Finding out where your surname is most concentrated

If you have never run into the website, MapYourName, that shows where your surname and surnames of your friends and relatives are most concentrated, not only in the U.S. but also in country of origin, you might find it to be quite interesting and educational. You might be in for a surprise, as I was. I thought that the name, Tew, was going to show up primarily in the Inter-mountain West, but it is as common in Alabama and North Carolina as it is in Utah. Of course, if you have a name as common as Smith or Jones, this website may not be very interesting or useful. On the other extreme, you may have one of those names that is so rare that it doesn't even register. However, most of us have names that fall in between these two extremes. Not surprisingly, Cajun names commonly heard around here, such as Arceneaux, Breaux, Boudreaux, Champagne, Leblanc, Robichaux, Savoie, Thibodaux, and Zeringue lit up Louisiana. I was intrigued that the names in my home town of Talmage, Utah, names like Allred, Burton, Christensen, Ericksen, Lindsay, Frandsen, Jensen, Sorensen, and Thacker were more Utah-specific than I would have imagined. Surnames are not as diffuse as I thought, even over many generations.

Kayaking to the Intracoastal Waterway

I took advantage of Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday, and crisp clear weather to kayak down Minor's Canal (approx. 2 mi. each way) from Bayou Black to the Intracoastal Waterway. It's still a little too early to see the brilliant springtime colors, but I went ahead and took a few pics anyway. The trees on the left side of the canal are mostly of the bald cypress and those on the right with the emerging brilliant-colored red male flowers belong to the swamp maple, draped with spanish moss. Here is a website that has some great pictures of Louisiana's wetland region.

Mardi Gras live!

Mardi Gras has arrived on a cold February day. But the cold temperatures will not dampen the spirit of this year's Mardi Gras. The major parades today include the Zulu and Rex, both of their Kings, Jimmie Felder and Hunter Pierson having been revealed, along with Rex Queen, Katherine Duncan. Zulu's president, Charles Hamilton, Jr., hand delivered a specially painted coconut to President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. on Monday. Handing out painted coconuts along their parade route is one of the traditions of the Krewe of Zulu. The Krewe of Bacchus had a very special king this year, namely Drew Brees, who everyone knows, has deservedly achieved the status of royalty in New Orleans. The printed coverage of Mardi Gras is nola.com, and live coverage is WDSU, if you care to follow some of it today, to get of flavor of what it is all about.

Pigs can fly and its freezing down here

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From Superbowl weekend to Mardi Gras

The excitement of the upcoming events has all of southern Louisiana in a frenzy. It's really quite a phenomenon! We had a Black and Gold Friday pizza luncheon at work today with background music appropriate for the occasion, starting off with, "When the Saints Go Marching In." I forgot to wear a Saints T-shirt, but fortunately, wore a tan work shirt, so I wasn't too far off. Someone thought it might be a nice touch to take a picture of the USDA Who Dat Nation. They forwarded it to everyone, so I am posting it here. I can't even imagine what this area is going to be like if the Saints win the Superbowl. It will be total non-stop craziness from the win until Mardi Gras has passed. Geaux Saints!!!

Mardi Gras parades will be rolling tonight in many areas besides New Orleans. In Houma the Krewe of Hercules will begin rolling at 6:00 PM down and will go through downtown. Parades will continue to roll all the way up to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) on February 16 this year. Win or lose, there will be an added parade to pay tribute to the Saints this coming Tuesday (Feb 9).

USDA's New Sugarcane Crossing Complex

Today, I finally had a chance to get a close look at our brand new crossing complex, made up of a 6-bay photoperiod facility (PF)(Pic 1); a 3-compartment crossing facility (XF) (Pic 2); 12 mobile crossing carts of which four can be rolled from the PF into the XF; and finally an isolation pad (Pic 3). I was excited, in part, because I had a lot to do with its design. The concept behind the crossing facility is novel in the sense that it does not follow the model of any other sugarcane crossing facility in the world that I am aware of. To see something that you and your associates draft on paper actually come to fruition and exceed your expectations is very exciting indeed. There are bugs to be worked out, but all in all, I couldn't have been more pleased with the outcome.

Tomorrow, Argus will be showing us how to use all of the controls. The 3-compartment XF has 1) a room for rolling in two-sets of carts (= 4 carts) with sugarcane plants on them, 2) a crossing room where crosses are arranged and fertilization occurs in one of 99 isolation cubicles (Pic 4), and 3) a maturation room where tassels are maintained while being somewhat isolated from one another until the seed fully matures and can eventually be harvested from the tassel (Pic 5).

In the past, our seed production has varied greatly from year to year, ranging from roughly 100,000 to 1,000,000 seeds. With the much greater temperature control, we should be able to maintain optimum conditions for pollen production. I anticipate much better seed production from now on, and will be disappointed if we cannot consistently produce at least 1,000,000 viable seeds per year from now on.

By the way, if you look at the greenhouse (XF), you will notice the super-structure that supports it. It was designed to withstand the wind force of a Cat 4 hurricane, as I understand.

HC&S plantation on Maui gets a one-year reprieve

The one remaining sugarcane plantation in Hawaii, HC&S on Maui, has avoided getting the plug pulled on them for at least one more year, so they will continue planting sugarcane for at least another full year. My guess is that the decision to extend their life was hotly debated, the debate being driven by several factors.

Firstly, profitability or the lack thereof. HC&S reported losses of $13 million in 2008 and an estimated $30 million in 2009, primarily due to lowered yields resulting from a 3-year drought, and imposed water restrictions. The drought and water restrictions have caused sugar cane production at HC&S to fall from 200,000 tons six years ago to 127,000 tons in 2009. More favorable prices for sugar and an expected improvement in the long-term weather situation undoubtedly weighed into the final decision to extend the life of the plantation.

Secondly, the parent company, Alexander & Baldwin, recognizes that HC&S is positioned as well as any company could possibly be, not only in Hawaii but anywhere in the U.S., to produce renewable energy from a short-rotation crop. After all, who else in the U.S. is capable of producing well over 100 tons of fresh weight biomass and 13 tons sugar every two years per acre of land, and do it by harvesting incrementally throughout almost the entire year. HC&S has the advantages that other biomass producers in the U.S. can only dream about having. Even Brazil's sugarcane yields, as much as they have improved over the past 20 years, fall short of the yield potential that HC&S has demonstrated in the past as an energy crop plantation.

Lastly, the State Commission on Water Resource Management has yet to rule on a dispute between HC&S and environmental activists, Native Hawaiians, and farmers over water the sugar mill diverts from 19 East Maui streams, and the Commission may not rule in the plantation's favor. An unfavorable ruling would pretty much spell the end of the plantation.