He's Dead, Jim

Sony D-ES52CK

I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. Seller noted it as non-functional with a "no disc" error, but it was cheap and I thought why not give repairing it a shot? I've seen enough YouTube videos to know that the fix for the "no disc" error was simple – just some basic cleaning and a bit of tweaking of the laser's potentiometer. Hell, one video I watched even had this exact model and the numbers on the multimeter I needed to match to get it working.

Unfortunately, even after attaching a meter and mirroring what was shown in the video (and afterward a whole lot of playing around with other values), it still stubbornly refuses to read discs. The laser and the transport mechanism is verified as working (it moves normally and attempts to focus), but so far I've had no luck resuscitating it.

I did note that someone else had already been into it. The screws that hold the top plate of the bottom half of the unit in place all but fell out when I went to remove them, so who knows what's been fucked around with? (Says the guy who's fucking around with it.)

I'm half-tempted to seek out a working unit and just throw this one in the donate pile. I do rather like the styling of this lil' nugget.

This One Brings Back a Lot of Memories…

…wandering through new age/crystal shops after taking the ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Sausalito during a balmy late autumn afternoon. It was one of those things you did with new boyfriends or out-of-towners after the obligatory walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, I believe it was in one of those new age shops that I bought my original copy of this recording. Never fails to put a smile on my face. Simpler times, fer sure!

Some memories of that trip to Sausalito…

I was never that young!
Wildlife
Looking back toward the City
Carl, Kevin (speaking of new boyfriends), and your host
I've always been incorrigible

Think About It

None of his MAGA supporters can afford to spend $100K on a piece of Chinese garbage, so I think the real reason for this has been uncovered.

FUCK TRUMP. VOTE HARRIS-WALZ 2024!

#truth

I know I've written about this before, but one of the things I remember most about my life in San Francisco was the end of Daylight Savings Time. One day I'm walking home in the last rays of light of the day, and the next, I'm walking home in darkness. It was delicious.