HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NEAL!!!

Neal's and Megan's birthdays shouldn't be hard to remember, since they are only one day apart. Our son, Neal is a student at the University of Utah majoring in computer engineering. He shared a provocative video on his blogsite about the effect that oil depletion will have on our lives, especially in suburban USA. This video is actually a few years old, so in the light of what has happened since it was made, it sounds amazingly prophetic. Happy Birthday, Neal!!!

Tomorrow, I will be traveling to Ft. Collins for a crop germplasm meeting. I am currently chairman of the Sugarcane Crop Germplasm Committee. Chairs of all major crops will be in attendance. The National Seed Storage Laboratory (NSSL) is on the CSU campus in Ft. Collins. Seed is cryogenically preserved so that it can last "indefinitely." True seed of sugarcane is actually preserved here. While in Hawaii, I assisted in a project to produce true seed of some Saccharum officinarum accessions (the true chewing canes) native to New Guinea and surrounding areas. The seed was sent to Ft. Collins for long-term storage. This trip will also give me a chance to visit Lori and James, who live in Loveland, not far from Ft. Collins. I look forward to the trip.

New granddaughter -- Megan Marie Bertasso

Judy and I are proud grandparents once more with the arrival of Matt and Julie's third child, Megan Marie Bertasso. She is a treasure. Stats: 7 lbs, 10 oz.; 20.5" long. Mom and baby are doing great. Pictures and more details are available at Matt and Julie's blog site.

Labor was induced this morning (May 28), some ten days after the official due date (May 18). Judy arrived on May 10 to assist, knowing that the other two children each arrived about a week early, so she needed to extend her stay through a third week in order to be there when this one arrived.

Natural disasters in May

The month of May has been a pretty wild month as far natural disasters are concerned. Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar (Burma), killing upward of 100,000 people, and leaving over between 2-3 million people homeless, seeking shelter and food. With Myanmar's junta government refusing to allow aid to be brought in, particularly from the U.S., it is estimated that only 25% of the people desperately needing food and medicine have actually received any thus far, based on what I have read. No wonder U.N. representatives described the refusal of Myanmar's ruling body to allow aid, a criminal act.

The 7.9 (USGS) earthquake that impacted China's Sichuan Province on May 12 has claimed at least 60,000+ lives with another 26,000+ still missing.

Our daughter, Lori, was affected by the spate of tornados that touched down in areas north of Denver. Apparently, there were 7 or 8 tornados that touched down in Weld county, which is where she works (in Greeley). Bank employees had to go to the basement of the bank where she works at one point for about 20 minutes. There was one fatality in Greeley. Windsor, where most of the damage happened, is only 20 miles from Lori's and James' home in Loveland. The main tornado was about a mile wide, probably an F3 on the tornado strength scale. Lori alerted us to this video. An additional video I found shows the Mayor of Windsor speaking about the damage. Tornados also occurred within the past day or so in Kansas and Oklahoma.

We have had our own nasty weather this week with flooding occurring in the Thibodaux/Houma area. This is prelude to a week of preparation for Hurricane Season, which officially begins on June 1.

Oil setting records, sugar in the tank

Anyone who has filled up lately, knows that gas prices are going through the roof, and energy-related stocks seem to have replaced dot.com stocks as the "hottest" investment around. My suggestion, fill up tomorrow, and take your gas cans with you, because it is only going to get worse by this time next week. In the last two weeks, nationwide gas prices have shot up 20 cents. Even in my Nissan pickup that only holds about 12 gallons. Tomorrow, I'll be paying $2.40 more than I was only two weeks ago to fill up. It's time to get out the bicycle, put some air in the tires, and get a little exercize to boot. Oil set another all time record today, closing at nearly $135 per barrel. While all of this is happening, world sugar prices are sliding ever downward. Go figure. Other agricultural commodities, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat are riding the biofuels wave. Why not sugar? In Brazil, it is estimated that 58% of the sugarcane crop will be directed toward ethanol production this year, up from 50% just two years ago.

What caught my attention today was a story in the International Herald Tribune about an ethanol "still" that can be purchased for under $10,000, that looks like good ol' fill-er-up gas tank, and runs on sugar. This led me to the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler website. Once you have the still, all you need to do is add a sugar solution and yeast. The still is "smart" enough to be able to do all the rest on its own.

At certain times of the year, our research station is collecting a large number of cane juice samples, and either giving away or throwing away a fairly large amount of excess cane juice, following sampling. Perhaps it's time for us to start thinking about taking advantage of this type of technology. Great PR and a way to save money in the long run.

One last thing. If you thought the cartoon at the top of this post was a little on the silly side, check this story out.

Enjoy a Cajun Swamp Tour

If you enter the words 'swamp tour' in Google, you are going to see the strong connection between swamp tour and southern Louisiana. There are many swamp tours, such as Attakapas Adventures Swamp Tours (see above photos from their website). Swamp tours are quite distinct from one another, but they do have a few things in common. A few that you can generally count on are alligators (often by name), a wide array of birds, and enchanting cypress trees. When Lori (our daughter) and her husband James were here, we went on the Cajun Man's Swamp Cruise, with Black Guidry and his singing dog named Gator Bait. That was quite an experience. James knew French as a result of the time he had spent in western Africa. We had a group on board who were from France. Since Black Guidry knew Cajun French, he spoke to them in French. James was the only one among us who knew what he was saying to the French group. We later asked a bilingual member of the group if they could understand what Black Guidry was saying to them during the tour. This person said that as long as Guidry stuck to the script, they were ok, but when they were asking him questions, and he was responding spontaneously, they were having problems following him. We loved the tour, and couldn't believe all the beautiful birds we saw. A member of our Church in this area, Bill Munson, runs the Munson swamp tour. Judy and I have been on that one. It's a little more intimate, not as much out in the wide open spaces, but the swamp creatures are real up and close.

You can treat yourself to your own mini-swamp tour with a little mellow Cajun background music. First, click on some Cajun background music (Click on 'CLICK HERE'), then click on a self-advancing slide show of a tour, and Voila! Kick back and enjoy!

New Farm Bill and the U.S. Sugar Industry

Today, congress voted on the new farm bill. The senate may vote on it as early as tomorrow. The legislative branch is overwhelmingly in favor of the farm bill as it stands. By contrast, the executive branch, led by our President, and of which the USDA is a part, is against it. The USDA website displays the arguments against the bill. The expectation is that the President will veto the bill. The further expectation is that both the house and the senate have the votes to override his veto. We shall see.

Where does the sugar industry, represented by both cane and beet interests, fall in all of this? Their position can be found in various websites, such as the American Sugar Alliance, but can be summed up by stating that the provisions in the farm bill related to sugar are supported by the sugar industry. One key element in the bill is what is referred to as "an ethanol provision." How this provision is supposed to work, was discussing in the New York Times back in October 2007. If too much foreign sugar is imported, it essentially obligates the government to buy surplus domestic sugar, and sell it at a discount to ethanol producers to blend with corn fermentables toward the production of ethanol. This, in turn, would prevent the undesired stockpiling of domestic sugar.

Future Blogs

It has taken a while for me to sort out how I want to proceed with future blogs, so that they are more predictable. My blogs seem to fall into one of three categories, namely 1) vocation and hobby related (mostly sugarcane), 2) area related (mostly Bayou Country), and 3) family related. Here's the plan. I will try to have three blogs per week. Tue-Thu: Vocation related. Fri-Sat: Area related. Sun-Mon: Family related. To spice it up a little, I will try to include my favorite cartoon of the day, monolog line of the day, and news story of the day. Let's see how this goes.

Duns Tew, Little Tew, and Great Tew

These "Tew" villages in Oxfordshire, England can all be found on Google Earth by entering "Duns Tew, England," and so on, into the search box. The name, Tew, has many possible origins, among which a "long object," possibly referring to a long ridge, which may associate it with the long ridges in the general area where these villages are located. Great Tew has been described as one of the most picturesque villages in Oxfordshire. It is known for its thatch cottages, as seen in illustrations, and in photos such as that of The Falkland Arms, a well-known traditional English pub in the village. Great Tew has gone through considerable restoration, so that it has become an attractive destination for those traveling into the country.

Great Tew has an interesting history. At one website, reference is made to Lucius Cary, 2nd viscount Falkland, who "took up residence at the mansion of Great Tew in Oxfordshire, which was bequeathed to him by his grandfather. He succeeded as the 2nd Viscount Falkland when his father died in September 1633. During the 1630s, Falkland presided over a celebrated philosophical and literary circle at Great Tew where poets, theologians and philosophers met to discuss and exchange ideas. Members of the Great Tew circle included William Chillingworth, Ben Jonson, Thomas Hobbes and Falkland's close friend Edward Hyde." Hugh Trevor-Roper wrote a lengthy essay on the Great Tew Circle in his book, "Catholics, Anglicans, and Puritans."

Thomas Tew the Pirate

As recently as this morning, a colleague of mine asked me if I am a descendant of, or am distantly related to Thomas Tew the Pirate. Key in the name “Thomas Tew” on any search engine, you are bound to become acquainted with a rather famous pirate from Rhode Island whose activity as a pirate spanned the period of 1692 – 1695. The Pirate Soul Museum, a recently opened museum located in Key West, Florida that boasts having “the largest and most authentic collection of pirate artifacts ever displayed under one roof,” includes Captain Thomas Tew’s authentic pirate treasure chest. If you go to the photo gallery and arrow over to the very last picture, you will see his treasure chest as it is seen in the museum on display, described as “the only authentic pirate treasure chest in the world.” Some day, I intend to visit this museum. Since the pirate Thomas Tew apparently only had daughters, it would be difficult for me to claim being his direct descendant, and do it with a straight face. Here's another intriguing website, where the creation of Thomas Tew Rum in Newport, Rhode Island is described...rum made from blackstrap molasses, which in turn is made from sugarcane. So we do have a connection of sorts. Even though I don't drink alcohol, I still found the video about how Thomas Tew rum is made, rather interesting.