Exploring NJ through Flickr

Flickr is quite a website to explore. The one that coaught my attention are the numerous New Jersey groups. All their posted pictures are a feast to my eyes. There are many wonderful places photographed by pros and amateur alike. I ended up joining one of them. It is also some kind of a social group because anyone can comment on a picture and be able to reply. I think that is neat. I wish there are more photos taken in Newark area especially Branch Brook Park. I will take photos of the park if my busy schedule permit. Spring is around the corner. Cherry blossoms will be a spectacular scene.

Our Schools and ?Stocks?

Dow Jones fell 416 points today. It will affect my portfolio. But, the majority of New Jerseyans, who lives from paycheck to paycheck, may not feel the difference. Prices on the gas pump and weekly groceries will most likely be the same in the coming months. I feel the same way and I do empathise with them. What goes up must come down sometimes. I am not frazzled.It will come up in its own time. I believe in capitalism and global economy. It is like riding on a roller coaster at Six Flag. What matters is we live as dignified human beings.

School aid is coming to middle class school districts. It is time that we should nurture a strong middle class base, which is the foundation of a more democratic and equitable society in the State of New Jersey. To invest on the children of these districts is a good start.

MP3 iPod and New Jersey

The basic science of MP3 and iPod technology was patented by Mr. Hall at Bell Labs in 1993, who hails from Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Anyone can find opportunities, great and small, in this wonderful state if you really look for it.

I did it and the above makes me feel good.

Bad Saturday Quiet Sunday

I had been fighting this flu-like symptoms since Wednesday until I hit rock buttom yesterday. I listened to my body. Thankfully it was weekend. Gave my body plenty of rest and drunk lots of fluids including black tea without any sweetener. Totally no appetite too.

I felt much better this morning and took the rest of the day easy. I read the Sunday paper and the recent Time issue.

Well, there will be no 'Christmas tree gifts' this year's NJ budget. It is common practice among Senators and Assembly members to add more in last minute spending to the state budget to finance their own district's pet projects, the pork. Most of this projects were poorly documented and without transparency nor accountability. It is about time to make this practice transparent and open to the taxpayer. I believe that some but not all projects are worthwhile.

The recent issue of Time made me more educated about the (civil) war in Iraq. The conflict between the Sunni and the Shia dates back 1,300 years ago long before the United States became a nation. In my opinion, when the Bush administration declared war on Iraq, his administration crystallized this conflict which now threatens the stability of the region. Again, in my opinion, the real issue may not be the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians but the sectarian conflict in the Muslim world itself.

Our presence in Iraq will, most likely, not solve this conflict.

I felt better by the end of the day, grilled London broil for dinner.

On a Lighter Note

My family has a compact digital camera Kodak EasyShare DX6340. It was a family gift to ourselves two years ago. It was fun to capture those 'Kodak moment'. Then, I discovered Flickr and it gave me some room and creativity to explore my compact digital camera. I have been reading the DX manual and it has been a rewarding experience. I am a point and shoot guy. This gadget gave me the chance to express my '?artistic talent?'. It may not be for other's pro eyes but I enjoy taking photos and uploading to Flickr http://www.flickr.com/. Here is a sample.

Mr. Trump is thinking to build a mausoleum in his Bedminster golf course. He loves the scenic beauty of this town.

New Jersey, the Budget and the Future

There are no new taxes for 2008 budget. We will be be ok for now but our governor looks beyond to the horizon. It is a lean budget but we have to. He proposed a new paradigm called asset monetization. NJ dept burden is a quick sand. Borrowing is not an option anymore. Some how this new paradigm may be a solution. I am no pro but I do know that barrowing is a bad idea if you do not know what to do with the money.

Maybe we are in the right direction this time.

New Jersey has talented residents, good schools, and outstanding companies like Verizon, Campbell Soups, CitiGroup.

The Governor's speech http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates/2007/02/text_of_the_governors_budget_a.html.

Tusks and Ivories

How did the 'beauty' of ivory started? I do not see the beauty of it. These people must have a perversed sense of beauty. All I could relate is status attached to this specialized mesodermal tissue. It caters to whims of the few priviledged people.

Selling ivories in the US is legal, if the tusk is hundred years old. How can any government prove that? Let us get real here. Poachers are all over Africa. China and some Arab nations want these tusks. It is a big mullah.

This is a genocide of a species. Elephants are gentle wonderful creatures.

Help is needed. Please visit http://wcs.org/savingelephants and http://fws.gov/international/afect/afect.htm.

Garden State Variety

Rocker Patti Smith of Mantua Township will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame according to New Jersey Monthly. Jersey truly rocks!

I have not seen any of the episodes of The Sopranos because we do not have HBO or premium channels. I related my wish to my wife at dinner to see all the episodes because, I came across a picture on page 64 on the above magazine depicting Ferrara's Pastry Shop on Bloomfield Ave, Newark. My office is across that corner. I wonder what episode might that be.

And I would love to visit Bada Bing!

Winter in New Jersey

We may be a very dense state and being stereotyped as industrialised and polluted but we do have beautiful landscape like in Tewksbury, NJ. I am very honored to experience some of the best kept secret places in New Jersey.

Happy New Year (Again)!

Well, it is past midnight. Technically, it is not new year anymore. It is the year of the Boar and it may bring good luck to the resident of New Jersey. There seems to be no new taxes this year. We will see when Mr. Corzine will deliver his State of the State address.

Despite the lagging sales of Ford, GMC, and Dodge, their stock cars rules at Daytona 500. It is the American spirit and tradition.

My Practice and Black History Month

It is a rewarding experience to practice in Newark serving the health needs of the diverse ethnicity of Newark. Serving the African-American in the community makes me feel good. They are my best and loyal patients.

Despite the temporary upsurge in violence as reported in local newspaper, the people , I believe, is taking responsibility and ownership of their community and property. Gone are the public housing building which were breeding grounds for drugs and violence. Driving through Irvine Turner Blvd., I see single family homes. No litter or graffiti. A church is being renovated.

There is a website http://ethnicity.rutgers.edu/.

New Jersey and a car plate on the Garden State Parkway

On my way home on Garden State Parkway South by exit 142A, a New Hampshire car plate engraved JERSEY.

Why?

New Jersey and Cherry Blossoms

With all the snow we had in NJ, I am ready for spring, the vernal equinox on March 21st when daytime roughly equals nightime.

There is this beautiful park in Newark/Belleville area called Branch Brook Park where cherry blossoms is celebrated every spring http://newark1.com/branchbrook/. This website is a little bit outdated but it gives a picture of this wonderful natural event, which I think is comparable, if not better, to the cherry blossoms at the nation's capital.

It is one of our best kept secrets in New Jersey. Maybe not anymore.

Winter, Winter and Pasta

So it is winter. It feels like a Nor'easter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor%27easter with a mix of snow and sleet, fine pebbles of frozen rain. School was cancelled as I predicted. Kids slept in this morning. Coffee tasted good and picked-up the morning paper, my routine. Temperature was not bone chilling. The thermometer posted on the pool fence recorded 24F. Birds swarmed the feeders as usual, but the yellow finch has not come yet. I wonder why.

On my way to work, the landscape was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. But, country roads were slick and treacherous, so did I-78 to Newark. Star Ledger posted photos on their blog site http://blog.nj.com/weather/.

Work was quiet. Hospital rounds was short and fast. No new consults.

Driving home was a lot easier. Roads were cleared off snow and ice by afternoon rush hour. New Jersey has so many county, state and interstate roads but they do take care of these roads during inclement weather conditions.

At dinner, my wife served pasta vodka. I opened a bottle of merlot. My kids had sparkling peaches, ShopRite brand. The aroma of pasta and burning hickory wood in the fireplace with my family at the dinner table made the day worthwhile. We said happy valentines to each other.

Winter 07 in New Jersey

At last we have some 'precipitation' as the weatherperson tells us on tv and radio. Somehow I feel envious about those 'inches or feet' of snow affecting other states. I feel like being deprive of winter.

Well, tonight and tomorrow will be my turn to say I have my winter. Our local weatherperson predicts a mix of wet snow, sleet, and rain. Tonight, my two dogs hunkered down in their spot in the family room. I went outside and I felt the snow and sleet coming down. I have my winter.

Tomorrow will be another story. It will be hell of a commute because of icy roads. My kids will most likely have a snow date which they were looking forward to.

Tomorrow night, my family will be sitting by the fireplace savoring hot tea or soup for the kids and good red wine for me and my wife.

Good night.

New Jersey and Stonehenge

At work, a colleague told me that there is a stonehenge in New Jersey called Tripod rock located atop Pyramid mountain in Kinnelon (Morris County), NJ. He was b-s' ing me, I thought. For the rest of the day, it preoccupied me. When I came home at the end of the day, I thought of a book my son gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago called 'Weird N.J.' It was almost instinct. I only read a few pages of the book. I looked on the index for stonehenge. No entry. Kinnelon, page 30. I turned to the page and there was a picture. I googled it http://www.njskylands.com/odhiketripod.htm. There is a picture. Some weird stuff in NJ.

I thought of stonehenge synonymous to England. I guest not.

The Grammys and Dixie Chicks

Remain defiant and unrepentant, the Dixie Chicks recieved the album of the year and song of the year. Way to go girls! You have my high five. Their song 'Not Ready To Make Nice' is boycotted on country radio stations on top of dismal album sales.

Mr. Neil Portnow, the president the Recording Academy, underscored the importance of music just as math, science, history, etc. I totally agree with him. My kids love music and it has positive impact in their other academics, including sports. I will call my state representative and senator. The Grammys has a website, http://grammys.com/.

Power work-out and Diesel

These two themes have some similarities. They somehow invoke some sort of horsepower or torque.

I have been using my rowing machine Concept 2 http://www.concept2.com/us/default.asp since July 2002. It is a low impact work-out and provides excellent cardio-vascular benefits and lipid profile. I am not endorsing this machine. Other similar products will produce similar results as long as the users are consistent. I row for 10000 meters at a rate of 2:21 min/500m at 26 strokes per minute. It looks impressive, but my numbers are 25 percentile worldwide at my age range. I am no pro but I look at the health benefits of it. How does it relates to New Jersey? I think working-out is good medicine for road rage. NJ is a dense state. It seems like everyone's on top of each other. By releasing endogenous endorphines, I feel relax and calm. Ergo, I tend to be more tolerant to other's driving habits and be less aggressive driver.

A clean diesel? It sounds oxymoron. But it is happening. Gas stations in NJ sell low sulfur diesel. I belong to an e-group that discuss biodiesel among amateur diesel enthusiast like me and professional chemists. And how about a Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec sedan http://www4.mercedes-benz.com/specials/scr/en/index_nocom_en.htm? Diesel is featured in the March issue of Scientific American http://www.sciam.com/. The low sulfur diesel will have a beneficial impact on health and air qualities in New Jersey.

Hair and Human Origins

My daughter cut her hair and donated to Locks of Love http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locks_of_love. I am very proud of her.

I have been fascinated with human evolution. The American Museum of Natural History has opened the recently renovated Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/humanorigins/?src=h_h. I will not be able to persuade my teenage kids to see this. Maybe my wife, who has no interest in museum, may come with me out of pity.

Of Wine and Soup

Organic farming has been the key words in the grocery stores. The wine industry is not immune to this. Biodynamics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamics is being practiced in France and California for their wine processing. Organic and sustainable farming plus something else. Like, burying a cow's horn filled with its manure during fall equinox and digging it up on spring equinox as fertilizer, add water and sprayed to the vines and earth as fertilizer to produce healthier roots. Then, there is the practice of burying the horn with ground quartz and water in spring equinox and digging them up in fall to spray on the leaves to aid photosynthesis. This is too sophisticated to my Jersey state of mine. Biodynamics or otherwise, my tastebuds rules!

Campbell decided to stay put in Camden, expanding their facility east of Camden. Campbell is an icon to NJ, US and worldwide. The company is a catalyst to the region and committed to the city historically. Pepperidge cookies/crackers, Godiva chocolates and Prego pasta sauce are familiar names in our groceries. Their stocks were up $0.10 to $38.97.

Crock-Pot (Slow Cooker) recipe and Rutgers Football

A pork shoulder picnic slow cook recipe (a man's dinner):

7.5 lbs fresh pork shoulder picnic or whatever size that fits to your wife's crock-pot, but make room for the veggies
1/2 cup of your favorite cooking soy sauce
1/2 tsp whole black pepper
3-4 dried bay leaf
3 cloves crushed garlic
sliced carrots and celery to fill-in the pot enough that the cover sits on the lid of the crock pot, an important part in slow cooking
mix all above into the pot and cook on a slow mode for 6-8 hours
cook plain white rice and use the goop of above to flavor rice

Great recipe for cold winter nights for the guys.

Rutgers University has been playing football since 1937. It is an honor and pride that a great offensive linebacker named Anthony Davis chose to stay home. Thank you.

Economics and Diesel engines

At dinner, I expressed my elation that tax relief in NJ passed through in the Legislature awaiting Mr. Corzine's, our governor, signature. Matthew, my son who is interested in economics and politics, discussed briefly Laffer curve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve . I have not heard this concept before, interesting. Basically, state revenue increases with tax rate up to a maximum, beyond that the citizen would change behavior and becomes a negative motivation. His argument was that where are we in the curve. We are not in the maximum or hump. We are either on the sides of the curve.

It was 13F this morning and I had my first experience to start a cold diesel engine. Pumping the gas/diesel pedal will not work. It took me 5 to 7 starts before the engine finally stayed on. It pays to read the owner's manual.

Gas prices, Property Taxes and Iraq

Petro fuel prices has been dropping in New Jersey. A gas station in Belleville posted $1.97 on regular. A gas station in Califon posted $2.19 on diesel. Some relief.

There will be a property tax relief up to 20%. But the program will cost more. The cost in 2004 was $1.34 billion. In 2007, it is $2.05 billion. Will there be relief? I will know for sure when the tax credit arrives in my mail box. Maybe some relief.

Mr. Bush is asking another $100 billion for Iraq and the fight for global terrorism on top of the $70 billion already being sought. New Jerseyans will work more hours, may be a second job. Maybe more health insurance premiums or out of pocket Medicare prescription drug payment. Maybe freeze building schools for our children. The price of freedom is expensive. Sigh.

For the men and women out there defending our freedom, my family's freedom, you have my outmost respect. You are in our prayers.

Super Bowl Sunday

Karen and I celebrated Super Bowl Sunday at our family's friend house in Tewksbury with good food and watch the game on a high definition plasma TV. It was nice to see old friends and new families in the neighborhood. We talked about our kids, our dogs, our school and of course the Bears and the Colts. I was surprised the wives were into the topics of these teams, too!

Despite being the highest median income in the Union, New Jersey is $50 billion in debt. How did this happen?