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Friday Random

Today we started Dad's Phase 1 clinical trial (MLN8237) cancer medication. So far, so good — no complications at all. We'll have a second dose before he crashes tonight, then we're back up here for more blood work. There's nothing in this medicine that should affect his pulmonary system, but he's still pretty apprehensive at just the thought. We're praying and hoping he won't even know he's taken the medication outside of it killing what little cancer remains in him.

If you're the praying type, please continue to badger God, asking that He extend His mercy and compassion even further upon Dad. The cancer is dying, but we need his lungs to recover. Please pray for divine, supernatural healing.

And while you're praying, please remember Liz, my good friend's Mom. They're waging their own battle with this crap, and they would appreciate the prayers.

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I'm in the process of releasing a new line of my effect pedals, meaning: same guts, different exterior. The Wife and I are working on some prototypes, and if I like them, I may go for it. The pricing will probably stay the same, but the look will be totally different. Our mental ideas are really cool, so we'll see how things pan-out.

I've been having a great time building custom pedals for several repeat customers. I'm really looking forward to finishing a 5 channel effects loop for a client — it'll be my biggest build yet, weighing-in at a whopping 10-inches in length (horizontal). I'll be adding a gallery to RAILhead Effects in the near future.

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To complete our home entertainment system, I snagged some sweet new gear: a Polk SurroundBar 50 (The Wife won't let me run speakers all over the house, so I had to use a sound bar), an Onkyo TX-SR806 receiver, and a Polk DSW MicroPRO 1000 subwoofer.

The SurroundBar 50 can max out at 150 watts per channel (it sports 5 channels), and provides a crazy-accurate 5.1 surround experience. This mother is potent. The Onkyo pushes 130 watts per channel and handles 7.1 (which i may get to one of these days). I also like the 5 HDMI inputs, and so far, I am totally loving this receiver. As for the sub, I wanted something small enough to fit behind our TV since The Wife refuses to let me have visible gear. It's powered with 1200 watts, so it pushes all kinds of low-end rumble — and it's really tight and articulate.

I'm still finessing everything, but even right out of the box, it sounds dadgum incredible — and it gets plenty loud for our large living area. I'll post some pics soon, since I'm sure you're all dying to see it. =)

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24 has begun, and may I say, I am LOVING it. I'd like to be Jack Bauer sometimes. Well, I'd really prefer to be Charlie Crews, but Bauer would be cool, too.

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Okay, that's it — my back and rear are killing me from sitting in this chair at MD Anderson for so long, so I'm going for a walk...

Posted at 6:32pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Late-Night Ramblings

It seems like it's been months since I posted anything — but it's only been 10 days. Crazy. Boat-loads of stuff is happening, so do the rundown...

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We begin Plan B on killing Dad's chemo this coming Monday, and we'll do by starting a brand-new trial drug: MLN8237, a novel Aurora A Kinase inhibitor. Less than 3 dozen people have used this drug, so no one is 100% sure how well it will work — but it's a good place to start before going back to more standard regimens. Since MLN8237 works on a more molecular level (by basically confusing DNA at a cellular level), the overall toxicity to the human body should be dramatically less than standard treatments. This is good for Dad, as we don't want his breathing to get any worse. This also means we will be spending a lot more time on the road, getting blood work twice a week — sometimes for 6 hours a day. But of course, the Family would drive to MD Anderson 10 days a week if it means Dad will get better — so no biggie!

Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts. Sometimes we must go through the valley before we stand upon the mountain of God.

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Everybody and their brother is ordering my red Pulse Tap-Tempo with Dots. What's up with that? Not that I'm complaining, of course — but I would have thought metallic blue would be the big seller. I have 6 more to make this weekend, plus Peaches and ios. Thank goodness I don't have a 9 hour a day job any longer, as my effect building is growing more and more.

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I want a saltwater aquarium, but my wife won't let me have one. =(

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Sunday mornings are my favorite mornings, because I'm usually the only person up and outside on our block. I like how, sometimes, when you walk outside on a calm morning, you're just surrounded by this blanket of silence. It's a feeling similar to when a storm or cyclone quickly sucks the wind out of an area, and you feel silence — literally feel it. I love that feeling. That suspension. That absence. It's what I imagine stopping time would be like, and in those moments, I can hear whatever I want, see whatever I want. It's what I imagine Eden was like, oh so many years ago. Suspended — able to hear all, see all, notice all, ignore all. Precisely tuned to everything around you — but able to switch off the noise of Life. It's what I imagine crawling into God's arms is like: supremely calm, insulating, comforting, at peace amid the chaos.

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I've had to turn down 14 photography clients this month, and I hate it. And I don't mean to say I "hate it" because I'm too busy doing other stuff — it's just that I'm unable to take on new work right now, so I hate having to turn them down. Such is life.

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My Lunesta has finally bested the over-caffeination I indulged in, so I'm off to bed only to rise early...

Posted at 12:30am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

So It’s 2009…

Well, it's 2009 and it doesn't seem all that different from 2008 — or even 2007, for that matter. Nevertheless, last year was a good one — mostly.

For the geek in me, after a couple of years of waiting, I finally bought the Mac Pro Tower I always wanted: the top of the line 3.2GHz Quad Core with an 8800 GT 512MB video card, 1TB of internal storage, and 16GB of RAM. That was a nice treat, and something that's already paid for itself twice over.

The musician in me also bought the guitar I've always wanted: my Gretsch G6196T Country Club in Cadillac Green. Pure honey. Oh, sweet Moses, I love this guitar.

The entrepreneur in me started RAILhead Effects: my own line of custom guitar effects. RHFX has been awesome on all kinds of levels, and I cant to see what 2009 brings us!

The philanthropist in me fell in love with the children of Kenya, and this brought about the birth of Charity4, my "vehicle of advocacy." 2009 holds BIG plans, so stay tuned for that!

The son in me came under stress, as we found out Dad has cancer. The last half of 2008 has revolved around getting him better, and the battle is still being fought — and we are all hopeful and confident we will see victory. However, it's been rough seeing Dad get sick and to watch him be so uncomfortable. I hate seeing him feel bad, and I hate that he's going through this — but I love how it's brought our already crazy-close family even closer together.

The employee in me resigned from my position at my Dad's old company so that I could be available to help Dad and Mom with all manner of things. That was odd: being 35 and resigning from a really, really great job. Thankfully, my parents have a few other small business, and I was able to be hired to work as a sort of Financial Manager for one of their partnerships. We're still getting things rolling, but once everything is moving, I have a feeling this will be one of the busiest jobs I've ever had (next to working for UPS, of course).

The husband in me spent another wonderful year with my best friend at my side — for 11 years, and counting.

The photographer in me scored loads of great jobs, clients, magazine prints, book publish shots, web content exclusives, contest wins, etc., etc. I haven't been shooting as much over the last several months (for obvious reasons), but 2008 was my best year ever.

So, looking back, 2008 was great — but it had its share of bad with Dad getting sick. 2009 looks promising on all fronts, and I can't wait to see what Life will throw at our family — and how we will deal with it as a unit. I'm looking forward to my first International travel and mission trip to Kenya, where I'll get to see some of the wonderful children I've fallen in love with. I can't wait for what lies ahead for Charty4 and RAILhead Effects. I can't wait for my Dad to be cured of cancer. I can't wait to see what God will do, and how He will move. The fortune I got in a fortune cookie a few weeks ago sums it up best:

"A refreshing change is in your future."

So be it.

Posted at 6:24pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Christmas 2008

Man, that was fast, no? All that time and energy spent, and Christmas is here and gone so quickly — but it's worth it. We had a great time this year with family: lots of great food, lost of fun opening gifts, lots of great hanging-out and doing nothing together. Our main Christmas dinner this year was prepared by my sister and brother-in-law, and the family chose Greek food to be the theme — and it was awesome. I can't even begin to tell you what all the dishes were, but they were excellent. The music at our church's Christmas Eve-Eve service went really well, too, even though the practice beforehand had us all expecting the worst.

But like all Christmases, it's already here and gone — and gone too quickly. Next week will begin the routine of getting "Back To Normal" until New Year's Day. One of these days Winter will arrive, too, and I'll mentally reconnect the Holidays with the cooler weather. Texas, eh?

As for what ol' Santa Claus brought me this year, I scored pretty dadgum well — probably my best haul ever. My top cool gifts are:

• A 52-inch Samsung LN52A850 LCD TV.
• The Entertainment Center to house the big TV (that's not our house in the pic below).
• The 50W Weller WESD51 Digital Soldering Station.
• Nespresso Essenza C100 Espresso/Latte/Cappuccino machine.
• An M-AUDIO FireWire Solo recording interface, to replace my USB interface.
• A really nice, leather cigar case.
• Some of the DVDs I've been wanting forever (Pan's Labyrinth, Blade Runner, etc.).

I also got the obligatory clothing gifts, etc. All in all, I had one of the best loot-scores ever — so maybe Christmas gifts do get better the older you get?

The only thing I didn't get, though, is that dadgum Willys Jeep I've been wanting for over a decade. What's up with that, people?!?

Posted at 9:01am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Posted at 9:27am CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve Catch-up

Let's start this off with a report on my Dad and our Family Cancer Fight. By and large, we've managed to kick most of the cancer's butt six ways to Sunday — which is AWESOME. However, there are still a couple of small spots that are being boneheaded, and we'll begin taking care of them the first of the year. We were hoping the spots would be an infection of some kind, which would have (potentially) meant Dad's breathing difficulties could be explained away — outside of his already-present asbestosis. But, the biopsy showed cancer, and we'll be praying for healing to get Dad's lungs back to better capacity; it seems the lymphoma or the CHOP chemicals exacerbated the asbestosis, which lead to his breathing getting worse. However, we have hope for healing, because Faith is hope in things not seen — and we have Faith that God can heal the sick. We are, by no means, at the end of the line, thankfully. It's irritating, frustrating, anger-inciting, and sometimes depressing — but we can get through this chapter, too. I have a clear vision of our entire family doing family things together, all in good health. Mom and Dad walking in their garden together, Mom and Dad shopping together, the family vacationing together — Dad completely delivered from his need of supplemental oxygen. Hope in things not seen, my friends.

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Speaking of cancer, if you're reading this and you're the praying or vibe-sending type, please say some words not only for my Dad, but for the Mom of a good friend of mine. My friend's Mom's name is Liz, and she's fighting a horrible battle with cancer right now, and she too, is in much need or prayer and support. The family is strong, but cancer can quickly make the family weak, emotionally and spiritually. Pray for their strength, and pray for wisdom, and pray for healing, mercy, and compassion.

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With the above said, there's been another massive change in the Family History: a McCown resigned from the company my Dad helped become the highly respected, front-liner it is in the construction and scaffolding industry. That McCown was me. Yup, as odd as it seems, I've resigned — but I resigned for a wonderful reason: to be available to help my Mom and Dad with anything and everything they need help with. Another great thing about this move is that I'm able to maintain employment at another one of my Dad's companies, where I'll basically be a financial manager of sorts, handling investments, tax issues, etc. This combo will let help with Mom and Dad when needed, as well as help Dad with portions of investment management — so I'll get to go back to working for my Pop.

It's still strange to sever this tie after all these years. Not only that, but our company has been in the family for decades — longer than I've been around — so our company is all I've known. I used to call Dad at work when I just a little kid and talk to his secretary — and 28 years later, I start working with her. All the people that made — and make — the company what it is for all these years. So many memories. So much success. What a blessing it's been to me, my wife, and the entire family — and more importantly, under Dad's compassionate leadership, it's been a blessing to the hundreds of workers that we employ. But, my time is done there. My job description now covers doing whatever Mom and Dad need — and I can't think of a better way to spend who knows how long. Before, it was just Dad I worked for. Now, it's Mom, too — and I love getting to spend more time with both of them.

There are several people I miss seeing already, and it's only been a week — and it's kind of nice to think that there may be a few people missing me, too. Good looks, guys and gals!

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This move will also let me devote more time to getting my guitar effects — RAILhead Effects — pushed and in publicity more. I'm still selling a couple/few a week after the initial rush — and that's on nothing but word of mouth and some way too short demos on the site. I have a feeling that once I start advertising and get some new demos up, I'll be able to build a fairly consistent amount of the suckers without worrying about getting too busy with my other job.

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And in speaking of starting things, for those paying extra special attention, I just renewed my REALbasic Professional License. What could that possibly mean...? Hmm...

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Here's the final result of the homemade Christmas Ornament I mentioned a few posts back — it's a fully working, lighted Christmas tree!

NICE! It's powered with two 2032 cell batteries, and the switch can turn off the lights to preserve batteries (the lights are on in both these shots, but you can't easily see them the first shot).

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Okay, that's it for now. My Lunesta is to the point of letting me know it really can drop me like an ox if it has to. You got the update and prayer requests for Dad — as well as the one for Liz. You got where I resigned from my position as CIS and HR Manager at Miken Specialties, ltd. You got where I'm working at a new private company as a Financial Manager. And lastly, you got the wicked-cool homemade ornament we made for 2008.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Please never forget that there is a God in Heaven that loves you as you are right now — not as someone "thinks" you should be. He wants you to have a full and abundant life, enjoying the most of what we are offered here on earth — and He wants to lead you toward that abundant life with Jesus, the One who died for our sins because He loves us so much.

"Life is nothing more than emotional and physical ups and downs, mountains and valleys. Our soul and spirit rests at the foot of the cross, which is unmoving. A Christian's Life is a result of how he or she tempers both of those with one another, letting one serve as the counterbalance for the other when needed." — Maury McCown.

Posted at 8:15am CDT | Permalink | Comments (4)

Coming Soon…

Just a quick note to say I haven't forgotten about the place — I've just been crazy-busy. With that said, I have interesting and exciting and scary and unfortunate news to share soon, so keep your eyes peeled...

Posted at 7:12pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)