Random Thoughts On This Saturday Morning

Lori had chemo yesterday. Her tumor markers continue to go down, they are now around 49. 

This is down from a high of over 80 a few months ago.

So, there is absolutely no question the chemo cocktail of Avastin, Holaven, and Xaloda works for her.

United Health Care (UHC) is still refusing to pay for treatment. Says no "proof" it extends patients life. FDA is just as bad.

Baylor Oncology doctors have filed an expedited appeal which should be ruled on by this coming Tuesday April 22nd. 

Hopefully, the UHC board will reverse themselves and do the "right" thing. 

In case they do not we are now looking at legal remedies such as a "bad faith" denial claim.

The social pressure from all of you helps, please keep pouring it on. 

This is no longer about just one woman's life. This "cocktail" could extend the lives of thousands or more women in similar situations.

The denial by UHC to pay for this treatment after the decades of us paying expensive premiums to them for premimum health care insurance is not just wrong for Lori, but a larger symptom of what is wrong in America with health care. 

Yes, I agree with the "Democrats" on this one. 

Health care should be a fundamental human (and for all non-human animals) right.

One thought for sure this morning. This fight is going to be like nothing UHC has seen before. 

On another thought train, we are within two weeks or so of stocking the first pond at new facility here in Texas. 

Very exciting. We have put together an amazing team. 

And over the next few months as people start to become more aware of what the technology we have developed can do, global interest (already increasing) is going to sky rocket.

One thought that is starting to be repeated in my head over and over is that now may well be the time I need to start looking at a serious partner to help us take what we have developed and have perfected in growing very large white shrimp sustainably, and start looking seriously at bringing two or three species of fin fish into the system. 

Since we retooled the entire Global Blue Technologies system starting in 2011 and abandoned the system and structure and methodology that we had ended up with in South Africa back in 2007, we have been able to fine tune our ability to grow enormous amounts of marine protein sustainability and efficiently in the re-circulating aquaculture system we developed. 

Despite the fact that we know our original work began in 1998 and despite the fact we know every step of the process occurred including our failures and successes, there still continues to be a large number of "pretenders" claiming they do what we do, or that they were the ones who did it first, etc. 

I say to all, if you can produce marine protein efficiently, sustainability, and in an environmentally sound way, bring it on. 

The world needs it. 

God knows, the world's oceans and the creatures that inhabit them need a break.

I am of the camp that believes wars will soon be fought over food and water, not oil and gas.

For a better understanding of how the GBT system evolved I again urge you to go the the globalbluetechnologies.com web site and read about the "evolution of GBT".

Finally a few random thoughts. 

These past few weeks a lot of fears, insecurities, doubts, and other  not so positive thoughts have crept (at times) into my mind

Then the other night I watched on "you tube" the segment from the Disney movie "Frozen" where the young female character sang the (now a global phenomenon) song, "Let it Go". 

(The same song that just won an Academy Award).  

Do yourself a favor and watch and listen to the words of the song.

I do not agree with those who maintain it is a song for children and young people, though I can see its strong appeal to them. 

My thought after hearing the words and understanding the story, is that the song is a life affirming message that reminds everyone, that we as individuals still count as an individual, and there in nothing wrong with being different.

Plato said one time, (in some ancient tome, the title of which I can no longer recall) that "there is no such thing as a "forest" there is just a bunch of individual trees that we call a forest to allow us to order our world".

This is why I abhor those people who harm animals for sport or fun and claim it is for "the good of the species". 

A "species" does not suffer, only individuals feel pain, and fear, and anxiety. 

Good and decency comes in all forms and what may appear a liability at times can often if one stays focused become a driving force for success and progress.

As I watched the animated segment from "Frozen", I was reminded of another saying from my grandmother. 

"Never let religion get in the way of God". 

I leave that for you to ponder as my final thought on this Saturday morning. 

A Gathering Storm

Another crazy week as we move closer to finishing the installation of all the equipment, paddle wheels, and blowers on module 1 and get ready to start stocking our first ponds within the next 30 days.

We have already started installation of module 2 and are pretty confident we will have both modules up and operating (and stocked) by late summer, early fall.

As we move forward to increase production by building additional production modules, these first two modules and all the supporting infrastructure they required should prove to have been the most difficult and the most expensive. As the old adage goes, "learning isn't cheap". 

The "winter that refuses to leave" has put us at least 3 months behind from where we wanted to be at this time. 

That said, the water temperatures are rising in the bay and ambient air temperatures are rising so we should have the optimum environmental conditions we want as we begin to bring in the first water for the ponds. 

Modules 3 and 4 here in Texas should go up much faster and with a significant reduction in cost.

The company web site is being handled by professionals now so for details on our progress you can go to: globalbluetechnologies.com

On a much more important front, conditions for a potential storm are gathering between "Team Lori" and United Health Care (UHC). 

"Team Lori", is the moniker we use for all of the individuals (human and four-legged), that spend countless hours every day working around the clock to save Lori's life from this metastatic "TNBC" she has been battling for 37 months. 
                                             

(Above is Sophie and a few of the other poodles with their "Team Lori" t-shirts, which they wear on chemo day.)

As all of you have read, under the treatment of Dr. Joyce O'Shaugnessy and her incredible team at Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas, Texas, Lori has seen dramatic improvement in halting the spread of her cancer.

Several months ago when the ONT-10 vaccine trial Lori was in failed to halt the progression of the cancer in her brain as well as the cancer tumor in her liver and kidneys, Dr. O'Shaugnessy developed an experimental combination of chemo drugs combining Zoloda, Halaven, and Avastin, and started Lori on it. 

At first Lori's tumor markers jumped upwards but Dr. O'Shaugnessy was pretty confident that was the new chemo combo bursting tumors. 

Since then for the past several months Lori's tumor markers have gone down and down dramatically. They had gone as high as 80 but today in Dallas at Baylor her new tests showed a third straight (another 15 points down) drop in her tumor markers which are now down to a rating of 50 and her MRI showed no progression in her brain. 

The chemo cocktail is working and for the first time in 2 years Lori's cancer is being driven back. (And yes, prayer does work).

No this is not a cure, but it is an extension of her life and is buying her time to hopefully get her into a state of remission and maybe, (with enough prayer) and under the genius of Dr. O'Shaugnessy buy her time for a new clinical trials in immuno-therapy to emerge.

This is not only incredible miraculous news for Lori and her team but this could hold promise for tens of thousands of woman who have to face the deadly form of breast cancer called triple negative and nicknamed the "beast". 

Simply put this gives Lori and others like her - HOPE.

So, why is a storm brewing? 

Because "United Health Care Insurance Company" to whom (or is it to "who") we have paid expensive monthly premiums for years and years, as of a month ago started denying payment for Lori's avastin.

Without that insurance coverage this means an "out of pocket" cost of about $30,000 a month for each treatment. And as it is the avastin in combination with the other two drugs that has seen Lori actually begin to beat this very aggressive metastatic demon cancer, not providing her the avastin is tantamount to a death sentence. 

Dr. O'Shaugnessy has appealed to the UHC board and we are awaiting their decision. 

Obviously we and everyone who is aware of Lori's battle is praying that UHC will do the decent, ethical, and right thing, and reverse their decision and continue to cover Lori's current treatment.

If not, I promise everyone the storm will come. 

I have no idea how other people in similar situations deal with this kind of blow. 

That said, the effort that will be made to get Lori's coverage reinstated, to have UHC continue to pay so Lori can use Avastin in concert with Halaven and Zoloda, (which hopefully will be a  combination that other women with "tnbc" metastasis can obtain and have insurance coverage for as well), will become a campaign that will make the siege of Carthage by Hannibal look like a Saturday night "bingo" game.   

Stay tuned. 

On a more positive and happier note, Charm my Arabian mare that I was blessed to have come into my life when she was six months old and I was still living in Michigan, turned 29 this past March. 

Here she is enjoying the second week of spring in Maryland. 

Yes, I said the second week of spring. 

This has truly been the "winter that refuses to leave". 

Another Milestone Moment

It has been a long run bringing our 21st century aquaculture system to operational status. 

(I have detailed some of the setbacks we have encountered in earlier blog posts). 

Ironically, the technology and operational parameters we have developed since 1999 within our company have never fallen short of our goals and production targets. It has been the politics of partnerships and personalities of greed that have hindered our growth as a company. 

That said, those days are truly far behind us. 

Simply put, today we grow shrimp larger, faster and in greater densities then any other system in the world. 

And we do so, utilizing a natural, sustainable, environmentally-friendly, bio-secure production system 

While we are well aware of the exciting future we are facing with our company both here in the USA and abroad, the announcement below signifies another milestone as we progress toward profitability and sustainability as a true triple bottom company for the 21st century.

Having someone of Jim's stature as the CEO for all current and future Texas operations sends a very powerful and positive message to our investors and our team. 

"This company is growing and we will be a major shrimp and aquaculture producer in the very near future". 

JIM SALMON NAMED CEO

GLOBAL BLUE TECHNOLOGIES – CAMERON

Port Isabel, Texas – 20 August 2012:  Global Blue Technologies – Cameron today named James E. Salmon the company’s Chief Executive Officer handing him direct responsibility over the company’s goal of creating a vibrant, organic, bio-secure shrimp aquaculture industry in Texas.

“Jim Salmon is singularly qualified for resurrecting Texas’ moribund shrimp aquaculture industry and thereby placing the United States, for the first time, among the world’s leading quality shrimp producers,” said Stephen LaPointe, President of the Global Blue Technologies USA.

Mr. Salmon’s credentials include Past Chairman and President of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) representing U.S. seafood interests from the fishing fleets at sea to seafood retailers and restaurants throughout the nation. 

After service during the Vietnam War flying, commanding and training U.S. Army AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter forces and earning degrees in marketing and management including an MBA in Finance from Stetson University, Mr. Salmon was tasked with responsibility for the more than billion dollar budget for purchasing all seafood and other commodities for the 1100 Red Lobster, Olive Garden, China Coast and Bahama Breeze restaurants as Senior Vice President of General Mills Restaurants Inc. (now Darden Restaurants Inc.).

His extensive experience in the U.S. seafood industry extends from a youthful stint on a Mississippi shrimp trawler and supervision not only of General Mills’ restaurants but also daily oversight of the corporate re-supply warehouses and seafood processing system down to providing fuel, ice and docking space for fishing vessels.

Mr. Salmon is an authority on the domestic and global seafood industries including resource management, supply, marketing and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) standards for seafood products at the retail and restaurant levels.  He has served as a guest lecturer on seafood marketing and purchasing at Cornell University and as an Advisory Board Member of the University of Florida Aquatics Laboratory.

Once the nation’s leading producer of farmed shrimp, Texas’ aquaculture (built on the archaic, open-pond technology) like the U.S. (and disease-ravaged global) shrimp farming industry in general has been in a steady downward spiral since its peak years from 2003 -2006.  Throughout the nation, major farms in Florida and the bulk of small South Carolina farms closed.  Texas open-pond shrimp farms declined from over 20 in 2007 to five today in part because of disease and economics, in part because of decisions to switch from shrimp to fin fish (cat fish, striped bass, red drum) production.

Global Blue Technologies – Cameron has a proven bio-secure, zero-discharge system that produces chemical and antibiotic free, environmentally friendly, organic U-10/50 gram shrimp unique to the industry.  GBT-Cameron also recognizes the facts that the U.S. is the world’s largest market for shrimp and that the nation has a $4 billion annual trade deficit to feed that appetite. 

Under Mr. Salmon’s leadership GBT-Cameron intends to increase annual production incrementally to reach its goal of 10 million pounds of organic shrimp and, once realized, provide more than 1000 quality jobs at its South Texas facilities.   

1 Year Ago

Just about one year ago I wrote my first blog.


Hard to believe what can and cannot happen in a year. 


Last year at this time we had just begun to move dirt for the construction of our 1/4 scale production module here in Texas.


Now as I write this we have harvested and sold our first group (over 2600 hundred pounds) of very large, very tasty, shrimp and are in the process of preparing the module for stocking at commercial densities.


We are developing an investment proposal to try and secure funding to expand that production to an initial objective of slightly more than 2 million pounds annually.


You can check out our newly created web site at :
www.globalbluetechnologies.net


Lori's cancer got worse, We got her admitted into MD Anderson and her initial treatments seemed to have arrested the cancer growth for now. We continue to watch here closely and pray that she proves to be atypical and beat this very evil disease. For now she is doing remarkably well. 

My book "UNDERCOVER" is now available on Kindle and there is a newly edited paper copy available as well on Amazon.com

Lori's book "Half-Baked , The Confessions of a True Anti-Chef" is still doing well and should be available as an E-book in the very near future. 

So on a small microcosm for a few individuals a lot has transpired.

On the larger world stage and taking a macro look at the state of the planet's resources and environment every where I read things look more distressing. I provide just one small example from a plethora of articles and news stories all similar in reporting dire news about the oceans, the weather, loss of species, habitat destruction, pollution and disease. 

The world is preparing for RIO + 20 as governments and corporations continue to give "lip service" to the incredible need for cleaner energy, more sustainable production of food, greater protection of wild resources, and the implementation of social equity value that can begin to alleviate poverty which along with greed is the underlying catalyst for so much of the misuse of the world's resources. 

Read the following summary from a study that calls for cutting in half the world's catch of "Forage Fish for Crucial Prey Species". 

I sourced the summary of this very depressing article (below in italics) from the following link: 

http://www.seafoodsource.com/newsarticledetail.aspx?id=14935

Who was it that once said, "the more things change the more they stay the same". 

Thirty plus years ago when I first got professionally and personally involved in dealing with issues of environmental and animal abuse the "greenies" said they would expose the causes and make the world a better place" and the use groups corporations and governments alike said, " it is not all that bad but we will be more responsible and develop a greener and more compassionate way to do business".

They both lied.   

Expert Task Force Recommends Halving Global Fishing for Crucial Prey Species

Forage Fish Twice as Valuable in the Water as in the Net

WASHINGTON – Fishing for herring, anchovy, and other “forage fish” in general should be cut in half globally to account for their critical role as food for larger species, recommends an expert group of marine scientists in a report released today. The Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force conducted the most comprehensive worldwide analysis of the science and management of forage fish populations to date. Its report, “Little Fish, Big Impact: Managing a crucial link in ocean food webs,” concluded that in most ecosystems at least twice as many of these species should be left in the ocean as conventional practice.

           

A thriving marine ecosystem relies on plenty of forage fish. These small schooling fish are a crucial link in ocean food webs because they eat tiny plants and animals, called plankton, and are preyed upon by animals such as penguins, whales, seals, puffins, and dolphins. They are primary food sources for many commercially and recreationally valuable fish found around North America, such as salmon, tuna, striped bass, and cod. The task force estimated that, globally, forage fish are twice as valuable in the water as in a net—contributing US$11.3 billion by serving as food for other commercially important fish. This is more than double the US$5.6 billion they generate as direct catch.

These species play a growing role in the everyday lives of industrialized nations. Their demand in recent decades has greatly increased for use as fish meal and fish oil to feed farmed fish, pigs, and chickens that people consume on a regular basis. Fish oil is also used in nutritional supplements for humans. 

“Traditionally we have been managing fisheries for forage species in a manner that cannot sustain the food webs, or some of the industries, they support,” says Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, who convened and led the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force. “As three-fourths of marine ecosystems in our study have predators highly dependent on forage fish, it is economically and biologically imperative that we develop smarter management for these small but significant species.”

Small schooling fish are an important part of the ecosystem on both coasts of North America.  Many marketable species on the Pacific coast, such as salmon, lingcod, Pacific hake, Pacific halibut, and spiny dogfish, feed on them.  A large number of seabird species relies on them as well, and research shows that the breeding success of the federally endan­gered California least tern may depend on the availability of local anchovy populations. On the eastern seaboard, more menhaden are caught (by weight) than any other fish off the Atlantic coast. Taking out excessive amounts, however, means less food for tuna, bluefish, and striped bass ― as well as whales, dolphins, and seabirds – and affects fisheries and tourism industries from Maine to Florida.

“Around the globe, we’ve seen how removing too many forage fish can significantly affect predators and people who rely on that system’s resources for their livelihoods,” said Dr. Edward D. Houde, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science and task force member. “We need to be more precautionary in how we manage forage fish in ecosystems that we know very little about.”

Made up of 13 preeminent scientists with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force was established to generate specific and practical advice to support better management of forage fish around the world. This group of experts, with support from the Lenfest Ocean Program, synthesized scientific research and other information about these species and conducted original simulation modeling to reach their conclusions. 

“The Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force has provided guidance on how to prevent overfishing of these small prey species,” said Dr. P. Dee Boersma, professor and director of the Center for Penguins as Ocean Sentinels at the University of Washington and task force member. “Our hope is that fishery managers will put our recommendations into action to protect penguins, cod, whales, and a whole host of other creatures that need them to survive.”