STREP

OK, it finally got to me. 

The stress of trying to find a treatment that holds some hope of putting Lori's cancer into remission, the pressure of the project, the upcoming relocation of of the company's base of operations, all the hours on airplanes and in airports, and more, it all combined and came together to allow some ugly little virus to find a "chink" in my normally very robust immune system

I am just re-emerging into the land of the living after 5 days of being knocked on my butt by the flu.

To be more precise I started coming down with flu like symptoms a week ago on Sunday afternoon, and by Monday morning my throat was on fire, vertigo was making it impossible to drive, and I felt weak and hot and flushed, well you know the drill.

I hauled myself to the clinic early Monday morning and was diagnosed with a severe case of "strep" (streptococcus) throat and some version of the flu. I was given a loading dose of antibiotics via injection (hurt like hell), put on massive daily oral antibiotics, and also given a prescription of codeine based cough syrup which was the only pleasurable part of the treatment.  

I was told to go home, rest, and stay hydrated. Well, I can tell you I don't really remember the next three days. I remember sleeping, a multitude of strange and unsettling dreams, and long bouts of sadness. followed by brief moments of nervous anxieties.

Having a virus invade your body is not a positive experience.

While bed ridden I did manage to read the new book by Stephen Hunter, "The Third Bullet" which I really enjoyed, despite being so sick.

Hunter is the author of a series of books based on the fictional character Bob Lee Swagger, gotta love that name. Bob Lee is a retired military sniper and all the books revolve around the author's deep and detailed knowledge of all things "guns". 

If you saw the movie "shooter" with Mark Walhberg, that was adapted from a Stephen Hunter book.

Anyhow in this latest Bob Lee Swagger adventure he creates a fascinating story of who really killed JFK on November 22, 1963 and shows how in minute detail it was done.

It kept my attention each page. 

With this being the 50th year since that fateful day in Dallas, it was a very timely subject.

The book never disappoints and if you are a student of history, a gun guy, or just like a good read, I highly recommend this book.

In any case, like a field of clover starting to bloom after being pummeled to the ground by a heavy summer thunderstorm, my body and my mind are starting to feel strong again. 

I am emerging from 5 days of battling this virus with a clearer head, a stronger immune system, and a renewed burst of energy. I am once again convinced that things will work out, if you just stay focused and put out the energy and effort necessary to move mountains.

Which, is after all, kind of what life is all about for each of us.

Pond 12

The team harvested pond 12 at the Port Isabel facility on February 15, 2012.

Below is a picture of my son, Stephen who is learning the business by immersing himself in it, literally. 

    

    

Below are another couple of pictures, one of Jim Salmon's hands with two 60 gram plus size shrimp from pond 12.

One showing you just a sampling of the ponds harvest's uniformity in size.                  

                    And finally a beautiful 62 gram shrimp.

We harvested over 700 pounds of head on jumbo shrimp from pond 12 and while these harvests from the Research and Development (1/4 scale production module) facility are no indication of the poundage, densities, and survival rates that we will obtain in the commercial structure, they do demonstrate the jumbo size, uniformity of the overall bio-mass, and the unblemished condition of our shrimp.

And as I wrote in a memo to many of our investors, if you will excuse the French, "These shrimp are frigging beautiful".

In an interesting tidbit the distributor who bought our shrimp told our team that due to the enormous size of the shrimp and the taste profile and overall appearance, every pound of this harvest was being IQF (individually quick frozen) and shipped head on directly to the famous TV Chef, Wolfgang Puck. 

Over the next few months as we harvest about a pond a month from this facility, we will put a few thousand pounds of these jumbo shrimp into the US marketplace.

While this will not be more than a miniscule amount of actual pounds in the overall USA production numbers, these initial sales will begin to develop a reputation for GBT's production as a superior product in that marketplace.

On Friday (yesterday) we also closed on the Copano Bay property. 

We now have a home. 

We will start construction hopefully in March and we anticipate having our first full size commercial production module up and stocked by the end of the year. Been a long haul but we are almost there.

Thomas Edison supposedly once said that , "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". 

Edison was spot on. In 2014 as we move toward our first phase of expanding our shrimp production with a targeted annual production of over two million pounds, I can tell you that it was persistence, sweat, and "simple bullheadedness" that has seen us overcome the past 4 years and see this dream to fruition. 

Jefferson

I seldom do this kind of post but a dear friend, who is growing increasingly appalled with the state of our nation, knowing I am a huge fan and scholar of Thomas Jefferson, sent me this today.

After reading it three times I felt it needs to be seen and read by as many people as possible.

So without any commentary other than “I stand in awe of this man”, so here it is, a brief look at Thomas Jefferson, Virginian.

At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor. 


At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French. 


At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages. 


At 16, entered the College of William and Mary. 


At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe. 


At 23, started his own law practice. 


At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. 


At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America and retired from his law practice. 


At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress. 


At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence. 


At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom. 


At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry. 


At 40, served in Congress for two years. 


At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams. 


At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington. 


At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society. 


At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party. 


At 57, was elected the third president of the United States. 


At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size. 


At 61, was elected to a second term as President. 


At 65, retired to Monticello. 


At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine. 


At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president. 


At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams. 



Thomas Jefferson knew the foibles of government, because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government.

He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man.

That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff.

We all know of the quote from John F. Kennedy who once held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time.

Kennedy made this statement:

"This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to 
gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

Important Jefferson quotes. 


"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."


"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."


"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government, results from too much government."

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."


"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."


Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: 
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. 
 If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

This is not a voice from the past but an admonition for our future.  


Brief update

The news from Lori's latest MRI and CT scan was not good.

In brief she has two new, very small, but definite brain lesions. 

This means the current chemo is no longer working.

What makes metastatic triple negative breast cancer (tnbc) so wicked is that it seems to outsmart the chemo's that should kill it. 

It mutates, it evolves, it gets around the protective chemo and does its work.

We now must look for another avenue to treat her.

She will go through this next chemo cycle for three weeks and then she is out of this clinical trial.

She has no evidence of any other metastatic activity anywhere else in her body after two years of fighting this disease. That is a blessing. 

There is a vaccine trial in Dallas that shows promise. That is our next option.

We have three weeks to figure something out.

I was going to go back to Texas in a day or two. 

I now think I may stay in Maryland until at least the first of March. 

The project is going great.

Today the team did a partial harvest from pond 12.               

                                     

Tomorrow they harvest the whole pond. Should pull about 1200-1400 pounds of beautiful head on jumbo shrimp from that little R& D pond. 

Probably will harvest a small pond each month for the next few months.

We should close on the land at Copano Bay in the next 48 hours.

That is where we will expand our production to ten million pounds of jumbo shrimp annually over the next few years. 

I am tired, actually exhausted. The last 48 hours at NIH have been draining.

There is snow on the ground outside here in North Potomac, Maryland. With the moonlight it is surreally beautiful.

It has been said by poets and philosophers that "life may be but a dream". 

That may be. 

But what Lori is experiencing and fighting, is a nightmare, and one from which we seem not to be able to wake up.

Scattered Thoughts and Disjointed Thinking !!!

So much going on the past ten days it is hard to find a minute to stop and write a blog.

Last night, Stephen my son, went out to pick up some Italian food and on his way back, he called me.

He had found a small skinny chihuahua running in the road leading to Kings Landing where we are currently residing.

The dog was without a collar and very skittish.

Stephen distracted him with cheese from our salads until I could come down and scoop him up (the dog, not Stephen) in a net. 

I used the same fish net I used to catch some of my possums.

In any event a few minutes later we found his owners who were looking for him (to their credit) and we got "Petey" back to his family.

The owners are basically morons but for that moment all ended well.

I am so proud of Stephen, He saved that little dog's life. "Petey" would have walked into the road and been another "HBC" or "hit by car" fatality.

That was the most important event of a very busy week.

That said, we close on the property on Copano Bay on the 15th of this month. 

We had an exhaustive meeting with our engineers this past Friday and we are finally in the design and build phase for our first full scale commercial production module. 

I fly to Maryland early Monday morning for another week of "fighting cancer". Lori is doing remarkably well considering everything she has endured but with this "evil" disease there is no rest only endurance. Prayers really, and I mean "really" do seem to be making the difference.

Then by month's end we should be re-located in the Corpus Christi area and aggressively moving toward a significant expanded production phase of jumbo white shrimp.

Saw Stallone's new movie yesterday " Bullet to the Head"  and "Hansel and Gretel" today. That was four hours of escapism my brain truly needed. Liked both movies.

 I feel tired tonight but I think it is mostly mental.

We have a great team bringing the investors in we need to complete our first full phase of expansion for the shrimp farm here in Texas. That is a ten million dollar number and our financial team will make that happen. 

Stephen and I flew up to Des Moines this past week and had a great meeting and later dinner with probably three of my favorite people in the world. It really is a "blessing" to work with people you trust and like. 

Our new site (while not perfect) is going to be a beautiful place to build our showcase facility.

You would think with every thing going on I would not be bored but I find at times I am. 

Our red doberman Mae, finally passed away last week. She was sixteen and yes I know no doberman can live to be 16 but she did. God love her, she was the most obstinate, self concerned, narcissistic, dog we ever had but God only knows how much I miss her. 

For the first time in 18 years we do not have a big dog in the house. It feels very strange.

I am thinking about getting a trained bad ass German Shepard. For one reason, I think the world is getting more dangerous and such a dog would be  great deterrent to anyone who even thought about breaking and entering my house in Maryland. Also, I have always wanted a real bad ass dog. 

I am ashamed to admit it but I am actually counting the days until the new season of "Game of Thrones" begins. Yes, I know it is "soft porn" wrapped up in a historical fiction but is is damn entertaining. 

I am also starting to get hooked on the new "FX" (a cable station) series "Banshee".

Realizing I am at a point in my life where television shows are starting to dominant my evening's social agenda does depress me somewhat.

That said, I remember a great "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon strip that I find strangely comforting.

Calvin and Hobbs were sitting in front of the TV and Calvin said to Hobbes "Karl Marx once said that religion is the opiate of the masses. What do you think he meant by that?"

Hobbes shrugged his shoulders and they both exited the scene.

In the next cartoon panel, the television (blaring static on the screen) had a little balloon thought which appeared over its head, which inside of the verbal balloon simply had the words, "It means he (Karl Marx) ain't seen nothing yet". 

Prophetic and so true.