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I'd like to someday finish recording my and my mom's audio cassettes to MP3 files. But all my cassette players have encountered problems. The last one I used for the task still works, but started making a rattling noise while playing which gets carried over into the MP3 recordings too. Another boombox with dual cassettes has that same rattling noise problem, as well as its speakers not working.
I watched some videos of people replacing the rubber belts in their cassette players. In one video, after the belt was replaced and the cassette deck was being tested, I heard it making the same sound as mine! So even replacing the belts might not help with that problem.
Each time I go looking online for a new cassette player to buy, however, I am scared off by reviewers who say NOT to get this one, because it eats tapes. Every single one I look at has at least one, if not several reviews like that. Or other deal-breakers are mentioned, like the player being mono rather than stereo.
.
I got my 2nd Shingrix (Shingles) vaccine shot.
A bit of my rear molar chipped off. I went to the dentist and had the edges smoothed.
My thumb still does not bend.
.
A section of the garage ceiling panels, which I had lately noticed was sagging, broke and fell down before I could reinforce it. Luckily there was nothing underneath that area, so no collateral damage. But the cellulose insulation on top of the panel came down with it, making a big mess. I cleaned it up.
Did I ever mention the reinforcements I added to the other garage ceiling panels which had been sagging? That was 5 years ago. I attached wood boards along the seams of the panels. I still remember it feeling like quite an accomplishment. It was tricky, bracing the boards against the ceiling on both sides, while I screwed the screws in. Those sagging panels were a problem that I'd noticed and worried about for quite a while, and I couldn't find anyone to fix it, and then I figured out how to fix it myself!
.
Today it was very rainy. Happy Lunar New Year!
I succeeded in getting the new mailbox post in the ground. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get the mailbox transferred over to the new post, in between working for work.
One of the gateposts on the gate that got knocked down last summer has concrete anchoring it. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have been able to get it out and replace it myself by now. I keep going back and forth between thinking I can do it myself, and thinking I will hire someone to do it. Then other things take precedence for a while. Now I'm wavering again, because I was able to rock the post back and forth a bit. Maybe if I can just get leverage... I had a couple ideas to try... I could get it out of the ground. But I really ought to just hire someone. Yeah. I really should.
.
In the past, I used a product called Tub Grip to add traction to the bottom of my tub, to make it less slippery. It works very well, but it seems to capture dirt and makes the tub harder to get clean-looking. It also wears away over time.
Before applying a new coating of it, it's best to remove the rest of the old layer.
This time I used a product called "Citristrip" to remove it. It got the residue off, but also etched up the tub surface. Oops. It's a synthetic tub, fiberglass, I think. All the comments I found indicated this Citristrip works fine on fiberglass without damaging it, but no, not in my case it didn't.
The tub being etched makes it less slippery now even without applying new Tub Grip. But in some directions it still feels slippery so I probably still should apply new Tub Grip on top.
I watched some videos of people replacing the rubber belts in their cassette players. In one video, after the belt was replaced and the cassette deck was being tested, I heard it making the same sound as mine! So even replacing the belts might not help with that problem.
Each time I go looking online for a new cassette player to buy, however, I am scared off by reviewers who say NOT to get this one, because it eats tapes. Every single one I look at has at least one, if not several reviews like that. Or other deal-breakers are mentioned, like the player being mono rather than stereo.
.
I got my 2nd Shingrix (Shingles) vaccine shot.
A bit of my rear molar chipped off. I went to the dentist and had the edges smoothed.
My thumb still does not bend.
.
A section of the garage ceiling panels, which I had lately noticed was sagging, broke and fell down before I could reinforce it. Luckily there was nothing underneath that area, so no collateral damage. But the cellulose insulation on top of the panel came down with it, making a big mess. I cleaned it up.
Did I ever mention the reinforcements I added to the other garage ceiling panels which had been sagging? That was 5 years ago. I attached wood boards along the seams of the panels. I still remember it feeling like quite an accomplishment. It was tricky, bracing the boards against the ceiling on both sides, while I screwed the screws in. Those sagging panels were a problem that I'd noticed and worried about for quite a while, and I couldn't find anyone to fix it, and then I figured out how to fix it myself!
.
Today it was very rainy. Happy Lunar New Year!
I succeeded in getting the new mailbox post in the ground. Perhaps tomorrow I'll get the mailbox transferred over to the new post, in between working for work.
One of the gateposts on the gate that got knocked down last summer has concrete anchoring it. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have been able to get it out and replace it myself by now. I keep going back and forth between thinking I can do it myself, and thinking I will hire someone to do it. Then other things take precedence for a while. Now I'm wavering again, because I was able to rock the post back and forth a bit. Maybe if I can just get leverage... I had a couple ideas to try... I could get it out of the ground. But I really ought to just hire someone. Yeah. I really should.
.
In the past, I used a product called Tub Grip to add traction to the bottom of my tub, to make it less slippery. It works very well, but it seems to capture dirt and makes the tub harder to get clean-looking. It also wears away over time.
Before applying a new coating of it, it's best to remove the rest of the old layer.
This time I used a product called "Citristrip" to remove it. It got the residue off, but also etched up the tub surface. Oops. It's a synthetic tub, fiberglass, I think. All the comments I found indicated this Citristrip works fine on fiberglass without damaging it, but no, not in my case it didn't.
The tub being etched makes it less slippery now even without applying new Tub Grip. But in some directions it still feels slippery so I probably still should apply new Tub Grip on top.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-23 01:53 pm (UTC)From:I need to get a shingles shot; and after the pandemic, a trip to the dentist.
For leverage try a car jack. If the post has a crossbar (or a hole through which you can slide a pipe), two car jacks that you can crank up in tandem.
I thought people stick some kind of rubber stickers into their tubs/showers. My old 70's era avocado-green toilet has butterfly-shaped ones on the reservoir. Came with the house.
Happy Lunar New Year. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2023-01-25 08:03 am (UTC)From:I don't recall ever seeing cassette players at the Goodwills here. But I wasn't looking for them then, so that's not a bad idea to check.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-25 01:28 pm (UTC)From:I often look for old CD players at good will so I can play music at various locations at work without lugging stuff around. A lot of old portable CD players also play cassettes. It's the ones that also take a USB key that are few and far between.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-25 06:07 pm (UTC)From:But back to CD players, yes that is right. Several of the newer ones I saw while browsing online did have slots for USB drives and memory cards.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-23 03:43 pm (UTC)From:The ceiling problem makes me wonder why the panels were sagging in the first place.
Oh, embodiment. Glad you got your vaccine. An acquaintance of mine got shingles in her 30s, and it really fouled some things up. The less of that, the better.
Best luck with the tub grip. My grandparents used those same sandpapery stickers, but of course those don't do anything for the area between them.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-25 08:57 am (UTC)From:There must have been some roof leakage in the past before I had the roof replaced, based on water spots on the ceiling panels. That may have caused some of the problem. But I also suspect whoever built the garage also may not have spaced the ceiling beams close enough together.
I tried tub stickers but unfortunately they didn't adhere well to my tub and started coming off within a few months.
Shingles sounds unpleasant enough on its own, but it's sort of like Covid & Long Covid in that even after you get over it, there's also a chance of ending up with Postherpetic neuralgia. I wanted to avoid that if I could.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-25 06:10 pm (UTC)From:> I wanted to avoid that if I could.
Good call. My buddy ended up with neuralgia and hearing damage :(
If I can rant a minute, this is also why I'm not super surprised to see long covid be a thing. Viruses with long-lasting effects aren't new.
My buddy was flirting with some anti-vax ideas (against the discouragement of a coworker and I) and it was only the long-lasting effects of shingles that changed that. So... *grump*