What is Nam?
 |
 |
I went to Santa Clara University and studied Biology, Chemistry and Theater for a bit. That brought be to Trinidad and Tobago where I did some research on the island of Little Tobago on insect monitoring. From there my interest in Entomology peaked, which brought me to an awesome internship on Martha's Vineyard, MA. I came back to California to get my Masters in Environmental Management at the University of San Francisco and dabble in some theology. Kicked out a doctorate in divinity and worked on a PhD in Entomology at UC Davis studying the higher classification of mealybugs whilst working fulltime as a software technical support slave/marketing manager/slave of all trades. On top of that I did contract theatrical lighting design for regional and community theaters. Then I got cancer and my world crumbled for about a week. I did what good ol' buddha taught and dealth with it. Anywho, I like hiking in the grand naturescapes of California and hanging out with my funkadelic friends and bitches... going dancing crazy style to pretty much any type of music, eating cornnuts and watching some random movie. I love the Artwork of the old pulp-fiction era as well as the American Arts and Crafts movement (Art-Deco) |
||||
Where did PHASMATIDA come from?
|
Those of you who have come across this word associated with me may be wondering where in god's name did it come from. Read the following for a bit of insect trivia. Well, I have been studying entomology (the study of insects) and the Order Phasmatida (or Family depending on the resource you go by) is a group of insects that encompass the walking sticks. |
||
 |
||
| For you computer geeks out there, the insect on the cover of Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide is a moving leaf Phyllium giganteum, a large (about 10 cm in length) Malaysian leaf insect related to stick insects; together these constitute the order Phasmatida , derived from the Greek word for "ghost." These stunning insects imitate local foliage with intricate detail, down to the leaf-like veins on their legs and tattered brown edges to mimic dead leaves. Moving leaf insects feed on bramble and other plant material. Kept by many entomologists, like myself, as exotic pets, they require high temperature and humidity. | ||
What did Nam study again???
Mealywhat?
|
Nam is studied the higher classification of mealybugs at UC Davis. My major is Entomology with an emphasis in Insect Systematics. The classification I am talking about is the ordinal classification scheme that you may remember from your biology class. In classifying, I get to scrutinize their morphological characteristics and then use that information to infer evolutionary relationships using various search algorithms. Have I confused you more? Good. Mealybugs are small little insects that lead a sedintary life. They are neotonic, meaning they retain a jeuvenile apearance during adulthood. Just like me! Mealybugs can be an agricultural pest and are characterized by the waxy excretions they make that cover their bodies. In my line of work I kill mealybugs in order to learn more about them. Cruel, yes... but oh so fun. The following picture s are mealybugs. Yummy!
|
 |
Buddhist What?
 |
|
This Buddhist Section always confuses people. And I
have become weary explaining it, so I decided to just say that |
