Jerry Lewis is taking the steroid prednisone to treat his pulmonary fibrosis. This drug, not the disease, is what has made his face swell up. Prednisone is also one of the drugs we were giving Goliath to try and slow his cancer from spreading. Interesting.

This is what Sheri had to regularly wake up to in the morning, especially in the middle of winter.

If it ain't broke, take it apart and find out why.

$70 at Wal-Mart. And it has 18-speed Shimano shifting.

I am seriously thinking about buying the cheapest adult-sized bike I can find and keep it in the back of the van. Then when I get to campus, I can just yank it out and ride it to my classes. I would arrive at class a little more relaxed and not huffing and puffing. I have 10 minutes between classes, and my longest walk takes about 15 minutes. Sometimes I get let out of the previous class late too. So it is possible I can be seven or eight minutes late!

No. 15 Maryland shocked by Northern Illinois 20-13 in overtime

Go Huskies!

There was a term I learned in class this week that made me tingly all over: "map algebra".

Who would have thought they could combine two great things to make something even better?

This post is in case you ever wondered what a $20 cheese burger looks like.

I think the big news story of the next 12 months will be North Korea, not Iraq.

Imagine five of the things that most interest you and bring you enjoyment. Now imagine being able to spend hours each day hearing other people talk about one of these things for hours each day. That is how I felt this week in my GIS classes.

Mom and Dad came for a nice long visit last week. We had good time. Below is an outline of what we did.

Wednesday
They arrived late Wednesday morning, right before lunch.
Indian Harvest restaurant for lunch. They had never had real Indian food, so I was very excited to take them to one of our favorite restaurants. I think they really enjoyed it. I like being able to turn people on to something that I think is good. They were nervous about trying it, and expected not to like it.

Drove to Ikea in Schaumburg. Spent probably close to two hours walking around. Mom found a bunch of stuff she liked. We sat in the coffee shop afterwards and had a soda and split one of their famous cinnamon rolls.

We were still full from our Indian lunch buffet, but Sheri had no lunch, so we thought the best idea would be to go to our favorite Mexican cantina, el Loco Burrito, for dinner. The three of us could just have one taco or something, and Sheri could order as much as she wanted. This place was also one of the places that was on my list of places to take them so they could try our newly discovered favorite el Pastor tacos. Dad couldn't resist and also got one of their "baby" burritos. He later said he regretted it. Even their baby ones are large.

Thursday
Today was our Chicago touring day. We all went into the city early with Sheri on her normal express train. She had breakfast with us at the famous Lou Mitchell's. We walked her to the world famous, internationally renowned, colossal, wonderful place to work and visit, Sear's Tower after breakfast and dropped her off at work.

Dad wanted a real Chicago hot dog while he was in town, and one of the best and most famous are the dogs from the Weiner Circle. We got on the L and rode up to that neighborhood. When we got there at about 10:30 AM they had still not opened yet. Drats! We wandered around the neighborhood a little bit and then took the L back to the city to meet Sheri for lunch at Hi Ricky's. This is probably our favorite noodle shop so far. They had never been to, or heard of, a noodle shop. They were impressed. I think they also were a little unsure that they would get any kind of a substantial meal at something called a noodle shop.

It was very hot this day and we were worn out from the heat by now. The plan was to ride the train home with Sheri after work, and this was a few hours away. We decided to take shelter in the air conditioning at the big Marshall Field's store on State Street until it was time to go. We sat in their food court for a bit too sipping some iced teas. Mom found some shoes and Dad found a hat.

On the way to Union Station we passed one of our favorite middle eastern restaurants, and I wanted them to try falafel, so I ran in quickly and just got a side order of three falafels. They are best when they are fresh, and these were probably made before the lunch crowd, but they still got the idea of what they are, and again, I think they really liked them.

For dinner we went to Portillo's so Dad could get his Chicago hot dog. He also got an Italian beef with sweet peppers. Always a good choice.

Friday
Today was our fishing day. We caught no fish, but had a fabulous time. Dad didn't expect the pontoon boat to be as large and comfortable as it was. (I will post a few pictures from our day soon.) We got there before 7:00 AM, and had the boat until 3:00 PM. The weather was perfect. About 80º, low humidity, no clouds, and a nice steady breeze. About 1:00 PM we started getting tired and just put our rods down and talked while sitting under the shade of the boat's canopy. Then we decided just to motor around a little bit and do some site-seeing. Sheri and I while probably rent a pontoon boat up there in the middle of the week next year for a little mini-vacation day.

Plan "A" was to have a fish fry with whatever we caught. Plan "B" was Famous Dave's for barbeque. Very good.

That night be baked some muffins for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Mom asked if she could bring anything, and the muffin batter is what I requested. You can make the batter and keep it in the fridge for up to six weeks. Sheri loved them. (I need the recipe Mom!)

Saturday
Sheri was on call this weekend and couldn't go with us because she had to stay home and work.

My classes started the Monday after this weekend, and I still had not purchased my books, so today we drove to the NIU campus to get my books, and find where on campus my buildings were.

My electric string trimmer finally broke last week after ten years, so I wanted to stop by Sears to get a new one and use Dad's employee discount. This time a got a gas powered one. Cool! I put it together and tried it out while Mom started getting dinner ready.

We took the scenic route on the way back from NIU, and came across a road-side corn stand. We got a dozen ears of corn, ripe tomatoes, and two pounds of wax beans. This was going to be for dinner. The wax beans are for an old family favorite: creamed wax beans on toast. It tasted even better than I remembered. We also used my pressure cooker to cook the corn. I don't know if it was just that the corn was so fresh, or if the pressure cooker maybe is the best way to cook corn, but either way it was the best I have had all season. (We normally cook it in the microwave.)

Sunday
Sheri got called into work at 6:00 AM, so the three of us had some muffins for breakfast and then went to downtown Naperville to walk around. We also walked along the river. Very pretty.

For lunch I took them to another noodle shop called Noodles. They liked that a lot too. When they got back to Toledo they liked it so much that they looked up a Thai restaurant.

I am really excited about the first Ohio State football game of the season this Saturday night.

I found out this week that NIU is one of only about five universities in the United States with an award winning cartography department, and is internationally recognized.

GIS is NOT cartography, and I am not interested in cartography as a career direction, but it is neat to know that NIU's Geography department is of such a high caliber.

A cartographer is going to be making maps all day; almost like a commercial artist at an ad agency. A GIS professional will most likely be in a business environment, working alongside other IT professionals, finding answers to business related questions.

Cool video of the new 2-legged walking dinosaur robot at Disney World. Amazingly life-like. Make sure you have your volume turned up; good sound effects. More information here.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

This is a link to a story that the professor in my Intro to GIS class posted for us. It is how GIS was used to in the aftermath of the Columbia Space Shuttle explosion.

I ate in the student union cafeteria again today. I had liver and onions, a boneless broasted chicken breast, corn, and a large diet Pepsi. About $6.

I found another computer lab in the basement of the student union. Not as crowded, and more importantly, much cooler. I think my routine will be to go to the computer lab after lunch and look at the on-line sites that each of the NIU professors maintain for each class, and print out any class notes. For the most part, they don't hand out class notes any more. You go on-line and print them out yourself.

After I finish up in the computer lab, I am going to find a nice comfortable chair and read a chapter for my upcoming 3:00 PM class.

The professor this morning said that the librarian in the map library has just done a major culling of old and out of date maps from the collection, and they are free for the asking. I am going to stop by after my 3:00 class and see about getting a few. The professor said they make great wrapping paper.

I can not believe that the Ten Commandment monument controversy in Montgomery, AL has gone on as long as it has. What if it was a Jewish judge that had a monument of the Torah installed, or an Arab judge that had a monument of the Koran installed? The same rednecks would then be screaming to get those symbols out of there; they don't belong. But because it is something from their religion, it is OK. Just amazing.

GIS Day is not until November 19 this year, so you still have plenty of time for gift shopping.

Here is a page with some GIS Day gift ideas.

VS


Washington Huskies

Saturday, August 30
8:00 PM EDT on ABC

The main GIS software used in the industry is $1,500 per copy. I was just on the phone with their technical support line and found out that they will sell it to students enrolled in GIS classes for only $250 per copy. Decisions, decisions...

I had my first two classes today. Pretty good. I had lunch in the student union. (broasted chicken, green beans, mashed, and a Diet Pepsi.)

I am typing this now in the computer lab in the student union. My next class is a couple of hours from now.

After I post this, I am going to find a comfortable place to sit, read the news paper, and maybe read a chapter or two from a text book.

I got on campus early today to get a parking permit. The lady said the parking garage fills up by 8:30 AM! I found an open lot just a little bit north-east of the building where I have the most classes.

It is VERY hot and humid here today. I had a pretty good lather worked up by the time my first class started.

The professor let us out of class four minutes late. No big deal except I only have 10 minutes between classes, and the next class is an 11 minute walk if I am really pushing it! Fortunately, the room for the second class is like a meat locker. He even put a comment in the syllabus to wear a sweater because the building is always very cold. That is just fine by me. I cooled down quickly, considering how hot it is outside, the distance I had to traverse, and how fast I had to walk.

I still have an uneasy feeling about going to school and not working. For the last 13 years I have been earning a paycheck and being productive. Big change. Being around all these college kids that don't have any idea what it is like to pay a mortgage every month, work at a company for almost 10 years, or be concerned about medical insurance feels a little weird too.

Today is my first day back to school!

These were the last pictures we took of Goliath on Sunday to show how much his face had swollen up. Notice he could barely open his eyes. Also, his eyes were never weepy, but as you can see in these pictures, they were weepy, and had been for the last week.
He was so tired.

I was in bad shape yesterday, and Sheri picked up the emotional slack for us.

Today I am doing better, so it has been her turn today to let go and grieve while I carried the emotional weight a little bit.

I feel exhausted.

As I walk around the house I still do things reflexively as if Goliath was still here. For example, as I left the bedroom to go to the office were Sheri was, I prepared to step over the spot just outside the bedroom door where Goliath would always lay when one of us was in the bedroom and the other was in the office.

We put Goliath to sleep today.

Goliath's neck and have swollen up to twice its normal size; maybe more. We assumed it was just the cancer tumors growing like crazy, and maybe it is, but just a little bit ago in the bathroom, part of the scar from his last surgery popped open from the pressure and a few tablespoons of puss or something squirted onto the carpet. It does not have a rotten smell so I hope that means there is no infection. Maybe the swelling is just a lot of this puss. We are getting ready to take him to the animal hospital to at least have them close the incision again, or maybe put another drain tube in.

I've seen it al now. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage actually sent via UPS Next Day Air a mortgage refinance application. When I got home it was sitting on our front step. People are getting so used to throwing away junk mail that they are now resorting to sending it via UPS just to try and break through the clutter.

Think globally. Act locally.

I came across this link from the Audubon Society. It is a wallet card that ranks seafood from species that are not in danger, to species that are overfished and in danger. I was surprised to see where canned tuna, Atalantic cod, grouper, shrimp, farmed salmon, orange roughy, and snapper were on the list.

The Audubon Seafood Wallet Card

Abundant and well managed species.
Farmed mussels and clams
Alaska salmon
Mahimahi, troll caught
Crawfish
Alaska halibut
Dungeness crab
Tilapia, U.S. farmed

Significant concerns about species' status, fishing methods, and management.
Yellowfin, bigeye, albacore tuna pole/troll caught
Catfish
Striped bass
Mahimahi, longline caught
Pacific cod
Pacific flounders and soles
Rainbow trout
American (Maine*) lobster
Squid (calamari)
Ahi Tuna (yellowfin and bigeye tuna steak)
Canned tuna

Many problems with species. Severe depletion, overfishing, and poor managment.
Swordfish
Atlantic cod
Groupers
Shrimp
Atlantic flounders and soles
Monkfish
Sharks
Farmed salmon (including Atlantic)
Orange roughy
Snappers
Chilean seabass (toothfish)
Atlantic halibut

Both sides of Goliath's neck, down his throat, and under his jaw is so swollen up with cancer tumors that he can not close his mouth anymore. Because of this he drools a lot now. He has problems breathing sometimes. He hasn't eaten too much last night and today, but I don't think it is from lack of appetite. I think it is just difficult for him to move his head and mouth. He likes peanut butter sandwiches. Looking at him head-on, with his jowls sticking out, he looks like Marlin Brando.

I saw this portable fish finder at Meijer yesterday for only $80. You don't have to drill any holes through the hull of your boat. The transducer is attached to a suction cup that you just stick to the side of the boat. (Pictured below.) You don't have to worry about wiring it through your boat's electric panel. It runs on just two AA batteries.

Humminbird Piranha Portable 1 Fish Finder

This is the list of DVD's that we have watched from the Wal-Mart DVD rental program so far:

The Life of David Gale
Band of Brothers (Disc 1)
Rebecca
Spirited Away
Timecode
Pollock
25th Hour
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Bloddy Sundy

These two movies were just shipped to us yesterday and today. We should get them in a couple of days:

The Truth About Charlie
Scarface

We have really enjoyed getting the DVD's through the mail, and have watched better movies than if we just relied on hoping we will see something good at the video store.

If we read a good review of an indie film, or a friend tells us about a film that they really liked, we just add it to our list and it eventually shows up.

Goliath has gotten noticeably better over the last day or two. His appetite has picked up, but is still not like it was a couple of weeks ago, and he still has diarrhea. He has more energy though. He climbs the steps almost like normal. Tonight he was even chasing around my practice lure on my fishing rod. He wagged his tail a couple of times today. I got him to "speak" a couple of times for a Scooby Snack too.

We are wondering if the kennel people were not giving him his pills like they were supposed to.

I am off to get my new glasses adjusted, pick up some more pills for Goliath, and get a few grocery items.

TTFN!

I just noticed that the banner ads at the top of Sheri's blog and Tim and Lisa's blog are customized to the content of what they are writing about.

At the top of Sheri's blog there is an ad about chemo therapy and lung cancer because of her writing about Goliath's illness.

At the top of Tim and Lisa's blog is an ad for a Train CD because she wrote about Amtrak, and an ad for a sleep aid because she mentioned what time they fell asleep.

I have a paid blog and therefore don't have any banner ads.

This is more important than the do-not-call database I wrote about a few weeks back. There is a toll-free number you can call to stop credit card companies from sending you unsolicited credit card applications and "convenience checks".

These unsolicited credit card applications are gold to identity theft criminals. They use your information to get credit cards in your name. It can take years to clear your credit history if this happens.

The number to call is 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. It is completely automated. You don't have to talk to a person. You can request to be taken off the list for two years, or permanently. Each person in a household must call to be taken off the list.

What will happen by calling this number is that the four main credit agencies will not provide your credit information to credit card companies looking for pre-screened addresses. For example, right now a credit card company might pay for a list of names and addresses that have a credit score between 22 and 36 with an annual income over $50,000. (Totally making these numbers up.) By calling this number, your name will not be included in the results of these types of queries.

These unsolicited credit applications is the main reason I have a document shredder. Here is a link to a story on CNN Money about identity theft that mentions the opt out number.

Do it today! Do it now! Let me know once you have successfully called the number so I won't have to keep bugging you.

We just got done watching The Life of David Gale starring Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey. Very good right up until the final minute. Go rent it and pop a bowl of popcorn.

This is from www.consumerreports.org about car batteries:

Who makes which brands for whom. Most automotive batteries are made by just three manufacturers.

Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models.

Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries.

Johnson Controls Industries makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts.

I got this battery today for the Lumina.



I had a bad experience getting a Sears DieHard battery several years ago, and had planned on getting an Interstate battery. But I checked with Consumer Reports beforehand, and they said the DieHard is the best choice, so I gave them another chance.

My new glasses.

A pic of me in my new glasses.

Look closely at my forehead. You can see the wierd tan lines I got from wearing a bandana during my fishing trip. Kind of like a sideways racing stripe.

I forgot to mention that the lead sinker at the end of our deep-sea fishing poles was a 12 ounce hunk of lead.

This is the boat that we went deep sea fishing on in Florida.

I think Goliath might be coming out of his remission. He has almost no strength in his back legs. I had to carry him upstairs tonight. He almost made it half way up, sat down, and then slid backwards down three or four steps.

He didn't eat the kibble we had out for him tonight, even though the kennel (we just picked him up this afternoon) said he hadn't had much to eat this morning.

I gave him a can of canned food, and he ate that down. This is kind of how he acted when he was first diagnosed with cancer.

The lump on his neck is even bigger now. It presses up against his jaw joint.

Every time I try to imagine what it will be like taking him to the vet for the last time I start to tear up.

Dewey Destin's was my favorite restaurant we tried in Florida. It is the little shack on the end of the dock in the picture to the left. They supply a lot of the area restaurants with their seafood and it is very fresh.

Sheri and I went there on a hot and humid afternoon and picked up the order we called in to eat in our room. I got two pounds of royal reds (species of shrimp) and an order of gumbo. Sheri got a pound of snow crab legs. We split an order of fries and hush puppies. We picked up a grouper sandwich for Sunny which she said was good.

On the Gulf, the fish that are on the menu most often are grouper, snapper, and amberjack.

We just got back from a week in Florida. On Tuesday Martin and I went deep sea fishing. I caught five fish that were big enough to keep and eat. (pictures below) I had to throw back about four or five mingo snappers, and an equal number of red snappers that were too small.

I caught two triggerfish. This was by far the most delicious fish I have ever tasted! Snow-white meat. Very mild, but had a delicious savory flavor. While I was waiting to have them put on my stringer and put on ice, I took a piece of squid and put it in the fish's mouth. It clamped down for a few seconds. Upon opening it's mouth there was a piece missing that exactly matched its mouth. It's teeth looked almost like those of a pirona. Very sharp.


I caught two mingo snappers. Also known as vermillion snapper. This was almost as good tasting as the triggerfish.


And I caught a monster 5 or 6 pound red snapper. It was almost two feet long, and the filets were probably over a foot long! Very tasty.