Author: Emily Gautreaux

Mardi Gras Lives on with City Park’s Floats in the Oaks

The Mardi Gras spirit lives on in New Orleans for the 2021 season thanks to City Park’s “Floats in the Oaks” event, as detailed in a Nola.com article.

When the 2020 Mardi Gras season led to rising COVIS-19 cases in Louisiana, many thought that the 2021 season simply couldn’t be done. Such pessimists must have never met a Louisiana citizen who has been denied their self-given right to celebrate the Mardi Gras, because efforts quickly came together to offer the Crescent City public: “Floats in the Oaks,” a drive-thru, krewe-populated, and stationary Mardi Gras Parade. The event, set to take place February 4-14 in City Park, will be similar to 2020’s drive-thru version of “Celebration in the Oaks.”

Though this time, the line of cars won’t be driving to see holiday light displays, but instead the tour of visitors will pass by signature floats from many of the city’s 34 krewes. The lineup already includes the krewes of Alla, Argus, Babylon, Bacchus, Carrollton, Druids, Femme Fatale, Hermes, Iris, King Arthur, Mid-City, Morpheus, Pygmalion, Rex, Thoth, Tucks, and Zulu. Though, City Park is hoping to hear from more krewes that would be interested in participating.

One of the biggest challenges of staging “Floats in the Oaks” was the fact that many of the taller Mardi Gras Floats would not be able to pass through the low-hanging oak trees of City Park. City Park Chief Operating Officer, Rob DeViney, who is also the co-captain of the Krewe of Argus Parade, was well aware of the challenges. To ensure that the floats would fit, DeViney contacted local master float manufacturer Barry Kern, who dispatched a logistics team to measure the height requirements of the task.

The task was eventually accomplished by driving around in a golf cart that was surmounted by an 18-foot pole, and according to DeViney, “surprisingly, it worked.” Soon after, he contacted krewe captains to gauge interest in the event, and he assured any hesitant captains by promising to provide floats with rain-resistant tarps, 24-hour security, and insurance.

The initial idea for the stationary float parade came to the public’s attention in early January when Delgado Community College baseball coach Joe Scheuermann and his daughter Nataly began floating the idea across social media. The concept eventually ignited a fire of public enthusiasm from the Carnivale-crazed community that was hard to ignore.

Alongside Scheuermann’s campaign, DeViney also had drafted a similar drive-thru plan, which just assured him of the public’s support for a safe Mardi Gras season. Scheuermann was quick to deny being the originator of the idea, as he was simply happy to see City Park’s acceptance of the event. He explained by saying, “I can’t take the credit, but maybe our little story got it over the hump.”

Similarly, as DeViney sought out official city approval and began to make the Krewe contacts, he was reportedly “ very encouraged while [we] were working behind the scenes.”

Both men put pride aside in the spirit of the Mardi Gras season, by simply being excited that the the traditional celebration wouldn’t be another sacrifice of the pandemic. In fact, as soon as Scheuermann learned of City Park’s plan, he purchased his ticket immediately. “We’ll be one of the first ones through,” he said.

Conventional Carnival parades were impossible to plan for the 2021 season due to the continuation of the coronavirus contagion. Though, this didn’t discourage the spirit of New Orleans, and “Floats in the Oaks” represents the resilience of the city and its residents to safely celebrate in a traditionally unique manner.

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Top Rated San Diego Attractions

Known as the oldest town in California, San Diego is the gem of SoCal, and with Planetware’s curated list of the top-rated tourist attractions in the city, you’ll never find yourself in the least bit bored.

Located not too far off from the Mexican Border in Southern California, the City of San Diego holds within its limits a combination of natural beauty, mild Mediterranean climate, an abundance of sunshine, and a wide selection of unforgettable metropolitan attractions. Ideal for outdoor adventures sprinkled throughout your trips to the various museums and gardens that the city has to offer, you’ll never be without an exciting adventure. Of course, be sure to check local CDC recommendations, travel advisories, and local city mandates to ensure that your time in San Diego is spent as efficiently and safely as possible.

Set your sights on Balboa Park’s Spanish Colonial-style architecture, the Midway Aircraft Museum, or the world famous San Diego Zoo. If you’re looking for sunshine, San Diego houses several beaches with over 68 miles of coastline in and around the city limits, making it perfect for sunning, swimming, and even surfing.

San Diego Zoo

This zoo is famous, as it is one of the largest and most notable zoos to be found in the United States. Get ready to plan an entire day here, as you’ll be dying to get the most out of your visit once admitted. Visitors of the zoo are given a wide selection of exotic animals to observe, though the San Diego Zoo’s most famed residents are the giant pandasthat have been successfully bred in the zoo. Outside of the pandas, zoo attendees have the opportunity to see amazing habitats that enclose grizzly bears, koalas, gorillas, leopards, bonobos, polar bears, rhinos, and sloths, just to name a few favorites.

If you’re interested in spending more time with your favorite furry friends, the San Diego Zoo offers an upgraded experience that includes behind-the-scenes, close-up experiences with the animals. The grounds themselves are spread out along a landscaped canyon that houses an expansive botanical collection of over 700,000 plants from around the globe. Though, if your feet begin to get sore, you can always hop on the Kangaroo Express Bus to speed up your ground traversal or you can glide over exhibits from above in the Skyfari Aerial Tram.

The nonprofit San Diego Zoo Global operates the zoo itself as well as conservation organizations, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is located about 40 minutes north of downtown San Diego. The Safari Park offers more of an observation experience similar to that found on an African Safari with free-roaming animals on a large acreage of land, making San Diego’s entire zoo experience a truly memorable one!

Balboa Park

Tourists and locals have a lot to love with the 1,400-acre Balboa Park and its encompassing historical buildings,numerous museums and bountiful gardens. The Panama California Exhibition of 1915-1916 caused the creation of the park, and the buildings have remained ever since with their predominantly Spanish-style architecture and low-rise buildings that blend in with the natural surroundings. This disguising blend of architecture and nature make it almost seem as though lush vegetation has overtaken this palace.

Besides the sheer sight of the park itself are the botanical gardens, lily pond, Museum of Man, Museum of Natural History, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Fleet Science Center; all of which are can’t miss experiences housed in the park. If you ever make it out of Balboa Park, feel free to visit the other top rated attractions from Planet Ware during your visit.

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UL Lafayette Business Majors to Lead NASCAR Driver’s U.S. Sales Team

Soon, professional driver Michel Disdier will be adding students from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to his NASCAR racing team, according to a press release from the school.

Disdier will be adding the brainpower of select members from the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration’s sales program to his team to lead his 2021 efforts in U.S. sales, marketing, and corporate sponsorship management.

Professional driver Michel Disdier, who is originally from France, has established himself as a top, formidable competitor on several NASCAR racing circuits. This includes notable racing events such as the Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Pinty’s Series’ Canadian Tire Series. Disdier will be starting his 2021 season on February 12 when he races in NASCAR’s NextEra Energy 250 event at the notorious Daytona International Speedway.

Bizarrely enough, the name of Disdier’s racing business, which originated in France, is “Lafayette Racing,” so the partnership between his racing team and UL Lafayette’s Business students is seemingly preordained by fate itself. While speaking to ULL Press, Disdier said of the coincidence, “maybe this is just our destiny to work together.”

A Marketing instructor and interim director of the Moody College of Business’ Northwestern Mutual Sales and Research Lab, Dr. Valerie McGehee, will be mentoring the team of UL Lafayette students coordinating with Disdier’s racing team. On the monumental partnership, McGehee said, “I am so proud of these students. They never hesitated or questioned their ability to take on this work, and they continue to impress me. We have weekly Zoom meetings with Michel to update him on our progress and he has been wonderful to collaborate with.”

Members of Disdier’s sales team from UL Lafayette are Allison Gaubert, a management major with a concentration in professional sales, and Morgan Boggs, Megan DeJean, and Mackenzie Marze, who each are marketing majors minoring in professional sales. As the UL Lafayette Sales Team is still in their degree program, they see the lending of their sales and marketing efforts for the race car drivers as invaluable real world experience. Not to mention, they are also anxious and motivated to do whatever they can to ensure Disdier succeeds.

One student in particular, Mackenzie Marze, who loves sports, particularly NASCAR, will be overseeing the corporate sponsorships Disdier takes on for his 2021 racing season. Marze said of the unique chance, “I have an opportunity to learn how to market, strategize, present, and adapt to a whole new culture and brand.”

Team member Megan DeJean, who will direct sales and social media efforts, is reportedly looking forward to “taking everything we have been learning throughout college and putting it into practice for a real client.” Similarly, Allison Gaubert, who will be directing logistics and media is elated by the idea of collaborating with her academic cohorts and fellow sales team members to assist Disdier however they can. She remarked on the collaborative nature of the team by saying, “we all work so well together and are dedicated to this project.”

Lastly, Morgan Boggs’s role will be directing the promotional marketing efforts and managing the branding of Disdier and his total racing team. Boggs reportedly won’t allow things to be “all business,” as she is “ most excited to get the chance to see him race. I’ve never been to NASCAR but I always watch it on TV with my dad.”

Real-world application, experiences, and internships are cornerstones of every business major’s education, making this rare opportunity of UL Lafayette undergraduates managing the U.S. Sales and Marketing efforts of a professional NASCAR driver a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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Delicious, Coffee Crusted Ribs

If it’s said that good things come to those who wait, then immaculate, jaw-dropping flavor is sure to accompany this flavorful, coffee-crusted barbecued beef rib recipe courtesy of Food52.

The time spent waiting for the perfect texture and flavor with bated breath won’t be for naught, as these coffee crusted ribs fall-off-the-bone ribs certainly live up to the expectation you set hours ahead of time. Accompanied by a spice rub combination of coffee and spices, these meticulously-prepared barbecue delights are perfect for a down-south dinner party or cold evening in. Although, you might want to wake up early and prepare these for your next tailgate, where you’re certain to be the celebrated victor.

Ingredients for coffee crusted ribs:

⅓ cup of dark roast coffee beans

¼ cup black peppercorn

4 tablespoons sea salt

4 tablespoons hickory smoked sea salt

2 tablespoons smoked Spanish paprika

Olive Oil

5 pounds bone-in beef ribs (approximately 4 racks)

Dijon mustard, for serving (optional)

Recipe:

  1. Begin by preheating your oven to 500° F.
  2. Then, coarsely grind your coffee beans in a spice grinder. Grind them to about the same coarseness as you would for a French Press Grind, setting them aside afterward. Next, grind together your black peppercorn and sea salts until the largest single piece of black peppercorn is halved or quartered. Mix together the ground coffee, peppercorns, and sea salt with the smoked paprika.
  3. Lay the beef ribs atop a baking sheet and rub them with a thin coating of olive oil, followed by your spice mix. Use your hands to firmly press the spice mix into the ribs, making sure that every inch is covered and that the spice mixture is glued nicely onto the ribs. Once finished, the ribs should have a thick, “crusty” coating. Roast the racks in the 500°F oven for 10 minutes. Afterward, remove the baking sheet from the oven and lower the heat to 300° F.
  4. Transfer all of the coffee crusted ribs onto doubled-up sheets of aluminum foil, wrapping them completely. Make sure that there are no openings anywhere, and then place the entire pouch on top of a baking rack, scoring a few slits on the bottom of the pouch with a parry knife. Then, place the baking rack on top of a baking sheet to catch any drippings that fall. Afterwards, place it all in back in the oven, roasting it at 300°F for 4 hours.
  5. After 4 hours have passed, turn the heat down to 220°F, and slow roast it all for an additional 7 hours. During this time, you should feel free to check the tenderness of the ribs once or twice with a fork. If a fork cannot be easily inserted into the meat after 7 hours, turn the heat back up to 300°F and cook it for an additional 2 hours.
  6. The final product of your coffee crusted ribs should be sticky, tender, and somewhat gelatinous. A darker shade of pink should develop along the outer surface of the muscle tissue. If this is the case, sprinkle fine sea salt atop it all, and if you’d like, eat with a bit of Dijon mustard.

There’s nothing quite like slow-cooked coffee crusted ribs, as the time spent perfecting their flavor profile, texture, and sauce is never spent in vain- as long as the chef is patient.Try this unforgettable recipe today and be prepare to be rewarded after your dutiful 13 hours of preparation and cooking with sticky, fall-off-the-bone tender beef ribs that are assured to delight taste buds, impress your dinner guests, and score you some serious points at the tailgate.

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Two LSU Professors Recently Selected by NAI

Recently, the National Academy of Inventors, or NAI, elected 175 fellows including two LSU professors, as learned by a press release from Louisiana State University.

Among the 175 newly elected fellows are LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Pathobiological Sciences Professor and Virologist Konstantin “Gus” Kousoulas, as well as, LSU College of the Coast and Environment’s Department of Environmental Science Professor Emeritus and Ecotoxicologist Ralph Porter. Both Porter and Kousoulas have been elected as an NAI Fellow, and thus they have been bestowed the professional distinction accorded solely to academic investors.

To date, NAI fellows hold more than 42,700 issued United States patents, which have generated over 13,000 licensed technologies, companies, and the creation of more than 36 million jobs. In addition to this, revenue totaling over $2.2 trillion has been generated based on discoveries made by NAI fellows.

The Director of Louisiana State University’s Office of Innovation and Technology Commercialization, Andrew Maas,said of the incredible honor bestowed on the school’s faculty, “in the midst of the pandemic, we are watching in real-time how scientific discovery works—whether its rapidly improving tests or developing a vaccine that will save millions of lives—it’s clear how crucial innovation is to our society. Therefore, it’s an honor to recognize these experts, who are also innovators and pioneers.”

Of the NAI Fellows, Professor Konstantin Kousoulas’s research team at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is currently working on vaccines to combat COVID-19 and other influenza viruses. Kousoulas holds 18 patents that span innovations in gene delivery, vaccines for viruses in humans and animals, and bacteria and immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer.

Professor Kousoulas previously worked on SARS-COV in 2003 as well as other coronaviruses that infect and cause substantial disease in animals, and specifically, he led USDA-funded projects that describe acute pneumonia in cattle caused by bovine coronavirus, which is a similar disease to the current COVID-19.

Also elected as an NAI fellow, Environmental Toxicologist and Professor Emeritus Ralph Porter holds eight patents himself, and they are related to the bioremediation of contaminated sediment and soil using custom microbial habitats,or bioreactors. As of now, 265 sites across the United States and 12 international sites have been remediated usingLSU biomedical patents and intellectual property developed by Porter.

Before his nearly 40-year career at LSU, Porter also notably helped shape policies and processes for the Environmental Protection Agency, but in his time at LSU, he has developed a vast library of bioremediation microbes. Such microbes have helped private companies as well as local, state, and federal agencies mitigate a variety of environmental hazards in the United States and in the international world, where they can be used to break down dangerous chemicals and pollutants such as herbicides, plastics, fuels, and pesticides.

Porter  remarked on the necessity for such work by saying, “our ability to design biofilms specifically to target certain types of hazardous waste is probably the most important of the patents developed here at LSU. We have designed reactor systems which have been used successfully in almost every state in the union and in a dozen or so countries overseas.”

In addition to the honor that is being elected as an NAI fellow, Porter is also a recipient of the George W. Goethals Medal, which is the highest technical merit award that is awarded to an engineer or scientist. The Medal is named in memory of the builder of the Panama Canal. Porter is a Louisiana native as well as an alumnus of LSU, where he received his PHD in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences in 1982 before joining the faculty at LSU in 1984.

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Retire Early and Happy in these Southern Cities

While many find the idea of retiring as early as their 40’s to be a crazy dream, Southern Living recently outlined the best cities that allow you to retire earlier and thus, happier.

According to a report by Realtor.com, the key to the sometimes lofty goal of retiring ahead of your 50th or 60th birthday is based on saving. When equipped with smart financial planning, anyone can kickback for the late-in-life second or third act with this list that’s been inspired by the principle of FIRE, or Financial Independence, Retire Early. This reliable concept was outlined in the 1992 bestseller Your Money or Your Life, which guided its readers to smarter, more proactive financial planning that saved time, money, and stress.

 Southern Living curated the following list of the American cities where aspiring early retirees can purchase an affordable home in a job market that’s robust and high-paying, which is a standard tenant that FIRE followers stand by. If you’re looking to begin preparing to live the good, easy life in your later life, then consider these top five cities in which you should start the job searching and house hunting now, so you can relax later.

Palm Bay, Florida

It might be true that it seems as though everyone retires in Florida, and if they do then it’s probably for a good reason. Enter: Palm Bay, the locale that has you move to the sunshine state now instead of later. Live your beachfront dreams in this coastal town where residents relax in the laid-back lifestyle but are also in close proximity to major employers like Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Kennedy Space Center, and Disney World. Also, despite the waterfront address you might find yourself on, know that the location comes with fairly reasonable real estate prices, with the medicum home sale price of $220k.

Beaumont, Texas

Known as the birthplace of the oil boom of the 20th Century when a well struck oil beneath the city gushed for nine days in 1901, Beaumont proves with its large, illustrious history that everything, including the house-sizes, is bigger in Texas. Today, the city has a still-thriving fuel industry that is, honestly, making its residents rich, as the city is known as being a hub of industrialization, as Beaumont aptly boasts a high percentage of lucrative jobs. If you pair this with the fact that large and-in-charge homes can often be bought for a “steal,” as the median sales price is $163k, you might just book yourself a trip to Beaumont sooner rather than later.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Well, while it’s not the most notorious or sizable city in North Carolina like Raleigh, Durham, or Charlotte, this mid-sized city has it all, that is- in terms of its quality and cost of living. Winston-Salem’s medium home sales price averages out at the reasonable $178k, and that is in addition to nearly 20 percent of the city’s job market  being made up of high-paying, big employers. Such jobs are at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, the Hanes Clothing Brand, and BB&T Bank, leaving you flush with cash to save and invest in your luxurious future.

Huntsville, Alabama

This city combines the notorious legacies of not only the space program but also the heavy presences of the military and tech industry, thus making this city a prime, lucrative location to set your sights on if you wish to retire early and happy. Housing prices in this city orbit around the 200k average, but there are countless, historic “fixer-uppers” that can be snagged for much less. Huntsville offers high-paying salaries to its residents, as this city, along with Cape Canaveral and Houston, serves as one of the few epicenters of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA space program.

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