Yesterday and today have seen two updates to my Beatmania machine restoration. Day 2, Part 1a - The machine shows the new machine after unloading it and getting it upright. Day 2, Part 1b - The monitor shows the non-working monitor, mainly for diagnostic purposes. Finally, Day 2, Part 2 - Control panel cleaning shows the wonder of soap, water, and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers on a horribly dirty arcade control panel. This might not have been the most interesting day, but it all needed to be done.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Regardless, it was something that needed to be done. Upon getting home we found that two buttons stuck 100% of the time, and a few others stuck quite often. Upon disassembling the control panels we found that the buttons were hideously dirty. Luckily we've not included the shots of the dirty buttons, but instead how to disassemble and clean the buttons for anyone with their own machine. See the Day 1, Part 2 gallery for all the pics.

The control panel of my new Beatmania machine needed a lot of attention, given its 8 years of grime. I document the disassembly process in my Day 1, Part 1 gallery.

This weekend Megan and I went to Detroit for our anniversary. We stayed at a 4-star hotel, went to the zoo and for sushi, stopped at a few arcades, and had a really great time. And then afterwards, we swung by Milwaukee and picked up a toy that I had won on eBay on Sunday... To be more specific, a 750 pound toy that barely fit on the Grand Caravan with all the seats taken out.

Read on for the full story...