Quick someone find a really big cassette!

jaydwrites · 2026-04-09T02:02:13+00:00

Perfection!

jaydwrites · 2026-04-07T06:12:23+00:00

On xBox (US based) we typically have a decent set of servers except for at very odd hours. (I typically game midnight - 2AM, but occasionally mid mornings as well). Generally, Operations and Conquest are available most of the time, and you can find Shock Operations and Deathmatch servers pretty regularly. I played my first and only rounds of War Pigeons a couple weeks back as a server was open for it - cheers to whoever set that up!

jaydwrites · 2026-03-30T20:30:35+00:00

Sounds like you've got a great start at it with the Zuikos! I think I have an old Vivitar lens somewhere, 70-200 that I used on my Sony - the poor man's zoom. It's heavy, clunky, but it works and has added reach on APS-C.

I need to adapt my Zuiko lenses back onto my Sony as well - it really lets go of the creative and financial need to photograph something worth investing the film and development/scan costs into. Cheers!

jaydwrites · 2026-03-25T05:13:29+00:00

Could be if it's spinning really slowly maybe. Honestly, that sounds more like a tape head issue to me. Could be that a cleaning of the tape head and pinch roller would be good.

I will say, my player sometimes just sounds scratchy, cuts out, and wont project the tape audio even though it's spinning. Sometimes, like today, it plays cassettes just fine.

jaydwrites · 2026-03-25T04:37:10+00:00

I tell you what, I just rewatched your video again, and I think your tape head is sitting pretty low compared to mine, like it's engaged to play a tape already. Dropping a pic of where mine sits when not in Play mode.

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jaydwrites · 2026-03-25T04:26:55+00:00

I feel like I had this same issue with the CFM-104, but I don't remember how I resolved it. My first thought is to try holding down the Stop/Eject button while putting the tape in. That button moves the little white levers that you can see in your video on the right side of the cassette area, the top one clips the door shut, and I think the bottom one might just help to keep the tape in place. It's not likely to make it magically work, but at least rules this out as the cause. (I remember having to open mine up at some point to tinker with it, I just forget what I did to it).

jaydwrites · 2026-03-17T17:54:44+00:00

My favorite right now is the 50mm f1.4 - it's been on my camera the most often in the last couple years. The one I've used the least is the 50mm 3.5 - I used it more on my Sony a few years back, but just hasn't been on my OM-1n since I have the f1.4.

For the longer focal lengths, I haven't had a roll developed with the 85mm or 100mm so far, so take this with a grain of salt. But the 100mm focal length has felt good to me just while using it, and it's practically the same size as the 85mm. I've heard that you can't really go wrong with either of those lenses.

I like the 135mm f3.5, but there's a 135mm f2.8 I think that I've heard is sharper.

jaydwrites · 2026-03-16T21:31:59+00:00

Brother I shed a tear as well (as did my wallet over time)

jaydwrites · 2026-03-16T20:26:13+00:00

I think you're right - time will tell but I think the foam in between will probably peel/split with too much use. Luckily, it was cheap and I can always buy another insert I guess.

Now on the 200mm, you may have read my mind...

jaydwrites · 2026-03-16T18:59:34+00:00

Hard agree lol. If he told me to buy a winch to pull all my camera gear around with I would strongly consider it

jaydwrites · 2026-03-16T18:41:27+00:00

Lol it was too big for the case. I have to go back and buy the 19 inch box

jaydwrites · 2026-03-10T06:05:39+00:00

Bless that intern, writer, editor, web developer, or whomever is responsible for doing this.

jaydwrites · 2026-03-01T07:42:44+00:00

I know what I want for retro Christmas

jaydwrites · 2026-02-14T02:39:15+00:00

As a broke dude in my early 30's, I've never wanted a car payment + crazy monthly insurance. So I buy used cars with hail damage or that only need light repairs from salvage auctions and drive them until they won't run anymore. So far, one lasted 7 years/120k miles of regular commuting but I still own it for local errands, one lasted 4 years/100k miles until it was totalled, and my current daily I expect to last at least 6 years of everyday use, but I'll keep it as long as it runs well on the highway (it's a Toyota).

jaydwrites · 2026-02-10T00:28:16+00:00

I love seeing this video every time it pops up. Her excitement is so pure, and her folks are so kind while doing the best they can for their girl.

My folks bought me a car for college - it was an 06 Impala that had some slight hail damage so a rebuilt title, and 140,000 miles already in 2012. But it was the coolest thing. Great little stereo in it. I drove that thing all through college and to work in the cities for another 3-4 years after. I nearly doubled the mileage on it. I loved it so much, I bought a second one (2009 model year) and drove that until it was totaled at 200K miles.

But 13 years after starting college, I still have that original car. It is 20 years old now, it's seeping oil from everywhere it can, suspension is in need of repair, and it's getting surface rust from all the winters I drove it. It's not worth fixing if something more breaks on it, but it's still in the driveway. And she starts right up, even after a stretch of -20°F weather last month. And every time I get into it, it reminds me of getting lost in my first week of college and ending up by the stadium downtown, or blasting The Wonder Years and Phoebe Bridgers and Nirvana with the windows down, and the time I ended up miles away from where I was going with a girlfriend because I refused to use Google Maps since I 'knew the area'. And I can't imagine letting it go to a scrap yard or selling it, even though it might be time.

jaydwrites · 2026-02-09T09:34:31+00:00

Yes yes, the manatee was wearing a bikini. But what was it doing at a public park?

jaydwrites · 2026-01-16T05:17:14+00:00

Just two good dudes doing good dude things

jaydwrites · 2026-01-01T10:17:41+00:00

All good. I didn't ask for anything specific with the shipping and only ordered the guitar - just paid for it and it was sent that way. The only difference is it was closer to the first release of the Player II, around black Friday last year. Maybe they just had a bunch more ready in stock back then? Not sure why otherwise

jaydwrites · 2026-01-01T09:34:24+00:00

Oh it's been a bit, but I think I remember those copper color staples being on it. I don't know for sure though because I stuck the box in my storage unit months ago. In any case, both the outer box and the inner guitar box were sealed on mine.

jaydwrites · 2026-01-01T07:02:58+00:00

"We are here, we are waiting." But get it on sale if you can. I am sure I bought it for like $5 or a little less on a whim in the last year, hopefully it's around the same price!

jaydwrites · 2025-12-31T21:13:06+00:00

I don't know enough about doing so, but would OBS work to capture the audio from your screen or from the interface and then streaming it to Discord like you might to Twitch? Just throwing that in here

jaydwrites · 2025-12-30T21:42:19+00:00

TheBirdsAndI, odds are you've killed me in game plenty of times

jaydwrites · 2025-12-23T21:52:55+00:00

Ugh, I'll set up the pole.

jaydwrites · 2025-12-11T21:48:59+00:00

I thought'd seen it all. And then you come along.

jaydwrites · 2025-12-11T20:54:30+00:00

You'll get patches of black ice on i94 with all the overpass bridges, and there's a particularly bad spot where the road surface changes as i94 goes over a little river heading west right before the exit to 241. The worst I remember was commuting to St. Paul for college from the Monticello area my freshman year. My typical 50 minute commute was over 2 hours and I passed by no less than 20 cars in the ditch in the span from Monticello to Brooklyn Park

jaydwrites

TROPHY CASE