am NOT going to do good on the final exam. And get this. I fail the class and I have to start the WHOLE YEAR OVER again because that is the LAST class I HAVE to pass.
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Post by nauticusvergil on May 6, 2006 12:41:13 GMT -5
Man, I'd hate that. Oy, Algebra, I was always a Geometry person myself, and they have that old saying, if you're good at Algebra, you stink at Geometry and vice versa, not sure if it's true for everyone but it's definitely true for me.
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Post by RandallBoggs on May 6, 2006 12:54:43 GMT -5
....That's actually true.... I ruled geometry...I think...
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Post by pitbulllady on May 6, 2006 16:12:06 GMT -5
Oh, isn't that boring? I always feel bad for the teachers who walk around during exams. Do you only teach art, Pitbulllady? Yes, I teach Art, though I'm certified in both Art and Biology, BUT in our state, even us Art teachers must incorporate the tested subject areas-Math, Language Arts(which encompasses Reading, Writing and what used to be known as English Grammar), Science and Social Studies into what WE teach. By law, these standardized tests can only be administered by certified teachers, so I always wind up having to administer a test when the regular teacher decides with would be a good time to call in sick or something, either that or I have to administer it to a small group of Special Ed students who cannot take it with their regular classroom group. The tests are not timed, and kids can take HOURS to complete just one, and the teacher and monitor are not supposed to sit down during that time, or read, or be at the computer; we are only supposed to walk around and observe the kids and make sure they're on the right page, aren't cheating, etc. These are the tests, by the way, which a supervisor many years ago tried to get me to go back and change wrong answers on, so the school would look really great and get a bunch of incentive money. This is, of course, a felony. He planned on turning me in after I'd done that and the school had spent the money, which would have landed me in prison for a minimum of ten years if I'd complied. pitbulllady
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