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French Version Audio Tour Added To Kingston’s Murney Tower!

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Murney Tower Audio Tour
Murney Tower – Kingston, Ontario

45 Degrees Latitude was hired to develop an audio walking tour for the Museum – the first of its kind for a Kingston Museum. Working with a detailed script provided by Murney Tower staff, two professional narrators were employed to create high quality audio files in their studio. The audio files were then mixed with royalty-paid music and sound effects at 45 Degrees Latitude to create the finished product.

In November 2023, a French version was added using two new professional narrators.

The English and French audio files are available free of charge on Murney Tower’s website: https://www.murneytower.com/audio-tour in four sections: The Beginning, The Barracks, The Gun Platform and The Basement. Each file can be played on any visitors mobile device or downloaded and played later.

We wish to thank Manager & Curator Simge Erdogan-O’Connor who orchestrated the entire project. We hope the audio tour will be a helpful tool to the continued success of the Museum.

Audio Tour Created For Kingston’s Murney Tower!

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Murney Tower Audio Tour
Murney Tower – Kingston, Ontario

The city of Kingston is fortunate to have an abundance of Museums, 24 in total. Murney Tower is Kingston’s oldest operating museum. Construction began in 1846 as a line of defense for the city. The structure is a limestone Martello tower. Martellos are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, Only nine Martello towers remain in all of Canada, four of them are located in Kingston.

In 1925 Murney Tower was opened as a public museum by the Kingston HIstorical Society. It is now open during the summer months (May – Labour Day in September). Murney Tower is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Rideau Canal and Kingston Fortifications.

45 Degrees Latitude was hired to develop an audio walking tour for the Museum – the first of its kind for a Kingston Museum. Working with a detailed script provided by Murney Tower staff, two professional narrators were employed to create high quality audio files in their studio. The audio files were then mixed with royalty-paid music and sound effects at 45 Degrees Latitude to create the finished product.

The audio files are available free of charge on Murney Tower’s website: https://www.murneytower.com/audio-tour in four sections: The Beginning, The Barracks, The Gun Platform and The Basement. Each file can be played on any visitors mobile device or downloaded and played later.

We wish to thank Manager & Curator Simge Erdogan-O’Connor who orchestrated the entire project. We hope the audio tour will be a helpful tool to the continued success of the Museum.

Using a Canadian Credit Card in US Gas Pumps With Zip Code

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I travel a lot in the US especially when I wish to add to my stock video footage library I sell on Pond5.com. One of the most frustrating things I found was using self-service gas bars and not being able to use my Canadian credit card at the pump because most of the pumps ask for a Zip Code for authorization. Unfortunately the US pumps don’t recognize Canadian postal codes.

In the past I had to go inside the gas bar, wait in line, then pre-pay for gas or they wanted to hold my credit card while I pumped gas- not a good idea. I read a blog post by someone a few months ago on how to bypass the zip code request. I tried it dozens of times and it has never failed.

Just do this: swipe your card as normal at the pump. When it asks for your zip code, key in the number digits of your postal code followed by zeros to make up 5 digits (there’s 5 digits in a US postal code). For example, my postal code is K0H1K0 so I key in the zero, the one and the last zero. Then I add 2 zeros at the end to make up 5 digits: 01000. Then hit Enter if it requests it. Another example, if your postal code is A2B3C4 you enter 23400 plus two zeros and hit Enter. That’s it!

PS. Credit card companies don’t guarantee this will work in every pump but it’s worth a try.

Hope this works for you!

Algonquin Park Photography Tip – Fall Colours – Centennial Ridges Trail

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The Centennial Ridges Trail in Algonquin Park is one of the best trails for sheer numbers of pristine lookouts. Photographers flock here for amazing vistas overlooking lakes and rolling highlands. One of the most popular times is during the fall colour season. Timing of peak colours is best handled by frequently checking the Algonquin Park Fall Colour Report. Usually it’s the first week of October (give or take) depending upon weather and drought conditions.

The Centennial Ridges Trail is a tough trail especially if you are carrying photographic equipment and you are hiking the trail during hours to catch the morning sun or sunset. The entire trail is 10 km and I think it might be the toughest 10 km I’ve ever hiked. The guidebook says allow 6+ hours although my wife and I hiked it 4 hours with frequent photography stops. The guideposts are numbered 1 to 12. Two of the best (and most accessible) lookouts are near the start and near the end of the trail at guideposts 2 and 11. The hike is approximately 1 km to guidepost 2 and 1.5 km to guidepost 11. If time is short and you wish a quality vista shot check these two spots first. If time allows, hike the entire trail. Wear good footwear since often times the rocks are slippery.

Ken Hook