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About

About Me

Picture of me. I'm a PhD student in the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne. The picture on the left isn't a fantastic version of me but it'll do.

I have a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and one in Science, for which my major subjects were physics and applied mathematics. My PhD is on the topic of the forces acting in the forelimb of the horse; particularly the problem of resolving muscular load sharing.

If you want to know more, read on, or send me an email!

Full Name:
Jonathan Simon Merritt.
Date of Birth:
2nd June 1978.
Age:
26 years (in September 2004).
Birthplace:
Sheffield, England.
Current Residence:
Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
Diet:
Vegetarian.
Email address:
jmerritt@warpax.com
Current favourite song:
The Hilltop Hoods' People in the Front Row (I know, it's hip-hop - not a genre I like at all really - but it's so catchy and well-structured!). It reminds me of Frontier Psychiatrist, only it requires less brain power.
There's also that cool piece by The Rasmus.  Don't know what it's called though.

Likes

  • Animals (I generally prefer them to people, although I'm not an "animal person" in that I don't feel the continual need for animal company that some people do).
  • Kindness.
  • Computer graphics - artistic and technical aspects.
  • Chocolate.
  • Open Source software.
  • Intelligent science fiction (eg: The Matrix (1), Contact, StarTrek TNG).
  • CG cartoons. Pixar's work is excellent, but PDI's Shrek is still the best.
  • The Simpsons.
  • Gadgets.
  • Projects.
  • Australian fauna and their strange adaptations.
  • Big expeditions to go hiking, mountain biking, etc.
  • Lots of other things...

Dislikes

  • Crowds.
  • Girls who flirt (and guys who flirt, although I rarely experience that!).
  • Dominance behaviour (eg: machoism, bullying, intimidation, rape, Aussie Rules Football).
  • Micro$oft (although I'm not fanatically opposed).

Bizarre Stuff

  • I can play the Great Highland Bagpipes, although it's been several years since I have done so. I can also play the violin, and I vaguely know where everything is on the piano and guitar as well.
  • I once butchered a lion. It came through the University for a post mortem, after which I removed the muscles from the bones so that the latter could be kept. There aren't many vegetarian Engineers who've done that!

Last modified: 2004-09-02.