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About Lugnut -- Patrick Malone

Many of us have come to know Patrick Malone (Lugnut) as a friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and kind individual. He is a frequent and enthusiastic contributor to our analog discussion forum. He has initiated only 17 threads, but responded to 559 threads. I would guess that many, if not most, of us can recall a time when Pat replied with helpful advice to a question we posted or helped us track down a rare recording. I have come to love Pat as a friend, and to respect him as a man, and I suspect many of you share those feelings.

Today I write to share difficult news with you. Pat has been diagnosed with an aggressive stomach cancer. It has yet to be determined whether surgery will even be worth it. If surgery is performed, most or all of the stomach will be removed, and Pat would face a difficult and long post-op period in the hospital. The medical course is still uncertain, but will be determined soon. Whatever is decided, it will not be easy or pleasant.

Something may be planned in the future to assist the family. For now, Pat could use some of the friendship he so often and willingly showed us. You can email Pat at: lugnut50@msn.com. You can also mail cards, letters ... or whatever. You may email me for Pat's mailing address. My email is: pfrumkin1@comcast.net.

I hope to spend a few days with Pat in Idaho or Nebraska (from which he hails) soon. Between this news, my legal work, getting ready for family arriving for the holidays, Audio Intelligent, and trying to make plans to visit Pat, my head is spinning. If you email me and I don't respond, please understand that I am not ignoring you, but rather simply do not have time to reply.

Pat may or may not have time to respond to posts here, to emails, or to cards mailed to him. But he has asked me to convey to each and every one of you that he has cherished your friendship, your comradery, and sharing our common hobby on this great website.

As we prepare for our holiday season celebrations, and look forward to -- as we should -- enjoying this time of year, I ask that you keep Pat and his family in mind ... and softly offer up, in quiet moments in the still of night and early morning, prayers for Pat and his family. God bless.

Warmest regards to all,
Paul Frumkin
paul_frumkin
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,550 posts
 
Pat,
When you write in these threads, I feel like I can hear your voice. And it's always so uplifting.
Howard
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Hey guys,

Well, I did it. I ordered the TAD signature preamp and a ZYX R100H Yatra cartridge. This should be a significant step up for me. I realize I'm not soaring with the eagles here but I bet I get more bang for the buck than most.

Thank you guys for the words of encouragement. I worry about being too open in this thread and turning folks off. Maybe I'm just caught up in this situation and want so badly for others to gain something from this, my loss. Sometimes it is very difficult. Your continued support does lift me up and carry me on to the next moment of enjoyment.

I'll be baaaaack.
unclejeff
1,313 posts
 
Hey Pat;

I have been following this thread for some time now. It got me to the Doctor for some ot those routine tests....the kind Warren Zevon admitted he didn't bother with.

This whole thing is scary; still...thanks for the dose of reality. Maybe others hereabouts will get themselves away from the computer and the easy listening room and off to the doctor.

Lots of love and encouragement,

JEFF
twl
3,251 posts
 
Keep us posted on your impressions of your new gear Pat.

We're interested to hear how everything is coming together.

Also, please try to hang in there.
I'm sure it's tough.
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Hey Jeff,

Twice now, I've gotten cancer. Both times I went to doctors early on and was persistent about what I knew were not normal symptoms. Both times the physicians didn't take me seriously which delayed things too much. Early detection is an accident. This proves life is what it is.

Tom,

I'm excited about my purchases. We're not talking a lot of money here so if it kicks things up a few notches I'm a happy camper. Barb's excited too because she likes the sound of the old AI tube preamp but really likes the remote of the solid state stuff. Maybe I've hit on the right combination for her, and me. The ZYX cartridge is an experiment in a way. Others I've known respect the performance of the model I purchased but have moved onto the Universe. I doubt whether the Universe needs to be promoted because at that level and price point there is a lot of interaction between high end purchasers. The lower price models have much of the magic of the Universe and I'm hoping that in lesser systems like mine they offer the best performance for the money. I'll be posting my thoughts on this after break in and I'll use at least three preamps to try and be honest in my evaluation. They are ugly though, IMO. LOL

On a side note I bought some of Paul Speltz anti-cables just to play with. My intentions have been to find gear whose performance far exceeds the cost so that we can help get some young blood in this hobby without mortgaging their sperm bank. I took them over the Steve's house yesterday and inserted them into his system. They are stunning. Cost to performance ratio is so high on these that they deserve an award of some sort. Honest.
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