Today is my one year anniversary for my second clival chondrosarcoma surgery. One year ago, the doctor had to open my skull between my ear and right eye to remove the rest of the tumor. Now I have titanium in my leg (screws from ACL replacement) and in my skull. I keep fighting everyday!

Today is my one year anniversary for my first clival chondrosarcoma surgery. It has been one year since a golf ball size tumor was removed from my brain through my nose. I keep fighting everyday! [Read More!]

Today I had my 1 year MRI scan. The tumor was located around my optic nerve and pressing into my brain stem. The latest images show very little tumor left in that area and it is well scarred from radiation.

MRI images
[Read More!]

I have become famous because I use Facebook. This is really silly, but because I set up the West High School 1989 reunion group on FB, I was contacted by the Bakersfield California. Here is the link: Facebook-strengthens-school-ties.

For New Years, my family came to stay with us. Our house was like a hotel over the last two weeks of Dec 2009. It was a full house with 6 adults and two kids (4 years old and 2 years old). My mom and dad stayed in our room, while my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece stayed in the other bed room. We stayed downstairs on the blow-up mattress. [Read More!]

This Christmas we had a lot of family come and go through the holidays. For Christmas we had my in-laws and an unexpected power outage. [Read More!]

Today is my one year anniversary of being diagnosed with a clival chondrosarcoma. One year ago I was called the day after my MRI with the news that I had a golf ball size brain tumor growing under my pituitary, around my optic nerve and pressing into my brain stem.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

~Dylan Thomas

<Back to School (1986) with Rodney Dangerfield>
Dr. Diane Turner: "Thornton, what does that poem mean to you?"
Thornton Melon: "It means, 'I don't take shit from no one.'"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTv1Dmu5CYc

I have been playing with members at my work on Mondays and Thursdays on most weeks. Now the season is closed and I am looking to continue playing over winter.

http://www.pleasantonadultsoccer.com/index.html

http://pass30.wetpaint.com/?t=anon

http://www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us/services/recreation/sports-and-sport-fields.html

http://infinitesoccer.com/

http://www.osssl.org/
http://www.osssl.org/Pickup.html

http://www.beyondthegame.us/

http://www.worldsoccershop.com/

Well the fall season has come and gone now. Christmas is around the corner and the mad-dash to get stuff for everyone has begun. This year was especially important to me. I love the fall and I love how my wife decorates the house for fall. There were garlands and wreaths full of fall colors spread throughout the house. Pumpkins, leaves, twigs, gourds and all other fall items made the house feel warm and inviting to friends and family. (picture) [Read More!]

Went to the range today for lunch. Took my .17 HMR and kept all shot at 100 yard with in the 9 and 10 ring. Sight was set high and I forgot to compensate. There were a couple of dummies at the benches today too. One guy could not figure out that "keep all firearms pointed down range" mean the muzzle is ALWAYS pointed down range whether you are putting it in the case or taking it out of the case.

On Sunday, we celebrated our friend Sam's birthday. His wife set up a great day out for those of us who drink. Instead of the usual dinner-out get together, she planned a trip to St. George Spirits. St. George is a distiller located in Alameda (St. George Spirits). They have tours on the weekends. There is only one tour per day and they start at 1:00. Our guide was entertaining and very knowledgeable about the process and the manufacturing of alcohol. Most importantly, St. George was the first distiller to produce absinthe after the ban was lifted in in 2007. [Read More!]

one byte 1 B = 8 bit

one kibibit 1 Kibit = 210 bit = 1,024 bit
one kilobit 1 kbit = 103 bit = 1,000 bit

one mebibyte 1 MiB = 220 B = 1,048,576 B
one megabyte 1 MB = 106 B = 1,000,000 B

one gibibyte 1 GiB = 230 B = 1,073,741,824 B
one gigabyte 1 GB = 109 B = 1,000,000,000 B

My parents had not been out on our boat yet. My parents came for a visit on Wednesday through Sunday and Friday turned out to be a really nice day for boating. We wanted to take the boat to Lake Tahoe this past summer so we could give my parents a ride, but we figured we had better not take the boat because the wedding and all of the preparations would leave no time for boating.
[Read More!]

On Sunday in San Leandro there was the annual Sausage and Suds Festival. The festival featured the local fire department (Alameda County) and the police department. They were handing out hats to the young kids. The "Biergarten" was set up in the Englander's parking lot. The first stop was the ID check table where I got a nice wrist band that identified me as legal to drink. Next up was the glass and ticket counter where for $20 I received a pint glass marked with the year's logos and three drink tickets. There was a wine table and of course a long line of beers on tap.

[Read More!]

It was my ninth anniversary last month so I took my wife out for dinner on Saturday. We have a tradition of eating at Massimo's in Fremont every year. We always ask to be seated in the main dinning room in a booth and in Ted's section. Ted is one hell of a waiter. His Caesar Salad (made table-side) is the best we have ever had. [Read More!]