Brian Brown Nebraska Realty Ad

Support the population-we™ Movement here...

Monday, February 24, 2014

pop-we Dinner Club Reviews Jimi D's Food and Spirits

Jimi D's Chicken Picatta.
Do you know Jimmy? No, Jimi D’s. This was my foodie pick for the month. Located at 6303 Center St. in Omaha, NE. At Jimi D’s Food and Spirits they strive to use the freshest ingredients and make dishes from scratch. They also have gluten free pasta upon request.

How to describe Jimi D’s? The answer: it's like an upscale sports bar. At the front you have a large bar with your typical sports bar feel; than in the back it has more of a restaurant feel, with the exception of the large televisions mounted on the walls. There are also paintings/pictures adorning the walls. Our population-we™ (pop-we) Dinner Club's table of 12 had one of these large televisions above it, which was fine by me as the Creighton Blue Jays basketball game was on. The menu definitely was not your ordinary sports bar menu. I doubt many sports bars have Pesto Salmon, Prosciutto Wrapped Cod or Shrimp Fra Diavolo, to name a couple entrees.

Tonight I decided on the Chicken Picatta, which is sautéed in a lemon caper butter sauce on a bed of linguini noodles. I enjoyed the dish. The noodles were perfectly cooked as well as the sauce was not too overpowering. Since we made it for happy hour (they have happy hour every day of the week) we also ordered the calamari. I have had a lot of calamari and Jimi D’s puts a little twist on it by using a beer batter. This was different, but it really worked with the red pepper and lemon aioli sauce. I would recommend, especially; for the happy hour price--you cannot go wrong.

After compiling the surveys from the other pop-we Dinner Club foodies the club scores Jimi D’s a 4.01 star average on a scale of 1-5.

Atmosphere/Decor – 3.88

Cleanliness – 4

Wait Staff – 4.38

Menu – 4
Jimi D's French Onion Soup.

Food Presentation – 3.88

Food Portions – 4.25

Food Taste – 4.38

Cost (was the cost worth meal?) – 3.88

Noise Level – 3.25

Overall Experience – 4.25

For more information regarding directions, catering or Jimi D’s menu, visit their website at http://www.jimids.com/ordereze/default.aspx

Fellow population-we™ readers, if you've been to Jimi D’s leave us a comment and tell us what you thought?

Want to do this yourself? To review how to start your own dinner club, visit our January post about doing just that. Remember it is a template; tweak it to fit you and your friends' tastes. pop-we Dinner Club: good food…good friends…good times.
Jimi D's on Urbanspoon

-population-we™ blog post by Brian Brown
© 2014 population-we, LLC 
If you enjoyed this post, make sure to leave a comment, 'Pin' or 'Like' it.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Traumatic Brain Injury Resources to Help Keep the Dialogue Going

A blogger who I have followed for a few years has a secret that he has kept from many of his co-workers, friends, and family members. With a concealed identity abbreviated as BB, he has worked to dispel misconceptions and disseminate information about traumatic brain injury (tbi) by sharing his personal experiences and the latest developments in research. His blog, www.brokenbrilliant.wordpress.com, is one of the most comprehensive online resources that I have seen. There are relevant links provided and also a bookshelf to check out. He has sustained his passion through the years. He has brought attention to traumatic brain injuries sustained by members of the military. He has been vigilant in raising awareness about the dangers of repeated concussions and the need to protect people who participate in contact sports. Because of the stereotypes about tbi, he feels it is important to hide his identity while educating the public.

www.brokenbrilliant.wordpress.com
After I had followed the blog for a considerable time, I was stunned to learn that he often has trouble processing the words spoken to him. With my background in speech pathology, I was aware of the existence of where a person is impaired to some degree in processing language while production may or may not be impaired. He has such an ability to paint with words as he writes that I just never considered possible limitations in any language area. He is pretty skilled at faking comprehension, which I think involves repeating back part of what he heard although he hasn’t actually processed much of the meaning.

From a more recent post, I think his difficulties in processing conversation stem a lot from short term memory problems. He also has problems remembering digits of numbers. He describes the sheer frustration of trying to remember two three digits numbers and how even trying to use paper to write it down made it challenging to do his job. He has worked hard on retaining numbers. There is cause for celebration as he has memorized a bank security code and expiration date!

I have followed him through highs and lows. He has a keen awareness of how multiple minor traumatic brain injuries have impacted him starting with his first injuries as a grade school age and later injuries including those on the football field. I have respected his perseverance and commitment to overall health. He knows the importance of but also learned by trial and error that he needs to be careful not to exercise to excess in the morning, which increases his fatigue. He has also seen the transfer of skills honed in the kitchen where he times meals with the main course and side dishes to come together to carry over in the work place where time management is also very important. He recognizes his need for sleep to clean and restore the brain feels it when he gets less than six hours.

I read a post recently where BB talks about how he was known for his sense of humor and how this helped him work well with people. I thought how in all these years he never struck me as being very funny. He revealed that he had another tbi in 2004 and following that nothing was funny. His humor has been resurfacing.

According to the Center for Disease Control, 1.7 million tbis occur each year. A traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow or bump or an injury that penetrates the head. The injury can range from mild or a brief altered state to severe with extended unconsciousness or amnesia. Most tbis are mild (CDC) Seeking prompt medical help is critical as an early diagnosis by a clinician and appropriate referral for early management improves the patients’ outcome.

I had a customer once who was very forthcoming about her traumatic brain injury. She shared how she tried to be so productive following her injury. She later learned that rest and recuperation following the injury is vital.

Brainline
Brainline is another reputable source for those seeking information and support following a tbi. Check out the brain anatomy link, which allows one to move the cursor over the brain to see what the potential effects may be to the damage of a region to the brain. It qualifies the symptoms with a reminder that “brain injuries are as complex as the brain itself” so the damage can vary from the descriptions. There are tabs there where one can link to the appropriate sections for brain injury survivors, family, and professionals. I find it to be very sensitively written and quite encompassing.  In the section for family members, there is a list of nine things not to say to tbi survivors, which people have probably said quite innocently not knowing how much their words may hurt. While each injury to the brain is unique, there are common symptoms that many experience in whole or part following a traumatic brain injury such as anger, sadness, fear, anxiety, memory problems, pain, and problems with relationships according to Brainline. In the section for those who have had a tbi, people are invited to post their own feelings which are often quite poignant.  The contents of this paragraph are used with permission from BrainLine.org, a WETA website. www.BrainLine.org.

Stephan Kuhn
I have recently begun following Stephan Kuhn who is the author of a google + group about tbi.  He is also very open about his experiences following his tbi. With his expertise with technology, he relates how technology can assist people who have had a tbi. He also discusses other ways of coping and how mindfulness and living in the moment have helped him. Here is my interview with him posted on his site.

BB, Brainline, and Kuhn share how people often feel different after a tbi. If a person is good at the piano and can no longer play due to a hand injury, it can cut to the core of their identity. I think that a traumatic brain injury is more than a possible loss of skills. They can feel different on the inside. BB has given this subject much contemplation. In mid-2010, he began having thoughts like he was feeling like his self again. He did an in-depth evaluation of his feelings and experiences regarding restoring sense of self in January of 2011. Read the post here.

In Conclusion
BB credits much of his restoration to his routines and also his using mindfulness. During the most emotional weeks of my life, BB’s blog was actually a constant in my life and as such a huge comfort. It had nothing to do with tbi. Yet, his sense of routine and his analytical mind made a difference to me. I would have never had the level of interest in tbi were it not for BB. Because of him, I even read scientific articles on the subject, and sometimes post them on his site as I do not have an email. I do believe that BB, Brainline, and Kuhn provide a valuable service of not only disseminating knowledge but also by keeping the dialogue going about tbi. I do believe in the great potential for education to eradicate prejudices as much as it is humanly possible if we are willing.

-population-we™ blog post by Barb Bohan
© 2014 population-we, LLC 
If you enjoyed this post, make sure to leave a comment, 'Pin' or 'Like' it.

Pin It

Monday, February 10, 2014

Nebraska Students Take on Shark Finning Legislation

If you live in the Midwest you’ve probably consumed more oxtail soup than shark fin soup. Kudos to you--if you’ve only ate oxtail soup. Why you ask? Because sharks are on the endangered species list and oxes are not. One would think they would not be selling shark fins in Nebraska; however, a group of local students have discovered differently and have decided to do something about it. If they get their way, Nebraska may be the ninth state to outlaw buying, selling or having shark fin products.

Believe or not these students are taking their message all the way to Nebraska’s state capitol in Lincoln. Enter Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Zoo Academy, No Fins No Future, student-run initiative.

“I am a teacher at the Zoo Academy and they’ve put together under my supervision a Facebook page called No Fins No Future,” said Pat Purkhiser, a Zoo Academy teacher and a master scuba diver instructor at DiVentures in Omaha. “We’re trying to educate the public with snippets about shark finning, shark problems around the world, and it seems to be going quit well."

Shark fins obviously are a product people want here in Nebraska even though the state is land-locked. This group of 80 students is dedicated to stop the sale, trade, and possession of all shark fins and shark related products in Nebraska and beyond.

“The Zoo Academy is comprised of both the Papillion-La Vista and OPS school districts,” said Brett Homme, a senior at Papillion-La Vista South High School.

The Zoo Academy is completely student-run from the creation of the No Fins No Future logo (shown above), blog posts, as well as Facebook and Twitter updates.

“We want to be the next state even though we’re land-locked to pass a bill banning all shark fin products; fin sales, possession, anything like that.” said Purkhiser. “Obviously places like the zoo or even aquariums, as long as their attached--we can obviously live with. “

Scuba divers have a very special place in our hearts for all underwater creatures, and sharks are no different. I guess it surprised this blogger a bit when interviewing Zoo Academy students recently to find out they’ve never swam with a shark or even gone scuba diving.

“The students have gone out, gone to markets and found cans of shark fin soup. They’ve found sharks lying on ice, dead. It’s pretty devastating,” Purkhiser said.

Purkhiser added: “We’ve looked at the cans and there’s just a couple ounces of actual shark fin in there. But shark fin if you analyze it, it’s very un-nutrious and very tasteless. Look at the can it will have crab meat, chicken broth, chicken parts, clams--things like that. So, obviously they’re putting some taste into with something else; shark fin has no taste.”

After interviewing for this post it was announced January 8th on @Nofinning's Twitter:

“All the students at the Zoo Academy are behind it,” Homme said.

It is gruesome what poachers do to these sharks. The poachers capture the shark--shear off their fins--and throw them back in the water alive. What is more devastating is the long-term affect this act has on our oceans. Though Nebraska is a land-locked state, the effects of the ocean ecosystem becoming unbalanced will some day be felt everywhere--not just in coastal states. The students believe every little bit the Zoo Academy can do to prevent that from happening will help.

“Main thing, people don’t know about it [shark finning]. I think because it’s Nebraska people just don’t think about it. I didn’t know about it until I started Zoo Academy," Homme said. "After talking to Pat I now realize what an important issue it is and what an impact it is going to have. We need to do whatever we can to stop this.”

Like the Zoo Academy students, you too can take action. If you live in Nebraska you can do something by contacting your state senator about Legislative Bill 921. Contact information for Nebraska state senators can be found at http://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_list.php. Nebraska residents can also fill out an online petition from www,bornfree.org highlighted above. If you don’t live in Nebraska--you can still take action and help these students take a stand against shark finning. Show your support and “Like” No Fins No Future official Facebook Page, follow the group on Twitter @Nofinning or visit the group's blog at http://www.nofinsnofuture.blogspot.com. Keep diving!

-population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown
© 2014 population-we, LLC 
If you enjoyed this post, make sure to leave a comment, 'Pin' or 'Like' it.

Pin It

Monday, February 3, 2014

Dog Blogger's Super Bowl Commercial & Puppy Bowl MVP Picks

Here I am watching the Puppy Bowl.
I was already excited for Super Bowl Sunday because of the Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl. That theme also ran prominent throughout many Super Bowl game night commercials for 2014; since, four-legged actors ran supreme. I've watched 15 years of Super Bowl commercials and today marks my premiere as a commercial critic. My name is Pepper. I am what humans consider a mutt. In human years, I'm 15, and 105 in dog years. I'm partial to my kind--so this blog post will focus on the Puppy Bowl and my favorite Super Bowl commercials where canines appeared.

First, I believe Abdiel, a Labrador Retriever/Terrier mix, was robbed for not being named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the Puppy Bowl. My human companion tweeted this reaction via Twitter on my behalf:

"@beckybohanbrown
Pepper gets a bad wrap for shedding on the carpet too. So, Pepper wanted Abdiel to win #puppybowl MVP!"

The Animal Planet allowed viewers to vote for their pick of MVP. So, my paws did the talking and I voted for Abdiel!

Here's my Top five favorite Super Bowl ads with dogs and puppies:




No. 1 "Cowboy Kid"
I do agree some canines are as big as a horse. This Doritos commercial proves that fact with a Mastiff breed. This commercial was very action packed! I really adored this commercial and in my early years had many a doggy dream of kid's riding me like a horse too.




No. 2 "Doberhuahua"
As I mentioned earlier I'm a mutt; therefore, I think purebred dogs are overrated. This Audi A3 commercial shows viewers what a mix of a Doberman Pinscher and Chiwawa could possibly behave and look like.




No. 3 "Gracie"
My owners don't have children. Wait I'm their four-legged kid! So, for me this commercial really hit home. A daughter and dad sit at a kitchen table with a box of Cheerios. He is trying to explain with each Cheerio that the family is growing by one. The camera pans out and you see the mom is pregnant. The girl proclaims that another Cheerio is a "puppy." The dad agrees and the mom glares back at him.




No. 4 "Terry Crews and the Muppets"
I had to pick this commercial mostly because all of the Muppets look like chew toys to me. Yum-o! Also, Rowlf the dog is one of the Muppets that appear in this Toyota Highlander ad. Well-done Muppets and Actor Terry Crews!




No. 5 "Puppy Love"
If I met these tall creatures when I was a puppy like this Labrador Retriever, perhaps I would have ranked this Budweiser commercial higher. However, the very first time I saw a horse--I was petrified! I've grown to like horses and wag to them on our walks now.

If you don't agree with my rankings feel free to let me know in the comments section below. If you do, please check back again next year for another list of rankings by this population-we™ dog blogger.
(Editor's note: All commercial ads are courtesy of YouTube).

-population-we™ blog post by Pepper
© 2014 population-we, LLC 
If you enjoyed this post, make sure to leave a comment, 'Pin' or 'Like' it.

Pin It