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Random Tuesdayness

Since I missed Ozzfest, thus missing Metallica, I talked the guys into doing a summer tour — and they'll be coming to Houston in November (I didn't really talk to them, but that would have been cool). Anyway, we snagged our pre-sale tickets yesterday, and we got great seats:

We're on the 8th row, seats 1 through 4 — so we can more easily flee if need be. =)

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I'm addicted to the games Hanoi and Air Hockey on my iPhone.

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Prison Break has been one of the most consistently good shows on TV, but I wasn't too impressed with last night's premier. It was too rushed, and there were too many hokey happenings.

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I'm about to head into Phase II of my Jeep's sound system upgrades, and thanks to the LockPick install I just did, I now have preamp outputs that I can use with a second amp for the interior speakers. Sure, speaker-level is doable — but preamp outputs make for cleaner work. I'm thinking of using Apline's MRP-F250 to run the front and overhead speakers.

For speakers, I'm currently considering an Infinity Reference 6020cs and 6022si combo.

We shall see...

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We had Dad's third chemo cycle last week, and he's still doing well as far as how he feels. The main problem we're having is with his breathing — he has massive shortness of breath on exertion. The more we research online, the more we find case after case of people having his exact symptoms while taking Rituxan. Since he's already predisposed to pulmonary issues die to his asbestosis scarring, it seems more and more likely that his current issues are Rituxan-related. The good news is that the effects go away after treatment. The bad is that we don't know for sure that this is what's happening — but we'll be working on that this week.

All in all, things are going great, though. His cancer is dying, and if it weren't for the shortness of breath and appetite issues (while taking chemo, after just a few bites of food, you no longer want to eat that food), he'd feel fine. This is a major answer to prayer, and we're thankful God has been merciful and compassionate.

So, please continue to pray for him, but especially for his shortness of breath and appetite issues.

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I want an aquarium again, but my wife won't let me have one.

Posted at 9:33am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some Pics

I finalized some of the Jeep mods this afternoon, so I thought I'd post some iPhone pics (thus somewhat poor quality, but you'll get the idea). First off is the backup camera I installed:

I would like for it to be more "installed" into the bumper — and if I end up keeping the factory bumpers (as opposed to replacing them with steel bumpers), that will be a simple modification with a hole saw. We'll see. For now, it's pretty dadgum tough as it's meant to be mounted like you see here.

Here are a couple of shots of the camera at work:

This camera sports a massive 150° viewable angle, and it works as low as .3 lux. I was quite impressed with the great color representation, too!

And lastly, I thought I'd take a shot of my new subwoofer: a 10-inch bass beast that only looks small:

I'm still stunned at how much bass I'm getting out of such a small enclosure, but I can get it so loud and low, you can't even walk behind the Jeep without it hurting your head. Hats off to Rockford Fosgate for yet another awesome speaker.

Posted at 5:07pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s Done, Getting Ready, Etc…

First off, I was able to get my MyGIG LockPick installed into my Jeep today, and it's AWESOME. Just so you know, "MyGIG" is the main radio/head unit in Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles (more info here). Different vehicles ship with different features enabled, and the LockPick simply opens-up all available features — and this is what allowed me to have voice recognition, Bluetooth connectivity, in-motion navigation searches, a backup camera installed, and more.

Installation was crazy-simple, as the LockPick uses the existing interconnects. The most "difficult" part of the job was running the cable for the backup camera I installed, but that was a simple as pulling up carpet and shoving the cable underneath. I got my iPhone paired to the MyGIG while I was in line for a 44oz Cherry Limeaid, so now I can talk hands-free through my car stereo. The backup camera works flawlessly. The microphone install picks up everything perfectly, etc. Technology is a wonderful thing, no? I think I'm going to go ahead and order me a front camera, too, just for kicks.

All in all, it was well worth the $500 for the full package, and probably one of my all-time favorite vehicle mods!

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I hate hurricanes. One of the worst things about them is what we have to do at work to get ready for the unexpected. We have to find that fine line of not wanting to shut down so that we don't have any downtime — yet we don't want to postpone anyone's departure in case things suddenly head our way. So it is with Gustav, but we're being extra proactive and preparing for the worst. So, rather than be at church tomorrow, playing in the band, I'll be on a conference call planning the next move. For me, it's extra annoying because I'm also the CIS Manager — and that means I'm responsible for shutting down all our servers and transporting a mini-office to our evacuation site. This means all of the other departments have to do what they need to get done so that they don't get too far behind, then I have to come up after and get everything down and loaded — all while hoping I don't need to haul butt out of town. Long story kind of short, since things are still too up in the air — and since it's a holiday weekend — we're planning as though we're evacuating. We would much rather be safe than sorry, since we have a couple thousand employees counting on us for their pay every week.

It'll totally suck to miss church and not play — especially since it seems Gustav isn't heading our way. But, like I said: it's better to be safe than sorry when you're in our position as a company.

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I think I'll go crash now since I have to get up for the 5:00 am hurricane update...

Posted at 10:30pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher

As I was purging my photo library to make room for new images, I found the following shot I took while on vacation in San Francisco. It's a burger joint named Taylor's Automatic Refresher, and it's one of the more popular destinations in town. Anyway, this photo is a prime example of how cool cross-processing can make a picture look. I uploaded a small version of the original, and the processed version is right below (and can be viewed full size on the linked Flickr page):

Here's the modified version:

Posted at 1:27pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

New Metallica: My Apocalypse

Here's a high quality MP3 of "My Apocalypse" off Metallica's upcoming album, Death Magnetic, made available through Mission: Metallica.

http://www.maurymccown.com/downloads/sounds/My Apocalypse.mp3

You can download the MP3 by following this link.

I know some of the other songs are a bit bad (though I haven't heard the studio versions), but this song is an awesome throwback for us old skool Metallica fans.

Posted at 6:05am CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)

Varietal Tuesday (Sans Grapes)

What a title, eh?

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My oldest nephew just started college, and as he's begun this new part of his life, it got me thinking about my college days — and days older still.

Time is weird, you know? A few months ago, I was at a friend's salon waiting to get a haircut, and in walks a girl I went to school with. We passed the basic pleasantries like "how's it going?" and "how's the wife/husband," etc., etc, then we both just sat there in awkwardness. I mean, me and this girl (woman, now) grew up together, and we've known each other since we were like 5 years old — so we're talking about knowing each other for over 30 years. THIRTY! However, we had nothing to say to one another — we were just two totally different humans with totally different lives, both just happening to live on the same planet. How crazy is that? You know someone all your life yet you still have nothing to say to them.

This got me thinking about the friends I had in Jr High and High School, and most of those people have just gone by the way-side. Think of the hundreds of people you spent 5 days a week with, and think about how little you knew about most of them. Where are they now? Who knows. What are they doing? Beats me. The more you think about it, the more you (or I do, at least) think about all the stupidity and foolishness, and you wish you could take some of it back. Good grief, who knows what memories stand out when people think of me. Oh well.

What's cool, though, is the friends that were made back then who are still our friends today. Sweet Moses, the stories Jeremy and I could tell (we just need to find Wesley)! And every once in a while, I'll stumble upon another old friend, which is nice. I bumped into a gal I grew up with just the other day, and that was cool. She was the girl that was fully accepted into our Guy Flock, and she held her own quite well amid the testosterone. Now she lives in London with her hubby (isn't that what that call them over there?), which sounds about right for her.

Fast-forward to college, and the cycle repeats. My greatest friendships were born in college — the main one being with my wife. Other than her, I have guys I know I could call at any hour of the day for anything, and they'd do their dadgum best to help out in any way they could. Friends you can go for years not seeing, but when you're back together, it's like you pick up right where you left off. That's cool — and chances are, we'll always stay in touch with each other until one of us finally kicks out.

All of this makes me reflect on days long gone, and part of me wishes I could go back and keep my mouth shut at times, and then open it at others. But such is life, no? I hope my old friends are doing well, the ones I never talk to any longer. I hope they have found happiness, contentment, fulfillment. I hope they have discovered that there's a God in Heaven that loves them just as they are. I hope they have found true joy, and that they have found someone to love and cherish. I hope they are doing something they love, and that they're making the world a better place, one home at a time.

So Trip, if you're reading this, take it all in. Never rush yourself. This is one of the best times of your life, and it's here that you'll make those life-long friends that will always be there for you — and that you can be there for. Be yourself, and don't try to live up to anyone's expectations that don't fit who you really are. Push to be the best you can be, never settling for just the mediocre — and surround yourself with people who live out that same philosophy. Of course, I must interject that Dave and Jim are probably getting a kick out of me saying that, but we were the best at what we did, which was being cool, of course. =)

Oh, and if you are reading my site and you see me talking about all the cigars I smoke, you uh, shouldn't do that. It's bad for you. And make sure the girls you date live at least 50 miles away from one another — 70, if you call pull it off.

Posted at 3:17pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (4)

Week Wrap-Up

The rest of my Jeep's subwoofer hardware arrived today, so I'm going to try and get it all installed tomorrow. I can't wait to find out how 25Hz feels. w00t!

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We've been Tivoing the Olympics to watch the volleyball, and the men are playing especially awesome (we're still at 10-1 US in the 3rd set). I used to love playing volleyball back in the day, but my fat butt would only last about 10 minutes nowadays.

I have a feeling we're going to win...

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WE WON!

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And yeah, that's about all that's happened this week...

Posted at 9:15pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, It Has Landed

My source called me around noon today to let me know that our local AT&T did, in fact, receive a shipment of iPhones — which is the first shipment they've received since the original July 11 release. Luckily, I was already in the area, so I was able to run over and get mine before they sold out. Getting on the "pre-order" list was the best the local shop could do, as they aren't allowed to hold iPhones for anyone — so I'm glad my contact came through with the tipoff. I showed up before they even started checking them in, and by the time I left, they only had 2 white and 1 black iPhone left (out of an original shipment of 10).

I opted for the black 16GB model so that I could at least carry my main iTunes playlist (which is only 8.52GB) and still having plenty of room for Lord knows what. So far, I really like it — but I'm still transferring contacts, email accounts, iTunes tracks, etc., so I haven't really been able to dive into the features. I do hope there some way to permanently set the local area code, because I already hate having to dial it when making a local call. Of course, if I have my Contacts setup properly, I'll rarely have to dial anyone's number — but ti's an annoyance nonetheless (so far).

So for now, I really like the iPhone, and I'm sure I'll like even more once I "think different" on what all a "phone" can do for me.

Posted at 5:40pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

My iPhone Is Landing (Maybe)...

A little birdie has let me know that the 16GB iPhone I "pre-ordered" I don't know how long ago may be arriving tomorrow, so that's pretty cool. I love new toys, and this is one toy that will actually make my life a LOT easier since — while I love my current phone (SMT5800) — it will better integrate with all my systems. I'm needing a good calendar sync solution more and more, and it just makes sense to use the iCal calendars I already use. Not to mention address book integration, etc., etc.

So now I wait and see if it really arrives, so here's to hoping it will...

Posted at 4:46pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)