Haddock

On a hot tip from a friend, I decided to make the trip to an "off-the-beaten-path" restaurant on a recent Saturday night in Pasadena. And to my delight, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful "home-cooked" meal. Tall Oaks may be Pasadena's best-kept secret. On the outside, the building appears small, with tall oaks surrounding the structure. You almost feel as if you've traveled to the quietness of a mountain cabin retreat. But once inside, the spacious, 110-seat dining room, covered in rich wood paneling, offers a homey atmosphere.

CLARKSBURG - Michael Muehr, from Great Falls, Va., shot a 5-under-par 67 in the final qualifying event at Little Bennett Golf Course yesterday to lead four players into this week's Kemper Open at TPC-Avenel. He was joined by Ted Haley, Charlotte, N.C., and George McNeill, Fort Myers, Fla., who had 69's, and Stephen Gangluff, Marysville, Ohio, who survived a three-way playoff for the final spot after shooting 70. Muehr, 28, made it for the fourth straight year (he made one cut) in a season where he has his game "better than it's ever been."

Shoppers often judge a store by its window display. But these days, they should be more concerned about what could be leaking out the window than what's in it. Millions of customers who shopped at stores owned by TJX Inc. such as T.J. Maxx and Marshall's found out the hard way: Hackers parked outside used a laptop and antenna to capture data from the company's wireless network, enabling them to breach TJX's computer systems and over several years steal...

YOU WOULD BE surprised (or perhaps mildly taken aback) at the number of people who will corner a writer at a cocktail party and inquire -- even before he or she has a chance to rake a cracker through the onion dip -- about writer's block.Writer's block is defined as that malady in which the writer's creative juices have seemingly dried from a great gushing torrent to a trickle.The writer sits and stares at a blank piece of typing paper or word processor screen and can summon neither an interesting thought nor a clever phrase, soon convincing himself that it would be far better for all concerned if he abandoned the literary life for that job in the fish store, straightening the haddock and doling out half-pounds of boiled shrimp to appreciative customers.

All but a handful of state high school sports teams -- those involved in state football playoffs or traditional Thanksgiving Day games -- have put away the fall gear, and the start of the winter season is two weeks away.Likewise, Western Maryland college athletes have an extended holiday break, with no winter sports events scheduled until a week from today.But a few dozen county athletes still will lace up the spikes this weekend, barely giving Thursday's holiday mealtime excess time to digest.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. -- Boat captain Salvatore Napoli fondly recalls how, just a decade ago, he and his fishing mates would chug out to the ocean and, in a week, net up to 40 tons of cod, haddock, flounder and other bottom-dwelling fish.Last week, after 10 days at sea, he returned with only a quarter of that haul."Today, we don't bring in much fish," sighed Mr. Napoli, 38, a native of Sicily who has been fishing off the New England coast for 18 years and still speaks with a heavy accent.All around him, orange-suited laborers were hurriedly unloading the 75-foot-long boat and packing piles of fresh, glistening fish into ice-filled, gray plastic shipping containers.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Like children anywhere with an answer to give, the youngsters playing in the suburban park here could hardly contain themselves."Tintin! Tintin and Snowy!" several of the small voices exclaimed in chorus."Captain Haddock!" came another reply."Oh, I love them all!" shouted a little 8-year-old named Laura, jumping up and down.The children, part of a city-run recreational program, were reeling off their fictional heroes -- and none was new.Forget the latest gimmicks marketed to dazzle their young lives.

Eleven Naval Academy seniors will present the results of their year of independent research as Trident Scholars at a conference on April 20.This year's Trident Scholars and their hometowns are Midshipmen David L. Blazes, Scranton, Pa.; Brian L. Davies, Newark, Del.; Jeffrey S. Dodge, La Jolla, Calif.; Robert C. Dunn, Prairie Grove, Ark.; Brian F. Hussey Jr., San Ramon, Ca.; Anthony J. Kotarski, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; William D. Kulp III, Salisbury; Paul A. Larson, Medina, Ohio; Casey J. Moton, Woodbridge, Va.; Stephen F. Murphy, Catonsville; and Daniel B. Robinson, Winchester, Va.During their junior year, the program candidates submitted their project proposals for review and recommendation by the Trident Scholar committee.

Area club professionals and amateurs will be vying with PGA Tour veterans when sectional qualifying for next week's U.S. Open is held today at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville. Play will be conducted at 36 holes over the club's two courses, with 149 entries for 30 places.This is one of 12 sectional events scheduled this week that will sort out the final 87 players who will join 69 who are exempt to complete the field. The Open will be played June 12-15 at Congressional CC in Bethesda.The local contingent will be represented by Joey Chuasiriporn, an amateur from Timonium playing out of Hunt Valley GC, and the medalist in local qualifying at Eagle's Nest last month, professional Dean Wilson, from Baltimore, and Wayne DeFrancesco, a teaching professional at Woodholme CC.In addition to Chuasiriporn, the 10 amateurs include three from last weekend's Chesapeake Cup at Caves Valley GC: Duke Delcher, one-half of the winning team, Cliff Harris and Tim Jackson.

A LIST OF popular seafood compiled in the latest issue of Audubon magazine contains a surprise for the Chesapeake region. The two edible varieties in least danger of overfishing and decline, according to the nature magazine's report, are rockfish and crabs. Bluefish, another local staple, is close behind them.Since Maryland clamped down on catching rock and crab in the past decade, those species might still be considered under threat. Indeed, enforcement of catch limits on both species continues.