Time to bring out the slide projector again as Jan tells us about his recent holiday adventure in France and Spain. Thank all the gods he was with his wonderful wife and children or else he might have left a trail of destruction behind him! He tells us all.
Our guest this week is eamonn linnane. For the last 25 years Eamonn has been organising the Mizen to Malin cycling event, in order to raise funds for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, in memory of his late father, Paddy. Eamonn tells us all about the cycle and even tries to persuade the Blind Guys to do it in 2026. The guys have agreed, but only if they can drive! Clodagh is very excited about this, as Óran looks great in cycle shorts.
So, get ready to shave your chest, slap on your Oakley glasses, and start the most exhilarating ride you are ever going to experience - Blind Guys Chat. 9.6 out of 10 bicycle saddles prefer it to being sat on.
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This week we’re talking to Professor Pieter Roelfsema from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam. He is chatting with the lads about a research project looking at direct electrical stimulation of the brain via cortical visual neuroprostheses, which is a promising approach to restore basic sight for the visually impaired by inducing a percept of localised light called ‘phosphenes’. We are offering Jan as a guinea pig for this one!
Meta are opening up an SDK (Software Development Kit, for those of us who are less technical) so external software developers can develop and add their applications’ functionality to the Meta glasses. Is this a good thing? What do you think? Let us know at [email protected].
We've got an email from friend of the podcast, Rene Ludwig, who is a 'TravelEyes' user and thinks it's a great service.
So, connect those electrodes directly into your ears and prepare to listen to Óran rambling on and on!
Disclaimer: Ramble tags would like to disassociate themselves from any rambling producers.
Links for this show: · Professor Roelfsema’s paper on his sight restoration research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40578385/#:~:text=Direct%20electrical%20stimulation%20of%20the,localized%20light%20called%20'phosphenes · TravelEyes: https://www.traveleyes-international.com/ · Ramble Tags: https://rambletag.co.uk/
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This week we are chatting with Freek van Welsenis, the Director and CEO of Hable One. Freek is here to talk about the Hable One, a sleek Braille device that can be used to navigate your smart devices. He also tells us about the Hable Easy, a smartphone controller, and the Speechlabel, a handy device for labelling and subsequently identifying items around the house and in work. Mohammed and Jan's date to Jan's local football club didn't go so well. It appears that Mohammed was left to fend for himself at the ticket gate! Well, Chantal was also with him, so he wasn’t completely abandoned, and Mo is famous for being independent, so we don’t think he was in any danger, but we’re not sure Jan will get a second date! We have an email from Sarah from ‘down under’; she is wondering if smart speakers are useful, or are they really just small juke-boxes? What do you think? Do you still use your smart speaker for anything else but setting timers? email us: [email protected] So, strip down to your #25 Juho Kilo jersey and start your warmup for the best podcast this side of a stroopwafel: Blind Guys Chat. 9 out of 11 football supporters prefer it to watching grown men cry! Links: · Hable One: https://www.iamhable.com/en-om/products/hable-one-keyboard · Hable Easy: https://www.iamhable.com/en-om/products/hable-easy · Hable Speechlabel: https://www.iamhable.com/en-om/pages/speechlabel · Juho Kilo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juho_Kilo
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It's celebration time here in the BGC office as Óran has news! It seems he is now calling himself a scriptwriter because his very first script has just been produced. It is for the super-fun, excellent and wonderful children's animation TV series: ‘Maddie + Triggs’. You may remember we had the star of the show, Bonnie O'Meara on the podcast, together with Turnip + Duck founders: Colm Tobin and Aidan O'Donovan. Óran’s episode is #46 and is called 'Dogs with Jobs' which is about Lolo the guide dog. There are links to that interview, along with links to Óran’s episode at the bottom of the show notes. Disclaimer: any resemblance to Larry the guide dog is not fictional!
If you are not in the UK or Ireland, Maddie + Triggs is available in these countries and broadcasters: YLE (Finland); SVT (Sweden); NRK (Norway); RTS (Switzerland); ABC (Australia); CRTVG (Spain); DR (Denmark); JY Ent (China); TFO (French-speaking Canada); Knowledge Network (English-speaking Canada); VME (US Hispanic); Côte Ouest (Sub-Saharan Africa); France TV; Minika (Turkey).
Óran has a question about the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and while he does trust our designated BGC lawyer and senior council, Mr Mohammed Laachair, he would appreciate comments from the wider community: [email protected].
Clodagh has a reminder that there’s a ‘Seen - Unseen goes Racing’ day out at The Races in a non-visual way, in collaboration with HRI at Fairyhouse Racecourse on Saturday November 29th. Participation is free of charge. Email Claire on [email protected] or send a voice note or text to 086 3091653.
We also have a listener asking us to recommend TV content with good AD, see list below.
• On Netflix: Arcane, Stranger Things, and The Diplomat.
• On Apple TV: Slow Horses series 5.
• On other streamers: Game of Thrones.
And please email us on [email protected] to let us know what shows you’ve been enjoying. We’re always looking for recommendations!
So, shake off the damp November weather, tell winter to hold its horses, and settle in for the number 1 podcast as voted by readers of pre-school magazine 'Sleepy Times': Blind Guys Chat. 8 out of 10 dogs with jobs prefer it to having a job!
Links mentioned in this show:
• Dogs with Jobs news article: https://www.rte.ie/kids/2025/1106/1542541-larry-the-guide-dog-maddie-and-triggs-rte/
• BGC Episode 63 - Maddie and Triggs’: The Unbeatable Team: https://tinyurl.com/BGC063
• Link to Óran’s episode of ‘Maddie + Triggs’ on RTÉ: https://tinyurl.com/MaddieTriggsEp46DogsWithJobs
• Link to Óran’s episode of ‘Maddie + Triggs’ on BBC:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002ls4q/maddie-triggs-series-1-46-dogs-with-jobs
• Link to Óran’s episode of ‘Maddie + Triggs’ on DailyMotion (muted by default):
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9tlxfy
• Seen, Unseen: Contact Claire on [email protected] or send a voice note or text to 086 3091653.
• Dutch mountain song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCUbmAsxwQ
And don’t forget to email us on [email protected]!
Support Blind Guys Chat by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/blind-guys-chat