First things first. No matter how much you spend, what you record is not going to be any better than the original. Yeah, there might be a little tweaking you can do with contrast and the like, but you will not make a DVD copy of a VHS tape which will look much better than the tape. The keys there then become the quality of the VHS tape player and the tape itself, with the tape itself being the most limiting factor. Tape quality is affected by the original formulation of the tape, how the tapes were used and stored, etc. At this point, there is little you can do about any of that. Let's just assume that the tapes you have are good enough to view and to transfer. If you already have a VHS player which has a picture you like, I would use it. You won't gain much at all by buying a new combo unit. If you have to buy a VHS player, you could consider a combo unit (though I'd check the owner's manual just to make sure you can copy from tape to DVD without problems; I've never done this myself and I'm not sure what the tape copy protection [if any] might do when recorded onto a disk). One thing to consider is the quality of the DVD itself. There is a growing concern about the longevity of DVDs and CDs. "Bargain-basement" or "free-after-rebate" disks often won't hold a valid signal after as short as six months. This is too much work to repeat in a year or two. Make sure you buy high-quality disks from companies like Imation, TDK, Maxell, etc. That will help insure that your disk copies live longer. And get "record-once" DVDs, not rewritable ones. That will help them live longer, too. As for the unit at Target, I'd be leery of why it was returned. A decent name-brand DVD burner goes for about $100; there's little point IMHO to buying a returned one for $50 and spending more on an extended warranty.

Yes, strangely enough, I have heard about a theramin. The frequency of sound produced is controlled by the capacitive coupling between the player's hand the an electrode in the instrument. The capacitance changes with the distance of the player's hand from the electrode. The theramin was an experimental instrument constructred when electronic engineers and inventors were tinkering with applying electronics to musical instruments. The electrified guitar and bass guitar are fine examples that came from that period. The theramin was a novelity that never moved beyond its inception stage and did not become popular. It makes interesting sounds, but is msuically deficient compared to what can be done with other instruments. Most of the note changes on a theriman are slurred. It is almost impossible to sharply change from one note to another, or to produce 'plinked' notes, a common device used in most conventional instruments. The first theriman was made using vacuum tube amplifiers.

Great post! When we moved to Florida, before I even knew the neighborhood, I got recruited to serve on the HOA board as secretary. First of all, I was born/raised in NYC and never lived with an HOA and had no idea what they did. The HOA board would meet monthly throughout the year. As secretary, I would try to take notes for the minutes but it was almost impossible as people talked over each other, arguments would ensue and the discussions were so mixed up. I went to Staples to see if they had a voice recorder (7 yrs ago). I found one that could upload to the computer. Since I had to type the minutes, I thought this would be easy as I could listen, type, pause, etc. I think I paid about $70.00 for it. I don't remember the name as I gave it back to the HOA after I left. It was a common name, maybe Panasonic? It was easy to use as it was a digital voice recorder. It ran for hours as the Board meetings typically took over 2 hrs. It had a USB which plugged into the computer and the sound came through the computer speakers. I could pause, I could go back, fast forward, etc. I could type while the recording played and type the minutes. Very handy. I think that would work well for your situation especially if you plan to type the recording. It really was a great little recorder and didn't make anyone uncomfortable being recorded as it was silent and small. No one paid any attention to it. Some people feel uncomfortable being recorded. I would do a search on Amazon. Jane

I'm just now getting caught up on this, and I found a lot of music that I love! Here's one from Nina Hagen, with simple lyrics: Mama, wer ist denn da? Mama, ist es Papa? Das lass ihn wieder rein Er siehst so einsam aus Mama schmeiß ihn nicht raus! Du, hilf ihm aus dem Mantel Fehlt'n Knopf, näh ihn gleich an! Frag ihn ob er Hunger hat Und ob er bleiben kann S-s-sagt er dann mit feuchtem Blick Für immer käme er Heim in das Familienglück Und gäb es nie mehr her Zeig ihm seinen Sessel Der so lange, lange, lange in Feindschaft lebt! Note: There are more lyrics, but this is as much as I could find on line.