An Afternoon Constitutional

As I related in a recent blog post, I have been spending too much time in front of the computer recently, and not getting nearly enough exercise. To do something about that, I've been arriving early to pick up my daughter from school in the afternoon, parking my van, and walking for fifteen to twenty minutes, while listening to audiobooks on my MP3 player. It has been working well for me.

Recently, friends I've made while using Google Buzz told me about Audioboo, an audio-blogging service. Coincidentally, Stephen Fry, my inspiration for walking while listening to audiobooks, has used the service a lot. This UK-based site is optimized for iPhone, and has a corresponding application. However, they have recently added the ability to upload any audio files, or to record from your web-browser. I don't have an iPhone, but I have a voice recorder built into my mp3 player, so I wondered if I could do a little audio-blogging while doing my afternoon walk. This has led to a new mini-project, which I have called An Afternoon Constitutional, after that Victorian idea of the walk for the constitution, or health.

It has been an interesting experience. I was not aware, at first, that there is a five-minute limit to "Audioboos," and my first attempt was sixteen minutes long! When I realized my mistake, I used an audio-editing program, Audacity, to edit some material out of it and split it into two five-minute "episodes." I'm sure I could have found another service that would have allowed me to record for longer, but I decided that five minutes was quite long enough for anyone to listen to. I've already had some mild complaints about all the puffing and panting during the recordings. This is the only time I really have available to do this; it is keeping me interested in my walking, and hopefully, as I get fitter, there will be less breathing noise!

My "boos" are a little different from my posts here. For a start, I talk about anything that's on my mind, and not necessarily on subjects that would fit well here. There will of course be some crossover. I don't plan out what I'm going to say (although I usually have an idea of the theme), so they tend to be very "stream-of-consciousness." Please give them a listen, and let me know what you think.

http://audioboo.fm/Foucault