I still feel strange talking about snow in Baton Rouge. Turns out that we had more than 3 inches in most of Baton Rouge. The airport reported 3.2" with Zachary/Baker in the northern portion of the parish reporting 5.5". Greensburg (where the 'Three C's and a Cockroach' post occurred) got 4 inches, heck N'awlins got an inch. Tangipahoa Parish (that may be the single coolest county/parish name behind Defiance Co., Ohio) got 8 inches.
Most of the snow on the north and west sides of town had melted by about 4 pm. There was still snow in my part of town this morning.
Here is a link to a slide show from the local paper.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
What was that about global warming?
Since Monday of this week, I've heard the word 'snow' mentioned in the forecast, even though no accumulation was expected. I thought, "Yeah, right, I'm in Louisiana. It doesn't snow this far south." I hoped to at least see it snow even if didn't stick. So when the radio came on this morning, I was SHOCKED to hear that we had significant accumulations (2 inches). As you can see from the pictures below, the flakes were big enough that you can quite clearly see them falling in the images. It was almost like being a kid in Christmas. And even though most of the snow was gone from near campus by 4:15 this afternoon, there was still quite a bit snow left in the yard by the time I got back to the house around 5. I was so happy about the snow, getting bit by a fire ant this morning didn't phase me. :)
From around the house at about 7 am this morning.
]
From campus:
You can see Tiger Stadium in the background:
These students were trying to build a snowman, I'm not sure they achieved their goal.
As one caller to the Walton and Johnson radio show who happened to be driving through this mess today said, "Global warming, ha. I wish Al Gore was riding shotgun with me so I could smack him upside the head."
From around the house at about 7 am this morning.
]From campus:
You can see Tiger Stadium in the background:
These students were trying to build a snowman, I'm not sure they achieved their goal.
As one caller to the Walton and Johnson radio show who happened to be driving through this mess today said, "Global warming, ha. I wish Al Gore was riding shotgun with me so I could smack him upside the head."
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Quick Review of Bayou Farewell
For those that have read The Worst Hard Time, this book by Tidwell is very similar. The main difference is that with Farewell the disaster is ongoing. For the those unaware, Bayou Farewell focuses on the loss of coastal lands along the Louisiana Gulf Coast. With that loss of land comes a myriad of problems including loss of habitat for species including shrimp, saltwater intrusion, and increased risk of damage resulting from hurricanes. To bear this point out, there are several farmers in SE Louisiana ready to leave the industry because of 3 major hurricanes since 2005 (Ike had very little impact on that part of the state compared to other areas).
Tidwell hires himself out as a day laborer on various shrimping outfits to get a flavor of the Cajun culture and those shrimpers first hand knowledge of the issue. In Tidwell's words, most feel that is too big of a situation for them to do anything about. In addition to this is the perception of government being corrupt dating back to the era of at least Huey Long. This lack of trust will certainly hamper future efforts to stem the tides.
Thankfully, Tidwell spares readers the bogus global warming argument for much of the book. He ties the causes of coastal erosion to specific and verifiable events in Louisiana history that have brought coastal erosion to the point it is now. When he does bring up the global warming cliches, the point is already made. Some editions have afterwords that document some of the further deterioration of the coast following the hurricanes of 2005 (book was written 2003).
There are some initiatives going on to help naturally replenish the coasts through partial diversion of the Mississippi, but I'm unaware of their progress at the current time. State funding is also going to be an issue if the current decline in petroleum prices continue. Currently, state projections for revenues are approximately running even with expenditure projections.
I have personally been to the Raceland, Golden Meadow, and Bayou Lafourche areas and it is everything the books says and more. The joke is "How do you know if the fish are biting? If the cattle are standing." The citrus station referenced in the book used to be an LSU research station on the Bayou that now has by and large been abandoned except for the camp which can be rented out for fishing. When I was down there in August, some of the other persons I was with told me about how the dock used to be more extensive than just the current posts that were left. Work is also ongoing on putting in an additional bridge to help get necessary heavy oil rig equipment out of Bayou Lafourche/Golden Meadow prior to the next hurricanes. (I was down there prior to Gustav's unwanted visit and haven't been back since.)
Overall, this is a good book and indicative of the fact that we can be environmentally friendly without going off the deep end. I could have really done without the global warming bit as this was entirely something caused by and can be fixed my humankind.
Tidwell hires himself out as a day laborer on various shrimping outfits to get a flavor of the Cajun culture and those shrimpers first hand knowledge of the issue. In Tidwell's words, most feel that is too big of a situation for them to do anything about. In addition to this is the perception of government being corrupt dating back to the era of at least Huey Long. This lack of trust will certainly hamper future efforts to stem the tides.
Thankfully, Tidwell spares readers the bogus global warming argument for much of the book. He ties the causes of coastal erosion to specific and verifiable events in Louisiana history that have brought coastal erosion to the point it is now. When he does bring up the global warming cliches, the point is already made. Some editions have afterwords that document some of the further deterioration of the coast following the hurricanes of 2005 (book was written 2003).
There are some initiatives going on to help naturally replenish the coasts through partial diversion of the Mississippi, but I'm unaware of their progress at the current time. State funding is also going to be an issue if the current decline in petroleum prices continue. Currently, state projections for revenues are approximately running even with expenditure projections.
I have personally been to the Raceland, Golden Meadow, and Bayou Lafourche areas and it is everything the books says and more. The joke is "How do you know if the fish are biting? If the cattle are standing." The citrus station referenced in the book used to be an LSU research station on the Bayou that now has by and large been abandoned except for the camp which can be rented out for fishing. When I was down there in August, some of the other persons I was with told me about how the dock used to be more extensive than just the current posts that were left. Work is also ongoing on putting in an additional bridge to help get necessary heavy oil rig equipment out of Bayou Lafourche/Golden Meadow prior to the next hurricanes. (I was down there prior to Gustav's unwanted visit and haven't been back since.)
Overall, this is a good book and indicative of the fact that we can be environmentally friendly without going off the deep end. I could have really done without the global warming bit as this was entirely something caused by and can be fixed my humankind.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Three C's and a Cockroach
I realized the other day that I hadn't posted in a while. I have been fairly busy of late traveling and working on trying to get my dissertation chapters into journal article formats to get them published in scholarly journals. Currently, two chapters are either with the co-authors or a colleague for review prior to submitting them to journals. The final chapter has been reviewed by a colleague and I'm in the process of cleaning that up prior to submission though I may have do some re-estimation.
Anyway, there are three C's in Louisiana agriculture: chickens, cattle, and crawfish in that order of economic impact to the state. In the past few weeks, I've been to meetings for all three sectors. By now, you are probably wondering where the cockroach comes in. The LSU Ag Center has several Dodge Magnums which are used by extension personnel to travel the state. These Magnums have a stunning resemblance to the LARGE cockroaches I kill on a regular basis at the house I'm renting.
At the last meeting near Jerry Clower's old stomping grounds on the Tickfaw River, I got to drive one of the cockroaches. It was definitely an interesting meeting with chicken jambalaya instead of a beef dish. Prior to the start of the meeting, the parish ag agent had a demonstration plot of using corn gluten as a fertilizer on an oat field. It seemed to work really well though the gluten can actually prevent certain type of plants from growing due to its chemical composition. It certainly is a cheaper alternative to nitrogen these days.
Once at the actual meeting site, I stumbled on to a conversation of farmers upset about the recent financial bail-out (or buy-in for those fans of Rep. Pelosi). Historically, livestock producers have very rarely directly benefited from the farm bill (aside from the conservation/disaster titles), so it was interesting to hear their complaints of all the money in the bill going to food stamps. (Never mind that food stamps actually helps increase consumption of beef among lower income households.) There were only a handful upset, but those that were noticeably upset when these issues were mentioned. One even wanted a bailout for farmers.
What is certain is that rage seems to be rising as shown in this CNN story and it will be an interesting finish to the campaign season, although it can't come fast enough.
Earlier this week, I also made a quick trip to Chicago for a meeting there. The first night I was there I ate with some people I met (one had been at Purdue roughly the same time as me) at Gibson's Steakhouse in Rosemont. Gibson's is one of the fancy white tablecloth steakhouses that supposedly serve one of the best steaks in the nation as they serve USDA prime beef. It's so fancy that menus are re-printed each day with the prices updated. I ordered a nice sirloin that was quite tasty. As nice as it was, I still think the steak I had at Dakota's in Dallas in February was much better. Though that might have been the fact I didn't have to pay for that steak.
Anyway, there are three C's in Louisiana agriculture: chickens, cattle, and crawfish in that order of economic impact to the state. In the past few weeks, I've been to meetings for all three sectors. By now, you are probably wondering where the cockroach comes in. The LSU Ag Center has several Dodge Magnums which are used by extension personnel to travel the state. These Magnums have a stunning resemblance to the LARGE cockroaches I kill on a regular basis at the house I'm renting.
At the last meeting near Jerry Clower's old stomping grounds on the Tickfaw River, I got to drive one of the cockroaches. It was definitely an interesting meeting with chicken jambalaya instead of a beef dish. Prior to the start of the meeting, the parish ag agent had a demonstration plot of using corn gluten as a fertilizer on an oat field. It seemed to work really well though the gluten can actually prevent certain type of plants from growing due to its chemical composition. It certainly is a cheaper alternative to nitrogen these days.
Once at the actual meeting site, I stumbled on to a conversation of farmers upset about the recent financial bail-out (or buy-in for those fans of Rep. Pelosi). Historically, livestock producers have very rarely directly benefited from the farm bill (aside from the conservation/disaster titles), so it was interesting to hear their complaints of all the money in the bill going to food stamps. (Never mind that food stamps actually helps increase consumption of beef among lower income households.) There were only a handful upset, but those that were noticeably upset when these issues were mentioned. One even wanted a bailout for farmers.
What is certain is that rage seems to be rising as shown in this CNN story and it will be an interesting finish to the campaign season, although it can't come fast enough.
Earlier this week, I also made a quick trip to Chicago for a meeting there. The first night I was there I ate with some people I met (one had been at Purdue roughly the same time as me) at Gibson's Steakhouse in Rosemont. Gibson's is one of the fancy white tablecloth steakhouses that supposedly serve one of the best steaks in the nation as they serve USDA prime beef. It's so fancy that menus are re-printed each day with the prices updated. I ordered a nice sirloin that was quite tasty. As nice as it was, I still think the steak I had at Dakota's in Dallas in February was much better. Though that might have been the fact I didn't have to pay for that steak.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A 2 Minute Review of "Liberal Fascism"
The basic premise of Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg is that fascism is a left of center political movement. That's not to say fascism can't occur on the right (for example compassionate conservatism), but historically it is associated with the left. Goldberg makes the argument that fascism gets confused with the right because fascism is typically to the right of socialism and communism, hence the confusion. What I find most supportive of the argument is that supporters of fascism want 'change' while what ever traditionalist/conservative argued for change for the sake of change?
Goldberg additionally makes the argument that fascism has appeared in the U.S. on three different occasions: during World War I under Woodrow Wilson, the New Deal with FDR, and likely during the Great Society under LBJ. He makes the argument that the New Deal lengthened the Great Depression in part because of the experimentation that occurred. This makes sense because as we are seeing today, if you keep changing the rules, bad things happen. From an economic standpoint, the regulations imposed to curb 'big business' actually leads to the necessity of business to get involved in lobbying government (see Microsoft and Wal-Mart ignoring Washington until Washington got involved with those companies). A very intriguing point is that The Jungle led to consolidation in the meat packing industry because the larger packers influenced policies which ultimately led to mom and pop packers being forced out because of the cost of compliance. Economically this does make sense, even if it is desirable for meat to be inspected since the regulations established as a result of The Jungle minimum standards perceived as safe by consumers (Goldberg cites an interview where Sinclair states The Jungle actually did more harm than good). In short, any time a politician calls for 'increased cooperation' or 'a new partnership between government and business', run for the hills as it's codespeak for socialism. This cooperation ultimately leads to larger (and fewer corporations) which most seem to detest, but politically they are easier to manage for sake of the 'national good' according to Goldberg.
I'm leaving out a lot of topics covered including the myth of the 1960s, the European version of fascism, and the hijacking of the Kennedy legacy into something that it never represented. Though it gets into a lot of deep political science terminology at times, it is definitely worth a read. Especially, that regardless of who wins the presidency, this country is about to take a good sized step to the left.
Goldberg additionally makes the argument that fascism has appeared in the U.S. on three different occasions: during World War I under Woodrow Wilson, the New Deal with FDR, and likely during the Great Society under LBJ. He makes the argument that the New Deal lengthened the Great Depression in part because of the experimentation that occurred. This makes sense because as we are seeing today, if you keep changing the rules, bad things happen. From an economic standpoint, the regulations imposed to curb 'big business' actually leads to the necessity of business to get involved in lobbying government (see Microsoft and Wal-Mart ignoring Washington until Washington got involved with those companies). A very intriguing point is that The Jungle led to consolidation in the meat packing industry because the larger packers influenced policies which ultimately led to mom and pop packers being forced out because of the cost of compliance. Economically this does make sense, even if it is desirable for meat to be inspected since the regulations established as a result of The Jungle minimum standards perceived as safe by consumers (Goldberg cites an interview where Sinclair states The Jungle actually did more harm than good). In short, any time a politician calls for 'increased cooperation' or 'a new partnership between government and business', run for the hills as it's codespeak for socialism. This cooperation ultimately leads to larger (and fewer corporations) which most seem to detest, but politically they are easier to manage for sake of the 'national good' according to Goldberg.
I'm leaving out a lot of topics covered including the myth of the 1960s, the European version of fascism, and the hijacking of the Kennedy legacy into something that it never represented. Though it gets into a lot of deep political science terminology at times, it is definitely worth a read. Especially, that regardless of who wins the presidency, this country is about to take a good sized step to the left.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Scratching My Head
I'm going to do my best to refrain from discussing politics on this blog as Lord knows we get enough of that on CNN, Fox News, etc. right now. Since the following bill really upsets me and the realization of the hypocrisy involved in Congress, I couldn't resist. Hopefully this post will stay as politically neutral as possible.
I doubt many of you know that currently in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is H.R. 6598. Subtlety entitled "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008," it's one of those feel good, PETA and U.S. Humane Society approved pieces of legislation. What's not mentioned is that it will make it a crime to sell horses to slaughter in Canada and Mexico due to the groups succeeding a few years ago in making it illegal to slaughter horses in this country. Or that it will really increase cruelty (as happened with the slaughter ban) because of owners not being able to provide for their horses (through costly euthanasia or costly feed). As an aside, a good number of horse shelters are filled to the gills due to persons not being able to care for their horses.
I decided I would do my civic duty and email all the representatives on the House Judiciary Committee asking them to shoot down this farcical piece of non-sense. I immediately started emailing those representatives whose email were hyperlinked at the website below. Then I started looking at the individual pages to contact all the other representatives. However, most representatives would not allow you to contact them by email if you were not from their district. Now, I could have called, but emailing is much easier and convenient for me.
What left me scratching my head was the realization that while I am barred from contacting representatives outside of my district, groups like PETA, the Humane Society, and the American Farm Bureau to name a few do not face this same problem. These groups are allowed personal meetings with elected officials to curry favor and press their agendas despite the fact that Pamela Anderson likely doesn't reside in Speaker Pelosi's district for example. Now, how exactly is that what the founding fathers intended?
I want to believe some of these groups do respect the intent and send persons from a representative's district. But in age when we have Jack Abramoff and other persons of his ilk, I feel fairly certain the groups who send a professional lobbyist are far in the majority. I know that at least two of the four universities I have been associated with over the years have hired lobbyists in D.C. trying to increase the money for that institution. And the only connection that lobbyist likely has with the school is the money (likely a 1/3 came from the taxpayer) being paid to him/her.
The names of all the reps may be found by clicking here, if you are so inclined to tell Congress to show some restraint and common sense.
I doubt many of you know that currently in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is H.R. 6598. Subtlety entitled "Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008," it's one of those feel good, PETA and U.S. Humane Society approved pieces of legislation. What's not mentioned is that it will make it a crime to sell horses to slaughter in Canada and Mexico due to the groups succeeding a few years ago in making it illegal to slaughter horses in this country. Or that it will really increase cruelty (as happened with the slaughter ban) because of owners not being able to provide for their horses (through costly euthanasia or costly feed). As an aside, a good number of horse shelters are filled to the gills due to persons not being able to care for their horses.
I decided I would do my civic duty and email all the representatives on the House Judiciary Committee asking them to shoot down this farcical piece of non-sense. I immediately started emailing those representatives whose email were hyperlinked at the website below. Then I started looking at the individual pages to contact all the other representatives. However, most representatives would not allow you to contact them by email if you were not from their district. Now, I could have called, but emailing is much easier and convenient for me.
What left me scratching my head was the realization that while I am barred from contacting representatives outside of my district, groups like PETA, the Humane Society, and the American Farm Bureau to name a few do not face this same problem. These groups are allowed personal meetings with elected officials to curry favor and press their agendas despite the fact that Pamela Anderson likely doesn't reside in Speaker Pelosi's district for example. Now, how exactly is that what the founding fathers intended?
I want to believe some of these groups do respect the intent and send persons from a representative's district. But in age when we have Jack Abramoff and other persons of his ilk, I feel fairly certain the groups who send a professional lobbyist are far in the majority. I know that at least two of the four universities I have been associated with over the years have hired lobbyists in D.C. trying to increase the money for that institution. And the only connection that lobbyist likely has with the school is the money (likely a 1/3 came from the taxpayer) being paid to him/her.
The names of all the reps may be found by clicking here, if you are so inclined to tell Congress to show some restraint and common sense.
Friday, September 12, 2008
My Gustav Vacation
While I was hiding from Gustav in Cullman, Alabama, I took the following pictures. Hope you enjoy them.
This first set is from the property my aunt and uncle own in Winston County. Winston County was home to a community of Quakers during the Civil War who seceded from the CSA to form the "Free State of Winston" as they didn't support slavery.
Note the flip flops worn by my brother.
The second set is from the only covered bridge left in Cullman County and spans Crooked Creek. I believe it was initially built in 1904, but was washed away in the early 20s. The current bridge shown was constructed a year after the washout. This part of the creek also was the site of the skirmish at Crooked Creek in April/May 1863. Just a stone's throw from here was where the Battle of Hog Mountain occurred as part of General Abel Streight's raid. General Nathaniel Bedford Forrest would eventually accept General Streight's surrender as the raid proved unsuccessful. The last picture is of the modern bridge, but the whole area just has a nice, peaceful small town feel.
This first set is from the property my aunt and uncle own in Winston County. Winston County was home to a community of Quakers during the Civil War who seceded from the CSA to form the "Free State of Winston" as they didn't support slavery.
Note the flip flops worn by my brother.The second set is from the only covered bridge left in Cullman County and spans Crooked Creek. I believe it was initially built in 1904, but was washed away in the early 20s. The current bridge shown was constructed a year after the washout. This part of the creek also was the site of the skirmish at Crooked Creek in April/May 1863. Just a stone's throw from here was where the Battle of Hog Mountain occurred as part of General Abel Streight's raid. General Nathaniel Bedford Forrest would eventually accept General Streight's surrender as the raid proved unsuccessful. The last picture is of the modern bridge, but the whole area just has a nice, peaceful small town feel.
Gustav's Aftermath
I deliberately waited till after I knew for certain Ike was going to pass Baton Rouge by before posting this. And I do wish anyone in the path of Ike well. The outer bands of Ike passed through here sporadically throughout today bringing strong wind gusts and heavy downpours.
Below are two pictures of the neighborhood/rental property I took upon returning from Alabama. Unfortunately, I'm not the best photographer and lighting prevented these pictures from showing up better than what they did. More pictures may be found at the Baton Rouge The Advocate's site (http://www.2theadvocate.com/multimedia/).
Just a few thoughts from the disaster that was Gustav...
1) It's utterly disgraceful people would break into local schools to steal and vandalize. It may keep students out of school a couple of days, but it's still quite shameful.
2) Society seems to break down anytime a major hurricane hits this area of the country. See the aftermath of Katrina and Rita three years ago for more detailed examples. This time around FEMA left much needed tarps needed in Baton Rouge and other hard hit areas in Houston. While this may be forethought to Ike, I seriously doubt it. All levels of government have done a lot better job than three years ago. However, there is mismanagement and plenty of misinformation in the aftermath of a major hurricane. Maybe we will as a society will have a serious discussion that there are some storms that are too big for the government to handle because of the sheer devastation as well as that government is run by humans who make mistakes. You can everything ready to go, but Mother Nature will ruin even the best laid plans.
3) This storm has been called the 'Katrina' of Baton Rouge due to the sheer amount of damage done. I've had several friends make the comment they were glad it was not as bad as it could have been. I quickly corrected them they left off three important words "in New Orleans." I don't understand the media's obsession with working people into a lather over a looming disaster to turn its back on the story as soon as they realize it's not as bad as it could have been. As I write this, there are still sections of town without power. There are other parishes with especially difficult terrain who are projected to be without power for some time longer because of that terrain. Citizens by and large did what was asked of them by stockpiling goods needed to survive for 3 days. However, it was 5 days before some much needed relief arrived in terms of food being available through government and grocery stores.
4) Because of Katrina and Rita, the population of Baton Rouge swelled to nearly half a million souls. As things returned to 'normal' for me on Monday of this week, I dealt with a city that was not ready to be back to normal solely because of power. It's amazing to me how dependent we have become on electricity. A normally twenty to thirty minute drive suddenly took at least forty-five minutes because the stoplights weren't on. My biggest gripe was that there were no cops stationed at major intersections to help traffic flow during rush hour. I'm sure they had plenty to do, but to ask a city to go back to work with no traffic control assistance from police was a little questionable. At least they were escorting the National Guard to areas where the Guard was needed.
For the above shortcomings (not trying to be too negative), they are small compared to the selflessness I have witnessed since coming back on Sunday. First off is the dedication of the utility crews to restore power as quickly as possible. Crews are working sixteen hours days to turn the lights back on. In one day's time, the proportion of customers to have the power turned back on was reduced by a third for customers of one utility company. Astounding!
I was still east of town Sunday when I got call from a number I didn't recognize. It was a member of the Stillwater congregation wanting me to find them a place to spend the night while they minister to those without power. Fortunately, I've developed a friendship with one of the ministers at a local congregation who was able to find room for 22 'angels' on short notice. While I'm sure this is not the only bunch of volunteers to descend on the city to help, it's always reassuring to know that while the media doesn't report on these special persons, they are out there and don't go completely unnoticed.
Below are two pictures of the neighborhood/rental property I took upon returning from Alabama. Unfortunately, I'm not the best photographer and lighting prevented these pictures from showing up better than what they did. More pictures may be found at the Baton Rouge The Advocate's site (http://www.2theadvocate.com/multimedia/).
Just a few thoughts from the disaster that was Gustav...
1) It's utterly disgraceful people would break into local schools to steal and vandalize. It may keep students out of school a couple of days, but it's still quite shameful.
2) Society seems to break down anytime a major hurricane hits this area of the country. See the aftermath of Katrina and Rita three years ago for more detailed examples. This time around FEMA left much needed tarps needed in Baton Rouge and other hard hit areas in Houston. While this may be forethought to Ike, I seriously doubt it. All levels of government have done a lot better job than three years ago. However, there is mismanagement and plenty of misinformation in the aftermath of a major hurricane. Maybe we will as a society will have a serious discussion that there are some storms that are too big for the government to handle because of the sheer devastation as well as that government is run by humans who make mistakes. You can everything ready to go, but Mother Nature will ruin even the best laid plans.
3) This storm has been called the 'Katrina' of Baton Rouge due to the sheer amount of damage done. I've had several friends make the comment they were glad it was not as bad as it could have been. I quickly corrected them they left off three important words "in New Orleans." I don't understand the media's obsession with working people into a lather over a looming disaster to turn its back on the story as soon as they realize it's not as bad as it could have been. As I write this, there are still sections of town without power. There are other parishes with especially difficult terrain who are projected to be without power for some time longer because of that terrain. Citizens by and large did what was asked of them by stockpiling goods needed to survive for 3 days. However, it was 5 days before some much needed relief arrived in terms of food being available through government and grocery stores.
4) Because of Katrina and Rita, the population of Baton Rouge swelled to nearly half a million souls. As things returned to 'normal' for me on Monday of this week, I dealt with a city that was not ready to be back to normal solely because of power. It's amazing to me how dependent we have become on electricity. A normally twenty to thirty minute drive suddenly took at least forty-five minutes because the stoplights weren't on. My biggest gripe was that there were no cops stationed at major intersections to help traffic flow during rush hour. I'm sure they had plenty to do, but to ask a city to go back to work with no traffic control assistance from police was a little questionable. At least they were escorting the National Guard to areas where the Guard was needed.
For the above shortcomings (not trying to be too negative), they are small compared to the selflessness I have witnessed since coming back on Sunday. First off is the dedication of the utility crews to restore power as quickly as possible. Crews are working sixteen hours days to turn the lights back on. In one day's time, the proportion of customers to have the power turned back on was reduced by a third for customers of one utility company. Astounding!
I was still east of town Sunday when I got call from a number I didn't recognize. It was a member of the Stillwater congregation wanting me to find them a place to spend the night while they minister to those without power. Fortunately, I've developed a friendship with one of the ministers at a local congregation who was able to find room for 22 'angels' on short notice. While I'm sure this is not the only bunch of volunteers to descend on the city to help, it's always reassuring to know that while the media doesn't report on these special persons, they are out there and don't go completely unnoticed.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Pictures from the year thus far
So, I haven't seen some of you in several months, if not years. I thought I'd put together a post with some recent pictures.
This is Eva (Australian Shepherd), at 7 weeks, back in March. She lived to the ripe old age of 5 months prior to being killed by a car in Kentucky in June. Hence, the I've got to get another dog statement in the initial post.
Her head is the bottom right corner of the cage. One of my favorite pictures of her, it was taken the weekend I got her.
This one and the following two were taken in April.
That's a grape she was playing with. I never understood why she played with them and didn't eat them.
Riding around Stillwater in early June and one of the last set I took of her.
Taken graduation weekend in May.
And speaking of graduation weekend, some of me taken graduation weekend at Oklahoma State.
Taken at the Agricultural Economics departmental hooding ceremony for M.S. and Ph.D. graduates.
Waiting on my advisor to arrive. I actually was concerned he wasn't going to make it.
With my advisor, Dr. Dan Tilley and my parents after the ceremony. It's official now, Dr. J. Ross Pruitt.
This is Eva (Australian Shepherd), at 7 weeks, back in March. She lived to the ripe old age of 5 months prior to being killed by a car in Kentucky in June. Hence, the I've got to get another dog statement in the initial post.
Her head is the bottom right corner of the cage. One of my favorite pictures of her, it was taken the weekend I got her.
This one and the following two were taken in April.
That's a grape she was playing with. I never understood why she played with them and didn't eat them.
Riding around Stillwater in early June and one of the last set I took of her.
Taken graduation weekend in May.
And speaking of graduation weekend, some of me taken graduation weekend at Oklahoma State.
Taken at the Agricultural Economics departmental hooding ceremony for M.S. and Ph.D. graduates.
Waiting on my advisor to arrive. I actually was concerned he wasn't going to make it.
With my advisor, Dr. Dan Tilley and my parents after the ceremony. It's official now, Dr. J. Ross Pruitt.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A Month and a Half In and I'm Already Out
I've been kicking around the idea of starting a blog to let folks see what's going on with me more often. To be in so many places the past 10 years makes it awfully difficult to keep in contact with everyone that God has brought into my life. Hopefully this will make it easier. Though, I live a pretty boring life, so don't expect any thing too exciting.
The question that I'm being asked repeatedly is "How are you settling in?" or some variation of it. In some ways, it's replaced "How are you doing?" I get tired of answering it, but at least it shows that people are interested and concerned about the transition because it's a big one. Additonally, it's hard to hit "play" on the standard message playback as with the latter question.
I still have the tendency to call other professors "Dr." instead of by their first names. Old habits die hard, but it's really hard to break the mindset of a student after 10 years of study at the university level.
To answer the question from the earlier in the post, I think I'm settling in quite nicely. Yes, I'm still learning my way around the biggest town I've ever lived in. Yes, I'm still learning to not honk at other cars in the afternoon commute (and other forms of road rage). Yes, I'm still adjusting to the big city (something I will never completely adjust to though). Yes, I haven't found a strong friendship network outside of work.
For all those "negatives", I'm not sure I could have been led to a better job/fit. Yes, it's difficult to settle in when you've been there for barely a 6 weeks and decide to flee from a natural disaster that weighs on your mind for 3 days as opposed to 30 minutes with a tornado (yes, I do miss tornado alley). Yes, it's difficult to keep working when campus is shut down for all week (especially given the aforementioned transition from grad student to professor). But, I LOVE my job.
It combines my love of agriculture, specifically the livestock sector, with the economics I've been trained in without all the heavy theory which puts me to sleep. I'm not exactly sure what an Extension program should be or look like given the state's unique production aspects, but the livestock sectors have plenty for me to do already. I have plenty of models to use/adapt with plenty of support to make it happen. What more could you want?
As of now, I still don't know what damage awaits me at the rent house. I know heavy damage did occur in Baton Rouge, but I may have escaped with minor damage. I'll know more tomorrow after another prof checks out the house and gives me a call. Regardless, I've been told the campus is a wreck, and the pictures from the local paper document this. Though, the national media won't let you know that this was probably the worst storm for Baton Rouge since Betsy in the '60s.
Random thoughts:
The question that I'm being asked repeatedly is "How are you settling in?" or some variation of it. In some ways, it's replaced "How are you doing?" I get tired of answering it, but at least it shows that people are interested and concerned about the transition because it's a big one. Additonally, it's hard to hit "play" on the standard message playback as with the latter question.
I still have the tendency to call other professors "Dr." instead of by their first names. Old habits die hard, but it's really hard to break the mindset of a student after 10 years of study at the university level.
To answer the question from the earlier in the post, I think I'm settling in quite nicely. Yes, I'm still learning my way around the biggest town I've ever lived in. Yes, I'm still learning to not honk at other cars in the afternoon commute (and other forms of road rage). Yes, I'm still adjusting to the big city (something I will never completely adjust to though). Yes, I haven't found a strong friendship network outside of work.
For all those "negatives", I'm not sure I could have been led to a better job/fit. Yes, it's difficult to settle in when you've been there for barely a 6 weeks and decide to flee from a natural disaster that weighs on your mind for 3 days as opposed to 30 minutes with a tornado (yes, I do miss tornado alley). Yes, it's difficult to keep working when campus is shut down for all week (especially given the aforementioned transition from grad student to professor). But, I LOVE my job.
It combines my love of agriculture, specifically the livestock sector, with the economics I've been trained in without all the heavy theory which puts me to sleep. I'm not exactly sure what an Extension program should be or look like given the state's unique production aspects, but the livestock sectors have plenty for me to do already. I have plenty of models to use/adapt with plenty of support to make it happen. What more could you want?
As of now, I still don't know what damage awaits me at the rent house. I know heavy damage did occur in Baton Rouge, but I may have escaped with minor damage. I'll know more tomorrow after another prof checks out the house and gives me a call. Regardless, I've been told the campus is a wreck, and the pictures from the local paper document this. Though, the national media won't let you know that this was probably the worst storm for Baton Rouge since Betsy in the '60s.
Random thoughts:
- The name of the blog refers to the fact I'll always be a Topper first and foremost. No matter where God leads me, some part of me will always feel misplaced from my home in western Kentucky. For all the Okies out there, I couldn't figure out a way to get 'Topper' and 'Cowboy' in the title.
- I've got to get another dog.
- If the issue regarding Sarah Palin's daughter (Bristol) really is an issue, how come we didn't have a national dialogue/debate/media overkill regarding legalization of drugs following the arrest of Al Gore III for possession of marijuana and prescription drugs (thought originally on Glenn Beck program originating September 2nd on Headline News)?
- It's good to have football (of all types) back on the airwaves starting a few weekends ago with European soccer/football, college football this past weekend, pro football Thursday, and World Cup qualifiers this coming Saturday. Though I would much rather prefer to watch meaningful college games (i.e. no more I-AA teams versus I-A teams). It's hard to find the motivation to watch a game like Ohio State/LSU versus Youngstown St/Appalachian St.
- Interested to see how the Cubans treat the U.S. Men's National Team in Havana on Saturday night given the political tensions between the two countries. I doubt any Americans will defect to Cuba, but it will be interesting to see in the match played in the States in October if anyone defects as typically the case with Cuban athletes on American soil. The only downside is that the game's on ESPN Classic and I don't have that channel while I'm visiting Alabama.
- North Alabama is beautiful this time of year and the weather ain't too shabby either.
- Come to think of it, NASCAR visits Richmond at the same time as the U.S. game against Cuba. Crap...National loyalties or southern tradition?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)