13 replies to this topic

[Johnny Action Figure]

Hello again gang. I took some time off to get a masters degree (I graduate in May), and now I'm back in BF42 to tear it up. Hopefully I'll see you guys with some regularity! Especially good to see familiar faces. If you haven't met me, I love long walks on the beach (mostly Omaha), chucking nades into bunkers, and bunny hopping.

[Scoop1967 - Dan]

Welcome back and a very large congrats on the Masters Degree !!!!

[Bullet-BS]

That is Great News!!! Well done sir. Now get your hind end into game so I can see you once again in my scope So what did you get your Masters in?

[Johnny Action Figure]

That is Great News!!! Well done sir. Now get your hind end into game so I can see you once again in my scope So what did you get your Masters in?

Masters in Systems Engineering to complement a Bachelors in Engineering Mechanics & Astronautics. I'm done learning things for awhile :S

[Johnny Action Figure]

Prestigious indeed, sir. Perhaps you'll come back into TS now that you're playing BF?

I'm going to start slow, but yeah I'll be back in eventually.

[Captain John H. Miller]

Welcome back JAF!

[gensolo]

Holy crap man. Welcome back!

[Comet]

Congratulations, good for you. I wish you all the best in future endeavors, sounds like you're going places.

Welcome home...

[No_Nickname]

Congrats on the degrees, where do you think you would like to work in the future?

[YYZ]

LOL!

Good to see you, although at this time I'm a bit under a ban (which was well-deserved and we won't go into that here.)

Congrats on your post-grad! My wife is dong the same and I'm darned proud of her.

Got my BS in marine biology and we're probably (?) moving to the Keys to work on attaining my masters.

Anyhoo, Congrats and Godspeed!

[Johnny Action Figure]

Congrats on the degrees, where do you think you would like to work in the future?

I have a solid gig developing and testing avionics systems for the army's CH-47F helicopter as an aerospace engineer, so I'm happy doing that for awhile. I'm not from Iowa, but it's actually starting to feel like home

Got my BS in marine biology and we're probably (?) moving to the Keys to work on attaining my masters.

Very cool! I'd love an excuse to live closer to water, and you have the best one of all!

[YYZ]

YYZ, how many years did you put into for your BS in Marine Biology?

Geez, I'm an old man. Finally got my BS (Biology) in 2010 (I graduated HS in 1989). Had no problems with the BIO classes, but the Math kicked my ass. Bio Stats, calc, trig (amongst others). Tutors, TAs, the whole thing. PITA.

Yet, I did actually get a job with a coastal program, and the pay is, let's say, not commensurate with most post-grads. A large majority are gov-granted so you have to deal with a lot of paperwork before you even get to hit the water.

Due to Shark Week and other TV-docu's, the field has become filled with either marine mammalian students (dolphins, seals, etc; lots of hot chicks) or pelagic nut-jobs (open ocean predators; blues/ makos) who are obsessed (and I mean obsessed) with sharks and other elasmobranchs.

It's awesome if you don't mind being paid dish-washer wages, dealing with grant submissions, and love what you do. But becoming a Rocky Strong is like winning the lottery. Extremely rare.

Anyhoo, that's my extremely limited take on the field. Like cops, which I was one (briefly) back in the day, it's an extreme amount of boredom highlighted by literally seconds of excitement.

[YYZ]

YYZ, how many years did you put into for your BS in Marine Biology?

Despite my rambling, I didn't answer your question.

Altogether, I would say five years (academic). I was WAY behind on the math so there were several concurrent semesters in which I completed the math requirements (for example: bio 101 along with calculus, bio 102 along with trig, etc.)

Hated every bit of the math along the way. (I'm thinking to myself, HOW could I possibly need this to grab a bull shark out of brackish waters?)

Drove me crazy. And it really was extraneous, but those are the hoops we all had to go through.

Despite all the math, I can spot a lemon or a bull from twenty paces.

Edited by YYZ, 20 March 2012 - 03:59 AM.

[YYZ]

Went to an aquarium earlier today. Saw a bunch of sharks, eels, snakes, stingrays, etc. Why you would want to get near a Bull Shark is beyond me. Other sharks I can understand because they're more docile or just not as ridiculously aggressive and/or dangerous. Marine life has always interested me, things like the Megalodon shark and other various prehistoric, marine animals. The venomous aquatic life especially, like Rockfish and the box jelly, etc. Not to veer too far off topic, I hope to see you, YYZ and JAF playing 1942 relatively soon when I'm back from Florida.

Thanks for the reply, Creamz0r.

I think my fascination with bulls is because of the fact that they are so aggressive (some scientists say that their testosterone levels are the highest in the animal kingdom).

Also, the area in which I have a bit of experience (the panhandle of Florida) is a common hunting ground for bulls.

Remember the "summer of the shark" in 2001? I would bet my bottom dollar that those attacks would be attributed to the bull. Lemons are very common in these waters, but their 'aggressiveness' pales in comparison. They can actually be quite docile when in a non-threatening environment.

As to rockfish: just a fish, IMHO. As to boxies, they're not usually common in these waters, BUT, due to the dwindling numbers of sea turtles, most kinds of jelly fish are WAY beyond their normal levels. You can look at any jelly-increases in the last decade and they will be directly attributable to the decrease in predator populations.

Not just due to jelly promulgation, climate change is having a huge impact on jelly population. It's way out of whack. Warmer waters mean earlier and more significant reproduction. Hence, a plethora of jellies that would otherwise be contained by natural predation.