liv | (Reply)

From:

I would second the recommendation for Audacity as the editing program--it's full featured, fairly intuitive, and has a decent online help platform. Also, second the recommendation to use some kind of external mike; the one rec'd above sounds fine, and if you're not going to be using it heavily, you certainly don't want to go much above that price point. Equally to the point, the quality jump from in-device microphone (shudder) to cheap external headset/microphone is huge and well worth spending a small amount of money.

I use my bike for shopping and commuting and I would recommend what's called a hybrid, i.e. in between a road bike (thin tires) and a mountain bike (thick tires). You may also want to get a step-through frame, which makes it easier to wear things like skirts while biking as you don't have to swing your legs all the way up and over the seat. It's what I have. Lights, panniers (I actually only have one, but also technically this means getting a rack put on the bike to attach the pannier to), and locks--bike theft is terrible in the Bay Area, I use both a loop lock and a D-lock, ask the shop people to show you how--are essential, as is a helmet. I can't say this enough; I was doored by a car (in a bike lane, on a designated bike road) and was knocked unconscious, had to get 13 stitches, but I was basically fine--no concussion, even--because I was wearing a helmet. It was broken, of course, by the impact with the road and if I hadn't been wearing it I'd be brain damaged or dead.