Out walking the dogs this morning in the neighborhood as usual. Then I turn the corner and see this thing raise up and give Buddy the evil eye.

So, I sent the pic above to one of the old-timers here and asked if he knew what kind of snake this is. He responded with this photo:

Damn. Wikipedia wasn’t all that reassuring either:

The venom of the Philippine cobra is a potent postsynaptic neurotoxin which affects respiratory function and can cause neurotoxicity and respiratory paralysis, as the neurotoxins interrupt the transmission of nerve signals by binding to the neuromuscular junctions near the muscles. Research has shown its venom is purely a neurotoxin, with no apparent necrotizing components and no cardiotoxins.^[9] These snakes are capable of accurately spitting their venom at a target up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) away.

Although venom toxicity values can vary greatly even among specimens of the same species, the Philippine cobra is considered to possess one of the most toxic venom among all of the Naja (cobra) species based on murine LD₅₀, according to most toxinology studies. 

I showed my photo to the subdivision guards as well and they said: “many cobras here”. Now you tell me. Guess it’s time to update my “top ten ways I’m going to die in the Philippines” list. Hmm, I guess I could replace #7 (fucked to death by a horny Filipina) as that is seeming less and less likely these days. Or maybe a subcategory of #3 (Hashing). For sure, it is one additional thing I’ll have to think about whilst on trail.

Speaking of Hashing, I’m scheduled to Hare again on October 14. I once again enlisted the help of Pubic Head as my co-Hare. We did some scouting around in the Calapacuan area yesterday. And we climbed Black Rock mountain which I had hoped to incorporate into our trail.

Alas, our efforts were mostly for naught. Once we made it back to flat ground we both agreed that the climb (mostly the coming back down) was too fraught with peril to utilize for the Hash. A bit surprising as I’ve been up there a couple of times previously and it was never this bad. Not sure if we missed the regular trail or if things have changed up there. Oh well. Two more weeks to find some alternatives.

Some other things I’ve seen while walking recently:

And speaking of things you’ve seen a hundred times but never really saw, there’s this:

It wasn’t until last night that I noticed this detail that enhanced my enjoyment of the painting so much more:

And finally, all this whistleblower talk reminded me of the last time a President got impeached.

Don’t forget to check-in on Kevin Kim’s odyssey here.

And so we took a stroll
Wound up down by the swimming hole
And she said, “do what you want to do”
I got silly and I found a frog
In the water by a hollow log
And I shook it at her and I said, “this frog’s for you”
She said

I don’t like spiders and snakes
And that ain’t what it takes to love me
You fool, you fool
I don’t like spiders and snakes
And that ain’t what it takes to love me
Like I want to be loved by you