Debian help: how to automount a USB drive writably?

I have my record player server set up! It's an ancient IBM Thinkpad 560X (233MHz, 96MB RAM) with Debian squeeze. I installed etch from floppy (last version to work from floppy) and upgraded to squeeze. (I erroneously did this directly and it only required minor unbuggering. I recommend you go via lenny.)

I've attached the 500GB external drive to it and am using usbmount, which attaches it to /media/usb0, then serving /media/usb0 via Samba. The problem is that the mount is owned root:root and root can't change that, and I want the share to be writable over Samba. Is there a way to do this? Is there a better (stable mount point through plugging and unplugging or rebooting) way to mount the external drive sharably?

I can record from the turntable or cassette deck using SoX. I haven't worked out how to do simultaneous playback — ideas most welcome on this too. And the turntable's USB sound card can do up to 16 bit at 48kHz — how do I tell SoX (or the interface itself) to use this?

BIG BLUE DONG.

• Leaked Watchmen game footage.

• NotN: a ton of 'em.

Good Lord, trying to remember what I've done in the past two weeks ...

I've written a pile of NotN. I suggest you read it all and forward each one to all your friends and make it as Internet-famous as possible. Please.

redcountess and I went on our first date in ages, and it was wonderful, and our first movie in years last night, to see Watchmen. BIG BLUE DONG. It's good. I've read the comic and Liz hasn't and we both thought it was fantastic. There were seven people in the cinema (Stratford Picture House), so I urge you to see it in the theatre right away while you still can. The new ending arguably makes more sense than the original.

I am going to Vagabonds tomorrow night. There will be an aster13 and probably a nyecamden! And you?