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Sunday, Jan. 05, 2003 - 8:11 p.m.

My truck now contains an up-to-date stereo system (if the date is around 1987)

Yeah, I finally did it. I removed my cassette player and installed a cd player in my Hillbilly truck.

It�s not because my cassette player was broken. It still worked ok, although I have noticed a decrease in quality in sound in my tapes recently.

No, this was more of an impulse purchase. I didn�t walk into Circuit City with the intention of buying a new stereo. I wanted to check prices out, and that�s all.

No, I didn�t act like the man in Circuit City�s new t.v. ad. You know the one where the man and his wife are sitting in the car, going over there game plan of �just checking prices, don�t let the salesman talk us into anything, ice water in our veins��. And then the first thing he looks at, he gets all goofy, giggles, and says, �We�ll take it!� (how�s that for a run-on sentence?)

No, stepping up to a cd player has been on my mind for about a year. Once I could burn my own cds (at less than .10� apiece, compared to around a dollar for a blank cassette), removing the necessity of carrying expensive originals in my vehicle, the seed had been planted. The ability to skip and scan easily also makes cd more attractive. I was just waiting for the time to be right.

Today was that time.

The Sunday paper ad flier for C.C. stated all car cd players were on sale, and all came with free installation. The sale part was what I was looking for, because I have installed basic car stereos sine the late 1970�s. If you follow the directions, it�s not that hard.

When I went up to the display board, I went to the Pioneer section first for several reasons. The cassette deck I now have is a Pioneer. I thought (wrong, I found out when I started the installation this afternoon) the wiring harness would match up the same on both units. I have had good luck with their products through the years, and they always seem to have the features I want.

The fact that they are not the most expensive units appeal to my cheapskate side, too.

The salesman didn�t even have to talk me into the one I picked out. It was a display model, and was discounted because the model had been replaced with a newer, more powerful model.

So this bargain fit all of my frugal criteria. I asked about installation, and he started his sales pitch about how the INSTALATION was free, but they would need a new wiring harness 9$20), and might have to replace all of the old wiring (at some ridiculous amount per foot for super-duper gold-plated wires).

Free, my ass��

�No thanks. I think I�ll do it myself.�

Which I did. But the two wiring harnesses were totally different. The wire colors didn�t match of the back speakers, and the positive and negative coloring was back-assward from any setup I had seen before. To top it off, I couldn�t find the wiring schematics for my old deck. I keep EVERYTHING that comes with a major purchase in my file cabinet, but couldn�t find that little booklet for the life of me.

After a couple of false starts, I managed to get things straightened out. It sounds pretty damn good, if you ask me. It even has 5 preset equalization settings, a mid-range along with the usual bass/treble adjustments, and far too much power for my $50 replacement door speakers, let alone my original equipment paper coned speakers behind the seat. Might have to look into replacing them in the future.

The booklets that came with this CD player? They will be stored in the files cabinet, just as soon as I figure out what all the buttons do on this thing�..


With the weather forecast we had yesterday (chance for freezing rain, sleet, or light snow), we had to stay close to the phone until I went off of call at 3:30 pm. Lease decided she wanted to make a lasagna, and we worked on that one together. She also made a two-layer extra-heavy-duty chocolate cake (with melted Brach�s Stars and Dove Dark chocolate Promises in the icing- decadent!), while I drug the Gelato maker out of the basement freezer and made a batch of nectarine ice cream. I had reserved a 2-cup Ziploc� bag of pureed fruit from my tree this summer for just this purpose, and it worked out fine.

Now, for all the calories I will now be consuming because of our work in the kitchen?

I might have to get on the treadmill every night this next week�.


For those who asked me about the incident on my route last week, I have a short update. Our local paper had a short article about what went down then in this morning's paper, 3 days after the fact.

They had a couple of facts slightly off, but the important thing (for me, anyway) was the fact that she is much better than I originally thought. They had her listed as being in fair condition at a hospital in Collegtown.

I have to say, that makes me feel much better�..

Antique - Futuristic


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