JHB's lexicon of life

The Loves of My Life

2009-02-22T14:38:00.000-08:00

It's definitely time to do some updating on here. Two significant events have happened in the past month.

1) I got engaged.
2) I bought a mountain bike.

Meet the loves of my life:

Hiking Y mountain

2008-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Glamour Shots

2008-11-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give my hand a try at glamour shots. My career didn't last very long.

Random picture climbing to the actual summit of Y mountain. If you hike to the top of the Y, on the upper right, or southern arm, there is a small trail which heads up and back toward a small canyon south of Y mountain. The trail switchbacks in the the canyon through a little woods and then opens into a prairie. At the end of the second prairie, the trail will fork. The left fork will continue to come behind Y mountain to the summit. I believe the right, but more like straight direction on the fork directs hikers to the Provo peak. The mountain meadows are heavily overgrown and the trail can be hard to follow. Due to the overgrowth of the path and weeds, I would suggest wearing pants because of irritation. I will post pictures of the mountain meadow. This is a view looking toward Mt. Timpanogos. Total time to the summit was just over an hour, but I was hiking at a fast pace.

Home at Raleigh

2008-11-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is the place I currently call home. Fall in Raleigh is rather long with very gradual changes in temperature and color. There are a fair amount of evergreen trees, so much of the area still stays green.

Grass in Raleigh does not have a high priority and is not very thick or lush from what I have seen. It's nice to be back out for a real fall, but It still doesn't compare to South West Connecticut.

Jenn

2008-09-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Jenn came into town for the weekend and helped me to start checking off items on my T0-Do list in North Carolina. Accomplished: Graffiti in the free expression tunnel, Wilmington beach, Museum of Natural History, and a Concert in the park.

I got pinched by a crab, and it made me jump

Not only are venus flytraps carnivorous, but apparently they're verbal as well.

Maters Thesis in Genetics at BYU

2008-09-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you need some light reading and want to catch up on the most recent research regarding Potato and the disease Pink rot, I highly suggest the Pulitzer prize nominated thesis "EFFECT OF CA AND PH ON DISEASE SEVERITY OF PINK ROT (PHYTOPHTHORA ERYTHROSEPTICA) IN
RUSSET NORKOTAH POTATO (SOLANUM TUBEROSUM).

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2455.pdf

NC State

2008-08-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

I started a Ph.D in Plant Breeding and Genetics at North Carolina State Univ. in Raleigh, in the fall of 2008. I will be working on scab aka fusarium head blight on wheat. I will be deriving molecular markers and linkage maps for qtls associated with disease resistance ( essentially finding genes which protect the plant and tagging the genes so they can be identified/followed in pedigress). I am a member of one of the few schools which doesn't have an "S" at the end of their mascot, the wolfpack.

Graduation

2008-08-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Graduated with a Masters in Genetics and Biotechnology from BYU. My time at BYU was an opportunity for education in classroom, lab, church, and in the mountains. Things accomplished while at BYU: Hiked the Y, Y mountain, Timp, Zions, Half-ironman, wrote a patent for a fungal endophyte in grass, won a race to the Y, 2005 spud tug champion, 2 time intramural champion (7 time championship match looser), First ever Benson family reunion, Y cycling Team, St. George marathon, Hobbitville, Spoken word & General Conference, biked around Utah lake, and Rock climbing Things left to accomplish in Utah/Idaho: Swim in the Botany pond, picture with the Joseph Smith Sphinx, Sessions is all Utah temples, Hike the grand Teton, and Canyonlands NP.

Costa Rica

2008-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've realized that every opportunity comes at a cost, and too many times I have turned down experiences because I felt as though I didn't deserve them or couldn't afford the time or money. I decided to take a vacation with Jeff to celebrate finishing a Masters in Genetics at BYU, and prepare for an arduous degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics at NC state. It was an opportunity to travel outside the country and experience a new culture while at the same time, spending some moments unwinding mentally, emotionally, and physically. Balance in ones life must be focused on all attributes of the pie, though not every demand must be equal in weight, we need to make sure that nothing is neglected or over fed. As is the case with school, family, work, religion and oneself.
I learned from experience that running through this area is dangerous because you can get stabbed by horizontal grass/bamboo spears. I didn't get punctured but it leveled me to my back for a few minutes.

An afternoon hike during the rainy season to La Fortuna Falls.

The trip helped me to do some introspection as I saw the lives of a different culture. The Ticos were not motivated by profit, just do what needs to get done and enjoy life. It was a chance to make sure my values were in the correct priority and find my inner tarzan.

Utah Lake century

2008-05-05T22:40:00.001-07:00

April 26th

Took a little trip around Utah lake with my professor, 5 1/2 hrs, a flat tire and several bonks I got a sweet tan line.