BBC Sound Effects free to use

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You might not believe this (alright, you’re bound to believe this) but when I was younger I used to buy sound effects records from the BBC. It was all part of a growing up process that involved a number of reel to reel tape recorders and duties as sound man for the local amateur dramatics society. It got so that I could actually recognise familiar effects when I heard them on TV and radio.

Anyhoo, if you also have an interest in sound effects (and who doesn’t) you might like to know that the BBC has just released a whole bunch of them which are free to use for fun if not profit. You can find them here.

You might be asking “When will I ever need the sound of ‘Single cylinder compressor pump operating with start and stop. (Sewage pump with belt drive)’?” but that is not really the point. There are loads of sampler based musical instruments out there looking for interesting inputs. You can have a lot of fun using sounds like these as raw materials. And they are a great way to enliven a boring Teams meeting if played at the right volume level.

They’ve actually got one of my all-time favourites in the collection….

Covid App Installed

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I’ve installed the NHS Covid App on my phone and it seems to work. Actually, it doesn’t seem to do much. After asking me for my home postcode (or at least the first few characters of it) the program seems to have lost interest in me. I think this is definitely a good thing. I was expecting to have to enter a username, think of a password that didn’t (or did) include non-alphanumeric characters and then enter my National Insurance number. None of that. Just a very simple interface with the things that you need to know.

If they’ve done the Bluetooth BLE stuff right it should have minimal effect on battery life. Looks like a good job to me. If you are lucky enough to have a phone that can support the app you really should install it and use it.

A pity that it is six months after we need it though.

Begin to Code with JavaScript is written

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It’s done! Yay! I’ve finished writing all the chapters of Begin to Code with JavaScript. I’ve been turning out a chapter every two weeks since early April. It’s been great fun and a wonderful distraction from the end of the world as we know it.

Of course the book is by no means finished. It now needs to be made right, which is what we do in the editing process. Since I’m ever the optimist though, and I’d appreciate feedback, you can read the draft version of the text here. I’m going to spend some time over the next few weeks catching up with the podcasts for the book, which you can find here.

Among Us is very annoying - and great fun

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We played Among Us for a couple of hours tonight. It was hilarious. Everyone is trying to repair a spaceship. Except one person - the imposter. The Imposter can sabotage the ship and kill crew members. When a death is discovered the remaining crew get together and try to decide who to throw out of the airlock. Get it right and the crew win. Get it wrong and the game continues until the imposter runs out of crew to kill or the crew fix the ship. Dead players return as ghosts who can float around trying to complete their original tasks.

It works on loads of platforms and the graphics and gameplay are super smooth. I only got to be the imposter twice and managed to mess up both times, but I really enjoyed the hearty debate that followed the discovery of each dead person in the other games. If you are looking for a bit of networked anarchy you should find some friends and have a go. I used the iPad version which worked OK although I’ve never been a fan of touch screens. I think the way forward is to pay for it on Steam and then use a PC. The game works across all the platforms.

Quiplash Fun

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Jackbox Games are great. I’ve got very fond memories of playing “You don’t know Jack” from CD way back in the day. Tonight we had a go at a bunch more JackBox games, including “QuipLash”. In Quip Lash you have to come up with quick quips which the rest of the players then vote on. My favourite of the night was when Simon was asked to write something you wouldn’t expect to find in a message in a bottle. He came up with “Please send another bottle”. Awesome stuff. We also played some Fibbage, and that was fun too.

Night Flying

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The view of the runway

The view of the runway

Tonight we thought we’d fly over Mont Blanc. Which was sensible enough as people say it looks fantastic. Although doing the flight at night might have been a bit more adventurous than we’d bargained for. I find it hard enough to stay in the air under normal circumstances, but it is even harder when the invisible ground keeps coming up to say hello.

Anyhoo, we made it as far as the unlit runway that was our destination, but I was as usual unable to land successfully. Oh well, there is always next week.

Adventures in Parcel Delivery

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Our post delivery person is great. But sometimes a bit eccentric. Today they delivered a package while I was in to someone who was out. All I got after spending an afternoon excitedly waiting for my camera strap to arrive (I really should get out more) was a note that said “Number 5 living room window”. Now I don’t number the windows on my house. And our living room isn’t so big as to have 5 windows anyway.

Eventually I worked out that this had something to do with the living room window at house number 5. So I went over and had a look. The window was slightly open and there, on the floor inside was my parcel. Which counted as a win in delivery terms. Although if I’d had a priceless Ming vase in my room underneath the window (which is perhaps not very likely in my neighbourhood I suppose) I’d have been a bit concerned.

The good news is that the camera strap is excellent.