euchriduk

Audio engineer here. Definitely don’t get a directional mic like a shotgun (fuzzy) mic or a cardioid mic (like singers use on stage). These require at least an audio interface, careful placement and multiple mics. For your situation, something like a Zoom H2n will be the best and perhaps cheapest option. It has 5 built in mics, so you’ll be able to capture sounds from all over the lecture hall. Use the 4 channel surround option, or the X/Y or Mid-Side options, and see what works best. It won’t be perfect, but it will be the easiest option to improve audio and simplify recording. Plus, the batteries last for many hours (ideally use the best rechargeable Eneloop Pro AA batteries).

The professional way to do it would require a mixing desk, an expensive DPA, Shure or Sennheisser lavalier mic on the lecturer, at least 2 room mics and possibly a boom operator with a shotgun mic to capture audience questions. (Although this last option could be replaced with room mics or additional fixed mics pointing at the audience). There are various options for room mics depending on the acoustics of the room, and there are no one size fits all solutions for professional quality audio.

But you don’t need professional quality, just the best you can get. With a Zoom H2n, you can put it on a tripod near the lecturer, and it will pick up sound better than average human ears. It will be better on a tripod, because it won’t pick up floor noise as much. To reduce floor noise further, get a decoupler to reduce handling noise and use a mini tripod sitting on a desk or chair. If the lecturer hall is windy (lots of air conditioning or windows and doors open) use a windshield.

You could use any handheld recorder that does X/Y recording and it might be fine. But 4 channel recording might help pick up more from the audience, and you can still boost the lecturer’s audio by keeping the device close to them and having the “mid” mic pointing at them. The recordings can be fiddly to edit at first (especially if you want to boost part of them, like the “mid” or “sides”, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. Use Audacity to edit the audio or any free audio editor you happen to have access to.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, and good luck with it!

The answer to the majority of problems the world is facing is community - we need to rebuild real physical communities, participate in them, and nourish them. We can do this by simply getting more involved in existing ones, staring from things as simple as local gardening groups, litter picking/beach tidy groups, community celebrations, local markets, etc. We need to hold on to, strengthen and rebuild arts groups and help local arts and music scenes to grow.

We can all participate on some level in some aspect of physical community building, and it will enrich us in a way social media never can. (Put on a gig, attend an arts show, donate to a community group, talk to neighbours, support the vulnerable). I believe people feel so isolated and depressed by the way greed has ruined the web, jobs, the economy, etc.that the time is right for many more people to start investing time and effort in real communities.

We need to build and grow communities in a local, regional, national and international spirit. We need to learn how to share, and how to get rid of greed and selfishness in ourselves and in our societies - participating in and building welcoming, non discriminating communities is the path towards this. We need to remove competition in education, arts and science (and ultimately economy), and focus on cooperation and improving things out of the joy of helping yourself and others. Communities can bring this about, and digital communities (as opposed to competitive social media) can support this, too.

Ideally, we want to grow communities in a way where people start thinking first “how does this help my community?” - especially when looking at political and business decisions. We need to feel something positive to stand up for (not old fashioned ideas of ‘country’ or political groups) - we simply need mutually supportive groups (communities) that fight power, greed and selfishness to defend people, animals and nature.

I had allergies for years. It was like a constant cold or worse - runny nose, itchy eyes, itchy throat, brain fog, fatigue, a little difficulty breathing (from being bunged up all the time), occasional tinnitus, etc. It was often a living hell. Often I couldn’t exercise, because the extra breathing from exertion would make symptoms worse again. Symptoms would seem to go in cycles to an extent, but they never went away completely.

I went back and forth to doctors who were all useless. In the end, I tried cutting out various things in my diet. I was already vegan, which, by cutting out dairy, had reduced the symptoms for years, but I was still suffering from constant colds, just not as bunged up or run down as previously. I ended up finding that wheat was making everything worse. It took 5 weeks of not having any wheat at all (and before that. various other things) to find this out. Since then, I cut out all wheat, and hardly ever get cold like symptoms (or colds) any more, and never get hayfever any more. (The only time symptoms return is when I screw up and have wheat or spelt accidentally or thoughtlessly).

I found I’m also allergic to touching cardboard - I can’t handle it without gloves or I’ll get eczema, basically Having cardboard in the room where I sleep is a bad idea, and can set off itchy eyes and a slight sniffle. I’m also affected by damp and mold in a house, but less so since cutting out wheat.

I’m not saying everything is a wheat allergy, but it’s definitely worth trying to isolate things. I found you need to completely cut something out of your diet for 5 to 6 weeks to notice if it’s affecting you. Start with more common things or things you know to be bad.

Also, one year I suddenly starting getting allergic reactions to beer - pretty much any kind of beer brought on itchy, weeping eyes, sore throat, sneezing, etc. with symptoms lasting for hours. I talked to another guy who had the same thing happen in the same year, and we thought it might be to do with a change in yeast or sulphites or something that affected all brewers. I cut out beer, and years later cut out all alcohol.

I’ve found eating mostly organic food, cutting out cane sugar (and fructose syrup and similar), wheat, and alcohol has removed nearly everything that was making me ill for so long. It took a long time to find what worked for me, and doctors were absolutely no help at all. Pills and drugs only mask symptoms and don’t deal with the root cause, and can often stop working after a while, depending on what’s affecting you and how (this is what I’d found in the past, anyway). Diet and environment changes seem to have better long term results by far.

Food is grown as a commodity to make investors rich - a lot of it is literally poisonous; but it is possible in nearly every country to filter out the worst crap and get to healthier options. But look for changes in your environment, too - new paint in the house, a damp patch previously unnoticed, changed ingredients in laundry liquid/powder, new clothes, cat litter, etc. Something could be triggering all of this, and it can take some detective work to isolate it.

(And to answer expected questions about being a vegan who doesn’t eat wheat or sugar or drink alcohol: I eat well, I eat plenty, and I have never felt healthier or better in ny life. But I do eat a wide range of fruit, veg, grains, beans, seeds, nuts, etc. and I mostly make my own food). And I’m not selling anyone veganism or a gluten free diet or anything else, just saying what worked for me when nothing else did.

Good luck, and I hope you find relief soon!