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Showing posts from October 26, 2014

Thorens TD 165C Turntable Cartridge Needs a New Stylus

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Audio Technica TK7SU  Back in April of 2013 I wrote about digging out my old turntable from the basement and resurrecting my vinyl records from years back. I have no regrets and have enjoyed hours of good music since then and have rediscovered the joys of vinyl and of course some of the pains of that media. In the process I was reminded that I have a lot of old vinyl classics but I also discovered that I have crap as well. Some of the music is timeless and some is obviously not. Music from the 70s or 80s for example is hit (note the pun) or miss, mostly a miss. Thorens TD 165C The sixties is where the real treasures are. Unfortunately not a lot of care was taken to press vinyl at that time and as a result I have classic rock albums with plenty of skips and pops and some are a real chore to listen to, except perhaps the Deutsche Grammophon recordings of the day or the reissued half speed masters of popular rock recordings in the later 80s. Well perhaps some are worn after ma

Regina and Tourism - Two Words That Don't Belong in the Same Sentence

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Foyer of hotel Regina is not a place that I have a desire to visit again. On the positive side, it is a neat and tidy city and clearly there is clearly an effort to keep it that way. It is easy to get around the city itself and the airport is only 10 minutes from the downtown core. But those are not good reasons to visit this prairie city. It is also sterile, cold (metaphorically, that is) and lacking in any real character.  At 7pm on a weeknight you could shoot a cannon down any downtown street and not hit anything. Sad really! Government office The Regina tourism site touts it as the cultural and commercial center of Saskatchewan. “ Regina is a fast-paced, exciting city and very much a part of the ‘New Saskatchewan’ and that we are ready and willing to welcome you". Come on folks, is that for real? The hotel is attractively lit at night Commercial perhaps, lots of office towers and a decent if not very exiting central enclosed shopping mall that offers few sp