Requiem for a friend

I am sorry to forward the sad news about Ken Myers' passing last Monday afternoon. Today I received information about Ken's funeral which I will pass on for anyone who is interested.

A memorial service is being planned for Saturday, November 14 at 2:00 PM at Beck Funeral Home (1700 E Whitestone Blvd (FM 1431), Cedar Park, TX 78613) outside of Round Rock.

One of Ken's favorite charities was a group called Brown Santa, a community service of the Travis County Sheriff's Department. This is a program that distributes toys and gifts to children at Christmas and food for the Christmas dinner. According to his wife, Jan, Ken would collect toys all year long, choosing a toy for a different age group each week. In December they would bring all the toys to the local dropoff. Jan said this always made him feel fabulous.

It's fitting that Jan has asked that in lieu of flowers, people consider making a donation to Brown Santa. Donations are tax deductable and can be mailed to: Travis County Brown Santa, P O Box 207, Austin, TX 78767-0207, or visit the website and use the Donate button to make a secure online donation through PayPal.

I'm not surprised to learn this about Ken, but I am surprised. Those of us who work with others professionally often develop a sense about the quality of our professional friends; but most of the time we either do not have the time, or take the time to get to know each other on a deeper level. I always consider it a privilege when someone lets me "in" by opening a door into their personal life, revealing a valued hobby or talking about children or spouses. While I don't expect to get to know all of my colleagues on a personal level, it's nice when you get confirmation about the high character of a person you've respected on a professional level.

Ken will be deeply missed by his many colleagues and friends. As a former PMP, and Executive Director of the Texas Pest Management Association, Ken was a true professional, as dedicated as anyone I knew to strengthening the pest management profession in Texas. He was also a veteran of Desert Storm; but when I picture him now I guess I'll see him in my mind wearing a Santa Claus cap. Godspeed Ken.

There's an App for Everything

Maybe the iPhone does have an "app" for everything. Now there's an app to help the traveler keep a wary eye open for hotel bed bug infestations. Check it out at http://appshopper.com/lifestyle/bed-bug-identifier

If you're not quite sure what an "app" is, the word is shorthand for mobile device application. These are down loadable, mini-software programs that works on mobile devices like the iPhone or iTouch or even Blackberry. Some of these programs are quite ingenious and some are even useful. For anyone who has heard about bed bugs and wants more information immediately, this little program might do the trick.

The bed-bug-identifier app shows pictures of all life stages of the insect, where they are most commonly found in a typical hotel room (in other words, where to inspect your room), safest places to put your luggage when you check in, and even what bed bug bites look like.

Because I don't have an iPhone myself, I am unable to do a critical review of the software--although my Extension colleague from Colorado, Whitney Cranshaw, calls it "very cleverly done". He says he thinks "a lot of people might find it useful-from frequent travellers to motel personnel to others with interests in bed bug detection."

The online description claims that it includes an interactive hotel map...which if I interpret this right, is the central value of the program. Such information is available already online through a site called bedbugregistry.com I don't know how anyone can vouch for the accuracy or currency of this kind of information, but in theory the idea is a good one for travelers. On the downside, I suspect that soon we'll hear of apps like this being sued by hotel owners who have been victimized by travelers seeking revenge for some perceived form of bad service unrelated to bed bugs.

If anyone downloads this $4.99 app, let me and others know what you think.

Monday Morning Update on Ken Myers

Passing on an update on Ken Myers from his administrative assistant, Linda Angerstein:

"Many of you know this already, but we wanted to be sure that every member is aware of the situation. Our Executive Director Ken Myers is currently in critical condition in the ICU at the VA hospital in Temple on life support. He had been undergoing rigorous chemo and radiation treatments for lymphoma and had had several setbacks in recent weeks, including coming down with pneumonia. Plans to remove him from life support Thursday were delayed by a slight improvement in his vital signs and by the emergency at nearby Ft Hood which sent many injured to the VA. His wife Jan just called me and said that she and his sister Nancy are going to meet with his doctors this morning and the decision will be made whether to remove the life support. Jan says things are very touch and go at the moment and that he probably will not recover. She asked that everyone please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers. We will notify you with more details as soon as we know them."

"Thank you to all of you for your support in this difficult time."

A personal note: Ken Myers

Most of us who work in the pest control industry in Texas know Ken Myers, Executive Director of the Texas Pest Control Association. Ken has kept no secret of his recent battle with cancer, and his determination to make it through and resume work as soon as possible. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned. He recently suffered a setback with a lung infection and has been hospitalized in critical condition. Plans to take him off life support yesterday were delayed by an improvement in his vital signs and by the emergency in Fort Hood which affected the VA Hospital where he is being treated in Temple, TX. Decisions are being made today as family arrives to support him. Those who know and love Ken would appreciate your prayers and support during this time. I will keep you informed when I know more.

Countdown to School IPM Conference

I just have to brag on the new Texas group, Texas Integrated Pest Management Affiliates for Public Schools (TIPMAPS). The group is so new it doesn't have a web page yet, but this hasn't kept these folks from getting over 10% of the school districts in the state to register for a first-of-its-kind conference on IPM, to be held at the Embassy Suites in San Marcos, TX on November 18 and 19.

As the newest affiliate chapter of the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO), TIPMAPS is a fledgling group. The conference is their first open event and will focus on a variety of pest management issues facing school IPM coordinators. The concept of an association for school maintenance officials with pest control duties is novel and sets the bar for other states wanting to see IPM take root in their public school districts.

I've just been looking through the list of badges for the meeting and I count 107 different public school districts represented among the approximately 180 early registrants. This represents more than 10% of the approximately 1030 school districts in the second largest state public school system in the nation.

Speakers for the meeting will include some of the state's own school IPM coordinators, along with speakers from industry and the Extension Service. The highlighted speaker for the conference is Dr. Bobby Corrigan, or Dr. Rat, as he's known in New York City where he oversees one of the largest rodent IPM programs in the world.

The last day of the conference will include an organizational meeting to discuss membership dues and formation of regional chapters. Online registration is now closed, but it's not to late to attend. On-site registration will be available for $100. To see a schedule and map to the conference hotel in San Marcos, go to the Texas AgriLife Conference Service website.

The most realistic cockroach robot yet

Ever stay up late at night thinking about the sprawled alternating tripod gait of cockroaches? Neither have I. But fortunately for all of us, some brainy folks at the University of California at Berkeley have. They've created DASH, the Dynamic Autonomous Sprawled Hexapod, certainly one of the most realistic insect robots I've seen. If nothing else, DASH help me appreciate a little more of the elegance of nature. Seeing the simplicity of cockroach running mechanics demonstrated by a machine with just a few basic "moves" gives me a better appreciation for one of our fastest pests, Periplaneta americana, or the American cockroach. It also gives me an appreciation for the advances in materials technology, not to mention the creativity of the folks at Berkeley. I'll never look at a scurrying American roach in quite the same way.

Oh and did I mention it's a little creepy at the same time? Happy Halloween.

Everything you wanted to know about bees...

Bees have become a significant source of inquiries from the public, and an important revenue stream, for some pest management professionals in recent years. If you would like to learn more about bees, or if you've always wanted to try your hand at beekeeping, an upcoming workshop might be just what you need.

The Trinity Valley Beekeepers club is putting together a one day class to help people get started in beekeeping. Advertised for new or aspiring beekeepers, "Introduction to Beekeeping" is an all-day seminar designed to get you up and going in beekeeping. Based on his popular college course, Dr. Alan Eynon and others will take you through a year of beekeeping from setting up your hives in Spring, harvesting you honey in the Summer and preparing your bees for the Winter.

The class will be held at Eastfield College (which is where the club usually meets), 8:30am - 5pm on Saturday, November 7th. Eastfield College is in east Dallas, on the north side of I-30 at Motley Drive, just a few miles in from the I-30/I-635 interchange.

According to Dr. Alan Eynon, club president, it will help them a lot if you would register early, so they can plan for ordering lunches and supplies. Early registration is slated to end on Oct 16. If you miss the deadline you will still be able to register, but you might want to drop Dr. Eynon a note to let him know. Cost for the class (which includes lunch) is $45 for non club members. For a schedule or to get registered, click here