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So Close, Yet So Far…

If there could only be one more day in this week, I would have my new Gretsch Country Club, but alas, the Gregorians were plotting against me even hundreds of years ago.

Posted at 3:28pm CDT | Permalink

SWEET!

I just got a call from my guy at Sweetwater, and my new Gretsch G6196T was finished early — and I ought to have by Saturday. SWEET!

And now I'm off to get my Dad so he and I can go get our heads buzzed...

Posted at 4:39pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Cycle 1, Day 1

And so it begins.

I'm currently sitting alone in the hallway next to the B elevators on the second floor of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), just down the hallway from the Ambulatory Treatment Center Bed Unit (ATC Bed Unit). In room 5, my Dad is receiving his first infusion of Rituxan, a drug that enables your body to selectively kill cancer cells on its own. After about 5 hours of Rituxan — which will gradually increase in dosage as they monitor his body's reaction to it — he will then begin to receive the 4 other drugs in his R-CHOP therapy (Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisolone) over a period of 3 hours. As I type this now, his Rituxan dosage been bumped up to 300 ml/hr, with 400 ml/hr being the maximum — and he's handling the drug just fine. We are fervently praying that this positive trend continues throughout the rest of the treatment.

If Dad's white blood cells rebuild as desired, we will have our last treatment — which is called a cycle — on December 3. Until then, we will return every 3 weeks for another cycle, for a total of 8 cycles. During this time, we will return once a week to get blood work done as part of his contribution to the clinical trial he's participating in. If, for some reason, his counts do go up as desired, they will postpone his cycle for 1 week, then go from there.

MDACC is like a different world. This isn't just your family doctor's facility — there are no "runny noses" or "sore throats." Dad said it best when he said that people only come here to live — and there's a palpable camaraderie between everyone here. We are here to live. We are here to fight something that wants us to die at any cost. We are sick. We are dying.

But here, in the midst of all this sickness, there is an undercurrent of hope. There's a pulse, a beat, a constant knowledge that people are being healed and cured all around us. That rhythm reverberates through the staff, and then on to all of us here. It's like we're in our own little, isolated world — like we're a People Group of our own. And, I guess, we sort of are. There's a sympathy in the glances we all exchange as we pass in the halls, and look of "I know" and "I understand." You find yourself talking to strangers as though you've known them for years; the bond made strong in so short a time because of the situation we're in.

As I stood in line at the pharmacy tonight, a man said he'd been seeing me all day with Dad, and when I looked in his eyes, I could see he was looking for someone to say it would be okay. He has a different cancer, and he's hoping to start treatment on Thursday — but I'll never forget the look in his eyes when I told him you just have to keep looking forward to that next bit of good news. I hope to see him again, and I probably will — and I'm quite certain we will chat for a while when we do. As we went our separate ways, I said what I've heard so many "old pros" saying around here: "good luck."

That's the rally cry for everyone here.

I wish I could do a better job of explaining what it's like to be here, because it's so humbling. It's a miserable place in the sense that you know so many people are suffering — and it's a wonderful place because you really do feel like you're in the fight with hundreds (thousands) of other people at your side. I guess you could say it's the human condition at its worst, and the human spirit at its best. It is a Good Place, for sure.

Amid all the science, God is moving without a doubt. You are constantly hearing snippets of conversations about prayers and healing — and that's totally awesome. It's like you're in a lightning rod that's receiving God's spirit.

I could go on, but it's 10:45pm and I'm exhausted. Dad is doing great, and I'm sure he'll be almost finished with his Rituxan by the time I walk back to his room. I love sitting out here, knowing he and Mom are sitting by one another. I cannot think of two people that are quite so wonderful, and I look forward to finally killing this cancer so that they can be free of the burden of this sickness.

Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts. We ask that you continue lifting-up our family in this time — and we ask that you pray especially for us to give hope to those we see and meet, so that we can be a blessing to others as we, ourselves, have been blessed.

Posted at 9:01pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)

YAPS: Yet Another Peach Sample

While I wait for my Darlington's to arrive, I've been goofing with more transistor setups for my fuzz effect, Peach. I threw together this quick sample, which is quite poorly recorded (I just have the mic hanging in front of the speaker) — but you'll get the idea. I'm playing my 88 Les Paul since it's my fattest guitar, and the samples go from the bridge pickup with no tone, to the bridge pickup with full tone, then to the neck pickup with full tone. After this, I play a simple sustained lead-line just to show off the sustain I'm getting with my secret formula, then I end with a little bluesy noodle that shows sustain, but without the intentional holds.

http://www.maurymccown.com/images/uploads/Peach002.mp3

Posted at 7:55am CDT | Permalink | Comments (3)

The Switch by RAILhead Effects

We finalized the artwork for my A/B channel switch, The Switch (formerly known as Switcha-Rooski). I am totally loving the new look:

Posted at 10:09am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Motorola HEP 53 Fuzz

A friend of mine is a parts junky like I am, and he hooked me up with a few old school transistors for me to goof around with in my fuzz pedal. I'm still looking for pinouts for one group, but out of the others, I really liked the sound of the Motorola HEP 53. I can't put a date on this transistor, much to my chagrin — but it looks like it was something bought in the early 80s. With a maximum hFE of 85 (though I'm getting around 30, measured), it's a pretty good candidate for a classic fuzz sound — and here's a totally lousy recording (the SM58 is hanging in front of the speaker because I was too lazy to go out and get my mic stand). This is my Les Paul, bridge pickup, volume max, tone rolled all the way out:

http://www.maurymccown.com/images/uploads/Motorola_HEP_53_Fuzz.mp3

Thanks, Mark!

Posted at 6:15pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Finalized: The RAILhead Effects “TUA”

I finished the artwork for my metalcore distortion pedal, TUA — and here it is in all its metallic black glory:

I kept it simple with this art, so it's only text and metallic black paint. I love how you can see the sparkles in the black paint, too — as well as the great reflections from the clear coat.

Coming soon from RAILhead Effects!

Posted at 10:22am CDT | Permalink | Comments (6)

Speaking of Taxes…

Upon further research, it seems that if you sell "tangible personal property" (which is anything you can literally touch) — or if you sell 3 or more items online from your home in a calendar year — you're a business. So, you have to collect and report sales tax on those items. So, if you live in Texas and buy one of my effects pedals, I have to collect and report sales tax, obviously. This also means that if you live in Texas and buy one of my prints — which are ordered from a seller in New York and shipped to me for delivery to you — I have to collect and report sales tax. These taxes are to be reported quarterly, and require a tax permit.

For now, sellers still don't have to worry about taxing people that live outside their State — but Big Brother is trying his best to change that. Last I knew, Amazon had started charging tax for people buying from New York. That totally stinks. And as much as I'd love to tell The Man to shove it and conduct my affairs in hopes of never being found out, my Mom and Pop brought me up too well to be comfortable breaking State and Federal law. And of course, there's the potential for being audited, which brings up another point: you can get your butt handed to you by Feds not only by them auditing you and finding out you're a cheat — but if someone who has purchased something from you gets audited, and the Feds follow the paper trail back to you. Most people forget about customers being audited — and that's how Big Brother gets lots of people.

Isn't Government fun?

Posted at 2:00pm CDT | Permalink

Early Morning Post

I haven no idea why I'm posting this early in the morning — I guess I mainly need something to do while I drink my cup of freshly brewed, Panamanian Luna de Oro coffee. This is my first cup of this coffee, and I'm quite impressed.

••••••••

I have to go to the County Clerk's office today, which is always a fun trip. I always think of the courthouse as I do the DMV, even though it's never been that way before (for me, at least). Anyway, I'm filing my DBA (Doing Business As) for RAILhead Effects to get established with the State. It should be fairly quick and painless.

Speaking of business-related stuff, I also got my tax permit taken care of so that I can properly report taxes paid by people who buy from me here in Texas. A couple of people I talked to thought I was nuts for worrying about it, but it is the law. Even if I sell I a $10 photograph, and not a $200 pedal, I'm supposed to report that a portion of that sale was taxed. A lot of people don't worry about this, though — but if they have an extra $400 to $600 income reported on their 1040 and can't account for taxes when audited, they'll have Hades to pay. Of course, this assumes those people are reporting their extra income like they should be. I mean, I'm no fan of Government, but the law is the law — and with taxes, once you're discovered not reporting/charging them, you can get fined up to $500 a day.

So get your tax permit, people — and report your earnings on your 1040 like you should. Just because your home-based business doesn't generate a W2, that doesn't mean you aren't responsible for reporting the income. Believe me, you don't want Big Brother looking at your papers in 3 years and suddenly owing him back taxes on income you didn't report!

••••••••

I finished up the new paint job for my io Super Distortion, and I love it. It's finishing-up its curing, but I'm planning on posting pics in a day or two.

••••••••

I have another residential photo shoot today. I like shooting big, empty houses because there are so many cool shots and angles. Hopefully it won't rain and kill the natural light...

Posted at 6:14am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)