100 things I've done

Inspired by someone else's blog with the same title, I decided to jot down 100 things I've done. The blog that inspired me was much more playful and imaginative than mine ended up being. My list was intended more as a collection of random memorable occurrances than of major life-changing events. I'm sure that I could have easily come up with another 100 if I tried, and many of those would have been every bit as memorable as the ones I show here. These are simply the first 100 I happened to have thought of, roughly placed in chronological order. Disclaimer: Hyperlinks are of similar events (not taken by me) and are for effect only.

100 things I've done

1. Grew up in a country town named after a Mormon apostle (Talmage, UT) located at 6,800 ft elevation where it snowed deep enough to obscure fences
2. Went to elementary school in an old two-classroom building
3. Fell on a cement basketball court and got knocked out cold for over an hour
4. Got “chased” up a boat ramp by the first fish I ever caught ‘til I let go of the pole
5. Rode horses bareback for years before ever riding with a saddle
6. Milked a herd of cows every day from age 12 until graduating from high school
7. Watched our herd dog snap its teeth at a fleeing cow and get dragged over 100 yards until it could get its teeth unstuck from the cow’s tail…nearly died laughing
8. Made a pond-worthy flat-bottom boat from a plywood board and two 2x10’s
9. Traveled by horseback, camped, & fished in the High Uinta’s several times
10. Went deer hunting annually with my father during my teen years
11. Hoisted over 10,000 bales of hay one summer on our farm
12. Got blue ribbons at our county fair for vegetables I raised in our home garden
13. Went to Boys State at USU (Logan, UT)
14. Pole vaulted on my high school track and field team
15. Got pinned in a high school wrestling match in under 10 seconds
16. Won the right to challenge our principal in a ping pong match at a high school student body assembly only to get nearly skunked at the event
17. Learned that JFK was assassinated while in a history class in high school
18. Played baritone sax from 6th through 11th grade
19. Played trombone for 1 year in a dance band while a senior in high school
20. Had only one date in high school…and it was traumatic!
21. Listened to Jimmy Dean live at our HS Senior Trip to Salt Lake City
22. Picked Concord grapes for Welch’s in western New York for a day
23. Attended the Washington D.C. Temple ground breaking ceremony as an LDS missionary
24. In shop class at BYU, replaced the rings in the motor of my brother’s Grand Prix Pontiac
25. Bought a souped-up ’67 Pontiac GTO as my first car purchase…no regrets
26. Watched man’s first step on the moon at the BYU de Jong Concert Hall
27. Was best man at two weddings during my college years
28. Took karate while at BYU until injuring my neck in a diving accident
29. Did my personal best in golf by several strokes with a neck brace on
30. Scored a personal best of 177 in bowling
31. Pruned cherry trees in Payson, Utah
32. Honeymooned in a teepee-shaped motel room on the Ute Indian reservation
33. Harvested wild rice in a canoe in Minnesota with Judy
34. Visited a brewery in St. Paul, MN while on the barley project in graduate school
35. Got a PhD without ever taking a language course in school…regretfully
36. Watched humpback whales breach and sea turtles body surf in Hawaii
37. While snorkeling at 12’ depth, watched a friend spear octopus and fish
38. Saw lava flowing from the Pu’u O’o vent in Volcano NP from a helicopter
39. Watched the sun come up at the rim of Haleakala on Maui
40. Witnessed a near-total solar eclipse on Oahu on 11 July 1991
41. Walked on the Kalapana Black Sand Beach before and after lava reclaimed it
42. Ran a quarter marathon on Oahu (team’s time: 3:16)
43. Climbed Olomana on the Island of Oahu solo on a New Years Eve
44. Participated in deafening New Year’s fireworks displays on Oahu
45. Slept family of six in a VW pop-up EuroVan for two months camping in Europe
46. Visited Paris, London, Madrid, Munich, Cologne, and Rotterdam with my family
47. Ate dinner with a French family in Montpellier France on our Anniversary
48. Took an overnight train to Venice Italy from Austria and rode in a gondola
49. Visited a cheese factory in Gruyere, Switzerland
50. Climbed part way up the Matterhorn from Zermatt, Switzerland
51. Took a tram to Gimmelwald and a ski lift above Grindelwald in Switzerland
52. Went to the Netherlands with Judy to interview for an Oregon-based breeding position; stayed in Amsterdam and circled around the Ijsselmeer region afterward
53. Visited sugarcane collections in Miami, FL; Kannur, India; & Camamu, Brazil
54. Ate an Indian dinner with our fingers (no utensils) in Coimbatore, India
55. Visited a Michelin rubber plantation in tropical Brazil
56. Went on a sugarcane collecting expedition in Indonesia
57. Visited a cacao plantation while on the Island of Sumatra
58. Traveled over water on a hydrofoil from Sumatra to Java passing by Krakatoa
59. Visited a tea plantation in Bogor, Island of Java, Indonesia
60. Traveled by foot over the Island of Halmahera surviving on coconut milk
61. Drove from Johannesburg to Durban with a fellow sugarcane breeder
62. Had a private pristine beach to ourselves (two scientists) in Fiji for a day
63. Was served kava kava in a coconut shell in Fiji and felt my mouth go numb
64. Ascended la Roche Ecrite on the Island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean
65. Took two sets of Vietnamese refugees into our home while in Hawaii
66. Had four exchange students live with us while in Utah
67. Picked huckleberries with family in Idaho’s mountains
68. Hugged a koala bear in Australia
69. Visited a coffee plantation in Costa Rica
70. Ascended to the top of Mt. Timpanogos (UT) with Neal
71. Failed to reach the top of King’s Peak two separate times because of weather
72. Visited 25 National Parks and hope to visit more
73. Helped found the Hawaii Tropical Flower and Foliage Association (HTFFA)
74. Started a successful business and had it shut down by a former employer
75. Was the star witness in a successful lawsuit against another former employer
76. Logged 110 hours work one week while working at Walmart & Quality Inn part-time and Twinlab full-time after returning to Utah from Hawaii
77. Never went snow skiing in Utah…until after returning from Hawaii
78. Never surfed in Hawaii…unless body surfing counts
79. Caught a 41 lb redfish in Louisiana
80. Took a cruise to Alaska through the Inside Passage with Judy
81. Saw glaciers calving at very close range (Harvard & Aialik Glaciers)
82. Had dinner with Judy in a revolving restaurant above Niagara Falls
83. Got stung by a Portuguese Man O’War jellyfish
84. Visited the Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington D.C.
85. Went to the top of the Washington Monument in D.C.
86. Went to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City
87. Went to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis
88. Sang in a barbershop choir
89. Listened to the Utah Symphony Orchestra play Christmas music in the Tabernacle
90. Visited historic LDS Church sites at Nauvoo, IL; Kirtland, OH; and Palmyra, NY
91. Conducted three funerals in our local church unit while bishops were out of town
92. Witnessed a real life bank robbery shoot out (crook vs. police) in Cheyenne, WY
93. Survived 8 hurricanes (Iwa, Iniki, Isidore, Lili, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike)
94. Participated in the cleanup in and around New Orleans after Katrina
95. Went to a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans (Krewe of Endymion)
96. Was once on the lead boat in the annual shrimp boat blessing event in Chauvin, LA
97. Took up kayaking after getting a kayak for Christmas a year ago
98. Married a partner who is far stronger spiritually than myself
99. Raised four terrific children…Judy gets the lions share of the credit
100. Started my own blog
     

Perhaps I will create a list 100 things I've would still like to do

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!

Merry Christmas to all from Cajun Country. The above picture was taken by myself in the small town of Canal Point, Florida at a food stand. It was close enough to Christmas, and the sugarcane stalks were close enough to the Christmas colors of green and red I felt compelled to stop and take the shot and save it for Christmas Day. It is also intended to suggest abundance and prosperity from Mother Earth, as we all look forward to a new year. May you all have a happy and prosperous new year!

Winter has arrived!

As of midnight last night, winter has officially arrived. Julie reported temperatures of -2 F (-22 wind chill) in northern Indiana. I saw that it got down to -20 F in infamously cold International Falls, Minnesota. We were in the low to mid-30's in southern Lousiana (mid-20's at the top of the sugar belt in Bunkie, LA). The sugarcane farmers were working feverishly (maybe a poor adverb choice in this instance) to get their crop in as quickly as possible. The cane canopy has already gone from green to straw color in much of the sugar belt as a result of earlier cold spells, so the protective green canopy blanket has already been removed. Stalk deterioration is limited as long as the crop remains cool following a freeze; temperatures into the 70's become the farmer's worst case scenerio. I believe the industry will be in pretty good shape in getting its crop in on a timely basis, thanks to dry weather during most of the harvest season.

Someone locally shared a nice video following the recent snowstorm in New Orleans that I thought was appropriate as Christmas approaches. It is fittingly set to Louis Armstrong music. Here it is. Enjoy.

In memory of my sister Lynette Tew

Yesterday, December 19, was Lynette's birthday. Were she still alive, she would have just turned 59 years old. Lynette was my only full-blooded sibling. She was the victim of a brain tumor that took her life at the tender age of 19 in the year 1969. Lynette had a very different personality than I did. She was very outgoing. In school, she was very popular, but always stuck up for those who were being victimized for issues they had no control over, such as ethnicity or being handicapped. Lynette was vivacious and lived life to the fullest until the time of her death. God bless her memory.

Making sugarcane crosses for Louisiana at Canal Point, Florida

Every year, in early December sugarcane breeders in Louisiana go to Florida to make genetic crosses. The seed will mature in Florida and be returned to Louisiana to begin a 12-year selection process that ultimately culminates in the development of new, higher yielding, disease and insect resistant varieties. The breeding activity occurs at the USDA Sugarcane Field Station at Canal Point, Florida, on the southeast corner of Lake Okeechobee. Temperatures are moderated by this large lake, so this is a good location to have a sugarcane breeding facility within the continental U.S., where sugarcane naturally flowers outdoors. A blowup of the above picture captured from from Google Earth shows the very large and narrow crossing house where the crosses are made. Parents designated to be used as females are maintained outdoors; night temperatures below 60 F will kill the pollen they produce, and thus cause the outdoor plants to be largely male sterile. Parents designated to be used as males are maintained on a very long rail cart, which gets rolled out of the crossing house every morning (so we have room to make crosses indoors inside cubicles on both sides of the building), then rolled inside the crossing house every evening so that they are kept warm at night. The crossing activity in Florida is aimed at making commercial crosses for both the Florida and Louisiana sugarcane industries. Our people have been in Florida over the past two weeks; I will be going down this week. We do make crosses at Houma, Louisiana on a smaller scale, but most of the locally made crosses are designed to introgress highly desirable traits from wild canes into a commercial background. Examples of desirable traits from the wild canes include improved vigor, cold tolerance, stalk population, and stubbling ability.

White Christmas time in south Louisiana

As expected, the news this evening was all about the snowfall in south Louisiana earlier today. I have lots of witnesses at work that can testify that it actually did snow for a few minutes in Houma this morning. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked out my office window, and saw the big snowflakes coming down. New Orleans actually got about an inch of snow. Just north of Lake Pontchartrain, Hammond got about six inches. South Louisiana has only had seven or eight snowstorms in the past 60 years, so this is a rare event. This snowstorm is apparently the earliest ever. Winter doesn't even officially begin this year until early morning Dec. 22. Here are some pictures (The Advocate, Baton Rouge) and here is a video (WDSU, New Orleans). I anticipate getting some pictures of snow-covered sugarcane being harvested, and will post those when I get them.

Harvesting sugarcane in a snowstorm

It may seem hard to believe, but some Louisiana farmers may be harvesting sugarcane in a snow storm, and will certainly be harvesting the crop with snow on it this morning. The harvesting must go on regardless of weather. This graphic, taken from a radar image displayed on the Intellicast website at 6:30 this morning, shows Lafayette (LFT) in the center of that burrrr blue color. Lafayette is the hub of Cajun country, and more or less the hub of sugarcane cultivation in Louisiana. Sugarcane harvest season in Louisiana normally goes from late September through Christmas. This year, the farmers got off to a late start because of two hurricanes, so they still have a fair amount of cane left to harvest. However, it is not unusual to be harvesting sugarcane in Louisiana after a mild freeze toward the end of the harvest season. It is much more unusual to be harvesting cane with snow on it. The last time it snowed as far south as Houma (HUM) was on Christmas day in 2004. The last time it snowed in Baton Rouge (BTR) was...hmm...it's snowing there as I'm writing this... As pics come in, I may add one or two to this posting date.

Remarks by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer about impending transition

At the 2008 Annual Meeting and Convention of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, our Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, spoke about the impending transition following the general election. It is obvious from his remarks that there is an air of excitement in Washington D.C. that is especially poignant this time around. Apparently, from Schafer's remarks, the transition team from the Obama camp is already working closely with the present USDA administration as preparations are being made to install a new Secretary of Agriculture. Ed Schafer will shortly be returning to North Dakota, where he hails from. I quite enjoyed reading the transcript of his remarks, because he gave some Washington insights I wouldn't have otherwise been aware of.

Anh 'Joseph' Cao, first Vietnamese-American to U.S. Congress

Another political surprise happened in Louisiana this past Saturday. Joseph Cao had an upset victory over William Jefferson. Jefferson has a 16-count federal indictment facing him, including money laundering, and I guess the folks who he represents, got a little skittish. Here is the earlier editorial endorsement for Cao from New Orleans Times-Picayune. Here is the aftermath story. There are a lot of Vietnamese in this area. They make great fishermen, which should be no surprise to anyone, considering their roots.

While we lived in Hawaii, we took in three Vietnamese refugees for about six weeks, and a little later took in two more, one of whom had malaria. They didn't know a lick of English when we took them in. We maintained contact with the earlier three for several years afterward until they moved to the mainland, and had them over for Thanksgiving each year. It was a good experience for our children. They enjoyed being around our children, and looked upon us as their second family.

Kevin Voisin wins seat on Terrebonne Parish Council

Kevin Voisin, a decided underdog in a post-November election runoff between the top two candidates for City Councilman in Terrebonne Parish District 6, actually pulled off a win yesterday with the narrowest of margins, 862 vs. 846 votes. In the District 6 primary held Nov. 4, Steve Robichaux tallied more than 41 percent of the vote, compared to 32 percent for Voisin. A third candidate, Democrat Al Badeaux, finished with 26 percent. Steve blamed voter apathy for the loss, and the probable assumption by his friends that he "had it in the bag."

We were excited for Kevin and his family. We know Kevin through our church, and wish him the very best in his new role. If there is any one extended family that epitomizes the LDS Church in Houma, it would have to be the Voisin family. I served as a bishopric counselor with Kevin's father, Mike Voisin, a former Bishop of Thibodaux Ward and convert to the church. Kevin was an LDS missionary in France. He was a history major at BYU, and opted to become part of the family business by returning to Houma with his wife, Emily, following college. They now have three children. The Voisin family has been in the oyster business for seven generations. Kevin and Emily played a key role in organizing the Mormon Helping Hands volunteer event that brought over 1,400 volunteers into Terrebonne Parish to assist in the cleanup following Hurricane Gustav.

Obama pledges support of domestic sugar

Just weeks before the November election, President-elect Barack Obama sent the U.S. sugar industry a letter pledging his support of a vibrant domestic sugar sector. The letter focused on three issues of particular importance to sugar producers: The new Farm Bill, renewable energy, and international trade. As I stated in an earlier blog, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out, once President-elect Obama becomes President Obama. Sugarbeet and sugarcane growers have to be pleased that Obama has at least pledged his support, whether they voted for him or not. Leading up to the election, McCain made it abundantly clear that they weren't going to get his support. Speaking of support, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer reported that "crop supports have fallen from $11 billion to $810 million in three years." That's a pretty remarkable drop. Sharply increased commodity values for most crops must have had more than a little to do this reduction.

Winter garden update

We had very large cauliflower plants but hadn't seen any evidence of a flower head. I was getting a little impatient, so I peeked inside the plants, and to my great surprise, we had full-sized cauliflowers. This is the very first time in my life (at least, that I can remember) that I have grown cauliflowers, so I was pretty excited. The cabbage is doing as well this year as it did last year. I have become a fan of winter gardening in south Louisiana, having had success two years in a row.