About A Minute – Terence Eden’s Blog https://shkspr.mobi/blog Regular nonsense about tech and its effects πŸ™ƒ Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:38:07 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cropped-avatar-32x32.jpeg About A Minute – Terence Eden’s Blog https://shkspr.mobi/blog 32 32 <![CDATA[Blog To Speech]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/10/blog-to-speech/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/10/blog-to-speech/#comments Sun, 02 Oct 2022 11:34:41 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=43633 Listen to this blog post in your browser: Powered by Amazon Polly.

I've noticed an interesting trend on some of the blogs I follow. More of them - though by no means the majority - are including audio versions of the content.

The usually look something like this:

Screenshot of a blog post. The header says "Press play to listen to this article."

or

A blog post with an embedded audio widget.

The ones which have this are mostly using commercial Text-To-Speech (TTS) engines. Although a few of the (perhaps wealthier?) bloggers have hired people to record audio versions of their posts newsletters:

Screenshot of a blogpost saying that the audio version has been recorded by "George Hahn".

I find this curious. I don't think it is bad or wrong or unbloggerly. Just a bit odd. I'm from the generation who hated phone calls and ruthlessly mocked voicemail. And now I see the youth leaving each other voicenotes and I feel bemused.

Reading is faster than listening. For me, at least. But reading requires focus. It's hard to cook dinner while reading text. But it's pretty easy to do most things while a podcast prattles on in the background.

Obviously people with visual impairments use TTS systems. And they often have those tools built into their computer or browser. But most people with adequate sight don't know how to use their machine's accessibility capabilities. So perhaps having an easily-findable MP3 of the article is sensible?

I often edit old blog posts. Sometimes to merely change a typo, other times to cover up evidence of my muddled thinking. In the land of traditional audio, that's a problem. It's tricky to re-record something and edit it together seamlessly. But, with TTS, it is the work of seconds.

Anyway, that's a long rambley way of saying that I'm experimenting with adding an audio version of my posts. If people like it, I'll start adding it to all of them - and back filling the old posts.

If you think this is a good idea, or a terrible waste of time, be a sweetheart and drop a comment in the box, yeah?

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2022/10/blog-to-speech/feed/ 16 <![CDATA[Episode 32 - Switching from being a developer to being a manager]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-32-switching-from-being-a-developer-to-being-a-manager/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-32-switching-from-being-a-developer-to-being-a-manager/#respond Mon, 21 Oct 2019 14:32:45 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32916 We're back again with Kim Rowan. Listen to her thoughts about what it's like to become a manager of technical teams.

πŸ”Š

Read about how she got into tech.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-32-switching-from-being-a-developer-to-being-a-manager/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 31 - Modernising the Ministry of Justice]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-31-modernising-the-ministry-of-justice/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-31-modernising-the-ministry-of-justice/#respond Wed, 16 Oct 2019 14:28:08 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32911 How do you modernise the technology of a huge organisation like the UK's Ministry of Justice? Kim Rowan has some bright ideas.

πŸ”Š

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-31-modernising-the-ministry-of-justice/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 30 - The Science of Laughter - with @Suw]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-30-the-science-of-laughter-with-suw/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-30-the-science-of-laughter-with-suw/#respond Tue, 08 Oct 2019 06:14:34 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32906 Happy Ada Lovelace Day! I interviewed its founder, Suw Charman-Anderson, on an earlier episode.

So here is a BONUS EPISODE for your ears. I hope you have as much fun listening to it as I had recording it.

πŸ”Š

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/10/episode-30-the-science-of-laughter-with-suw/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 29: The Pod Delusion Strikes Back!]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/08/episode-29-the-pod-delusion-strikes-back/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/08/episode-29-the-pod-delusion-strikes-back/#respond Sat, 24 Aug 2019 08:25:34 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32666 After five long years, The Pod Delusion is back! This is a quick chat with host & producer James O'Malley.

πŸ”Š

You can listen to back-episodes at https://poddelusion.co.uk/blog/ and I thoroughly recommend sticking it in your podcast app.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/08/episode-29-the-pod-delusion-strikes-back/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Documentally and Backpack Studio]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/07/documentally-and-backpack-studio/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/07/documentally-and-backpack-studio/#respond Fri, 26 Jul 2019 06:05:20 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32537 If two blokes meet up and don't record a podcast, did it even happen?

Social Media Maven Documentally showed off his podcasting rig - an app called Backpack Studio. You can listen to the ramblechat we recorded on his feed. documentally holding a phone. Here's our quick chat about this nifty podcasting app - which I hope will one day come to Android.

πŸ”Š

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/07/documentally-and-backpack-studio/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 27 - Hannah Cameron's makerspace adventures]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-27-hannah-camerons-makerspace-adventures/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-27-hannah-camerons-makerspace-adventures/#respond Wed, 19 Jun 2019 06:51:09 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32292 Hannah works for Eagle Labs, where she 3D prints things and builds IoT lamps.

πŸ”Š

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-27-hannah-camerons-makerspace-adventures/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 26 - Dan Pope's trntxt.uk]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-26-dan-popes-trntxt-uk/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-26-dan-popes-trntxt-uk/#respond Fri, 14 Jun 2019 05:55:04 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=32288 Do you want an ultra-minimalist, open source, train times website?

If so, Dan Pope, has created trntxt.uk just for you!

πŸ”Š

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/06/episode-26-dan-popes-trntxt-uk/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 25 - The Pay Gap with Rainey David]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-25-the-pay-gap-with-rainey-david/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-25-the-pay-gap-with-rainey-david/#respond Wed, 10 Apr 2019 06:54:11 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31880 A quick chat with Rainey David all about the gender pay gap. Including top tips on how to value your worth to your employer.

πŸ”Š

Find out more at ThePayGap.com

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-25-the-pay-gap-with-rainey-david/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 24 - Sound Archiving with Thea Cochrane]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-24-sound-archiving-with-thea-cochrane/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-24-sound-archiving-with-thea-cochrane/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2019 06:52:03 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31788 My pal Thea Cochrane is doing brilliant things with the British Library Sound Archive

πŸ”Š

You can follow along @BLSoundHeritage.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/04/episode-24-sound-archiving-with-thea-cochrane/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 23 - Sixty Second Security with Dan Raywood]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-23-sixty-second-security-with-dan-raywood/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-23-sixty-second-security-with-dan-raywood/#respond Wed, 27 Mar 2019 07:25:39 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31784 How can you quickly tune up your computer security? Dan Raywood - Contributing Editor at Infosecurity Magazine shares his wisdom with us.

πŸ”Š

If you're interested in an open source password manager, I'm happy to personally recommend BitWarden

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-23-sixty-second-security-with-dan-raywood/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 22 - Recycling with TerraCycle]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-22-recycling-with-terracycle/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-22-recycling-with-terracycle/#respond Fri, 22 Mar 2019 07:38:08 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31757 I'm joined by my old school-chum Rebecca Bradshaw - as we talk about an innovative recycling company - TerraCycle.

You can find out more about their recycling programme on Twitter.

πŸ”Š
Sorry for the slightly iffy audio-quality. The call recorder on my phone is OK for admin, but not brilliant for podcasting. Will try to record future episodes in person of via VoIP.

Want to be featured on the podcast? Get in touch with me.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-22-recycling-with-terracycle/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 21: Ada Lovelace Day Live!]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-21-ada-lovelace-day-live/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-21-ada-lovelace-day-live/#respond Sun, 17 Mar 2019 17:14:21 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31747 I'm joined by Suw Charman-Anderson - powerhouse and founder of Finding Ada.

πŸ”Š
You can follow Finding Ada on Twitter and you can support the project on Patreon.

If you'd like to have a chat with me - get in touch.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/03/episode-21-ada-lovelace-day-live/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[New Podcasts Coming Soon!]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/02/new-podcasts-coming-soon/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/02/new-podcasts-coming-soon/#respond Tue, 26 Feb 2019 21:21:18 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=31579 Because podcasts are now coolβ„’ again - I've decided to resurrect this feed.

If you're interested in being interviewed - please get in touch with me. We can record in person, over the phone, or via Skype.

In the meantime, here's the podcast's theme-tune to get you in the mood. And to test that I've set up everything properly.

πŸ”Š Gran Vals ~ Francisco TΓ‘rrega
🎀 Brian Streckfus

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2019/02/new-podcasts-coming-soon/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 20: @PipWillcox and the Digital First Folio of Shakespeare's Works]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-20-pipwillcox-and-the-digital-first-folio-of-shakespeares-works/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-20-pipwillcox-and-the-digital-first-folio-of-shakespeares-works/#respond Sat, 20 Dec 2014 06:50:29 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20220 Oxford's Bodleian library makes high resolution scans of Shakespeare's First Folio available under a Creative Commons licence. Pip Willcox tells us more. mosaic-shakespeare

πŸ”Š Pip Willcox and the First Folio
🎀 Terence Eden

About A Minute is an amuse-bouche for podcast listeners. No long intro and outro. No waffling on. No adverts, competitions, arguing, or begging for iTunes reviews. You get to listen to an interesting person chat for about a minute - that's it!

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons LicenceThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-20-pipwillcox-and-the-digital-first-folio-of-shakespeares-works/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 19: Ancient Japanese]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-19-ancient-japanese/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-19-ancient-japanese/#respond Thu, 18 Dec 2014 06:32:13 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20202 Talking to Kerri Russell about the Oxford Corpus of Old Japanese.

Oxford Japanese-fs8

πŸ”Š Kerri Russell on Ancient Japanese
🎀 Terence Eden

About A Minute is an amuse-bouche for podcast listeners. No long intro and outro. No waffling on. No adverts, competitions, arguing, or begging for iTunes reviews. You get to listen to an interesting person chat for about a minute - that's it!

Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live.

Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher Or you can Subscribe on iTunes

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons LicenceThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-19-ancient-japanese/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 18: @Kerpowla and @InspireWIT]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-18-kerpowla-and-inspirewit/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-18-kerpowla-and-inspirewit/#respond Tue, 16 Dec 2014 06:44:38 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20190 Student Paula Clerkin has just run a successful conference for Women In Technology. Read about how she organised the conference, check out her blog, and follow her code on GitHub.

inspireWIT-fs8

πŸ”Š @kerpowla and InspireWIT
🎀 Terence Eden

Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live. Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher podcaster_small Or you can Subscribe on iTunes

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons Licence
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-18-kerpowla-and-inspirewit/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 17: The @AmySharrocks Sea-fall Experience]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-17-the-amysharrocks-sea-fall-experience/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-17-the-amysharrocks-sea-fall-experience/#comments Sun, 14 Dec 2014 10:59:34 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20165 Once again I'm joined by Rosie Clarke. Today we talk about the artist Amy Sharrocks.

Amy

πŸ”Š Amy Sharrocks sea-fall experience
🎀 Terence Eden

To learn more about Amy Sharrocks' work, visit the Museum of Water and follow her on Twitter.

And, as a special bonus, here's Rosie talking in a bit more detail about the Sea-fall.

About A Minute is an amuse-bouche for podcast listeners. No long intro and outro. No waffling on. No adverts, competitions, arguing, or begging for iTunes reviews. You get to listen to an interesting person chat for about a minute - that's it!

Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live.

Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher Or you can Subscribe on iTunes

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons LicenceThis podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-17-the-amysharrocks-sea-fall-experience/feed/ 1 <![CDATA[Episode 16: Kerri Russell talks about Digital Shakespeare #ShakeHack]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-16-kerri-russell-talks-about-digital-shakespeare-shakehack/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-16-kerri-russell-talks-about-digital-shakespeare-shakehack/#respond Fri, 12 Dec 2014 06:33:48 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20186 Chatting with Oxford University's Kerry Russell about their Shakespearean Hackfest. You can access all the data from the Bodleian library's digital First Folio. You can also read about my Hamlet Audio Hack.

mosaic-shakespeare

πŸ”Š Kerri Russel and Digital Shakespeare
🎀 Terence Eden

Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live. Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher podcaster_small Or you can Subscribe on iTunes

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons Licence
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-16-kerri-russell-talks-about-digital-shakespeare-shakehack/feed/ 0 <![CDATA[Episode 15: Museums At Night]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-15-museums-at-night/ https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-15-museums-at-night/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:00:35 +0000 https://shkspr.mobi/blog/?p=20161 Ever wanted to explore a museum at night time? Rosie Clarke tells you how!

Museums At Night Logo

πŸ”Š Museums At Night
🎀 Terence Eden

Museums at Night is Culture24's festival of inspiring after hours cultural events at museums, galleries and heritage sites.

Next year it's on across the UK from Thursday May 14 until Saturday May 16 2015.

Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live. Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher podcaster_small Or you can Subscribe on iTunes

Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project.

Creative Commons Licence
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

]]> https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2014/12/episode-15-museums-at-night/feed/ 1