I should probably introduce myself.

[GradStudentLeper]

Hello,

I have made a few posts, and have yet to actually say "hello". So here it is. Start with a bit about myself. My name is GradStudentLeper, as the name suggests, I am a Ph.D student who lives shut away from society, not in an ivory tower, but in a basement ecology lab where I toil away in obscurity doing research on the evolution of predator recognition and anti-predator strategies in bullfrogs. As model predators I use Natricine snakes (garters, water snakes, and hope to also use Natrix), and my particular work deals with how bullfrog tadpoles (particularly invasive ones) adapt to novel predators, what cues they use to detect predators, and whether/how they can distinguish between different predator strategies using these cues. This leads to me keeping in the lab a large number of garter and water snakes. For research purposes right now I have 15 western black necks, and 8 (collecting up to 15) plain bellied water snakes. I also have a colony of bullfrogs. But dont worry, I keep a few at home as well. In my private collection I have 2 western terrestrial garters (I do not recongize subspecies as being valid), 11 western ribbon snakes (will go into the lab once I get IACUC approval, and there are 15 of them) and 2 diamondback water snakes (may also go into the lab), in addition to several non-natricines, a turtle colony, and a crapload of southern and lowland leopard frogs (which I plan on eventually using to set up a breeding colony as snake feeders).

In terms of husbandry, I tend toward naturalistic setups and diets. This means that my snakes are kept in semi-aquatic setups, and fed fish and amphibians(hence the aspirations toward breeding feeder frogs, catching them is time consuming). I will post photos of the community tank containing my garters and nerodia at some point.

Personally...well... I read science fiction, play dungeons and dragons when I have the time (which is never once I started grad school), and am tempermentally nocturnal (which makes catching my research organisms a lot easier). There are three things in the world I like (barring intimate things which I will not reveal here, and the obvious probably pathological love of reptiles and amphibians): Science, hard science fiction (the type where they realize that the only way for sensors to work is through radar, radio and light telescopes, and that the only way to resolve an image at range is with a phased array), and philosophical/political/religious discussions. The three things I hate the most (other than rape, murder, and other things that are common to every civilized human being such as slavery... eastern european and asian human trafficers, that does not include you...) are as follows and in no particular order: Religion (I think it a malignant cancer upon humanity, the cause of pain, suffering, and the retardation of science), post modernism (I dated a post modernist once, and as a philosophical naturalist, it lasted all of two weeks. After the person said "roads are the rivers of modernity" I was done.), and intellectual/academic dishonesty (I teach undergrad biology to pay rent, If i catch one more plagiarist, I will start crucifying them...)

That is me in a nut shell. I do tend to put the vast majority of my cards on the table at once, especially because my demeanor can sometimes be offensive and it is best that people are forewarned so it does not slap them in the face like a half-frozen trout being wielded by John Cleese.

[Stefan-A]

Welcome aboard. Sounds like you're going to be an interesting person to have around.

[drache]

welcome to the forum, GradStudentLeper
can I call you Leper for short? or maybe GSL?
sounds like fun work you're doing

[guidofatherof5]

Interesting bio. Looking forward to seeing your setup.

My malignant cancer is a welcome part of my life and has brought me nothing but peace and a deeper understanding of this blip in time I've been given. We all have differing opinions and that's what makes life so interesting. Welcome.

[MoJo]

Welcome aboard!

I am a big fan of saying it like it is so it should be fun to have you around.

You should get out during the day though. A little sunshine is a wonderful thing.

[Odie]

Hi, from Oregon, GradStudentLeper

[Zephyr]

My favorite part was the crucifixion of plagiarizers.
Welcome aboard.

[Stefan-A]

My favorite part was the crucifixion of plagiarizers.
Welcome aboard.

I know what that means.

[adamanteus]

Hi Benjamin, and welcome to the forum.
(and Welcome aboard!)

[celticguitar]

Very Nice and Brutaly Honestly said! I being an Existentialist agree with alot of your points. Not to go off on religeon but in theory they sound great but in application by men who wish to control and dominate mens minds they have destroyed societies and cultures and brought suffering to untold millions. As with all things there are exceptions and within these "Clubs" there are a few true souls but I believe they would be true souls even if they didn't belong to a religeon. As W.C. Fields was asked about it he said " I wouldn't join a club that would have me as a member".
Welcome aboard and good luck with your research. Pure science is a good thing although it is not the answer to all things
Dwight