The way I read this page is I CTRL+click the headline link text to open the story in a new browser tab, and then read the intro. The end of the intro tells me it's a 1.6Mb MP3 file, just as the browser crashes. D'oh.

Posted by: on July 23, 2002 08:10 AM

 

Sorry for the crash!

Just after the link I should include information that tells people it is a 1.64 MB file. Putting it at the end, even with a warning, is not good enough. The reason I did not do it the "correct" way is that it breaks with my convention. I almost never include file or link information just after the link -- that is where I cite the resource, if appropriate. On the other hand, I usually place comments at the end of the blurb I post, so that is where I put the warning.

In any event, I am curious what people think about the posting. You'll need to listen to the whole thing to get it. I won't post any more information about it yet since I don't want to ruin the surprise at the end. Hopefully people get a kick out of it.

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on July 23, 2002 08:27 AM

 

You should also give play time.

Posted by: Ron Zeno on July 23, 2002 09:46 AM

 

Ron, you are right. I meant to do that. In case you want to know, it is just over 4 minutes long.

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on July 23, 2002 10:06 AM

 

For those of us who cannot be overheard listening to pirate tales at work, could someone tell me what this MP3 is about?

Posted by: Jack on July 23, 2002 11:22 AM

 

Damn, you guys are going to make me wait until I get home?

Posted by: Jack on July 23, 2002 06:10 PM

 

Yes Jack, you will have to wait until you get home. [Begin sinister laughter] Bwaaaaaa ha ha ha! [End sinister laughter]

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on July 23, 2002 06:17 PM

 

Cute story, John. You have a great pirate voice, however it may be more effective if you don't use it throughout the entire story. I would recommend using the rough pirate voice for character dialog only. In between, use your regular speaking voice. Then when you get to the dialog, it will all the more dramatic.

I'm interested to know what you use to create these audio files? What software do you use? What's happening whenever we hear that clicking noise in the background? Did you rehearse much before recording?

Posted by: Joshua Kaufman on July 24, 2002 01:05 AM

 

Why is John suddenly going nuts with the sound recording? Changing from the usability business John?

On a related matter, it would be nice if you put up case studies of your usability business - who you worked for, what you learned, what work you did, etc. Your corporate side is not represented well on this site.

Posted by: Livia on July 24, 2002 03:25 AM

 

Cute story. :) Have you ever heard Nilsson's The Point? (The CD, not the movie.) He had a good reading style that would be a good model for this type of story.

Posted by: Lydia on July 24, 2002 07:29 PM