So, now you find out a bit about me. My
name is Mike and I'm a collator operator/guillotine operator
from Sydney, Australia, who has returned to New Zealand, giving up my beloved Diamond python, for the woman I love. My interests are centered around
computers, building, repairing and upgrading them. I also
dabble in web site design.
I have two
children, all grown now, 3 step-daughters (one an ex step daughter), three stepsons and
eight grandchildren (including my step children's children), and another on the way.
My
favourite colour is black, my favourite music is metal.
I kept
snakes in Australia, but they are completely banned in New Zealand (pretty slack that).
We also used to keep and breed Australian Parrots, and
at one stage had more than 13 cats (some how all the strays
seemed to end up at our place). At present we have two cats, and
my step daughter has about a billion rabbits and as many mice (SNAKE FOOD).
I also
collect Native American
objects!
I've
always been interested in snakes, perhaps because in my birth
country, New Zealand, there isn't any. When I first migrated
to Australia in the mid 1980's one of the first things I
wanted to do was visit a zoo to see snakes.
While studying for my BSc, in Computer
Studies
(Before the various subjects became specialised), one of the extra subjects I
took was zoology, at some stage this turned my interest in
snakes into a passion. After achieving my BSc in 1994, I
thought a lot about my future, and decided to study for my
Masters degree in Zoology, which I achieved in 2000. Since
then I have been studying and researching snakes, which
contributed to me being awarded an honorary PhD in Zoology in
2008. It seems rather strange that I'd be working in a factory
with these qualifications, but there aren't that many
positions available for someone with a MSc in Zoology. And I
had to earn a living while I was studying for these degrees,
so I seem to have fallen into the printing
industry.
A couple of years back,
I was lucky enough to receive two small estates in Scotland.
Under Scottish law, any landowner has the title Laird (Lord).
So I'm also the "Laird of Kingsdale" and the "Laird of
Lochaber". Not that the titles mean a lot in Australia, but
they do help get results, sometimes, with some
things.
My other love is radio controlled
cars, which I'm just getting back into after a six or seven
year break. My son and I used to race on-road electric ones
before he left home (and Australia). And I've started to get back into it.
Not competitively, but just for fun.
Cheers, Mike
email: mike at m-n-m-snakes.com (substituting the standard symbol for at)