musings from the lab

Out to Pasture

2007-09-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

K-State Agronomy Farm...

....where construction barrels grow old and fade away.

Pet Peeves - Driving

2007-07-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

During my two road trips this week, I developed a short list of rules everyone on the interstate should follow:

When anything is parked along side the road, especially a cop, get into the other lane.
Don't dally in the left lane. When the road is open, you should be in the right lane.
When passing, get it done. Passing should require at least a 10 MPH difference in the two vehicles. If you are not willing to be 10 MPH faster, you should not be passing.
When a vehicles rapidly approaches from behind, get over and allow it to pass you.
Always be aware. This allows a safe trip for everyone on the road.

Bad Day

2007-07-19T23:59:00.001-05:00

Somebody had a bad day....

...I grabbed this pic last week.
I don't know anything about it besides the
fact that someone had a problem. The KSYG sang
on that hill earlier this spring. It is really, really steep.

Sometimes you just know...

2007-07-01T23:17:00.000-05:00

So I was on a hike with the scouts this spring and saw this weed. First time ever. Sometimes you just know...

Tommie's Cell

2007-03-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

For all of you who, like myself, did not know that Tommie lost his cell phone:

Tommie has received a new cell phone, cell phone carrier, and new number. To obtain his new number, take his old number and do the following to each number:
-4, -8, +4, -1, +5, +3, +0, -1, +7, -1

He would like to build his phone book back up. It sounds like the only way he plans to do this is by saving numbers that call him. So, ya. Give him a call.

Good-Bye Nextel

2006-12-18T11:21:00.000-06:00

I can't say I'm sorry
I look forward to more talky
Over two lane roads and cattle trails
Even across the Kansan Flinthills

It may be cheesy but it is true.
I'll be happy to talk to you!

(same number, just give me three days to change over to Verizon :)

It has been like forever since I've posted and a lot has happened since then. In addition to changing my cell service, one of the things is meeting my third cousin, three times removed. He is pictured below with his wife. I spent a whole evening talking about family, the past, the future, good books, and current events--what a great time!

Ethiopia

2006-11-13T16:49:00.000-06:00

The following was written several days ago but I was unable to post it. The internet connection was really poor. I never could log onto blogger and only once accessed my hotmail account. I hope to post a bit more about my trip, but considering the realities of life and responsibilities...maybe. If I post, you know that I am procrastinating on my studies:)

In the interest of keeping my blog alive, it seems best to let the world know that I have been blessed with the opportunity of attending the “International Symposium on Integrating New Technologies For Striga Control: Towards Ending the Witch-hunt.” It has been an incredible experience so far and promises so much more as we leave town and visit sorghum growing areas.

Internet is expensive for a college student at almost 12 dollars an hour. It makes it quite a habit to support. Fortunately I am not tempted because the agenda is completely packed.

It the interest of time, I am posting a portion of my e-mail that I sent home:

Dear Family,

I am please to inform you that I have arrived in one piece. The travel was mostly long and tiring. I only slept for ~ 4 hours on the trans-Atlantic portion. It was the only time it was dark. The clouds covered the ground more then half of the time. The entertainment system they currently have is really nice. It is completely independent from each other and has movies, games, music, other stuff and tracking. The tracking was the cool. It showed two maps, and two information screens. The maps would show the continent and then the country/area. The information screens showed things like ground speed, outside temp., ETA, and other stuff. It toggled between English and metric units and between a number of different languages. Cool. I watched two movies (one in Spanish—neat but without subtitles which made it hard) and read 150 pages. It is a bummer the system is not on domestic flights. The hotel is really nice. It and the Sheraton are the nicest in town….If you still have your VOI phone service, think about giving me a call…I am 8 hours ahead of EST…Kelby, you were right in that I should have brought my cell phone—oh well. I exchanged 100 dollars for 870 dirr. This internet service is 102 dirr for 60 minutes, I will have used about half of it today and will use the rest soon. Right now I am headed for lunch (1:20 PM) and then be up in my room.

Some pictures:

Nile River, Road Obstacles, Improved Sorghum Plot, Striga Flower

Autumn

2006-10-03T22:22:00.000-05:00

I first noticed it on Sunday. As I was driving home from Wichita, I looked across the flint hills and said to myself “the trees are changing colors!” It was a sudden thought that left me speechless—which is not a big deal since I was alone. Looking back on it, the reason it hit me so hard was the memory of Indiana in the fall. The drive on Sunday was not like IN-124/US-24/IN-25 but it reminded me of B-town :)

Kansas really has quite a few trees. I have noticed more and more of them. Kansas also has some pretty shrubs that have a deep red color. As you look across the hills, the bottoms have green cedars intermingled with yellow deciduous trees. On the sides of the hills are clumps of shrubs—red and pretty. It is a good time to drive across Kansas.

I saw a drop-dead-gorgeous field of sorghum yesterday. The field was about 15 acres surrounded by trees. It was very deep red in color, about four feet in height, and ready to be harvested. It was really clean and not lodging. It served as the front porch view of our former department head (who happens to be a Purdue alumnus). It was beautiful.

Hosea 10:12

2006-09-04T23:06:00.000-05:00

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Although I sometimes use the flip and point method, I am a huge proponent of reading the Bible in context. It is wise to read an entire book and considering the message and noting how it develops. This is one of the reasons I love Job so much.

So I was thinking about what book to start reading next when I thought of Hosea. I’m not sure how or when. But I discovered myself reading this much longer than anticipated book. I didn’t realize it has 14 chapters. I did know about the theme in the first three chapters and how it would apply to the later chapters.

Verse 12 stuck out to me as an oasis in a desert. It gives hope in a time of despair. It shows an action course for us to follow. Think about it and consider how Israel's past would be different if they had followed these verses (my commits reflect how I apply the verse in my life; it is taken a bit out of context of Hosea—but not really):

Sow to yourselves in righteousness – plant holiness in your life, reject sin…

reap in mercy – be prepared to forgive others, show kindness…

break up your fallow ground – reach out of your comfort zone, do something BOLD…

for it is time to seek the LORD – it requires action on our part, read the bible, pray

till he come and rain righteousness upon you – God will notice, His response might not be what you expect

I was truly surprised when I came across verse 12. I was absorbed in thinking about Hosea, Gomer, and Israel for ten chapters and this verse brought me back to reality. As Derek Webb so often mentions in his songs, we are apt at playing the whore. We must crucify ourselves daily for Christ so that we remain faithful to God.

Please think about Hosea 10:12 today and how it might change how you live!

Footnote: In doing research for this post, I discovered that Derek Webb is releasing “Mockingbird” as a free download. I just downloaded it! Look for my review in the coming days.

The Flying Thing

2006-08-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

Less than an hour ago, I was sitting at the table eating a late supper (b/c I was gardening this evening—pictures soon to be posted). Just minding my own busness when all the sudden I hear a thump. I look up and see this thing flying in circles around the living room. The first thought was, ‘what is a bird doing in the Hunting Lodge?’ I shut off all the lights and turned on the porch light with the door open. Back inside, I grab the Regent University blanket that Kelby gave me and stood by the fireplace, flapping the blanket. It was about then that I started thinking and saw the thing well enough to think it was a bat. I also realized that turning the lights off was pointless and a bit dangerous to my own body. After once getting it to the hallway and it proceeding to the dining room and on to the living room, I started to think about catching it with my blanket. Fortunately, it went down the hall way and into the bathroom. It stopped flying and I stared at the doorway. I went in. I came back out. I saw it really good. It was on the floor now, out of breath and nowhere to run. Somehow it managed to get on the counter and I went in for the kill. I used the blanket and some handy bucket to carry it outside and let it go. Man, it was mad. It screeched as I got the bucket in position. But it flew away quickly and quietly (at least to these old deaf ears).

Now I just ask myself why did that bat choose the Hunting Lodge? It is not like lots of other houses have all there doors open and the attic fan going. I have concluded that it was an ant-eating bat. Yes, it was looking for ants. Thus it came to the Lodge…

P.S. My apologies to all that have not had the wonderful experience of visiting or living at the Hunting Lodge. You likely did not follow the above story. That’s OK just schedule a visit soon.

Soon

2006-08-03T23:57:00.000-05:00

Very, very soon the mighty Malibu will flip over a new leaf.

Garden

2006-07-11T22:59:00.000-05:00

So I had a great haul yesterday!

That white thing is an eggplant, which I have yet to decide how to cook. The other stuff you have to ID by yourself.

I have a plot out at Manhattan Community Gardens. I wondered about the wisdom of having a garden for relaxation when I work with plants for a living. But I was proven wrong because you can see how successful it has been.

PS. The biggest perk about having a garden at the MCG is they provide free water!
PPS. So far, I have had only one thing stolen--an entire cabbage plant!

MMmmmmmm...

2006-07-07T16:53:00.000-05:00

...I'll choose the passing side.

I’M BACK!!!!

2006-07-03T23:38:00.000-05:00

I have finally taken the time to update my blog. Granted I spent way too long going through my Canada pictures, but I did figure out how to make collages on Picasa. I left for Canada on the 21st, met my dad and the Boy Scout troop that night. We put on the water Friday morning and were picked up the following Wednesday morning. To the best of my knowledge, everybody caught a fish and a total of 3 walleyes and 1 lake trout were caught. It can be very challenging to catch walleye and lakers from a canoe, especially if you need to be at camp by dark. But I had a good time with dad, Klay (my youngest brother), and the other scouts. I was back at work on the 30th. I hope to blog again soon!

24

2006-06-26T23:59:00.000-05:00

It rained today.
I didn't get a birthday cake.
Our new campsite stinks.

I have 2 legs, 2 arms, and a head that works most of the time.
I helped a 13 year old catch a trout, walleye, and bass yesterday.
I'm vacationing in Canada
:P

Canada

2006-06-25T23:59:00.000-05:00

Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée
Il sait porter la croix
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits

we came
we canoed
we camped
and
WE FISHED

KC

2006-06-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

On June 3rd, I enjoyed the Kansas City invite. The service project was at a HUGE food bank called Harvesters. We help repackage deli meats and pasta. That night after the picnic supper, Brother Bob from South Bend had a bible study on suffering. It was a blessed weekend and close to home so I didn’t have to drive much:)

Lamont

2006-06-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

So I've visited Lamont several times this past spring and have several pictures to show for it. I got my big turkey 5 days before the season ended. The beard was 10.75 inches long:) The fishing was good but like Canada in that it took work to get the fish to bite. A big thanks to Aaron on helping to build the bike rack. He did all the important welds and I finished it off without making too many mistakes! Stop by the Hunting Lodge and see it some time.

This Weekend

2006-04-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

The Cookies

The Cow

The Core

The Problem

Losing Your Queen

2006-03-29T21:54:00.000-06:00

I got a little too aggressive playing chess last night. Five minutes into the game, I was wrecking havoc on the enemy lines. It was great.

I was feeling that this might be a blow-out and my opponent might never play me again:( But I can not throw a game, it never seems right. (I’ll cross that bridge if I ever have kids)

Never fear! Moving my queen out, I took the pawn in the third row. Jason took my queen with the adjacent pawn. WITH A PAWN!

…so the game ended with two kings, rook and a bishop on the board.

I was hoping for a stalemate.

It got me thinking of the importance of protecting your resources. I took my queen for granted and assumed she was invincible in the face of danger. So to can we take our spiritual life for granted. We can assume it is invincible in the face of warfare.

How wise are your moves this week?

Día Final

2006-03-23T14:25:00.000-06:00

I’m at the public library using a computer that is, surprisingly, running Windows XP.

We shipped the seed this morning. The last official things I need to do is check out of the parado and fly home. Since we are leaving the parado at 3:30 in the morning, it does not leave me much time to play.

Actually, I am studying most of this afternoon—BCHM 765—because of a big exam next Friday. Yesterday was my fun day. I slept in, relaxed, and snorkeled. The snorkel trip was three afternoon stops, supper, and a night stop. The night trip was the best. We went to phosphorescent bay! It was truly indescribable. Visit http://www.biobay.com/ for a slight glimpse of the phenomenon. The pictures on that link were taken at Vieques PR. I visited Phosphorescent Bay that is just East of Parguera PR. The bays are very similar in the structure with salt flats, limited fresh water, small ocean mouth and mangoves trees. Somehow the these factors affect the dinoflagellates. Vieques is slightly brighter.

Remember, those pictures were taken with long exposure. In real life, it is very much unlike the pictures. It would be like trying to take pictures of miniature fireflies by standing still and letting millions flash their lights and calling resulting blur the light of fireflies. The light is very distinct and “naturally” (undisturbed water) occurs much like fireflies in a field. The density is about that of the stars in the sky.

When you swim through it, think warp speed.

Well, the snorkeling was great and the work is finished. I’ll be back on the mainland soon and hope to return next year.

Puerto Rico

2006-03-20T21:17:00.000-06:00

I am here, sitting behind the front desk of the hotel that we’re staying at. Mitch has been coming here for the past 6 years or so and knows all those things that you should know when you travel some place. And he knows all those people that make life easier and better—like when you want to bum the internet off them.

Work has been going very well. I will be dreaming of numbers on packets tonight. All day I have been writing 1059-3, 1059-4, 1061-1 etc. and have sore fingers because of ripping the bags open….

What am I doing you ask? I am on working over my spring break. As a graduate student, my life is connected to Kansas State University. So when my boss (Mitch) asked me to help harvest over spring break, I readily accepted. Now I am here at our winter nursery. Yesterday we finished harvesting everything from the field and now we are threshing it. We should finish tomorrow and do paperwork on Wednesday and ship of Thursday. I return on Friday. Need to run.

Kersh <><
Parguera PR

Pooh

2006-03-14T09:30:00.000-06:00

I went to the library last night.

I picked up another Pooh book titled ‘When We Were Very Young’. It is a poetry book, filled with quirky verses about things that don’t really matter but matter very much so.

I also grabbed some reading material for the long plane ride over spring break. I am so excited about next week.

Puerto Rico here I come!

I Samuel 15:22 & 23

2006-02-28T00:52:00.000-06:00

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל הַחֵ֤פֶץ לַֽיהוָה֙ בְּעֹלֹ֣ות וּזְבָחִ֔ים כִּשְׁמֹ֖עַ בְּקֹ֣ול יְהוָ֑ה הִנֵּ֤ה שְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ מִזֶּ֣בַח טֹ֔וב לְהַקְשִׁ֖יב מֵחֵ֥לֶב אֵילִֽים׃

כִּ֤י חַטַּאת־קֶ֙סֶם֙ מֶ֔רִי וְאָ֥וֶן וּתְרָפִ֖ים הַפְצַ֑ר יַ֗עַן מָאַ֙סְתָּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה וַיִּמְאָסְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

In English it reads:

22And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king." esv www.biblegateway.com

I came across these two verses last week. They really stuck out to me then and I have been thinking about them often. All to often, we seek to please God by our service or 'sacrifices' when all he wants is us. He wants us to be his children and be near him and to obey him.

90,000

2006-02-27T23:58:00.000-06:00

I had a great weekend in Princeville. I got to see my dad, mom, ky, kins, kor, & kay. It was really neat and special. Thanks to the schicks and stollers for hosting us.

My car rolled past 90k miles on the way home. In honor of this occasion, I looked back over my records and found that since I bought the Mighty Malibu in December of 2002:
Burned over 2,100 gallons of gasoline
Driven over 50,000 miles
Spent over $4,000 on gasoline
Averaged 24.3 MPG
At one point in time, paid just $1.36 per gallon—post 9/11 (duh, since 12/2002)

Kiowa Trip #IV (with poll)

2006-02-21T10:23:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was a huge blessing. The “Kansas-At-Large Young Group” traveled to Stephanie Bahr’s testimony and baptism in Kiowa. We were about 25 strong and enjoyed the presence of 5 Denverites. The demographics for the weekend was a multi-modal age distribution—meaning that there were lots of young folks and lots of older people, but noticeably less middle aged people. I’m not saying that John Lehman is one of the older people. I’m saying that regardless of how you classify “middle age”, whether it is 30-50, 30-60, or 35-70, it was missing.

An integral part of the weekend is the “long drive through nowhere to”….well, Kiowa.

It is a good time to relax, talk, and think.

It was quite refreshing—especially the malt.

Poll: Is it a bad thing to pass your elder on a two lane road?

BCHM 765

2006-02-17T18:58:00.000-06:00

In Honor of Exam I:
(Today at 7:30 AM)

Some of the cool things about lipids and BCHM 765:

Their location in cells is based on evading water

Understand how you keep thinking and your heart keeps beating even when you are starving to death

For at least one day in your life be able to draw the beta-oxidation pathway

Their movement through a human body is based on avoiding water

When Grandparents talk about LDL and HDL you know what they are talking about

Know how protons could move through a membrane via aquaporin in a manner similar to electron movement through wire…and why they don’t

They hate water

The Professor sings about ATP — really cool :}

Things not so cool about BCHM 765:

Have to know about the following pathways: beta-oxidation, fatty acid synthesis, synthesis and oxidation of ketone bodies, cholesterol synthesis, TAG synthesis, Phospholipid synthesis and maybe some other little thing…like net ATP yield of linoleic acid.

Getting up for 7:30 class

Hard exams

Modern Art

2006-02-07T23:48:00.000-06:00

For all who tried to call me the past two weekend, sorry but Nextel does not provide complete coverage across Kansas.

Lamont is down along a river valley so even if they did provide coverage, it would be spotty (think IN SR 25). Lamont is also on the fringe of oil country. A week ago, we visited an abandoned oil field powerhouse. It was a big engine that powered a huge (like 30’ diameter) belt wheel that then raised and lowered all the pumps on the site (maybe 10 or 15 pumps).

Really cool.

Not as cool as this modern art.

So this is the work of Alan Banwart and me. It was the first time MIG welding for either of us (I think) and is a lot easier a old stick welder. For each weld, one did one side and the other did the opposite. We also took turns placing the additional piece.

Made in the USA.

Flush

2006-01-31T12:34:00.000-06:00

** Warning Bathroom Humor ** (just for Ky)

You can imagine what I think about every time I hear that word.

There is a town with that name here in Kansas. I smile every time I see the sign that reads: “Flush (arrow pointing)”. We will be passing this sign Thursday on our way to sing at Wamego. Some time I’ll have to visit it just to say that I was there.

So the toilet has been leaking since Christmas break. At least that is when we noticed it. Since it is in the upstairs (ground floor) bathroom, it is not really Jason’s or my problem. Since the downstairs is naturally below the upstairs, we (Jason and I) were the ones that found the leak and continually noticed the leak. For the guys upstairs, I guess the policy is flush and forget.

So after three weeks of this drip, drip, drip; Jason and I set out to find the problem. One of the bolts was not in the flange, so we cleaned the porcelain and the flange and replaced the wax ring. When we went to remount the toilet, it was not sitting very straight on the floor. So we attempted to tighten it to the flange and see how it works. Well, we have a broken, rusty, cast-iron flange and waiting on the plumber.

PS. Was not sure if I should post about such a topic, but that line was crossed last Sunday.

PPS. Feeling a lot better :)

Under the Weather

2006-01-29T22:06:00.000-06:00

I feel awful.

It is all running out the back end.

Big day tomorrow.

laptop

2006-01-27T03:18:00.000-06:00

i love my laptop
just the way i have it set
firefox, fireworks, publisher, and word
i know how to use it
and i know how it works

now i also know why
it didn’t work before
something about a short
and a battery gone dead

but now all the trust
from our relationship is spent
i’m backing it up
organizing the data and burning it fast

just one item i need
a new cord without a short
for the one I now use is just on loan
and today it returns

tire am i
to bed i go

resting assured my laptop is safe

Christmas, New Years, and School

2006-01-09T22:58:00.000-06:00

Seeing that I have been in Kansas about a week now, it is time to talk about my Christmas break and stuff that has happened the past month. Leading up to Christmas I was not able to attend the (big) Gerber Thanksgiving/Chistmas/Reunion, the Stoller Christmas, BYG caroling & candle lighting, West Lafayette caroling, or the PYG Christmas party. Instead I attended the Kansas City Christmas party, Kiowa caroling, and Garden Grove caroling. I barely made it to Garden Grove because of a Kansas snowstorm and freaked Tif out—twice. (At least by my version of the story)

So I finally made it back to Indiana and my family. We celebrated Christmas accourting to family custom with a big formal meal (on china) Christmas Eve. Because of a long standing partnership with Santa, we receive our gifts early and naturally do not wait till Christmas morning. After supper and doing dishes as a family, we read Luke 2 and open the presents. Per tradition, we finish the evening playing the game given to the family as a whole. Kailey was disappointed this year because at only 7 ½ years old, she does not read well enough to play Apples to Apples. It was sad and a bit cute when she realized this fact. It gives her something to look forward to and she still has lots of other games which she excels at (like Acquire).

It is really late and my tea is ready. I’ll just have to tell you about New Years and KSU later.

2006

2006-01-04T22:47:00.000-06:00

To my loyal fans everywhere,

As mentioned in the last post, I have returned to Kansas after celebrating Christmas with my family in B-town. During my time traveling and at home, I thought of resolutions which I should make and stuff which I should really focus on this next year. Even before my parents mentioned anything about it, I had decided that I was fat.

I had even weighed myself—149 lbs.

No, I’m not fat in terms of lipids and fatty acids, but in daily living. Choosing to not exercise, skip a meal, eat junk food, or skip devotions can created an unhealthy human. My resolution for 2006 is to live healthier. I might gain weight, or I might just stay between 150 and 155. Either way, I doubt I will lose weight.

On disjointed note, I did not make any resolutions about my blog or posting on my blog. You can expect more activity, but that is only because this is the start of the semester and I have more “free” time than at the end of a semester. Plus, I will not be seeing my family for the near future and somehow I think that influences my blogging habit.

Poll: How do you gain weight? Sugar? Fruits? Protein? Ice Cream? ? ?

JBCs

2006-01-03T23:40:00.000-06:00

I was shocked! On my way back to Kansas today, I stopped where I normally stop and got what I normally get. Well, this Wendy’s had Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers for just 99 cents. It has been like a year since I’ve paid only 99 cents for the JBC.

SCORE

Snow, Snow, Snow

2005-12-19T21:56:00.000-06:00

It has been white out here since last Saturday. There is about 8 inches of the stuff on the ground and less then that on our roof. We must be losing heat out the top because the snow is really melting on the roof and running into the frozen gutter. Now huge icicles are growing at the gutter seams and around the roof troughs. I majorly scared Tommie with a 15 inch icicle that works for a dagger. He mentioned that sometimes icicles grow so large they detach and kill someone. Hunting Lodge visitors beware! Watch for the icicles on the front porch. Currently over 20 inches long and growing, they could fall on you.

Personally, I am more worried of structure damage to the porch :P

Kiowa and Kansas City

2005-12-15T18:59:00.000-06:00

So…bit of extremes, huh. Extreme would be a good way to explain the past week. Blufftonites descended upon Kansas last Friday and enjoyed Kiowa Caroling and K-State Fellowship. After dropping the clan off at KCI, I headed for downtown KC for the North Central Weed Science Society Meeting. Yesterday, I returned to Manhattan in time for my biochemistry final.

Kiowa was a blessing and encouragement for me. I had some really close friends (note this includes my dear friend Kyann, my sister) come on the trip. The Kiowa church was so appreciative of the travelers and made us feel welcome. There were some long car trips and late nights, but plenty of food and talk. The complete list
of bold Blufftonites:
Brooke Giltner
Tanya Frauhiger
Jenna Steffen
Shauna Fiechter
Kyann Kershner
Vince Fiechter
Travis Frauhiger
Ryan Bertsch
Ryan Steffen
Zach Bertsch
Jon Isch
They are to be commended for the effort and time to visit the smallest church in Kansas.

Plush. A great single word discription of Kansas City and how it was waaayyyy different from Kiowa. Held at the Hyatt Regency, most everything was provided and provided well. The only time I ventured outside was for lunch at Jack Stack. I made sure to include a side of bake beans—it was so worth it! Back at the Hyatt, you could always find the coffee pot and most nights had a mixer for gathering. I don’t want to think about cranberry juice till next year. The hors d'oeuvres were more like a banquet and the grazing was more like feasting. The speakers were most of Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday. I missed some on Thursday, but really not much. Most talks were only 15 minutes long; incredibly short for any talk and much too short for a scientific thesis.

The pictures are taken in the lobby atrium and focus on the interesting hanging Christmas ornament. It was neat because every way you look at it, it forms lines. I should have taken the picture earlier before the stage lights were being setup. Oh well, you can still make it out. Just use your imagination to remove the metal framework.

Snow Fight

2005-12-07T23:05:00.000-06:00

bummer for Apt. 2

Wednesday

2005-11-30T23:20:00.000-06:00

Well, it is over. It went better than I expected. However, no rejoicing until the exam is returned. I have been wrong in guessing results for stat exams before!

Research has been moving along lately. There have been results—always a good thing—and some new leads. Truly this is the exploratory stage.

I have also been pricing supplies. My newest title (unofficially) is head of purchasing.

STAT 705

2005-11-29T23:30:00.000-06:00

I just walked in to the Hunting Lodge after spending the last seven hours studying for my exam tomorrow. Since it has been a bit since my last eruption about statistics…Let me tell you, it is just because I was too tired after the last project to make a post. But now I am roaring hot about absolute quagmire of equations in my notes. Granted, it could be my note taking ability, but the other classmates are not much better off!

Many thanks go out to Lorenzo, Haydee, Meshack, and Jamey for helping, encouraging and driving my studies for this exam. Thanks also go to my grandma for providing the snacks. The mix was a huge hit! Then we enjoyed pizza for supper. I never knew how little equipment it takes to run a pizza shop. Pizza Shuttle is located right across the street from Throckmorton and is the location of 2 pizzas and 2 drinks for ~$7.75. It had like the oven, counter for making pizza, front counter, and some stuff in the back for keeping pizza hot and holding boxes. I bet they could relocate in one day if they could move the oven. They are really keeping a non-materialistic view of life.

Since 9:30 is coming fast and I have a feeling that I’m not quite at full speed right now…Nite.

PS. Thanksgiving was great. Family was wonderful to be with. Chicago’s traffic was bad. Yesterday I sent in the toll that I missed. Two great Iowa families hosted me during the travels. Aunts and Uncles on all side were fantastic. Cute 1.5 cousin—head full of hair!

PPS. Research continues to move forward

kI - o - wä´ PART II

2005-11-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

So I'm in Kiowa right now. Spending the afternoon bouncing around southern Kansas, talking with strangers, taking pictures, and thinking about all the stuff I need to do this next week. I have three classes to attend, two family thanksgivings, four different places to stay, 24 hours of driving, a hunting expedition, lunch with a dear friend, tires to rotate, two new 1 1/2 cousins to hold and sisters to spend time with.

Speaking of spending time with sisters…. I just finished taking the first set of Christmas pictures for the Jeff Bahr Family. I understand that we have another set to take after supper and I suppose they will do another set some other time with a different photographer. Oh well, even if none of mine get sent for Christmas, they will be good cannon fodder for blackmail and scrapbooks. Even though the score is 3-0, as I was told by a dear elder, there is much more to Kiowa AC Church than the three strong young group. John and Connie Lehmen picked me up on I-70 and brought me down South. Mike, Deb, and Daniel Leman and Tucker Huber came out from Denver. Matt and Courtney and the Stewarts were there and the rest of the local church. We had a reading of the Memorandum on Saturday night. Kent and Darcy Kisling hosted myself and the Denverites for the evening-- lots of pool, ping-pong and throw-in-a-row. I took down Kent for the round-the-world game (Amish Ping-Pong). 8-ball was not my game for the evening.

Well, time for supper…

The Rest of the Story

2005-11-18T14:46:00.000-06:00

Because of a particular post, I feel the rest of the story needs to be told. As crossed my inbox yesterday and published with permission….

From: Jon [mailto: omitted @hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005, 8:18 PM
To: tif;dona; seth; tommie; brooke; jason; kellan; aaron; dixie
Subject: I Retire

As you all know by now, I have had bad luck with pranks this semester. I remember a day when I could hoist my roommate Joe onto a roof, covered in darkness and snow, all the while avoiding the motion light and detection. I remember a time when an unsuspecting sister would open the door to be met with a snowball or perhaps a cup of water from Tommie and I. My friends, these days are gone.

Earlier this year I suffered defeat in a pumpkin swap and I walked right into it (them). Sadly, tonight was the final straw.

Upon my way home from a test I realized I wouldn't be able to make church. As I continued to walk I realized that my roommates and I had (yes had) a key to the sisters apartment. Oh how we had schemed to use this key. We had planned to be subtle: missing toilet paper, no soap in the shower, a half glass of milk left out on a desk. It was all to play out over a period of time. It all ended when I decided to get spontaneous tonight.

I had already missed church because of my test so why not benefit from the sisters being there.

It all would have worked if but for the studious Dona. If not for her my roommates and I would be laughing it up as I recounted my opportunistic venture. But, Dona was there and I didn't even wait long enough for her to open the door.

Perhaps I have lost my touch, perhaps I never had one at all (parish the thought). So, after back-to-back defeats on the pranking field, I hang up my cleats. What hurts the most is that I let my roommates down, guys, I'm sorry.

Jon

Weekend

2005-11-15T00:21:00.000-06:00

The past two weekends were to be slow and easy for a time of rest and recuperation. So as my muscles ached all day, I wondered what happened.

The notion that a weekend is open just means that it will soon be filled!

You can plan to do lots of things even when you tell yourself that you are planning on doing nothing!

You can have lots of things to do and get frustrated when only a fraction gets done:(

You can have something one minute and the very next be frantically looking for the same item.

The said item becomes found and promptly forgotten once it is placed back on to the PVC value in the engine of the car which you then take for a 2 hour road trip which would not have been possible without the 50 cent piece of plastic which was the effort of the frantic frustrated timewasting inefficient search.

All things and time become forgotten in the car traveling across the open miles....

Last of all:

You know it is special when your elder plays the piano for three songs and then leads the bible study and finally just encourages the young group in the path of righteousness.

Most Important

2005-11-14T23:59:00.000-06:00

Steak is good
Coffee is good

Hamburger is good
Sleep is good

Life is good

God is Great

All else pales in comparison to the King of Judea!

Bugs

2005-11-07T19:42:00.000-06:00

I am confused. Since moving to Kansas, I have not had any close encounters. However, today on my bike, I received one in the eye, one in the mouth, and two on the face. They are just the little guys, like gnats or something. I just hope to avoid them in the future. Oh no, I just thought of something…what if I am now infested with fleas!!!!!!!! AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Regardless of the bugs, I had a good day and nice weekend. Bern/Sebetha was quite and restful. Today I had my first Bible Run of the semester. It went really well. Nickolas, the receiver was from mixed ethnic background and became a Christian about 3 years ago. It was so kool to hear about his life and how he came to this point in life.

'Nite

:)

2005-11-03T14:30:00.000-06:00

So I have not been in the blogging mood lately. A few times I was really motivated---but I talked on the phone with my faithful fans and lost the muse.

One of the topics that came to me this week is the attitude of living for the weekends. I have been feeling lately that everything is rush, rush, rush and I have been traveling, traveling, and traveling.

Traveling in and of itself is not the problem. I have been the problem. I need to appreciate each and every opportunity God has given me.

For this reason, I will be missing Will’s baptism in Champaing (sorry will:(. I will be thinging about College Weekend, recent Bible Studies, and devotions. I’ll head up to Bern on Saturday afternoon for the singing and enjoy an early night to bed:)

That said, I really appreciated last weekend’s trip to Indiana. A shoutout to…BEEG for hosting a great call after the six testimonies…Jonny for leading the singing (at BEEG’s) since like April...Jodi and Mel for being great sports on Saturday at IndyOutreach.

It was good to be in Indiana.

I "love" SAS

2005-10-25T23:58:00.000-05:00

At about 11:30, i was ready to throw the office computer on the floor and kick it. And kick it even harder when it was down. I am glad I didn’t because I finally got it to do what I wanted it to do. The reason is multifold: a teaching style that stinks (especially compare to Dr. Loughin's), the unhelpfulness of error codes, the absolute hapless help service of SAS help, and just bad coding.

So, to cheer up the mood before going to bed; I worked on some of my picture from KC this past weekend. Enjoy

. . . . Lauren & Sis. . . . . . . . . Brittany, Holly, & Anna

The final results! . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom & I . . .

. . . . Tom after working . . . . . . My fantastic Rook Partner

PS I have fuzzy feelings for castpost too! On October 14, they installed flash player for all mp3 files. There is no way to save the mp3 to file. Grr.. But the other stuff still saves—for now.

Wife Beater

2005-10-24T19:39:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was awesome. It started with a Rook game that Scott Kellenberger and I swept. Next came a shocking experience during the service project in Kansas City. We still don’t know the price tag of crossing the wires in the attic, but the electrician was working on the problem. I am just so thankful that Tom or I didn’t touch bare wires and that we found the problem before we left!

Saturday night was an enlightening Bible study by Kent Heimer in Fort Scott. He expounded on the types of believers and lost persons. I have yet to listen to first 8 minutes, which I can from castpost. The best part of the weekend was testimonies and baptisms on Sunday. Robin and Jud had such encouraging stories and radiating joy. It was great.

I didn’t do a good job packing last Friday. I had to borrow an undershirt for Sunday because I only had my white shirt and would in NO WAY go without an undershirt if I didn’t have a jacket! I found out why wife beaters have a bad rap. The straps were just wrong. I wondered if I needed to shave my pits after I put it on. After the whole day, I was nice to put it in the wash and rejoice in my collection of undershirts!

Jeremiah 35

2005-10-23T23:59:00.000-05:00

to my faithful fans! i can’t wait to see you in Plymouth in a few weeks. i’ll keep you posted on my plans for the holidays

Ever since College Weekend, I have been thinking about the Rechabites. These were like the puritans/separatist of the old testament. For over 200 years, they observed the commands of their father (grandfather, great-grandfather, ect.), Jonadab, to be pilgrims in the northern kingdom of Israel. In addition to not owning property, they were not to drink wine—and they didn’t, even when it was given to them.

Their obedience is astounding! As God notes, their descendents will be in a much better situation to serve him because of their actions. In fact, through all time there will be at least one of their descendents serving the Lord God.

I strongly encourage you to read Jeremiah 35 and contemplate the significance of this story. This makes the prayer of Jabez look puny. If you want you children to serve the Lord, you need to be obedient!

PS. There are several sources of college weekend mp3s:

Bluffton Young Group: www.blufftonyg.com
They have the main 5 speakers (not sisters-only talk) at a 128 bit rate (0.92 MB/min)

Castpost: Kellan’s and Dona’s
Together these sites have everything released on the CW CDs at a 56 bit rate (0.40 MB/min) that personally sounds as good as the 128, but is half the size!

PPS. Warning: b/c of Jonadab, i came across Jehu. Since he has similar driving patterns as many Americans, expect a post in the near future about him!

PPPS. That was so kool! I mentioned pilgrims, puritans, separatist, and Plymouth all in the same post:)

PPPPS. There is the odd chance I will end up at indyoutreach and francesville this next weekend!

Simplicity

2005-10-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

Everything in life is simple
There are a lot of little things

(the wonders of the mind in a stat course)

Rollerblading on Campus

2005-10-13T15:43:00.000-05:00

Several facts of life which were very real today:
Backpack limits ability to respond to movement
Rollerblades often stop at heavy electrical cords
Body still moves forward
Backpack is capable of flying forward
Backpack can land on back of head
Head can hit concrete twice
Once on the fall
Twice on the hit
No Pictures b/c hair covers all
Lied to girl, it hurt

The small things in life

2005-10-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

A reflection on the past ~30 hours
Today is my day to enjoy the small things of life:
Class (prof had a breakdown, I think he hit his head against the floor)
Chess (game in progress)
My Bible (and my notes tucked inside)
A time of sharing (KSYG)
Breakfast with a friend
Note from your little sis
Newspaper
A delicious lunch (the reason for this post)

I hope and pray that you can find it in you to thank God for the little things in life.

Champaign — Urbana

2005-10-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

It was such a good feeling
the lid went clunk and the paper fell inside
I opened the lid again and it was empty
big blue box

I send the college weekend postcards today. It was an accomplishment, since I never quite get them sent—at least before the weekend. College weekend has been on my mind lately.

The fellowship—I will be able to see friends from Indiana!

The speakers—great exhortation for our lives!

I am really looking forward to the speakers and have been praying for them:

Tim Funk
Dewayne Dill
Ken Wuetrich
Ted Witzig Jr.
Ron Messner

kI - o - wä´

2005-10-05T12:05:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a great adventure out west.

The reason for it taking so long for me to make this post is editing of the following video.
Yes, I did use a MAC for the editing.
Yes, MACs may be better for video editing.
No, MACs will not take over this world.
I still think PCs are better than MACs!!!

WARNING—to all my faithful readers (ie. Mom and Dad) that do not have much experience viewing video on the dial-up, 38.3 MB is a large file! Maybe try downloading it from HERE overnight or when you can tie up the line forever. (right click and select “Save Target As…”)

Chubby Bunny powered by Castpost

Whatever you might think, we did more than laugh on this trip:

The times on the road were great times to share, listen, and sleep
The campfire was a quite time of reflection
Saturday morning was a wet, soggy sleeping bag
Saturday breakfast as tasteful in the shed doorway
Saturday noon was a great time to grab a shower
Saturday afternoon was a long talk with Kent Kisling
Saturday night was a joyful noise in the grain bin
Saturday night was a dry night by the fire
Sunday was two good sermons by Ronald and Jeff
Sunday ‘lunch’ was provided after church by the Bahrs
Sunday fellowship was provided with the ‘lunch’
Seth drove the entire trip safely
I got some more kool pics

Kiowa Campout!!

Rubisco Part II

2005-09-27T19:50:00.000-05:00

Left to right, top to bottom, substrate appears in each picture:

a. Alpha-Beta Barrel
b. Half of the Holoenzyme (eight of the 16 subunits)
c. Alpha helices portion of the A-B barrel
d. Beta sheet portion of the A-B barrel
e. Ribbon model of the large subunit
f. Spacefilling model of the large subunit

I hope half of my faithful viewers can understand half of what is shown above. It should be noted that plant rubisco is a huge enzyme that has eight large subunits and eight small subunits. Most of these pictures focus on the structure holding the active site, the alpha-beta barrel. The final picture, large subunit in spacefilling model, is the most accurate representation of the enzyme. The entire holoenzyme (16 subunits) in a spacefilling model would be a square blob.

The Contest:

I am please to announce that every entry was awarded a prize. The results are below.

Disqualified Entry Winner*: Brooke**
Immediate Family Winner: Kelby
Funniest Entry Winner: Megan
Most Creative Winner: Alan
Correct Answer Winner: Luke
* Entries were disqualified if the poll question was unanswered.
** Brooke is still a winner!!

I will be contacting the winners soon to award their prizes. Thanks to all who played and all who Read!

My Roommate That I Never Had

2005-09-25T23:59:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend I went to Taylor for the huge invite. It was great; had a hilarious time on the road, ran around someone's yard looking for random people I did not know, saw lots of friends from Indiana, and heard encouraging exhortation for fellowship, daily devotion, and purity.

However, Saturday night was not cool. On the way to Joe’s house, my alternator light came on. It was like way late and we decided the best thing to do was sleep. Long story short…over the noon hour, we picked up an alternator and after church we went out and changed it. I should say Ashley Esslinger changed it.

This is a huge THANKS to Ash for his servant heart and willing hands!!

PS. I was going to be Ash’s roommate except he received this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move to Illinois. Congratulations Ash!

Last Man Standing

2005-09-21T17:19:00.000-05:00

Last night was a weird, fun, and interesting evening.

It started with a call, saying I did not need to help with harvesting. So I spent the afternoon preparing for supper and cleaning and organizing and picking up a roommate in distress (ok, just great need). As a consequence, I prepared way too much food for supper (not a bad thing) and overwhelmed everyone with a very full plate. Note to self: KISS. Regardless, Apt. 2 came over for supper and we had some good eats and conversation. As we were cleaning up, Tommie and I spontaneously started a game of chess. It was an all out, no holds, think-your-brain-out game. I stole it from him, but gave it back when I moved my created queen into range of Tommie’s two, yes TWO, pieces. It ended as the picture shows. Both kings standing—alone.

I owe Tif an apology for not talking with her when she stopped by—during the chess game. I also cannot figure the Kansas people fascination with phones and shunning f2f conversations. At Purdue, the best way to talk with someone is to run (of course, you always run down the halls of ParkPlace) to someone’s door, knock, and enter when they call out “Come In.” In Kansas, you must knock really hard and long. Then they MIGHT respond, most likely wanting to know who you are. After all this, you still might get a “don’t come in.” Then, when they want to get a hold of you, ring, ring ,ring. They expect to talk with you when they have taken just the effort to find your name deep in their phonebook. What happens if you are outside when they call?? Today, the thing I remember most about Purdue is a-bit-trashy-and-rundown-but-now-remodeled 230 Marsteller with the PYG inside.

:) *happy memories* :)

I still had fun in Kansas last night. After the chess game and dishes, I went with Tommie and Aaron to the cool memorial stadium. We ran around the track and played some 1on1on1 football. It was neat.

PS. The contest about rubisco is still open!! Yes, Luke will receive the correct answer prize—he will even get a bonus for saying “starting point of the food chain”. The two prizes remaining are much cooler and hotly disputed. CLICK HERE!!!

Rubisco

2005-09-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

So, yaa, about that blog thing. I have been a bit negligent lately and owe all my devout fans a big “APOLOGY” !! (sorry mom :(

What you ask? What kept me so busy and distracted that I stopped my hourly checkup on drudge and my daily circuit of blogs?

Simple. RUBISCO. Or as it is call by scientific journals around the globe, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase / oxygenase. To let you feel a more intimate bond (pun: ha, ha) with this molecule, a picture is posted.

The Green ball represents an Mg++ ion and is the reaction center of this molecule. The round balls around it are the substrates (stuff used to make stuff) and the "pipe screen saver" structure behind the green ball is rubisco. This is a super close-up shot of the protein—the equivalent of staring deep into someone’s eyes (more like mouth but gag me).

I have been working on a paper describing the function and structure of this protein. Since I turned it in today, I am free to spend my time in productive manners.

ANNOUNCMENT: my first blog poll and contest:
Poll: Would you honestly like to see more shots of rubisco?
Contest: What does rubisco do?

Catch: For your contest entry to be valid, you must answer both the poll and contest.

There will be prizes for:
First Correct Answer
Funniest
Most Creative

Good Luck!!
Kersh <><

Home

2005-09-08T23:19:00.000-05:00

Labor Day Weekend was a great time to spend in the outdoors (both underwater and above it in the canoe) and enjoy the travelers from B-town. I also saw my roommate that I never had. It was a disappointment to have Ash leave for Illinois the week before I moved to Manhattan. But I am really happy for him and his opportunities out East.

Last weekend brought my future into sharper focus. I’m 12 hours from my home(town). From here on out, I’ll be home about 4 times a year. Period. Just tonight my sis asked if I will be coming home for Thanksgiving—like I have an option!! Thanksgiving is not for another 2 ½ months. Until then I’m stuck in a state that has red brick roads (at least they’re not yellow!) maybe not stuck, but definitely committed for a long time to come. I Love You, Mom!!

PS. Come see the red brick roads in downtown Manhattan

Visitors

2005-08-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

To date, five visitors have enjoyed the hospitality of the Hunting Lodge. They have come from places like Remington, IN, Princeville, IL, Bluffton, IN, and Kansas City, MO. Considering this is our eighth day of class, I anticipate having 50 visitors over this upcoming semester (which runs 80 days). Please get in touch with me now to confirm your reservations.

Seriously, I really appreciate having friends like Eric & Bob stop by as they travel west (I don’t know many ppl west of here that will be traveling east) or Vince who flew in for the weekend or Alan & Mark who are doing business in the area. It is amazing to think of all the ppl in our fellowship and the bond of brotherhood we share. It is truly a blessing.

Differences in Experimental Design

2005-08-29T23:51:00.000-05:00

It is late at night when these funny questions popup. You try to shrug them off, but it is no use.

Well, I was thinking about the example used in STAT class and wondered what is the importance of blocking for experimental design? Personally, I was thinking of its great importance and that each experiment should incorporate some level of blocking to minimize the impact of variables and understand relationships within the data.

I was also thinking of how nice the bed feels at the end of a long day. Just to sink into the mattress and have the cool sheets (it is still summer and not yet time to pull out the flannels) surround your body. (If this paragraph does not make sense, read it at 10 past midnight)

The KSYG (sorry to all the KSU ACYGers, I just had to shorten it) is gearing up for a semester of hard academic work and a packed social schedule (not as packed as the PYG’s, but at least we will survive the semester). Prayer meeting tonight (yesterday) was attended by 70% of the group (less couples) (impressive by Indiana standards).

This week looks to be filled with many visitors; like John Leman and Alan Banwert. I’ll keep you posted.

As promised, posted is the pic of my cute little plant. Please leave your comments regarding the plant and your thoughts on blocking and experimental design!

First Week

2005-08-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

To all my faithful readers out there (Hi Mom), you already know the big change that took place this summer.

To all the random people,

I have just started graduate school at KSU (Kansas State University). Today, I finished my first week of classes. Lets just say last night was rough but everything else has been fine.

I didn't expect so much rain--so much for chalking campus on Wednesday--it makes the heat that much worse. (Of course so does working in the greenhouse)

I have one cute little plant which I am nursing back to health, several big ugly plants that I am keeping alive, and some seedings that are just ok. I might just post a pic of the neat little seeding. It has had a hard life. Not that it can blame it on me, becuase without me it never would have been planted.

Late Night

2005-08-26T01:12:00.000-05:00

How appropriate, my first late-night on-campus is the launching of my blog :)

I have just two things to say:

Statistics Stink

PCR is cool

(This will not be the last time for either statements)

This is a picture of our PCR machine. I have not yet used it but it is a huge step up from the one I had access to at PU. I can run four separate plates! Now I just need a gradient thermal cycler.

**EDIT:please ignore the following**