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And We’re Back, Plus More

Well, we made it back home from MD Anderson. Much thanks for the prayers and kind words — and we're thrilled to report that there's not a dadgum thing wrong with Dad's heart. Everything checks out fine, including the existing asbestosis scarring — and they were able to culture some bacteria from the bronchoscope. That means, for all intents and purposes, that Dad's current shortness of breath is more likely than not being caused by this bacterial infection. What that means is that his breathing capacity should return to his normal state once the antibiotics kill the little buggers. The downside is that he's currently in his lowest week from chemo, so his body is going to have an extra hard time fighting off the bacteria — but the Docs expect Dad's breathing to make a comeback. They even commented that we may be taking antibiotics the whole time, just to be safe, since Dad's asbestosis scarring already makes him extra vulnerable to infection.

But all in all, we received the good news we were praying and hoping for, and we're still praying that things will pan-out in the above manner. We're going up for blood work twice a week for now, just to closely monitor everything while we work through this first hump.

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Since I've been out with family stuff, it's been 2 weeks since I've played at church — and I miss doing so quite a bit. I miss the faces, the conversations, the music, the playing. Hopefully things will begin to even out so that I can get back into playing — but we'll see. Dad's the top priority, of course.

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I've begun my Jeep sound system upgrades, and I've started with the sub. Like I've said before, the stock system is actually pretty decent (Infinity), but it's not quite where I want it. That said, I bought a Profile AP1000M amp, which I'll run at 310 watts and 4 ohms.

This will let me use the sub I've been wanting to try for months: the Rockford Fosgate T110D2. This dual coil monster will churn-out bass frequencies between 20 and 200 Hz, so I'll have no problems hearing — and feeling — the low foundation notes I've always liked. I could have opted for a 4 ohm version which would let me run the amp at 500 watts — but that'd just be CRAZY loud.

I'll set everything into a ported enclosure, bolted to the Jeep, and be good to go. All the goodies are still on order, so it may be a couple of weeks before I have everything installed — but it'll be well worth the wait! Then I'll move on to the 6 remaining speakers...

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I think we'll have meat loaf for dinner tonight. There's just nothing quite like a loaf of meat, is there?

Posted at 11:06am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Going Back

My brother stayed with Dad last night, so I came home around 9:30pm to get some decent rest before heading back to MD Anderson in a few minutes. Please pray that the Doctors would being us good news, and that the shortness of breath on exertion issue would be nothing more than a simple infection that can be easily treated — and that the breathing issue would only be temporary with no permanent "damage." We're also hoping to come home sometime this weekend, as being in the hospital for 6 days has gotten quite tiresome to him.

Posted at 5:55am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

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!

Posted at 4:43pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted at 8:15am CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)

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...

Posted at 9:09pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (4)

It’s Wednesday

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

Oh well.

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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.

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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.

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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...

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

Posted at 3:56pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)

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

Posted at 4:42pm CDT | Permalink