Happy Halloween to my Readers

Just wanted to do a quick post to say Happy Halloween to my readers.  Of course, I have to do it in my style.  You wont see any ghosts, goblins or witches on this page though.

 However, you will see a Phanton.  Well an F-4 Phantom II anyway.  And since I'm a Naval Aviation fan, you'll see the Navy's version. 

 Of course, just a normal Phantom picture is no fun, so I'll give you a ghostly Phantom.

And I'll leave you with a ghostly SLUF....or A-7 Corsair II.

Happy Halloween everyone.

The Impression Left Behind

Well as I mentioned in one of my posts from yesterday, I had to take Zappa in to the cat clinic.  I was thinking he had an infected tooth or something but it would be something fixable.  They did his blood work and they said he had a high amount of liver enzymes in his blood, so they wanted to do a ultrasound to see if he had any growths in his kidneys.  After looking up that issue, I thought it kind of supported that he wasn't eating because of his tooth.

So basically I was thinking everything would be okay, I would have Zappa back tonight and he would be bouncing around again and everything would be jake.  I called them this morning to see how he was doing.  It sounded like everything was okay, they were feeding him and he was eating it.  They were starting to put him under for the dental procedure.  They said they would call if there was anything I would need to know.

About twenty minutes later, I got the call that I was hoping that I wasn't going to get.  The doctor said that there was another possibility she didn't think about.  It was at that moment that I realized he wasn't coming back.  She said he had jaw cancer.  I've never heard of jaw cancer but I've heard of cancer and I knew that I didn't want to put him through whatever it would take to get rid of cancer.  She said  I made the right choice and she proceeded to tell me why I made the right choice.

Apparently jaw cancer in cats is a particularly virulent form of cancer.  Basically they would have to remove the portion of the jaw that has the cancer.  He would be fed through a tube while he figured out how to eat with out that part of his jaw.  After removing the jaw, they would put him through radiation treatment.  And that would be just so the cancer doesn't grow.  I knew that I couldn't put him through any of that.  He wouldn't be capable of understanding why he was going through all that suffering and at that point I think it's more about me than him.

 This was one of his favorite spots.  After laying here so often, he's made as much of an impression the couch as he has on me.  Even after I get another cat (which I will at some point), it will never completely be able to replace Zappa.

 Zappa was definately my cat.  Hell, when I was looking at the cat clinic, he came up to me.  Sometimes, I wonder if he picked me instead of the other way around.  When I'd come home from work, he'd come out to greet me.  When I'd go to bed, he'd follow me and lay near me.  When I was not feeling well, he'd stay next to me, almost as if he were keeping an eye on me.  I think he could tell when I was upset about something and would be able to offer me a comforting look.

 Since I spend a fair amount of time at the computer, this was another of his favorite spots.

 I don't think he cared that it was a hard surface, he only cared that he was near his human.  I think he knew the sounds of both the computer turning on and turning off.  If he wasn't already here, he would paw at me to bring him up which I would.

 This is probably one of the last pictures I took of him.  He was a handsome cat and had an air about him.  He always had the look on his face of the lion looking over his territory.

As I was looking through my pictures that I've posted of him on this blog, I found the perfect one.  This picture was taken as I was messing around with long exposures.  I left him in the picture long enough to make an impression and then I moved the camera to give the ghost effect.   He may be gone now, but he will never fade completely.

It's funny, no matter how long you have a pet, they will always make an impression.   The longer you have them, the more of an impression they will make.  In some cases, they become a part of the family.  It's tough to see something you care about go but sadly, it's the nature of things.

Good bye, Zappa, I'll miss you buddy.

Eastern Michigan in Black and White

I liked the pictures I got of the University of Michigan that I got in black and white so much that I figured I would do the same for my Alma Mater.

 As I said in my last post, it was a pretty nice day, so I figured it would be a good day for a walk around campus.  Of course I had to start with the most prominent feature of our campus.

 I wish I could get a good angle on Welch Hall.  A building this old deserves more than just a shot of it's door.  Although it's a pretty nice door.

 I can always get a good angle on McKenny Hall.

 A nice shot of the front of the building.

 With the leaves mostly gone, Sherzer Hall comes out of hiding. 

 Starkweather Hall looks nice in color or black and white.  I guess the oldest on building on campus is stuited to black and white.

 Another angle of Starkweather.

 The tower at Pierce Hall.

 A shot of Pease Auditorium.

 Roosevell Hall.  At one time this was a high school that was run by Eastern Michigan.

 Pray-Harrold.  This is the largest classroom building on campus.  Since there are many programs housed here, it is likely you will spend some time here as an Eastern student.

 The boat house.  They didn't have this building when I was student.  I just wish it were a little calmer because I like the reflections.

 A bridge.

 The new Student Union.

 An old schoolhouse.

 As I was heading back to my car, this view kind of caught my eye.  Briggs Hall is on the left and Pierce Hall is towards the back of the picture.

One more shot of Sherzer before moving on.

A Nice Day for the Wolverine

So I had to take Zappa to the Cat Clinic today.  He had some sort of issue with his teeth and they are going to have to take one of them out (I think).  Since I couldn't sit around worrying, I decided to see what time the Wolverine would be passing.  I had some time, so I went to catch it.

 When I got out, it was pretty warm out and I was kind of surprised.  I was trying for an angle where I'd get the depot and some remaining fall colors.  I almost got it.

 The Wolverine passing in front of the station.  I still hope that some day trains will be stopping here but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 And it passes the station.

 You never realize how big a train is until it's right next to you.

 And with a whoosh, it passes.

 Looks like it would have been a nice day for a train ride.

One more shot.

Wandering Around the Lower Part of Jefferson Avenue

I was going to head over to the Lake Erie Metropark yesterday after the game.  When I got there, I saw that I needed to pay to get in and I didn't have any cash with me, so I passed on the park.  Since I was in the area, I decided to wander around that party of Jefferson Avenue for a bit.

 The Grosse Ile Free Bridge is on one side of the island and is maintained by the Wayne County Road Commission.  It is a swing truss bridge that was built in 1932.  It is called the Free Bridge because it is free unlike the bridge at the other end of the island.

 Naval Air Station Grosse Ile was established in 1927 and is located at the southern end of Grosse Ile.  In 1929, it was commissioned as a Naval Air Reserve base and operated the Consolidated NY-1 plane.  It also housed the Navy's only all metal airship.  During World War II, it would serve as the Navy's largest training facility, over 5000 pilots would be trained here.  It was briefly used as  a Nike Anti-Missile battery and was closed in 1969 and now serves as a regional airport.

 The Grosse Ile toll bridge opened in 1913 and is owned by the Grosse Ile Bridge Company. 

The tug is the Sharon Mi, I'm not sure what the barge is.

Eastern Michigan Vs. Northern Illinois Huskies Football

So I went to the Eastern Michigan football game yesterday.  For the most part Eastern looked pretty good, they were moving the ball fairly well and stopping Northern Illinois when they needed to.  But sadly, the final score is what matters and Northern Illinois won.

 The color guard lining up for the pre-game ceremonies.

 The marching band taking the field.

 The color guard during the Pledge of Allegiance.

 The eagle flying on the field prior to the game.

 Breaking down the wall.

 North Illinois quarterback Drew Hare working his way around the pile.

 Northern Illinois running back Stingily breaking through the line.

 Ryan Brumfield during a run.

 Reggie Bell beating the Northern Illnois defenders.

 The Eastern Michigan band during the halftime show.

 Celebrating a sack.

I forget who this was.

Ann Arbor in Black and White

Continuing on with my black and white theme of late, I decided to head over to Ann Arbor to get some pictures for tonight.

 It's amazing how well buildings lend themselves to black and white.  It's also amazing how things come out when the picture is taken in black and white.

 One of the window displays.

 Another window display.  It seems to be dedicated to football season.  I was actually surprised to see an Eastern Michigan banner hanging in the display.

 An old school leather football helmet.

 I kind of liked the way this display ended up looking.

 Nickels Arcade from the other side.

 Hill Auditorium with the Burton Memorial Tower peeking out from behind.

 The Burton Memorial Tower peeking over some trees.

 It was getting dark and fortunately I brought my tripod with me.  I've never really done a fountain using a really slow shutter speed.  I really like the way it came out.

 It almost looking like there is a layer of fog over the water.

 From another angle.

 The Horace H. Rackham Graduate School building lit up.

 The Burton Memorial Tower.  This was probably the best angle I shot of it tonight.

 Looking down towards the Graduate Library.

 The Michigan League.

 The Museum of Natural History.  This is a pretty nice looking building, I think.

 The Samuel Trask Dana Building.  This is where the School of Natural Resources and Environment calls home.  It was originally built in 1905.  It originally housed the Departments of Anatomy, Histology, Pathology, Bacteriology, Physiological Chemsity and Hygiene.    It's kind of a nice looking building.

 A rabbit.  Sadly, I couldn't get much closer and I didn't have my other lenses with me.

 This used to be the Engineering Building until it moved to North Campus.

 The Block M at the center of the Diag.

 The old Graduate Library.

 Looking down towards the Burton Memorial Tower.

 The University of Michigan Museum of Art.

 The Michigan Union.

 Angell Hall.

 Newberry Hall.  This is where the Museum of Arcaeology is housed.

 The First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor.

 I decided this shot had to be in color.

 Looking down State Street.

And one more shot in Black and White,.