a colorful adventure

It seems to creep up on me every year. I get busy with all the things that come after the calendar switches to a new year, and then I turn around and remember it is time to welcome in a new year on the Chinese calendar. This year though, I had reminders here and there [...]

The following article was in the latest issue of the Teas A&M Plant Breeding Bulletin July 2011. I asked the editor of the bulletin Wayne Smith and the student featured in the story (Trey Cutts) if I could share it here as I think the information and photos are very compelling.  “Rice: Research to Production” [...]

Everyone who turned on a car radio or TV or the internet today has had to stop and think about Japan today. For me, I love the country and people. It was one of the first parts of the world I travelled to. My sister Leslie lived there for several years after college and our [...]

Traveling gives you a chance to see unbelievable sights and to meet great people. Bringing back some memories for people comes with photos, etc. On the other hand, sometimes you feel you should buy gifts for everyone. And although I frequently bring back small things like keychains to pass around at the office, I got [...]

Okay, I could just say everyone should watch this video!  And yes, the photo I put in here shows Bboy having cut a coconut and beginning his one-handed descent!  Unbelievable.  Really.  But for fun, you really need to watch this video if you see yourself in any of the following: You’ve ever wondered how interesting [...]

Diwali… just saw the word in a friend’s status line and immediately thought about how lucky I’ve been to witness the festival.  It was during my trip to Malaysia in 2006.  While I still want to be in India sometime during Diwali (or Deepavali depending on who’s talking about it), the taste of it in [...]

So, it’s tough deciding where to start with a blog about travel experiences…  So I’m rolling the dice and starting withMalaysia.  It was the location for my 2006 big vacation.  I’ll post about it a good bit no doubt.  But here, I wanted to start by talking about rice. I’ve worked in agriculture a long time and [...]