Living Blindfully

Hello Mosen At Largers. We trust you're keeping safe and in good mental health during these tough times. This week there's over 100 minutes of content to keep you entertained and informed. Thanks to everyone who has so generously contributed. Intro,0:00.000 COVID-19 in New Zealand,1:05.501 MushroomFM prepares to celebrate our 10th birthday with a huge virtual music festival. Register for Mushrooms...

Hi Mosen at Largers. Bonnie and I send our best to you as we all navigate these difficult waters together in isolation. We wish you safety and good health. Today: Intro,0:00.000 An interesting new book, Fast Asleep by Michael Mosley,0:37.371 Acts of kindness and the SoupDrinker,2:10.880 COVID-19 in Quebec,7:27.633 Bluetooth headset recommendations,11:27.177 External microphones when using video co...

Hi Mosen At Largers. I'm back again with another jam-packed episode put together by our wonderful community. Don't forget, many of us are staying in touch twice a day every week day at the moment on Mushroom FM , and you're very welcome to tune in and tell us how you're doing. Let's stick together and support each other. Here's what's on the show today. Introduction,0:00.000 Very strict lockdown i...

Hi Mosen at largers. Welcome to this extra episode. First, I hope you and yours are doing well during this global crisis. I've heard from many listeners throughout the week from all over the world, emailing this podcast and also contributing to the live radio shows I've been doing twice a day to help us stay connected with each other. For some people, self-isolation is proving very tough, especial...

Hi Mosen at Largers. This week's show is a little longer than usual to give you a bit more fresh content to listen to. It also demonstrates the amazing sense of community we've built up in the last 21 years I've been connected with you via Internet radio and podcasting. Please note that to keep our community in touch with one another and to provide some connection during this difficult time, whene...

Hi Mosen at Largers. If you're in self-isolation or even more directly affected by COVID-19, I wish you all the best. These are unprecedented experiences in our lifetimes, but we will get through them. On today's show. Intro,0:00.000 Tips for working from home,1:07.315 Clear instructions about how to thoroughly wash your hands,9:05.152 A blast from the past as a ringtone,16:13.625 Aira Horizon gla...

Hi Mosen At Largers. Thank you for listening, and also for the reviews and 5 star ratings people have left. And of course we have received a mountain of contributions again this week, so thank you also for those. Here's what's on this week's episode followed by the time in the file that you can hear it. Remember, if you use a podcast app with chapter support, Mosen At Large fully supports chapters...

Hi Mosen at largers. It's another very busy show thanks to your input. Remember, in a podcast player supporting chapter marks, you can easily skip forward and back between segments. Here's each item followed by its time in the file. Intro,0:00.000 It's Leap Year's Day as we record this,0:57.276 Learning to code,7:43.444 Alternative calendars that don't require a leap day every four years,8:59.318...

Hello Mosen at largers. Today we're talking in part about a subject I knew would come up sooner or later – bullying both online and off. If this topic raises upsetting issues for you, you need not go through this by yourself. Depending on the nature of the bullying, you may have legal redress, you certainly don't need to put up with it. Please seek appropriate assistance in your country. Bullying...

Hello Mosen at Largers. A very busy show this week with plenty of listener feedback, plus our big Cash Reader for iOS giveaway. Here's what's in store, followed by the time each thing happens in the show. Intro,0:00.000 "Listener comment, Ringtones, Face ID",1:43.577 The Anchor app and service for creating podcasts ,7:44.380 "Listener comment,Ringtones and Castro Podcast Player ",10:45.010 "Listen...

Hi Mosen at Largers. Here's a summary of what's on the podcast this week, with the item first followed by its time in the show. Introduction,0:00.000 "Ringtones and texttones, Do you make your own, buy your own or just use the defaults?",0:36.390 Blind parents and potty training. For helpful resources on blind parenting, check out the NFB Blind Parents site ,10:47.245 "Neil Young says the MacbookP...

Hi Mosen at largers, here's what's on this week's packed episode, but before I tell you that, a reminder that reviews and word of mouth really help small independent producers. If you like the podcast, please give it a five star review if your podcast service offers this, or just spread the word on social media, email lists and to friends. Thanks so much mate. In this summary, you'll find the topi...

Hi again Mosen at largers. I'm back after a summer break, having been geeking out with a lot of tech, just for the fun of it. Please note that in response to many requests, the podcast is now produced with chapter marks, making it easy for you to move between items in the podcast in any good podcast player. I'll also provide time stamps in the show notes. 01:21 Bonnie has a new laptop, I describe...

In this special edition of Mosen At Large, I want to introduce you to the new podcast app in my life. For years, I've been a happy user of Overcast, but a podcast app for iOS named Castro Podcast Player kept being mentioned by people who consume a lot of podcasts. Some time ago, I checked it out and found significant accessibility issues for blind people like me who use the VoiceOver screen reader...

I hope the final year of the decade has begun well for you. This special episode of the podcast is devoted to Backpack Studio, a recording app that with an in-app purchase will also let you create live Internet radio right from your iPhone or iPad. Additionally, the app will create video files out of audio, which is a great feature for people who'd like to post audio content to social media servic...

Hi Mosen at largers. Hark! Hark closely! Verily I say unto you, it's Christmas, so lo, time is running out to vote in the Mushroom FM holiday countdown. It's so easy, and participating on the day is such a fun experience. Get your top 10 holiday songs into us today! Otherwise, a song you really like might be low. And lo, that would not be good. Then you might say, "oh, hark!" You know, having a bi...

Hi Mosen at largers. 'Tis the season and all that. And it seems I'm not the only one who finds the line in the Christmas song Silent Night, "holy infant so tender and mild", quite bizarre. This week we look at other odd Christmas songs and lines, including the most bizarre one of all, Little Drummer Boy. We discuss salutations at the beginning of emails. Do we need them, and what should we use? We...

Hi Mosen At largers. Wow, where did that time go? It was 20 years ago today that I pushed the button to launch ACB Radio and begin working with some great Internet radio pioneers. If you'd like to read an account of how ACB Radio got started and some memories of the building of the station in those early days, you can download my free ebook on The Mosen Consulting site. People have been buying up...

Hi Mosen at Largers. We've made the big time at last and are now on Spotify, so welcome if you're listening to us there. Speaking of which, Spotify has introduced a new daily playlist to help you discover new podcast content. During the week, Bonnie and I were refused an Uber ride because of her Seeing Eye dog. I recount the experience and how Uber handled it, and seek your own experiences like th...

Hi again Mosen At Largers. Today the listening audience bonds over linguistic and grammatical pet peeves. So, like, um, totally listen irregardless? You know? We hear some more about MFI hearing aids and their co-existence with the latest version of iOS. The Brave Browser, which touts super security and privacy, is officially released with version 1.0 now available, and it works again with NVDA. A...

Hi Mosen At Largers. We begin this episode with a fix for the issue where MFI hearing aid wearers have been hearing VoiceOver sounds played over their device's speaker rather than through the aids. Twitterific has already come out with a bug fix for a VoiceOver problem that began over the last week, but maybe we should have just embraced the null? We hear some listener advice on making a Reaper Bl...

Hi again Mosen at Largers. In this bigger than huge, bumper episode, iOS 13.2 is out. There are still serious bugs, one in particular of high impact that is new to this release affecting Made for iPhone hearing aid users who also use VoiceOver. We deserve better. Clocks have been going forward and back depending on where in the world you are. Is daylight saving a failed experiment we should abando...

Hi again Mosen at Largers. This week, we ask if our personal assistant devices are just going a bit too far in trying to protect our delicate ears. I provide some examples of famous songs that have now incurred the wrath of the Siri and Alexa censors. More listeners talk about their food loves and hates. There's yet more discussion about whether Braille should always begin with an uppercase B. I s...

Hi Mosen at Largers. Thanks for joining me again. Are you as enthralled by the Brexit drama as me? Before putting the show together, I pulled an all-nighter watching coverage of the unusual and dramatic Saturday session of the UK House of Commons. I offer a few thoughts. We talk about food you absolutely adore, and food you detest. Even though the answer to this question should be blatantly obviou...

Hi Mosen at Largers. Many will be tuning in for Google's big event. They'll reveal the Pixel 4 this coming week and there'll be other things unveiled too. A listener asks me to talk about anything I'd like to see announced. Are you a Mac user looking forward to a greater variety of apps? It appears Apple may have seriously dropped the accessibility ball with its new Catalyst project. We hear some...