blog

The Jeep Has Landed

I got my Jeep today, and I dadgum LOVE IT. The thing rides as smooth as my Titan, even for a 4-wheel drive. And the sound system? It's actually pretty dadgum sweet once I got it equalized — and the factory sub is comparable to my Bazooka. Here are some pics taken with my cell phone:

Jeep offers Remote Start as an option, and I've already grown quite fond of it for getting the AC going. It seemed like a silly "luxury" to add to a Jeep, but I'm glad I got it. The only thing they couldn't get me was the 105mm recoilless rifle to mount on the back to clear out slow traffic. Oh well.

So fare-thee-well, Titan: you were nice while I had you — but don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Cycle 2, Day 5

Things are going good and not so good with Dad's treatment, though "not so good" is probably best stated as "what's up with that?" Let's start with the obvious good, though. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Dad's body is responding well to the treatment. The lump under his arm is completely gone, and the mass in his chest has almost totally dissipated to my laymen's eyes. THAT is AWESOME, and yet another answer to prayer. He has yet to experience any pain or nausea, but his hair is finally falling out — but that's not too big a deal. So all in all, things are going great.

Having said that, he began experiencing shortness of breath last Thursday and Friday, and it got progressively worse on Saturday in the wee hours of the morning. We hauled up to MD Anderson's emergency room around 6:30am, and we've been here ever since. CAT, CT, and x-rays all show, well, that nothing's amiss — which is great. Everything is stable as far as previous scan comparison goes, but his white counts are higher than they like, which is a sign of infection. Unfortunately — or fortunately — they really aren't able to see any pneumonia in his lungs, so the Docs are admittedly scratching their heads. But, based on all their data, they feel it best to treat him for infection, so we've been getting strong antibiotics every 12 hours. The pulmonary team will also be evaluating him sometime today.

Some other good news that ties with the above, is that he feels fine. As long as he doesn't try to do much, he's totally fine — it's only when he walks too much. So the shortness of breath is what's causing the issues.

Hopefully the Doctor will be making his rounds soon, and we'll know more about what the next step is. Please pray that there will be no new discoveries, and that whatever is causing this breathing problem will be taken care of with the least amount of issue possible.

Excuse any spelling or grammar, as I've gotten about 6 hours of sleep since Saturday.

I’m Now A Jeeper

I am now the soon-to-be proud owner of a 4-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara! w00t! I got it in Jeep Green with a Khaki hard-top (but it also comes with a black soft-top), and this is how Jeep's website renders it:

I can't find a larger image, but oh well. Also, the khaki top isn't quite that color — so who knows what Jeep was thinking as far as their web images go. Anyway, I am totally stoked about getting this, and there's a really good chance I'll be able to pick it up from the dealer tomorrow.

I got it loaded to the max, too, and I'm particularly looking forward to the built-in GPS and 30GB hard drive for music storage. I also like the idea that I can take off the doors, the top, and lower the front windshield for a super-convertible. I was pleasantly surprised that I fit into the thing, too, and I'm actually driving with the seat pulled forward a bit. I was also surprised that it drove as smoothly (or more smoothly, even) than my Titan, especially since the Jeep is 4-wheel drive.

Now I have to begin planning for a stereo redo, though it's nice that it already has a built-in sub...

It’s Wednesday

Dang, it's only Wednesday? This week seems like it's been going on forever. Ugh.

Oh well.

••••••••

The "storm" that blew through — which I predicted 36 hours before landfall to be nothing but a dud — ended up postponing my Dad's second chemo cycle until tomorrow. It stinks, but it's only 2 days late — and the Doc said that was no problem. Things continue to go well overall, though he's getting tired easily, and losing weight more rapidly than he'd like. Nothing crazy has happened so far, so God continues to be merciful.

••••••••

I'm still hunting for a new vehicle. The LR3 was cool and all, but it was just too small. The Infiniti QXs are sweet, but I think those are too big. I now have my sight on 2 other vehicles — the first being the one I wanted back when they came out a few years ago: the FJ Cruiser. When I first started car hunting, I was worried about having a big enough back seat for toting people wherever we were going, but that doesn't really happen all that often. So, I'll be trying out an FJ Cruiser again this weekend (I've already done the test drive and loved it). I'll also be checking out the Jeep Unlimited 4-doors. These SUVs look bloody awesome in my opinion, so I'm hoping they're spacious enough for me to be comfortable. I know the ride will be more bumpy in the Jeep — but it's a Jeep. I'll be giving them a go this weekend, too.

••••••••

I have a cool photo shoot coming up this weekend that I'm really looking forward to. Hopefully the weather will turn nice and bright and sunny...

••••••••

We have rats at work again, stealing lollipops and trying to drag them under doors. Vermin.

RAILhead Effects Io Teaser Clip

Here's another teaser clip, this time showcasing my RAILhead Effects io Super-Distortion. This particular sample was recorded with my 88 Les Paul in the bridge pickup position, with the tone at about 50%. I start off playing clean so you can hear my amp, then I play the same progression with the io's Gain at 12 o'clock, then the same progression with Gain at 3 o'clock, and finally with the gain maxed-out. Fall in love with the bedroom-level feedback...

http://www.railheadeffects.com/sounds/RHFX-io-001.mp3

Yes, It’s Another Peach Custom Fuzz Sample

I whipped-up yet another sample of my fuzz effect, The Peach. I'm really liking pushing slightly beyond the "normal" fuzz tone into this sort of hybrid fuzz/distortion/noise territory.

http://www.railheadeffects.com/sounds/The-Peach-001.mp3

This was recorded with my 88 Les Paul, bridge pickup, tone rolled all the way out.

A Hunting We Will Go

The time has come to finally get rid of my wife's 6 year old car: her much-loved G35 sedan. It's been a good car and a pleasure to own — but she's ready to get into something bigger and less car-like. So, we're going to haul off to the Infiniti dealer this afternoon and check out the 2009 FX35s. These are crazy-cool looking vehicles, let me tell you. To me, they're totally girly looking — but they have an awesomely feline and mildly mean-looking profile. She may go color opposite and get the brown, since she's kind of tired of white. We'll see.

I'm also hoping to replace my Nissan Titan with a Land Rover LR3 in the coming months — a vehicle I've been wanting for quite a while. Since the Land Rover place is so close to Infiniti, we'll swing by there, too, so I can see how well I fit in the thing. Being 6'4" and 225 pounds, I'm pretty picky about the cabin in my vehicles — but according to the specs, it's almost the same size as my TItan.

I've always like Land Rovers because I'm a fan of the geometry of their design, but a lot of people think they look like a box on wheels. Of course, I'm the guy that would be driving a Willys Jeep if I could find on in working condition, so the "military" squareness is right up my alley. But, you never know what'll happen when I get to see one up close and personal.

The biggest downside is that I have to deal with car dealers in the Texas summer heat...