Presentations are an important aspect of delivering your ideas to a group, whether you work in business, at a design firm, or on a community project. I am often in a position of presenting research at conferences or talks in artistic contexts.
I am a lecturer and so conduct dozens of classes a year. Here follow seventeen helpful pointers that I first compiled for the benefit of my students.
Along the way you will learn two secrets. Shhhh!
This is a summary of sources for electret microphones in May 2026. These mics are a great choice for stereo and binaural recording where tiny size is the over-riding concern. Paired with a small audio recorder, these make a compact setup for field recording and other tasks. Please check out the Field Recording Gear page for other useful resources.
Well, it's been a good long while since my last field recorder update and a few things have changed. So here I am once again, at your service, summarising the 23 available models that sell for under €1500. Read on for the PDF download and my commentary.
Updated 11 May 2026 to include the Deity PR-4. And then again add additional power options for each recorder.
After my last article it struck me that I don't post music recommendations on this blog. Instead they've all been dumped on Facebook where they become part of that mushy landscape, receding into the past almost immediately, never to be seen again. Given that I take quite a lot of time to listen and advise, this seems somehow inappropriate. Music does not have an expiry date.
It's Bandcamp Friday, a day when all proceeds go to the artists. If you are like me, you bookmark your favourites through the preceding month and then make one grouped purchase to optimise the lives of artists.
Read on for five recommendations. And please post your own, so I can prepare for next month.
This article is a birthday gift to my dear friend Ed. He and I bonded during our university years over a strange shared love for instant ramen noodles. I say "strange" because this was back in the 1980s. To find said food you had to travel to the East end of town and visit the only Chinese grocer. Times have changed!
And in more than one way. Though I still sometimes resort to ramen packs, I am no longer a starving student and my tastes have become more refined. Here I share a far superior instant noodle that you might be lucky enough to find locally.
It is with great sadness that my first post of a new year must once again contextualise violence in the world. Today I am seeing many social media posts blaming the current president, Trump, for the latest Usonian violence. This time it's a military incursion into Venezuela. Trump is a sociopathic puppet manipulated by darker forces... not even in the shadows but standing right there beside him. But in this case he is carrying on a long tradition of bullying by the USA.
Here is a short list of military interventions by that state, omitting both World Wars and the slaughter of the native peoples of North America. Drug-running, assassination, overthrowing elected leaders, bombing of suburban homes, mass murder of civilians, support of dictators, arming of fanatics, chemical warfare... the USA is a world-leader in all of these.
Last year Brian Eno initiated a plan to treat Nature as a revenue partner on streaming music services such as Spotify and Apple Music [Savage 2024]. This grants Nature the same rights as, say, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. At that time I drafted a reply on social media. Here I expand the text in the context of the Slovenia 2025 meeting of the Central European Network for Sonic Ecologies (CENSE). Much more could yet be written from this brief outline, should time and health allow.
Limerick's Wickham Way was once a disused driveway and warehouse area between two grungy city blocks. Now it's a semi-thriving food and culture spot. I say "semi" because the biggest problem with this assemblage is knowing when any of the stalls will be open. And while this small area can't compare with the sprawling markets of larger cities, it's got character. For one, it's enveloped by the grooving Downbeat Records with their giant reggae sound system. Though I'm not here to talk about where to buy your vinyl... this is where you buy your vinyl.
Not that I have the time, but I've been encouraged to blog about food. Why?
First, because it can be hard to find decent cuisine in Ireland. This island is not known as a hot-bed of delightful meals. Yes, we have the famous spice bag. Yes, we have fish and chips the size of your face. And the curiosity that is curry chips. But notice that all of those have something in common... often rather soggy, flavourless potatoes.
This is the food that most people encounter. What else can we eat?