Hello! New to the forums, and both an old, and "wanna-bee" bee keeper.
When I was a kid I was crazy into insects, and diagnosed with premature rheumatoid arthritis. My grandfather (hard-core cowboy) insisted that bees were the cure to arthritis. I found a hive in an abandoned house across the street, built my own super, and thus started my bee keeping "career" (short lived as it was). Fortunately, this was well before the AHB problems. (I was in Oklahoma at the time.) And yes, the arthritis went away well into my twenties. (I got stung a LOT).
Once I turned 18, I joined the Army as a 91T (imagine someone in the veterinary field who does the surgeries, prescriptions, euthanasias, and has to clean the kennels, while the officer takes all the credit for sitting in her office talking to her boyfriend... This was my life.) After several years of this, I couldn't handle doing the euthanasias anymore and put in for a transfer to medical research. I ended up at NAMRU-3 in Cairo, Egypt for a year and a half working in animal medical research, and even designed the (admittedly primitive) database to track millions of medical samples that got them through Y2K.
I got out of the Army in 2000, just in time to watch Y2K do absolutely nothing interesting, and went a completely different direction with my civilian life doing computers. (Everything from building them, to running networks, to programming.)
This entire time, I've never lost my love for bees or my knack for research, and have even spent a good amount of time researching bees, CCD, and various methods of raising/treating/harvesting/etc. Finally purchasing my first house, the first and most important feature will be the location, and the acreage, specifically I'm looking for a place that is ideal for the bees. It's time to put my years of research to the test.
My intention is to start by creating some of the more standard bee-hives (with how-to videos!) Starting with the Kenyan Top Bar, and various flavors on that, then the Warre Hive, and of course, the Langstroth. Finally, I will be attempting a build of my own design (that is little more than all the best bits of the Warre and Langstroth put together with a couple minor modifications).
So that's the plan, anyway... Probably should find a house first. :roll:
I tend to be a bit "rough" when I chat, so please, PLEASE don't take me personally. My girlfriend tells me I need to work on my "fluff factor." I warn you in advance that the way I write will read in a much harsher tone than I intend it. I do get heated in debates, but I do not hold grudges. Please don't let me offend you.
Soooo, I think that's enough rambling for now. That's me!