Rant #3,683: All Ears

What an absolutely horrible three days I had related to that conference I covered for work.

Not only was it long, boring and tedious, but the audio was nearly impossible to deal with, certainly the worst ever since I have been working post-career for this association.

I have to give them credit; their technocians did all they could, but the audio was atrocious. I would say that 75 percent of the two eight-hour days was unlistenable, either sounding like the speakers were under water, or not there at all.

It is an impossible situation when you are covering a conference like this and much of it is completely inaudible.

How can I write this thing up if I can't understand a lot of what the speakers are saying?

What you have to do is take whatever you can get out of this and do the best you can with it.

Yes, much of it was like kfkfudkggkfkkbh, and other parts if it was like.          .................., but I have been in this situation before trying to do a transcription, and you really have to get at it and do the best that you can.        ....

I told the proper people about this as it was unfolding, and I did use a transcription for part of my coverage of the first day's events.

But transcriptions are quite a bit unreliable. They can also be gobbledegook, but at least you can try to de lcipher it and rewrite it with the little it gives you.

But alas, coverage of this event--8:30 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday--was nearly impossible, and then I spent much of Thursday getting it ready--

So, essentially, three days were flushed down the drain.

It is very frustrating.

I take pride in my writing and editing, and my final product was not up to my usual standards.

And now, I face one mini-conference a week for the next six weeks or so--every Wednesday--and I shutter to think what coal I am given, tasked to make it into diamonds ...

God help me!

Have a good weekend, I will speak to you again on Monday, which is my birthday.

At points during the last three days, I wondered if I would make it that long, but I think that now, with this past horror show out of the way, I will be there with bells on.

And hopefully, the ring of thise bells will be loud--

And clear.