It is a small world....and I am getting old

So today we had a group from the "Cotton Institute" come in for a crash course on cotton ginning. This group of 30 or so folks represented about 10-14 different countries with a handful of Americans thrown in for good measure. Now being new to the world of ginning, I hung out in the back of the classroom. We went to see the micro-gin run, a first for me, and then the group milled around looking at samples, machinery, and interacting with the experts (including me). This is when the world shrunk and I aged. This guy asks me "Did you have a relative attend Tulane?" I said no, but I did some time around there. Suddenly he smiles and says "You were with the Marines my freshman year". That's right folks, a gentleman I taught sailing too for the Tulane NROTC program, now learned ginning from a course I was involved in. The irony here is that I was a lousy sailing instructor (I know what I am doing on the water, just not the technical names for sail parts). Apparently he got out the Navy earlier this year and is working for his family business in Charleston, SC, exporting cotton.
Tulane NROTC

In other things, is anyone else who lived in NO tired of being an item of curiousity? I have been asked the most obtuse questions about Katrina. My personal favorite is why am I rebuilding?

Ethnic Food? I don't think so....

So I was able to enjoy quite a bit of Vietnamese food before I left New Orleans, both Pho Tau Bay (check the link on the title) and Tahn Dinh....yummy. It was a wise move....there is nothing here. I went to the Asian Pacific Heritage luncheon today, which was tasty, but the coworkers there confirmed there is no ethnic food here, except for Chinese food. I decided to check the phone book out (it is that small) and look at the list of restaurants. Sure enough, a couple of chinese and a few mexican and that is it.

I will say that I have had good food in the Delta. There are good steaks, catfish, and barbecue. Just not much diversity.

In other news, did anyone happen to see LSU's response to PETA? Apparently, PETA is against LSU getting another tiger to replace Mike. LSU's response, via the chancellor, was comical:

May 22, 2007

Lisa Wathne
Captive Exotic Animal Specialist
PETA
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510

Dear Ms. Wathne:

Thank you for your May 22, 2007, letter concerning LSU’s mascot, Mike the Tiger.

Mike is a treasured member of the LSU family. There are 71 years of history behind Mike, and he represents the heart of our University.

LSU stands behind its treatment of its tigers. Their habitat and lifestyle are constantly monitored to ensure their well being, and they receive state-of-the-art veterinary medical care from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, which can improve and extend the life of a big cat. This is evidenced by the fact that Mike V lived to be 17 years of age. Two of LSU’s tiger mascots, Mike I and Mike III, lived 19 years, and Mike IV lived 20 years 9 months and 18 days. The average lifespan for a tiger in the wild is about 8-10 years. A tiger in captivity, like Mike V, can live 14-18 years.

Our mascots live in an excellent tiger habitat, far better than most found in zoos. Solitary animals by nature, tigers do not congregate in the wild, and due to the alarming state of their species in the wild – tigers are already critically endangered and their numbers continue to shrink – efforts to maintain the integrity of the species will need to be conducted in captivity. The current enclosure is large enough for Mike to express normal species-specific behaviors, including roaming his enclosure. Captive tigers do not have to fight and risk injury to establish and defend their territories, secure mates, or hunt prey. They are also safe from poachers and are not subject to common and debilitating viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections.

Further, LSU is committed to the safe, responsible, and ethical care and handling of its tigers. Mike poses no danger to students, spectators at sporting events, visitors to his habitat, or the medical personnel who care for him. Contact is limited by strict order of the mascot’s trainer and veterinarian, as well as by policies established and enforced by the United States Department of Agriculture. During games, Mike is placed in a specially designed trailer. No persons are allowed to contact the tiger without a barrier between them and the tiger.

LSU’s tigers are treated with the love we give our mascots and all the respect we give wild animals. They are in no way inhumanely or cruelly treated, and their care and comfort are of the utmost importance to all members of the LSU community.

LSU has a federal permit to exhibit a tiger and abides by all animal welfare laws, regulations, and policies. The facility and care provided to LSU’s Mike the Tiger exceed federal standards. Finally, it should be noted that LSU, in line with the University’s educational function, is in the process of developing a state-of-the-art tiger education center to educate the public about global conservation issues. The presence of a live tiger will augment the educational impact of the center. Thus, the presence of Mike VI on campus will move the mascot program into a greater educational role than was possible with previous tigers.

The School of Veterinary Medicine has already received dozens of offers for a new cub. We will not take a tiger cub from its mother; we will obtain a cub that has been weaned. And, LSU absolutely will not purchase a tiger from a private breeder, as we do not want to encourage irresponsible breeding of tigers. Dr. David Baker* will assess all offers and will also seek candidates through a list of established contacts, primarily zoos.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope that I have addressed some of your concerns.

Cordially,
Sean O’Keefe
Chancellor

*Dr. David Baker is Mike the Tiger’s veterinarian.

The City with no beer

With my apologies to the Irish.......

So I tried to buy some beer here the other day. It is not dry, that is a good thing, but it is damn close to it. I was in Super Wal-Mart (oh joy) and noticed the poor beer selection (yes I am a beer snob). Super Wal-Mart had Miller, Bud, Corona, and Smirnoff flavored malt beverage....that is it. I went to the grocery store to do better........no luck. Kroger carries Bud, Miller, Corona, and Boone's Hill (not a beer). So I need to find beer.
Also, for those who don't know it, Greenville's water is BROWN! Not brown-ish as the locals claim, it is freaking BROWN!
Anyway, my friend La sent me this poem about my plight:

It's not easy being green....
sitting around with the water being brown...
having no beer in the fridge.....
and an air mattress above the ground.

This is a bigger pain then Clemson

I am trying to get cable and internet, thankfully I have tapped a wireless connection. It will be at least another 11 days before they can come to hook it up. I have only been able to pick up two channels with an antenna (CBS and ABC). In Clemson, I was able to get 5 (even though 2 were the same network out of Georgia and South Carolina). For some interesting viewpoints on Greenville and life in the Delta check out: http://www.city-data.com/forum/mississippi/45917-avoid-greenville-all-costs.html

I need to switch cell phone companies because only Cingular and Cellular South work here. I went to Cingular yesterday but they were decidedly unhelpful and could not set me up with service. I went back today and waited 15 minutes but they had not helped me, nor the 3 customers ahead of me, so I left. I guess I will live with crappy cell phone service until I can order service over the web. I searched for nearby stores, but no luck.

First day on the job was not too bad, except apparently some confusion as to when I was supposed to report. Human Resources in DC told me 8:30, HR in Stoneville was expecting me at 8:00. Not too big a deal since I stopped by the new lab at 8:00 anyway. There is more paperwork with research in the new job, but less rigidity in many other ways.

I understand that there was a genuine fire and evacuation from the lab in New Orleans today thanks to an attic fire and smoke in the building. Just my luck, it happens after I leave.

My New Home

So the Stoneville/Greenville adventure is off to an interesting start. I came up here 2 weeks ago to find an apartment and got lost in cornfield. Not fun. Then I turned around and headed to Ruston after returning to NO. Back to NO in time for mom to head to Ruston.
Dad began demolishing the kitchen so mom can finally get her new one. This was interesting timing since I was packing up. On Sunday afternoon I headed up to Greenville. I got in Sunday night and hit Wal-Mart so as to have something besides apartment complex carpet to sleep on, one air matress and pack of toilet paper later and I was able to try to settle in.

I need to get a new cell phone plan thanks to the fact that this is the middle of nowhere. I tried to go to Cingular today, but no luck. The people there were completely useless, I will try again tomorrow.

I did drive around a bit today, it is going to be amusing for some of you. The sights around here are....umm.......interesting. That is sort of the motivation behind the blog.

On a work related note. Louisiana is estimating that 50% of cotton acreage from last year is in corn this year. The same appears to be true for Mississippi. The pictures are of my drive up MS-61. This used to be nothing but cotton, now it is 50/50 corn and cotton. A lot of farmers are gambling on corn, but the drought conditions across much of the cotton belt are going to hurt them. For those who don't know, cotton takes more water then anyother crop, however in a drought it produces something, even if it is crap; corn just burns up in a drought....not good.