About Lugnut -- Patrick Malone

Joe,

Thanks for shaking my tree. I've been remiss this week in posting to this thread. In spite of wanting things to slow down some I still have much on my plate. My wife took on the project of helping me hang some inexpensive drapes in the music room behind the system. They look wonderful too. So, I moved the system and she did the drapes which needed hemming and I hung those acoustic panels that turned into a nightmare. I didn't want to use anchors because I'm stubborn. Ended up that I had to anyway and the house being old had sand mixed in with the ceiling texture so I had to use a masonry bit. The anchors are overkill for what is suspended from them since masonry bits are at least 1/4"diameter. Looks good now and it did improve the focus of the system. Steve has again shown what kind of a friend he is by offering to install a custom pair of bi-fold doors between the music room and the rest of the home. This should allow me to experience more depth of stage but may create some problems that don't now exist. We'll just have to deal with it. I'm excited.

I received my new ZYX Airy 3 Silver SB cartridge last Saturday but have yet to install it. My hands shake when I concentrate hard. When I install my new one I then need to install the Yatra on a friends table. So, I lack confidence with my hands and have two to do. Oh Steve, where are you?

My chemo went as expected on Tuesday. The steroids keep me pumped up and makes me want to be aggressive which isn't my true nature unless my buttons are pushed. Right after chemo I went to one of my audio club members home and helped install his new cartridge correctly. Luckily he is an emergency room doctor with very good hands. The result of our efforts was well worth it. It sounded very good right from the get go and will only improve with time. One cartridge project down and two to go. One more club member taking analog seriously again.

My first born, her husband and their almost two year old daughter will be coming tomorrow and staying through Father's Day. Both daughters and grandchildren will be here which means a great deal to me. This should be a lot of fun. The babies are very near the same age at slightly less than two. It's going to be fun watching them interact, if that's what you can call it. Nobody expects much other than two kids bumping into each other. Scott's all boy and Aidyn is all girl. Saturday night we're getting a babysitter and going out to eat and get an ear full of live blues as is Barb and my custom.

I'm still on a high from the Dallas experience. I'll never forget it. I know that some of you have met other Audiogon members and know what I mean when I say that no matter our differences, they dissapear when the topic is music. Never, and I mean never, have I met so many people that I had an instant bond with like this. As Albert says, it was like a high school reunion, as if we had known each other all our lives. Paul, Larry, Nate, Steve, Marty, Muna, Albert, Pat (not me), Frank, Chris, Doug, Paul, Dennis and Louis are all quality people and I consider them good and dear friends. Wow, I just counted and I've personally met 14 of you guys and I didn't go to CES or some other show and meet you. Amazing. They all know more than I do about audio so I'm a very lucky guy to draw on that huge well of knowledge if I need to. Sometimes I ponder on their individual record collections as well as mine. What would a combined collection of our finest offerings be? That would be interesting as just a list.

I'm doing better now than last week. I now get a week's repreive from the chemo which is always welcome. Hopefully after the next round of three treatments I'll be able to go without chemo for a few months. It would be nice to get all of my hair back and regain some of my lost vitality. Besides, as much as I care for the patients and staff that make up Mountain States Tumor Institute, I could use a break from that experience. It's hard to watch some of the other people and what they are going through. On some days many of the patients are like me, getting low doses just to keep things at bay. Other days folks are going for a cure and it can be very brutal. One of the drugs that I used and didn't work is really, really horrible in that parts of your hands and feet turn purple quickly and chunks fall off. It hurts really bad and you must stop taking it. The first drug I tried put nearly every muscle in my body into a permanent charlie horse. I had to stop taking that due to an allergic reaction. People, the ones going for a cure of my type of cancer take those two drugs as well as the current drug I'm taking at a much higher dose. Honestly, if the cancer doesn't get them the cure might. I don't think that is much of an exaggeration at all. Few of the people that start this program stay with it. A person can't honestly convey how bad some of this can be. Other treatments for other malignancies aren't so bad though. I don't wish to scare anyone but if you have no experience with this then it's good to know that there is a range of effects from really bad to easy. I'd be glad to get away from this scene for awhile.

Life is very good now. The tunes are sweet and made sweeter by the huge support group of Audiogon. Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's. Enjoy the weekend!!

Pat

Hi Pat sounds like you will have a fun fathers day week!!
Family and friends and our relationship with then is always said to be the most valuable thing we have in this world by those who have to deal with their mortality. I am jealous as hell about your Dallas trip, this is the kind of thing I would really enjoy. Props to Albert for being such a gracious host.
Maybe sometime in the future we could plan some kind of event to gather around. I gather from your recent posts about you health you are holding your own and feeling ok most of the time.
This is by far the best news of all.

still waiting to hear how the TAD is working out.
You bud Ron

Ron,

Thanks for the sentiments about family and friends. True, very true. All you can take with you when you leave the bonds of earth is the love given by others. The family reunion this weekend has been a lot of fun. Watching two kids almost two years old interact is a riot. Both of them are very much into listening to tunes too. My grandson, who is around us a lot, enjoys sitting in the sweet spot. He seems amazed at the sounds coming from different locations in space and especially enjoys female vocalists. They both dance whenever the needle hits the groove.

I've expressed my appreciation for Albert's hospitality before. He calls often and provides me with a lot of laughs. Music is the common bond with the gear coming in a distant second. Along the way we've both discovered that we share many of the same attitudes and values and HIS zest for life is contageous. He put a lot of effort into our visit and I felt a little uneasy about putting him in the position of tour director...for about a nano-second. It was obvious from the start that when he says it was like a vacation for himself he is telling the truth. Moments after Steve and I were picked up at the airport the fun began and it didn't stop until we loaded on the plane to return to Boise. I wish you would have been there too, as well as so many other A'goner's.

Sorry I didn't follow up about the TAD. Unfortunately, the output impedance didn't match my amps and it had to be returned. The build quality was very high and Paul is a great guy to do business with. I wish I could tell you more.

I did purchase a Supratek Syrah from Steve. It's a great piece of gear. I need to acquire the right tubes for the phono stage in order to maximize its performance and suffer from some confusion about this issue. I don't think it's as easy as one would believe and I really don't want to just waste a lot of money experimenting. Each of the various tubes need to work in harmony and this is the issue. It goes beyond the four tubes in the phono stage. Clearly there are different combinations owners find to their liking and I have yet to sit down and spend the time condensing all of the 1800+ posts into what nine tubes work the best together. Besides, all of this is probably system dependent anyway. At worst it sounds glorious with just about any tube compliment. Other system issues take priority at this point. If anyone has bothered to make lists of the different proven nine tube combinations I would be grateful for that information.

You are right. I am holding my own health-wize. Even though Barb and I both are looking forward to a more leisurely pace for awhile I'm up for attending other get togethers where I can meet more of you guys. Everyone has been fun so far.

I hope all you Dad's have a good one tomorrow.

Pat,
Happy Fathers Day to you. I don't have any offspring myself. We had two "boys" Patches and Merlin. They were Papillions, 16 years old. My wife and I had to put them down about six weeks ago. Hardest thing I have ever had to do, it brings tears to my eyes, just to type this.
I am very impressed, I could not keep up with a couple of two year olds, like you are doing. Although I am sure that you are enjoying every second of it.
You seem to be more active than me and I am training for my 3rd marathon.
Again happy Fathers Day
Jeff

Lugnut,
Just checking on the posts to see how you were doing. The Dallas trip sounds like a blast...I have my own circus here with a bunch of students visiting my lab for the summer and my own daughter graduating from high school and heading off to university.

Hope you have a good week "off".