Harvey Allen Mitchell aka Bugs

Bugs Mitchell holds a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California Irvine. He's worked as a software engineer and freelance artist for over 30 years. He is married and is blessed with a beautiful daughter and makes his home in Westminster, California. Having discovered his Native American heritage later in life, he now seeks to know more about the connections between Sasquatch and First Nation peoples.


Background

I was born in Torrance California on November 5, 1966 to my parents Harvey Sr. and Dorothy Mitchell. I was raised in Harbor City. I was a fat little baby...

My parents both had Christian backgrounds and they decided to send me to the Southern California Military Academy. This was a private John Brown school. I received a good education there in academics as well as in discipline and Christianity. I attended that school from kindergarten to ninth grade. Their curriculum ended at ninth grade.

This created a bit of a problem for me. Here I had gone to a small private school for ten years with many of the same friends and now where do I go from 10th grade on?  I was graduated as co-valedictorian, chief executive officer of the entire regiment, and full colonel in 1981.

Back in 1977 my family had moved to the city of Westminster. Therefore, my parents decided that I should attend Marina High School in Huntington Beach which was closer than Westminster High and had a better college preparatory program. It didn't take me too long to adjust to the public school environment even though I started off with zero friends there. I suppose I had a pretty normal high school experience until I graduated in 1984.

So now it was time to choose a college to attend. I feel fortunate because at an early age, I knew what I wanted to be and which college I wanted to attend. My father, who is enjoying his retirement in Nevada, was an electrical engineer and specialized in navigational systems for military aircraft such as the SR-71 and B2 bomber. Since I loved my father greatly and looked up to him I never had any question about becoming an electrical engineer. As far as choosing a college, well, when I was still attending the military academy we took a field trip to the University of California at Irvine. I fell in love with the campus at that time and just knew that was my college. I applied to a few other colleges but when I was accepted to UCI it almost felt like destiny was running its course.

I quickly realized that college was going to be a challenge. The high school teachers all warned us about how hard college was going to be compared to high school. They were right. I was the type of person that could easily push myself to the brink of a serious overload. I am very thankful that my parents saw this and explained to me that they didn't *require* me to be the best but just to do my best. Well that helped quite a bit even though it still comes with a real responsibility for not becoming a slacker.

I struggled with most of the classes but I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to give up unless they physically kicked me out of the university. It took me an extra year but I finally got my degree and I was more than ready to get a job and never have to take another damnable exam!

I had worked two summers at a large company as an intern and I was able to start work full time there to start off my career in the computer industry. I am one of those people who does *NOT* miss school and am perfectly happy putting in my time and then coming home to do what I want.

Sometime in 1997 I noticed this web site by some guy that called himself Dr. Thaddeus Ozone. I knew at that moment where I wanted to be in a few years. I wanted to learn how to combine my artistic skills with my computer skills and create wondrous web pages.

I've learned a lot in seven years and I have no intention of slowing down!  Thanks for visiting bugimus.com


So what's with the nickname?

Since birth my parents have called me "Buggy". All my family still calls me that. In Junior High I wrote fantasy stories based on a world I created and in that world I was known as "Bugimus". In high school I decided to tone down "Buggy" to just "Bugs".

If you call me anything that starts with the letters b-u-g, I will respond ;-)


Reasons to Veg

I have been meaning to write up a section about why I choose to eat vegetarian. Here are a few key reasons as to why I think it makes sense for me and how it doesn't conflict with my Xian faith.

1. In the Genesis creation story, vegetarianism was the norm. All the animals and man had only been given the plants for food. It was only after the fall that we hear anything about using animal skins for clothing. And it is only after the flood that man was specifically given permission to eat meat as long as the life blood was not eaten.
2. The dietary laws of the Old Testament while allowing the eating of meat, also regulate how and which animals can be killed for food. I did not know about this until just a few years ago. Animals killed according to Kosher procedures have their throats slit with a very sharp razor. Now if you compare this method with other methods, it is probably the least painful, at least it was in OT times. So I asked myself why would this be in the law?  There must have been some concern for the needless suffering of animals for a rule like this to exist.
3. It is supposed to be healthier and taking good care of our bodies is certainly in line with Biblical principles.
4. When I see an animal suffering I automatically feel bad. I gave much thought as to why this would affect my conscience and came to the conclusion that on a very basic level it is wrong to cause unnecessary suffering. There is simply no good reason for me to eat meat when I have such an incredible choice of foods that do not cause the death of animals. This is unlike the Eskimo tribes that live on the North Slope of Alaska where the *only* regular food source is animal.
5. In the book of Isaiah 65:25 it says, " 'The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,' says the Lord."  Part of our daily prayers include the phrase "on earth as it is in Heaven", so where I can I want to help make that happen.
6. From a New Testament perspective, Paul said that for Xians operating under the law of love "all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful". This means that we have great latitude in what we do but only in as much as it works toward higher principles. Points 1-5 have convinced me that being a vegetarian wherever possible works towards a greater good.
7. I can now better relate to millions of people in this world whose vegetarianism is more than just a passing fad, but rather a fundamental core of their religions, cultures, and identities. A good friend of mine, who happens to be a Hindu, influenced the type of vegetarianism I practice. I don't eat any animal flesh including eggs but I do eat dairy products as that does not require killing.