Maybe you've even done Mother Earth a favor and e-cycled that squeaky old doorstop of a cassette player instead of throwing it out.

But what about the cassettes themselves? The garage sale shoppers didn't want 'em ("C'mon lady, it's Meatloaf for 25 cents!") but you feel guilty chucking all that plastic in the landfill...and the big, frizzy hair on some of those 80s cassette covers is pretty fun to look at still...

Well, video-maker loup226 has come up with a fun, easy solution to the problem of all those miles of dusty, analog shelf-hoggers -- make a Jacob's Ladder. These simple folk toys date back to the Pilgrim days, but are still a lot of fun for kids to make and play with. (Seriously -- can you walk by one of these things without picking it up and trying it?)

You may notice that loup226 uses new cassettes in this video...so unless you're one of those OCD collector-types who leaves everything in the shrink-wrap, you might want to secure your old cassette cases closed with some cellophane tape first.

You might be able to find the mini solar panels at a store that sells science or electronics equipment; otherwise you can order them online. Please note, you'll also be cutting the wire on the cell phone charger, so make sure it's not the only one you have! You can often find cheap chargers at discount stores like Big Lots -- it doesn't matter if it's AC or car compatible, since you'll only be using the end that plugs in your phone.

MATERIALS:

• 1 Altoids Tin case
• 2 Mini Solar Panels (3V 20mA each)
• 1 Solder (3")
• 1 Small Heat Shrink Tubing (4")
• 1 Large Heat Shrink Tubing (4")
• 1 Double Sided Tape (3")
• 1oz Flux
• 1 Solder Iron
• 1 Heat Gun
• 1 Wire Stripper
• 1 cell phone charger

Ever since the Irving Family episode where I showed Joelle how to convert all her old mix tapes to mp3's, a lot of people have come up to me asking how to go about doing it.

Well I finally got around to putting together a short tutorial on how to convert those tapes to mp3's, and many of you will find it surprisingly easy. Most of what you need is probably lying around your office, or in your storage closet; I also offer suggestions on how to achieve the best audio quality. Good luck and enjoy this fun video!