Get yourself a tonearm lifter. I've tried a few and found Little Fwend to be the best - i's also pricey ($250), but well worth it. I like to tip a few and listen to vinyl - there's no other better time - I think we can both agree on that. Audio Technica offers a version at around $130 - there may be cheaper ones on Ebay.
Fell asleep while TT was running with ortodoncia black cartridge!
After a few ahem adult beverages fell asleep for approx 2 hours while my system was on and I was playing vinyl. Wondering if I screwed up my 2m black cartridge or not. Feeling terrible about it. I have the manual mmf 5.1 turntable so was sitting there for all that time. Any thoughts from all the analog gurus out there? Is my stylus still ok?