Tap, leaks & cartridges

I've just ordered a home delivery meal as plans to make dinner were scuppered when our lovely Polish builders popped round. Initially they were going to sort the leaking hot water heater under our stairs. A plastic nut had cracked, so water was leaking for about 2 weeks before we noticed it. There's bound to be water damage but I'm not motivated to empty the cardboard boxes that are stored under there just yet.

The builders then tried to install our replacement kitchen tap. Which unfortunately turned into a massive breakage. The concrete counter has a hole drilled through it, but there's nowhere for the vice to attach to, to hold the tap still. The part that should hold it in place has sheered off from the jiggling. Now we have no tap installed and the contents from under the kitchen sink cupboard are spread out all over counter top.

It's not the builder's fault, it's just one (or two) of those things. Hopefully replacement parts can be procured tomorrow. Otherwise we're in trouble as it means no tap until the builders get back from their next job.

On a positive note, I finally got proper cartridges for my decks and learned how to adjust the tone arms. Immediately my vinyl sounded 100X better. They're Numark CC1's if you're interested (pictured). They're not the top of the range by any stretch but for around £80 a pair they're a lot more affordable than other options. Really wish I'd done it sooner.

Audio-tastic

Many years ago I worked in radio doing studio work and occasionally outside broadcasts, as well as the live sound for bands. I could work a mixing desk, EQ a room and know how to mic up an orchestra. You'd think I'd be more militant about audio quality. Alas, it took a visit from a friend who records bands for a living to point out how bad it was that one of my speakers resides on the floor. I had half heartedly decided to get speaker stands ages ago, but as they're all so ugly I kept putting it off.

It turns out that the marble base on my Arco lamp is actually big enough to accommodate the stray speaker. Since elevating it, the music really does sound indescribably better! Embarrasingly so. I thought I needed to be standing between the two speakers to hear things properly but nope, with both at the same height it doesn't matter where you're standing. I take this opportunity apologise to all the friends and DJs who've endured parties and BBQs with that speaker on the floor. And I apologise to Castiglioni for turning his lamp into a speaker stand.