Networthy Rockfish

Caught yesterday on a Proud Mary charter, this was just one of many nice size late season striped bass we pulled in.

Back to Life

Several weeks ago I started having "chest pains". These came at odd times at first. Like when I was driving into the office or during times of stress rather than exertion. This made me think it was some kind of anxiety not any type of heart condition. But as time passed and the pains got more intense and more frequent, I started to become concerned it was something more than anxiety. The kicker was when it started to interfere with my daily lunchtime walks. I decided I needed to see a doctor, even if it was just to ease my mind and prove it was actually anxiety after all. So I make an appointment with a GP my wife recommended. I go to see her and she finds I have really high blood pressure so she takes an EKG. Actually her very attractive assistant hooked me up to the machine the whole while making small talk. Asking me where I work, yadda yadda and then, while leaning over me to hook up a lead, she tells me she used to work at Hooters! So now I am thinking my EKG is going to be all over the place after this little stress test. But what do you know, it turned out to be rather normal. However, the doctor still referred me to a cardiologist for a stress test. So I set up an appointment for my stress test the next week.

At the cardiologists office they take my BP and then hook me up to their EKG. The cardiologist comes in and starts the test after hearing the whole story. The treadmill is supposed to start off level and then incline 15 degrees every 3 minutes. Well he starts the machine and tells me to get on and right away it goes up 15 degrees. I'm OK at this point but he insists on talking to me while I am walking which starts to wind me a little. Then the speed increases and the angle goes up again. By this time I am thinking, he is trying to get me to quit early. I figured I had two options, quit or push it. Well I started to feel a little chest pain so I told him my chest was starting to hurt so he stops the machine right away.

After I cool down a little he pulls the graph off of the machine and starts to go over it with me. He points out certain peaks and valleys trying to explain to me what it all means but he might as well have been speaking Greek. Actually I might of understood that better. Anyway, when he finishes with his explanation he tells me he wants me to go to the hospital. I ask when, and he says now. What?!? He wants me checked in where I can be monitored. Then he wants to catheterize my groin and run a tube up to my heart where he can check for blockages. However, the hospital he wants to send me to right then doesn't have the facilities to do a procedure if he finds something while exploring. I would have to be taken my ambulance about 25 miles away to another hospital where the procedure can be done. Now I am convinced this guy is nuts. I am not going to the hospital right now and if he can only do the whole thing at the one hospital then that's where I will go; but only when I can schedule it. He didn't like me telling him no but we scheduled the procedure for 2 days from then. He told me I could not do anything until that day. I had to sit home and veg until that time. OK, so now I am liking him a little better but I am still in shock, as you can imagine. I go home and let my wife know what is going on and then call my boss to let her know what is going on as well. My boss was really cool about the whole thing.

Two days go by and it is procedure day! I am scheduled for 3 and get to the hospital at 1 to get prepped and what not. We get there and sit in the waiting room until 2, then I am taken back to the pre-op area where I have to put on one of those no back gowns and then sit on a really uncomfortable table for another hour. Towards the end of the hour a nurse comes in and hooks me up to an IV of saline. Big ass needles are not fun at all. While I am sitting there getting jabbed, a nurse comes into the nurses station, which was right in front of me, and starts telling the others about this patient, who, while having the same procedure as me, gets a ruptured coronary artery because of the angioplasty. Great, just what I wanted to hear!

Another 20 minutes go by while my butt gets more sore sitting on that torture table. Then that same nurse with the horror story comes in and starts to tell me that they are almost ready for me and asks if I have any questions. Damn straight I have some questions! What happened to the last guy?? "Oh, sorry, did you hear that?" she says. Well she goes on to explain it and make everything all better for me. She was actually very nice and professional. One of the assisting doctors came in and tells me they are all ready to go- they just need my cardiologist to come down and sign something. Now it is about 3:40 and I am getting really tired of this whole thing and then finally the cardiologist shows up. After puttering around the nurses station for about 10 minutes or so he comes in and explains everything about the procedure. He gives me a choice of stents in case he has to put one in. Finally I am wheeled into the operatory and the procedure begins at 4.

I won't go into all of the gruesome post op details but suffice it to say that I had an angioplasty and stent put in due to a fairly blocked coronary artery. I am all better now. I have gone from no medication to 5 different pills a day now. Hopefully, with some work and dedication I will be able to go back to no medication in a year.

Maison Damaré Sauteed Shrimp and Pasta

Here is a nice and tasty shrimp dish. Start a pot of boiling pot of water for the pasta of your choice, I typically use Dreamfields penné. When the water is boiling I add about a tablespoon of sea salt and 1/8th teaspoon or so of Dave's Ultimate Insanity Sauce and add it to the water just before dropping the pasta in. This will add some heat to the pasta itself. On another burner I heat up a big skillet then add enough extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to coat the pan. Add some sliced yellow and/or red bell pepper, sliced garlic, (4 to 6 cloves to taste) and then the shrimp. I use about two pounds of frozen cooked tail-on shrimp from Costco; 30 count (medium size). It should about fill up the skillet. Add some fresh milled black pepper, cayenne if you would like the extra heat and let it cook. Start a steamer full of broccoli florets, snap peas, carrots. When the shrimp look almost done, drain any excess liquid and add some soy sauce, about 4 tablespoon. Toss shrimp to coat and continue to cook till done; (totally thawed since they are pre-cooked). When the pasta is done, drain and return the pot to the stove with the burner off. Add some EVOO and a little butter, (I use Smart Balance made from vegetable oils w/out trans fats, which tastes great) then dump the pasta back in. Now here comes the unhealthy part, dump some (about 3/4 cup) grated Parmesan cheese over the pasta with one raw egg and some half and half (enough to make it creamy, maybe 1/4 cup), then stir vigorously. Drain the veggies and add these to the pasta and stir till all is coated evenly.

Serve pasta on the side with the shrimp and enjoy! Bon Appétit

Cabbage Fusion

A few of weeks ago I was in Charlottesville, VA for the State swimming finals in which my youngest son was a participant. The event went for two days which meant we needed to spend the weekend and discover the town. We met someone in the old market area of the historic district and he took us to this Himalayan, Indian fusion restaurant. There is where I first had this amazing cabbage dish. It was made with green cabbage, mushrooms and some other assorted items. It was delicious. I was determined to recreate this in my own kitchen. My first attempt was spectacular; at least according to my wife. So I told everyone how great this was and they all wanted the recipe. Well, time passed and I kind of forgot exactly what went into this dish. So tonight I tried to recreate it. I'm not 100% sure it is the same but it was good. So here is what I did tonight:

heat a large skillet
when hot add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the following
1/2 head of green cabbage sliced about 1/4 inch slices or smaller.
enough red cabbage sliced the same just to add some color
2 small yellow onions, halved and sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup of thinly sliced green and red bell pepper
2 green onions thinly sliced
1 pint, more or less, of mushrooms quartered
salt, pepper and cayenne to taste (take it a little easy on the salt)
Soy sauce to taste (this adds a salty earthy smokiness)
at least 1 teaspoon of garam masala (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (to taste)
now here is the real kicker, I have this old bottle of austi spumanti in my fridge, it has aged to the point where it is almost a brandy, I add about 1/2 cup of this to help steam everything. You can use a nice white wine or a cheap brandy to do the same.

Turn this frequently, cooking till mostly softened but still partially crunchy. Enjoy! Low fat, high fiber and full of vitamins! Not to mention YUMMY!

Best Pork Tenderloin Ever!

Ok, here it is. Get your standard vacu-pak of pork tenderloin; two strips of meat. Get a nice BIG cast iron skillet heated then lightly coated with olive oil. Drop your tenderloins in nice and easy. Add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste; for me that is like one teaspoon per strip. While the meat is getting browned on one side cut up a couple of apples. I used Gala apples which are a little sweeter than red delicious and not as tart as Granny Smiths. Core them and cut them into about quarter inch slices. Then halve and slice up one medium to large onion and about six cloves of garlic. Take one yellow and one green squash and slice these into quarter inch slices too. DON'T FORGET THE MEAT! Be sure to turn the meat so it browns evenly on all sides. Once the meat is browned on all sides remove it from the pan and add your onions and garlic; these should cover the bottom of the pan. On a nice big cutting board slice your tenderloins about two thirds to three quarters of the way through every half inch or so. Return the meat to the pan and push the apple wedges into the meat slits.(Sounds almost erotic doesn't it.) Once you have filled all of the slits evenly distribute around the pan any remaining apple wedges. Sprinkle about one teaspoon of rosemary over top of everything. Then top all of this off with the squash slices, salt and pepper to taste and put it into a three hundred and seventy five degree oven. Let it bake until the squash has softened; the meat will be cooked through at the same time, believe me (but don't sue me if it doesn't). Remove from oven, place tenderloins and all contents of pan on a platter, except for the liquid. Return pan to the stove and on medium high heat reduce the liquid in the pan, adding about one quarter cup of apple juice. Once the liquid is reduced by at least half, pour over tenderloins and serve with saffron rice. ENJOY!

Business Intelligence, Inc. Gets a New Site

Check out the new redesigned site at www.bii-va.com. This is the fruit of a combined effort on the part of a few key employees of Business Intelligence and lil'old me. After a few minor design changes to the original conceptual design I feel the finished product is a very professional public face for BII.

So please take a couple of minutes to judge for yourself and visit www.bii-va.com.

Too Funny Not To Share

AmyOops: Welcome Obama

AmyOops: Welcome Obama

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It's Finally Here!

The site I have been working on for some time now has finally launched - Luxury Homes.

Ironically, luxury homes are not feeling the current economic crunch as much as most other sectors of the housing market. This is largely because the availability of luxury homes is limited, meaning that only a small amount of extraordinary properties are up for sale at any one time. Another contributing factor is that these homes are often well maintained and frequently updated, which allows them to hold their value better and remain competitive in a slow market. Finally, international buyers have begun to take an interest in American real estate, particularly on the West Coast; the value of the dollar in today's economy essentially allows overseas consumers get more (real estate) for their money. So the competition remains fierce at this level, regardless of the ups and - more recently - downs of the housing market in general.

Flash 10 / sIFR for Safari & Mozilla Compatibility Release

If you are having issues with sIFR no longer rendering in Safari and Mozilla browsers, this is the fix. Simply replace the old JS file with the one available on Novemberborn's site here:
Novemberborn: sIFR 2.0.7: Flash 10 / Safari Compatibility Release

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Have "The Talk" with your parents

The Evermay Estate in Georgetown

Long & Foster Real Estate is representing the sellers of this magnificent historic landmark located in Georgetown; which is in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Evermay Estate has a rich history which dates back to the 1790's. The new website I created for them has loads of great vintage photos. Like the one shown here:

Election 2008

Help JimmyD win a share of $5,000.
Who do you support?

Obama/Biden
McCain/Palin

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Daily Kos: State of the Nation

Daily Kos: State of the Nation

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Deepak Chopra on Sarah Palin

Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche, even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin's pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her appeal goes deeper.

She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms, the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities that we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of "the other."

Obama is calling for us to reach our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reaction is of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.) I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful to understand Palin's message.

In her acceptance speech, Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision. Look at what she stands for: Small town values -- A denial of American's global role (a return to petty, small-minded parochialism) -- Ignorance of world affairs -- A repudiation of the need to repair America's image abroad -- Family values (a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't need to be heeded.) -- Rigid stands on guns and abortion (a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree) -- Patriotism (the usual fall back in a failed war) -- Reform (an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn't fit your ideology.)

Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from "us" pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat.

The radical right marches under the banners of "I'm all right, Jack," and "Why change? Everything's OK as it is." The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness.

Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow -- we all do. So, what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict.

The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in.

We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise...

What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan’s Perspective. « Mudflats

Lovely Downtown Wasilla, Alaska

“Is this a joke?” That seemed to be the question du jour when my phone started ringing off the hook at 6:45am here in Alaska. I mean, we’re sort of excited that our humble state has gotten some kind of national ‘nod’….but seriously? Sarah Palin for Vice President? Yes, she’s a popular governor. Her all time high approval rating hovered around 90% at one point. But bear in mind that the 90% approval rating came from one of the most conservative, and reddest-of-the-red states out there. And that approval rating came before a series of events that have lead many Alaskans to question the governor’s once pristine image.

Read the whole story « Mudflats

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The Sheriff that "Made My Day"

On my way home from work this evening I was pulled over by a Loudoun County Sheriff. Normally this would be something of concern but not in this case. You see he was pulling me over because I wasn't wearing a helmet at the time.

I drive from Fairfax County in through Loudoun County to get home each day. When I get to the border I pull my helmet off and hang it on a hook under my seat. I wasn't more than three blocks into Loudoun when I hear a siren and see lights pulling up behind me. I of course pull over, mainly because I thought I was getting nailed for running a stop sign. Much to my relief the first thing out of his mouth was "did you know it's a state law that you are supposed to be wearing a helmet while riding that thing?" (That thing being my electric scooter) Having researched all of the laws pertaining to this type of vehicle prior to purchase I simply stated the facts. "No sir, there is no state law regulating the use of helmets in Virginia. There are however laws per county which regulate their use but Loudoun does not have any law which states such a requirement." He asked if I had a Virginia drivers license; he did not ask to see it though because I think he was a little befuddled by my previous response. After a little more back and forth he said "we'll let's just look this up and I'll show you the law". "Yes, please do" I said. He pulled over to the curb just past where I had parked and got out his book. I walked over to his passenger window and just started politely telling him about the bike and all the research I did prior to it's purchase.

After a few minutes had passed he asked me how fast the bike went. Of course I knew the new law says if the vehicle can travel at speeds greater than 35 mph it will be classified as a motorcycle; so I of course told him 35 tops. I told him it was all electric and sometimes, by the end of a long ride, it didn't have enough juice to even do more than 15 mph. He was a little surprised to hear that the scooter was all electric. And in fact when he was unable to find any regulation in either of his books regarding the use of helmets he says "good thing it's electric, if it had been gas powered you would have had to wear a helmet." Of course I knew this was just being said to save face so I didn't correct him. I simply said thank you sir and have a nice day! I don't know why this incident made me so happy but I laughed most of the rest of the way home.

Rip-off

Beware of efax.com! They claim to offer a free trial but they do not. I signed up for the "free trial" because I had to fax a lease agreement for my daughter. The leasing company would not accept an email attachment?!? Whatever.

Not owning a facsimile machine since the 20th century I went online. So I find this company which offers a "free trial" for sending and receiving faxes. They require a credit card number but say that you won't be charged for the service if you cancel within 30 days. I figure I would use it then cancel and bingo bango would be done with it. I sign up, send my faxes back into the 20th century and think great, I'm done nice and neat. Well today I go into cancel my account and am surprised by a $10- charge to my Amex. It has only been 1 day since I signed up so what was the deal? I sent an email to their "customer support" and got back a form letter which they apparently send out all too frequently. Basically it says F U and we are keeping your ten bucks! This is why I am sending out this warning to anyone who may see this post. Watch out for this sleazy, deceptive web site!

Sole Black Reporter Booted from McCain Event

by thinkbridge

Sat Aug 02, 2008 at 12:36:07 PM PDT

Tallahassee Democrat senior writer Stephen Price was singled out and asked to leave the area reserved for media at a rally for John McCain in Panama City, Florida, on Friday. He had showed his media credentials and employee i.d. in order to enter the area when a member of McCain's security detail asked him to leave.

Read the whole story>>

Going Green

Well I have been riding the electric scooter back and forth to work at Long & Foster Real Estate for over a week now. My commute is roughly 15 miles and it takes me about 45 minutes. It is a real pleasure to ride especially when you consider the amount of money I am saving on a daily basis not driving a gas guzzler. Every day I see more and more of these scooters on the road. Hopefully this trend will continue and automobiles will become the odd vehicle on the road.

Beside just being a fun way to commute, I really feel good knowing that I too am helping in nearly every possible way to reduce pollution. Admittedly, I do smile each time I pass a gas station showing prices for unleaded gas at over $4.00 a gallon.