James Clear posted the following quote today: “There are nearly endless opportunities to improve each day and finding them largely boils down to being curious. People who are better in the end are usually curious in the beginning.” I think of myself of as a curious person. I like to figure out how things work. … Continue reading Staying Curious
I’m currently reading Jeff Tweedy’s book, How To Write One Song, and came across this wonderful section, “…most of my time spent creating is not actively in pursuit of writing the greatest song in the world. I’m more focused on just being very satisfied with the idea that I’m not hurting anybody. It’s a process, … Continue reading Oh, I’m Not Wasting My Time
I recently stumbled on the song Celestial Blues by Gary Bartz from his album Harlem Bush Music. The song has is a unique mash up of jazz instrumentals from Gary with vocals by Andy Bey. It’s the lyrics sung by Bey that pulled me in: We must get closer to the essence of life…But be … Continue reading Celestial Blues
When I first started out in vintage audio, I knew I needed to upgraded my speakers. I began researching vintage speakers and one pair kept popping up as legendary, the JBL L-100 speakers. I was thrown off by the price, often over $800 a pair, and mentioned to a friend that I wanted JBLs but … Continue reading Goodbye Pioneer HPM-100 Speakers
When I was high school, I decided to listen to jazz. This was in the mid-90’s when grunge and alternative were all the rage and I had spent plenty of time listening to both. There isn’t a shining moment for my decision to listen to jazz. I didn’t grow up with an older brother or … Continue reading Cosmic Language
Last year, in January, I wrote down fifteen goals for the year 2020. I rarely write down personal goals, much less an entire years worth of them. To be honest, I actually forgot about the goals once the pandemic hit, meaning I never went back to review them. I just wrote them down once and … Continue reading 2020 Goals vs 2021 Goals
After a few months listening to the Grado Prestige Black cartridge, I started to miss the sound of my previously owned Audio Technica cartridges. Being stuck at home during a pandemic allows for more listening time than usual so, after much research, I decided to upgrade to a more expensive cartridge, this time opting for … Continue reading Audio Technica AT-VM95SH Cartridge with Shibata Stylus Review
On Saturday, we got up and moving early to get flu shots and early voting out the way. Neither activity took very long and we drove by a new local antique store on the way home and decided to stop in for a little shopping. I quickly noticed this Onkyo CD player with a price … Continue reading Onkyo DX-C390 CD Player
This blog post by Austin Kleon reminded me of a few projects I’ve worked on the past couple of weeks. First, it’s worth noting that I haven’t been excited about working on any vintage receivers this week. I needed a break from a few projects that have me stumped. I find when I pressure myself … Continue reading Mending things…
Today I stumbled across this awesome project called Tapeless Deck which recycles an old tape deck to a digital playback device. What I love the most is the ability to use a skin on the digital device to create the look of a cassette playing. Check out their website for more information! Continue reading Tapeless Deck
Aaron Hartley 