< Back Visual Speech In Real Noisy Environments (VISION) A Novel BenchmarkDataset and Deep Learning-based Baseline System ResearchGate 1 Oct 2022 In this paper, we present VIsual Speech In real nOisy eNvi- ronments (VISION), a first of its kind audio-visual (AV) cor- pus comprising 2500 utterances from 209 speakers, recorded in real noisy environments including social gatherings, streets, cafeterias and restaurants. While a number of speech enhance- ment frameworks have been proposed in the literature that ex- ploit AV cues, there are no visual speech corpora recorded in real environments with a sufficient variety of speakers, to en- able evaluation of AV frameworks’ generalisation capability in a wide range of background visual and acoustic noises. The main purpose of our AV corpus is to foster research in the area of AV signal processing and to provide a benchmark corpus that can be used for reliable evaluation of AV speech enhancement systems in everyday noisy settings. In addition, we present a baseline deep neural network (DNN) based spectral mask es- timation model for speech enhancement. Comparative simula- tion results with subjective listening tests demonstrate signifi- cant performance improvement of the baseline DNN compared to state-of-the-art speech enhancement approache https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354141486_Visual_Speech_In_Real_Noisy_Environments_VISION_A_Novel_Benchmark_Dataset_and_Deep_Learning-Based_Baseline_System For more: Audio Previous Next

< Back The Cloud Under The Sea The industry responsible for laying the cables for the internet traces its origins back far beyond the internet, past even the telephone, to the early days of telegraphy. It’s invisible, under-appreciated, analog. Few people set out to join the profession, mostly because few people know it exists. The Verge 19 Apr 2024 Want a career connecting the world? An immersive long read about laying the cables that the internet and we all rely upon. The home of the Fourth Portal, St Andrew's Church, is dedicated to those who work and travel the seas. This excellent long read follows the journey of those who repair the cables of the worldwide internet, revealing a fascinating life and opportunities for employment to see a whole new world. ___ "St Andrew's Waterside Church Mission for Sailors, Fishermen and Emigrants, 1864-1939 was established in 1864 to serve merchant seamen, fishermen and emigrants passing through the parish of Holy Trinity at Milton-next-Gravesend on 'sound Church principles', (ie 'high' or mainstream rather than 'low' church within the Church of England)." ( https://mar.ine.rs/stories/st-andrews-waterside-church-mission/ ) ___ “It hasn’t changed in 150 years... The Victorians did it that way and we’re doing it the same way.” "The industry responsible for this crucial work traces its origins back far beyond the internet, past even the telephone, to the early days of telegraphy. It’s invisible, underappreciated, analog. Few people set out to join the profession, mostly because few people know it exists. Others come to the field from merchant navies, marine construction, cable engineering, geology, optics, or other tangentially related disciplines. When Fumihide Kobayashi, the submersible operator — a tall and solidly built man from the mountain region of Nagano — joined KCS at the age of 20, he thought he would be working on ship maintenance, not working aboard a maintenance ship. He had never been on a boat before, but Hirai enticed him to stay with stories of all the whales and other marine creatures he would see on the remote ocean. Once people are in, they tend to stay. For some, it’s the adventure — repairing cables in the churning currents of the Congo Canyon and enduring hull-denting North Atlantic storms. Others find a sense of purpose in maintaining the infrastructure on which society depends, even if most people’s response when they hear about their job is, But isn’t the internet all satellites by now? The sheer scale of the work can be thrilling, too. People will sometimes note that these are the largest construction projects humanity has ever built or sum up a decades-long resume by saying they’ve laid enough cable to circle the planet six times. The world is in the midst of a cable boom, with multiple new transoceanic lines announced every year. However, there is growing concern that the industry responsible for maintaining these cables is running perilously lean. There are 77 cable ships in the world, according to data supplied by SubTel Forum, but most are focused on the more profitable work of laying new systems. Only 22 are designated for repair, and it’s an ageing and eclectic fleet. Often, maintenance is their second act. Some, like Alcatel’s Ile de Molene, are converted tugs. “One of the biggest problems we have in this industry is attracting new people to it,” said Constable. He recalled another panel he was on in Singapore meant to introduce university students to the industry. “The audience was probably about 10 university kids and 60 old grey people from the industry just filling out their day,” he said. When he speaks with students looking to get into tech, he tries to convince them that subsea cables are also part — a foundational part — of the tech industry. “They all want to be data scientists and that sort of stuff,” he said. “But for me, I find this industry fascinating. You’re dealing with the most hostile environment on the planet, eight kilometres deep in the oceans, working with some pretty high technology, travelling all over the world. You’re on the forefront of geopolitics, and it’s critical for the whole way the world operates now.” The industry’s biggest recruiting challenge, however, is the industry’s invisibility. It’s a truism that people don’t think about infrastructure until it breaks, but they tend not to think about fixing it, either. In his 2014 essay, “Rethinking Repair,” professor of information science Steven Jackson argued that contemporary thinking about technology romanticizes moments of invention over the ongoing work of maintenance, though it is equally important to the deployment of functional technology in the world. There are few better examples than the subsea cable industry, which, for over a century, has been so effective at quickly fixing faults that the public has rarely had a chance to notice. Or as one industry veteran put it, “We are one of the best-kept secrets in the world, because things just work.” https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships For more: Security, Infrastructure Previous Next

On a warm summer evening, Hypermedia Open Space 9 brought together poets, musicians, and experimental performers for another night of DIY creativity, open mic, and discussion at the Fourth Portal. With a mix of laughter, poetry, and sound experiments, the event showcased established and emerging artists, proving once again that unpredictability fuels creativity. Hypermedia DIY Open Space 9 < Back 14 August 2024 On a warm summer evening, Hypermedia Open Space 9 brought together poets, musicians, and experimental performers for another night of DIY creativity, open mic, and discussion at the Fourth Portal. With a mix of laughter, poetry, and sound experiments, the event showcased established and emerging artists, proving once again that unpredictability fuels creativity. Previous Next Hypermedia Open Space 9 On a warm summer evening, Hypermedia Open Space 9 returned to the Fourth Portal, bringing together poets, musicians, sound artists, and experimental performers for another night of DIY creativity, open mic, and discussion. Known for its welcoming and unpredictable atmosphere, the event was a cracking evening of laughter, original poetry, and song, where new voices and returning performers pushed the boundaries of performance and community-driven arts. A Stage for All Voices With a steady flow of performances, the Fourth Portal stage saw contributions from both established and emerging artists, creating an environment where new collaborations formed in real time. Performers included (some names missing): Anthony Hart Chris Porcas Joe Cleary Johnny G Lee Campbell Nick Poet Redeeming Features Evelina Renata Arthur Camara Paul Taylor Joe Whittaker From high-energy spoken word to experimental soundscapes, Hypermedia Open Space 9 continued to demonstrate the power of grassroots creative spaces in Gravesend and beyond. As always, the evening embraced unpredictability, proving once again that art, music, and poetry thrive when given space to evolve without constraints. Artist focus Paul Taylor – Trombone Poetry Paul Taylor (main video below) is a multifaceted artist based in Rotherhithe, London, best known for Trombone Poetry, a solo performance project blending spoken word and trombone improvisation. His work is a fusion of rhythm, melody, and poetry, creating a distinctive and dynamic storytelling experience. In addition to performing, Paul is a brass tutor and author, with a background in philosophy and music education. 🔗 Trombone Poetry Website 🔗 Paul Taylor on Facebook Joe Whittaker – Folk Singer & Promoter Joe Whittaker is a folk singer and event booker at the Dartford Folk Club, one of the longest-running folk venues in the UK. A strong advocate for folk traditions and storytelling through song, he is also a contributor to Folk London, a bi-monthly magazine covering folk music, dance, and song events across Greater London and beyond. 🔗 Folk London Website Visit Event Page MORE ON THIS EVENT BELOW Previous Next Event Documentation Previous Next

All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Tara Vavana Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs SKRONK #3 7 May 2016 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Stefano Sama Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs SKRONK #1 31 May 2016 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Courtney Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs SKRONK #176 15 July 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

< Back A First Step Toward AI Regulation With Tom Wheeler Podcast: Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, shares his insights on what’s next in the push toward AI regulation. Centre For Humane Technology 1 Nov 2023 On Monday, 30 October 2023, US President Biden released a sweeping executive order that addresses many risks of artificial intelligence. Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, shares his insights on the order with Tristan and Aza from the Centre for Humane Technology and discusses what’s next in the push toward AI regulation. Businessman, venture capitalist, and former chairman of the Federal Communication Corporation during the Obama administration, Tom Wheele r is the author TECHLASH: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age (Brookings, October 2023) and From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future (Brookings, 2019). He resides in Washington, DC. Listen. https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/a-first-step-toward-ai-regulation-with-tom-wheeler For more: Protocols, Security, Machine Learning, Decoupling, Regulation, Standards Previous Next

This is a dummy page showing how an Skronk gig page may appear once the Culture Reverb memory system is live. It is for demonstration purposes only and not yet connected to the full network. Skronk Skronk – Culture Reverb Demonstration Page This page is a demonstration of how Culture Reverb may look once live. The Skronk webpage automatically generates a gig page containing a full interactive list of performers. These pages will connect to individual artist pages, instruments, collaborations, and venues, allowing scenes to emerge from the data. Once fully live, everything on the page will be connected across the open web. Skronk s brought together by Nathan Harmer and was originated by Rick Jensen For more information on Culture Reverb, contact John a John at info@fourthportal.com SKRONK #178 16 September 2025 Endeavour, 39 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PQ Seb Stone Jonny Martin Anthony Osborne Tom Spurging Sid Hope Nathan Greywater Kinga Janicka Filanour Karen Barnes Charlie Folorunsho Jim S. Andrew Andrew Ciccone Robert Trent Sid Phipps Nyx Mandy Majic Andrew Page Nathan Z SKRONK #177 2 September 2025 Endeavour, 39 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PQ Rick Irvine Sid Hope Anthony Osborne Nathan Greywater Seb Stone Filanour Luigi Rizzo Simon Oliwale Antonio Arca ANJ32 Bettina Schroeder Simon Lawson Ed H Frankie Stuart Wilding Tom Spurging Amelie James Mario Guarnieri Liv Vova Adrian Roper Ras Cassette SKRONK #176 15 July 2025 Endeavour, 39 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PQ ANJ32 Anthony Osborne Delia Betitus Seb Stone Nathan Greywater Sid Hope Rick Irvine GLUA Just Joe Kinga Janicka Bettina Schroeder Sky Cody Phil Hollins Cassette Countercultural Courtney Frankie Tom Scott David Aylward Mario Guarnieri Tom Spurging SKRONK #175 1 July 2025 Endeavour, 39 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PQ Chris Arnold Sid Hope Anthony Osborne ANJ32 Ed H. Seb Stone Nathan Greywater GLUA Kyle (The Resting Doors) Andrew Ciccone Ed Shipsey Cassette Countercultural Keiran Luigi Rizzo Frankie SKRONK #6 23 August 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN ANJ32 Anthony Osborne Delia Betitus Seb Stone Nathan Greywater Sid Hope Rick Irvine GLUA Just Joe Kinga Janicka Bettina Schroeder Sky Cody Phil Hollins Cassette Countercultural Courtney Frankie Tom Scott David Aylward Mario Guarnieri Tom Spurging SKRONK #5 9 August 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN James Malone, Alain Man, Hanna Bohlin, Rick Jensen, Thomas Tronich, Jordan Muscatello, Rory Hildick, Paul Shearsmith, Helen Tate, Ben Watson, Graham Painting, Si Paton, Sebastion Sterkowicz, Andrew Cleaver, Dave Draper, Jenni Roditi, Iris Ederer, Noel Taylor, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, Erik, Massimo Magee SKRONK #4 19 July 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN James Malone, Jason Alder, Jordan Muscatello, Sam Enthoven, Thomas Tronich, Alain Man, Laura Sampson, Rick Jensen, Chris Freudenberg, Paul Shearsmith, Erik, Dave O’Connor, Rory Hildick, Noel Taylor, Luisa Tucciariello, Michele Paccagnella, Bettina Schroeder, Mike Whiting SKRONK #2 21 June 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN Rick Jensen Simon Gajewski Alain Man Michael Dobbie Hywel Jones Matylda Geber Thomas Tronich Chris Freudenberg Sam Enthoven Tara Vavana Dilara Aydin-Corbett Luisa Tucciariello Dan The Stylophone Man Mike Whiting Gyorgy Beck SKRONK #1 31 May 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN Massimo Magee, Paul Shearsmith, Alain Man, James Malone, Rory Hildick, Hywel Jones, Rick Jensen, Fabrizio Brusca, Si Paton, Benji, Guido Spannocchi, Simon Gajewski, Stefano Sama, Ernesto Bohorquez ImproVox #11 SKRONK #3 7 May 2016 New River Studios, 199 Eade Rd, Harringay Warehouse District, London N4 1DN Rick Jensen Dan The Stylophone Man Chris Freudenberg Dilara Aydin-Corbett Alain Man Bryan Styles Michael Dobbie Hywel Jones Matylda Geber Thomas Tronich Simon Gajewski Chris Freudenberg Tara Vavana Gyorgy Beck Luisa Tucciariello Sam Enthoven Michele Paccagnella Mike Whiting

FOOD VENDORS Founder & CEO Don Francis This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Tech Lead Ashley Jones This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Office Manager Tess Brown This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Product Manager Lisa Rose This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. HR Lead Kevin Nye This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Customer Support Lead Alex Young This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. QA Specialist Andrew Cole This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Content Strategist Debbie Green This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Product Manager Alissa Rose This is your Team Member description. Use this space to write a brief description of this person’s role and responsibilities, or add a short bio. Apply Today This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content. info@mysite.com 123-456-7890

All Improv Perfomers All Improv Gigs Manuel Miethe Soprano Saxophone, Conductor Performer Bio (Max 1000 characters) London and South East improv gigs London Improvisers Orchestra #38 9 July 2025 Performer notes, message or style description http://Website or social media email or phone number

This is a dummy page showing how an London Improvisers Orchestra gig page may appear once the Culture Reverb memory system is live. It is for demonstration purposes only and not yet connected to the full network. London Improvisers Orchestra London Improvisers Orchestra – Culture Reverb Demonstration Page This page is a demonstration of how Culture Reverb may look once live. The London Improvisers Orchestra webpage automatically generates a gig page containing a full interactive list of performers. These pages will connect to individual artist pages, instruments, collaborations, and venues, allowing scenes to emerge from the data. Once fully live, everything on the page will be connected across the open web. The London Improvisers Collective is a London based collective that performs monthly concerts throughout the year. For more information on Culture Reverb, contact John a John at info@fourthportal.com London Improvisers Orchestra #39 28 September 2025 Holy Trinity Church, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2BA Sam Eastmond Jonny Martin Faradena Afifi Martin Hackett Douglas Benford Tilly Coulton Gina Fergione Kes Matsui Steve Beresford Benjy Sandler Benjamin Krauss Olga Ksendzovska Jess Bull Anderson Julian Woods Gerardo Gozzi Aurelie Freoua John Eyles London Improvisers Orchestra #38 9 July 2025 St Mary’s New Church, Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 9ES Jerry Wigens Sam Eastmond Steve Beresford Julian Woods J onny Martin Aurelie Freoua Chris Killick Martin Hackett Chris Hill Manuel Miethe Isabel Anders Dave Fowler Douglas Benford Bettina Schroeder Jo Morrison John Eyles John Bisset Adam Bohman Sue Ferrar Andrei Abramov Phil Minton Ivor Kallin London Improvisers Orchestra #37 8 March 2025 St Mary’s New Church, Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 9ES Dave Fowler Douglas Benford Steve Beresford Sam Eastmond Olga Ksendzovska Julian Woods Chris Hill Martin Hackett Thomas Mejer Ivor Kallin Jonny Martin Jerry Wigens John Bisset Noel Taylor Sue Ferrar Sung Mi Marina Kim Gina Fergione London Improvisers Orchestra #36 7 June 2025 St Mary’s New Church, Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 9ES Tansy Spinks Julian Woods Chris Hill Faradena Afifi Martin Hackett Korhan Futaci Douglas Benford Alan Newcombe Jerry Wigens Thomas Mejer Gina Fergione Jo Morrison Steve Potter Julia Doyle

< Back Designing A Sustainable Material For 3D Printing With Spent Coffee Grounds Don’t throw out those used coffee grounds—use them for 3D printing instead. Any object you create can be thrown back into a coffee grinder and reused on a new object. ars TECHNICA 21 Sept 2023 “You can make a lot of things with coffee grounds,” said co-author Michael Rivera of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the ATLAS Institute, who specializes in digital fabrication and human-computer interactions. “And when you don’t want it anymore, you can throw it back into a coffee grinder and use the grounds to print again. Our vision is that you could just pick up a few things at a supermarket and online and get going.” As 3D printers have moved into more widespread use, it has sparked concerns about environmental sustainability, from the high energy consumption to the thermoplastics used as a printing material—most commonly polylactic acid (PLA). PLA waste usually ends up in a landfill where it can take as long as 1,000 years to decompose, per Rivera. While there have been efforts to recycle PLA in the same way plastic (PET) soda bottles are typically recycled, it's an energy-intensive process that can't be done by the average user at home. Adding biomass fillers (bamboo or hemp fiber, oyster shells, and yes, spent coffee grounds) makes recycling even more labor and energy intensive. From the academic paper. 4. 3D PRINTING APPROACH This section describes our preparation procedure for our spent coffee ground-based material (SCG material), our 3D printer set-up, printing parameters, and our decision process for aspects such as nozzle diameter and print speed. 4.1 Material Preparation We partnered with a local coffee shop5 to receive their SCG that were previously used to make espresso-based drinks (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos). The obtained grounds were finely ground to approximately Math 1 in diameter (visually similar in size to table salt) and initially wet. We opted to dry the SCG in direct sunlight for two days to avoid energy consumption associated with oven-drying. Once fully dried, we sifted the grounds using a basic kitchen strainer6 to remove any large clumps. After measuring their proper proportions, all of the dry powders (i.e., SCG, XG, CMC) were combined together in a single jar. The powders were then shaken together for approximately 1 min  to ensure a uniform mixture. This combination was then slowly mixed into another jar containing a proportional amount of water by mass. Once the mixture was homogeneous, the SCG material was loaded into 60 mL syringes7. Following the exact proportions in table 2 produces approximately 90 mL of the SCG material. Notably, this entire procedure can be accomplished in a standard kitchen at home with food-safe ingredients. Academic Paper can be found at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3563657.3595983 https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/09/dont-throw-out-those-used-coffee-grounds-use-them-for-3d-printing-instead/ For more: Design, 3D Printing Previous Next