Overflow: Vinyl, a Kid-Friendly Brewery, and Mr. Rogers

If there’s a silver lining to the situation that we find ourselves in, it could be more productivity at work because you don’t have a commute, extra time with family, progress on a project you’ve been waiting to work on, or resurrecting memories and past interests. I hope everyone has had an property to do some of that.

Thank you to our essential workers and really everyone that is bearing the burden of COVID-19. We’re praying for health, jobs, and happiness for everyone that has been impacted in one way or another.

Remember that we can be better together, even when we are apart.

MUSIC

I’ve been enjoying vinyl for several years now, so when my turntable bit the dust, I started looking for a decent replacement. That’s when I realized that tapes and CDs are pretty retro too. I came across a combo turntable that also has a radio, cassette deck, CD player and aux input for MP3s. The only thing it was missing is an eight track player!

Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 Classic Bluetooth Record Player with 3-speed Turntable

This turntable isn’t going to blow your mind, but for the combination of features, decent sound quality (I have mine output to a small amp and bookshelf speakers), and price it’s a nice vintage-style, one-stop-shop to feed your retro musical memories. Check it out on Amazon here.

CRAFT BEER

My first visit to Open Outcry on the south-side of Chicago was a memorable one. It was shorty after they had opened and OO welcomed my family of six with open arms. Games for the kids, good beer for mom and dad, and awesome pizza that we all enjoyed. The owner, John, made it a point to give us a personal tour of the small brewery operations. We visited again over a year later and John remembered my name and my family. Cool guy brewing some really good beer. Check them out when you can! They are currently doing pickups including beer, cocktails and food.

Throwback to Open Outcry’s kid-friendly Christmas brunch – Santa approved!

EMPATHY

For a primer on empathy, look no further than Mr. Rogers. Many of us grew up with Fred Rogers and his messaging is timeless. (See more below.) If you’re looking for a good movie to enjoy with the family, check out “A Beautiful day in the Neighborhood” with Tom Hanks. Great movie!

(RETRO) TECHNOLOGY

Speaking of resurrecting old memories, I dusted of an original NES and fired it up for the kids. I had to order a new power supply and knock-off controllers but we eventually got it to work… a little. Most of the games won’t start, and it looks like they’ll require more than the tried and true method of blowing on the cartridge. If you can’t get that old Nintendo working, here’s a decent video on the steps you can take to fix it. Now off to dismantle this thing and see if it has any gas left in the tank.