Pits and how they work, quite interesting...

[ChrisRezendes]

Heat-Sensitive Pits

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Along with smells taken in by nose and particles carried to the Jacobson's organ by the tongue, certain snakes, notably the rattlesnakes and other pit vipers, but also, to a lesser degree, some boas and pythons, have organs on their faces that enable them to track &quot;warm-blooded&quot; prey (mammals and birds) by the body heat that these creatures produce. This is why pit vipers have been called &quot;heat-seeking missiles.&quot; They literally &quot;see&quot; in the infrared portion of the spectrum. Long before military and law enforcement establishments were using infrared optics to find objects in the darkness of night, rattlesnakes were doing what comes naturally.
The beautiful biofeedback of evolution has dictated that rattlesnakes hunt warm-blooded prey by night, when the menu for dinner, featuring rodents such as mice and rats, is also active. Rattlesnakes are the most proficient of nature's night stalkers because their ability to image prey by its body heat gives them an immense edge.
Heat is carried by waves of energy, just as are light and sound. Waves of energy move through media, whether it is the void of space, air, water or, especially in the case of earthquakes, solid ground. The human eye can perceive certain forms of light energy within the Newtonian spectrum. It cannot see ultraviolet, at the upper end of the spectrum, nor can it see infrared, at the lower. The rattlesnake can &quot;see&quot; images in infrared, even if it may not be able to discern them in detail.
The rattlesnake sees in infrared by using cells that are similar to those that snse warmth in the human skin. In humans, these cells are scattered, only a couple per square inch of skin. The rattlesnake, on the other hand, has hundreds of thousands of these cells jammed into the two pits located below the eyes on its snout, several times more than on the entire human body.
Pit vipers such as the rattlesnake may be the most finely tuned predators on Earth. An experiment by scientist T.H. Bullock at the University of California lends credence to this point. In 1952, Bullock decided to check out the senses by which a rattlesnake finds its prey. His experiment was ingenious and helped pinpoint the role of the pits that lend their name to the pit vipers. He covered the eyes of a rattler with adhesive tape; no easy job. Then he chemically blocked the olfactory senses by spraying a sedative into its mouth. He place the rattlesnake in a small cage and dropped in a mouse, a tasty tidbit for a rattler. Blinded and deprived of smell, the rattlesnake had no trouble hunting. As the mouse scurried about in alarm, the snake intently tracked it. The snake went into its typical striking posture, a coil and then its head shot out, its fangs striking the mouse dead. After a few minutes, the mouse had disappeared down the snake's gullet.
Unable to see or smell, and with hearing not a real factor in the snake's ability to perceive, the rattler nevertheless targeted and nailed its prey. Bullock was curious. He examined the snake and probed the two small pits that he noticed on each side of the snake's snout. He repeated his test, blocking the olfactory sense and the eyes- and, this time, taping the pits shut. He placed what amounted to a herd of mice in the cage. A day went by, then a few more. Not one of the mice had been captured by the snake. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Now really read this part, it's VERY fascinating, unless you are pit viper experts already-

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Bullock examined the pits and found the masses of heat-sensitive nerve cells. Subsequent research determined that, using these cells, a rattlesnake can distinguish the difference of a fraction of a degree in temperature difference between an object- a mouse, for example- and it's surroundings. This helps it pinpoint prey. This heat sense is not infallible, however. A light bulb, turned off but still warm, was wrapped in cloth and, in darkness, introduced to a rattlesnake. The snake struck the bulb. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Taken from the book &quot;The Snake Almanac&quot; by Edward R. Ricciuti
Man, that book RULES. And no, I am not on the take from whatever company made this book, lol...
[addsig]

[nomadbean]

Ok Chris,
I mean this is the nicest way possible, get a girlfriend, and outdoor hobby, or just a life. All though that article was informative, the time you spent typing it out and the time you could have just said hey read this book....geez. Your posts are very long and I am sure they are the greatest jokes ever in your homeroom class are just going overboard here. We love having a variety of people here, but could you curb some of your variety and be a little more normal for awhile? I am just picking on you, don't take too much offense, but seroiusly get a girlfriend or something to redirect your energy.
[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

Actually, I hardly had to type at all. I got finished rather quickly, thanks to the miracle of copy and paste [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

BTW, I have several other non-snake hobbies... I play guitar quite often (takes up most of my free time), I wrestle, and I work. As far as getting a girlfriend... Nothing but trouble. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] Besides, I used to be what was refered to as a skirt-chaser, and I find the easiest way to stay out of that type of lifestyle is to avoid that type of situation altogether, which would be impossible if I had a steady girlfriend.
[addsig]

[nomadbean]

How old are you? You sound like my little brother................
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

Eighteen. I defiitely don't act my age [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

BTW, if you're wondering WHY I stopped being the typical teenager, chasing girls at every corner, it's because I saw several of my friends have children, and one who got herpes (not deadly, but stays with you all your life). I saw how negatively it affected them and decided to grow the #$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& up. Of course, I didn't completely grow up, but at least I'm not a teenage dad or anything. I never was into drugs or anything, even though if you examine my behavior, you may disagree... I have a little brother who REALLY looks up to me, so he really eggs me on to be goofy. I would have been with or without his help, but he is just more gas on the fire, ya know? He's only 14. Weird kid.
[addsig]

[telefrag]

I like your posts, keep em coming

[img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

I play guitar too,
what do you play (type/style)

m
[addsig]

[nomadbean]

Ok, you can still be annoying for a couple more years....that's what 18 year old boys do. Who knows with all of your book reading you may actually learn some cool stuff to impress..........................someone with. Just remember, a social life is not the same thing as a real life. College is meant to be fun and get you AWAY from books....enjoy it when you get there. Here is a rule if you find yourself with a book on a Saturday night, and you are doing it by choice.......put it down and move away from the book.Find the nearest party and be a kid while you can.......... [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
trina
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

I play mostly classic rock (Floyd, Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc.), speed/thrash metal (old Slayer, old Metallica, old Megadeth, etc.), black metal (Mercyful Fate, Emperor, etc.), progressive metal (Fates Warning, Iron Maiden, etc.) and death metal (Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Carcass, etc.). I'll play just about anything I find to be challenging, though [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

And you?
[addsig]

[telefrag]

I have many of the same influences as well,
with particular emphasis on the Dave Lombardo slayer days.

In addition I like some of the various flavors of hardcore,
bands like Cursive, hot water music, Thrice, Saetia, Get up kids, etc etc.
As well as traditional punk, black flag, descendents, misfits, dead kennedys.

The list goes on.

right now I mainly play drums, but I still have my guitar rig.

Tube works real tube 4 pre amp (with mesa tubes)
a fender 5100 series 600w power amp
Korg rackmount tuner
Digitech GSP 21
and 2 4x12 mesa boogie rectifier cabinets.

Too bad I dont play guitar as much, plus with a kid, I cant crank it like I used to be able to.

oh well. : (
[addsig]

[ChrisRezendes]

#$%^&#$%^&#$%^&#$%^& yeah, the Dave Lombardo days... Actually, Divine Intervention was really good. Everything after that went downhill... GHUA was one of the worst metal albums I've ever heard. It's always sad to see a mighty band like Slayer (or Metallica and Anthrax for that matter) die in a pool of it's own waste. Seems like Deicide are losing their edge, too... But my system sucks. My system once consisted of a Squire Affinity Strat, a $60- 10 watt Ibanez amp, and a DOD Grunge pedal. But my amp and pedal couldn't have sucked if it were standing behind a donkey with a wetvac... And my Strat is falling apart. But I've taken the tuners from an old Charvel (Jackson) neck and installed it into my Strat, and now I jam on my computer, with Alien Connections ReValver. My weak point is solos. I suck at soloing. My strong points are speed picking and writing tablatures. I've written somewhere between 90-95 tabs so far. Should be up to 100 soon [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] . What's your favorite Slayer song to jam with? I like Silent Scream and Criminally Insane, two songs I'd love to play live...

_________________
Bears and sharks always travel together. Just look at them, walking through the wooded forest, paw in fin. It's on account of their teeth that makes them &quot;Nature's Best Friends&quot;