One of the things I miss from the states is...brace yourself...the morning/evening commute. Yeah, I know...bear with me a minute. There were two types of commutes for me; by bike and by car.
The bike commute was a very early start with an immediate 10 mile ride...followed by a 30 minute train ride...and then another 2 miles on the bike. It was brutal in the nasty, cold weather of Oregon. But in the summer...it was great. I was in great shape. And, I miss hopping on the bike for that ride. I don't dare do it here. Even though most people envision China as the country of bikes...not any more.
The car commute was a 30 minute drive through, mostly, moving traffic. It was easy.
It's not really the actual driving I miss...it was the time spent being alone with my music or sports talk radio to get the juices flowing. Today, I spend my time in a van, with a driver (our company will not let us drive here...more on that in a later post maybe). The music is generally restricted to the MP3 player and headphones...not the blasting, pounding I would put my own car and ears through. But the talk radio has been difficult in a city in which there is only 1 English language station, and all they do is play horrible 70-90s pop tunes and give you the latest economic forecasts for the country. Air Supply anyone??
A couple years ago, I had heard about podcasts and I tried to download and listen to a few. For the most part, the were amateurish and filled with ranting and raving of whatever calling. Uhhh...no thanks. In the past year, however, podcasting has come a long way in terms of quality and content. These little slices of radio give me information and a sense of being 'home' that I never had before when we lived here. It's just another example of how our world has shrunk because of the information age.
I give you the list of the Podcasts that I listen to...
The Face Off Hockey Show. This was the first podcast I began listening to and got hooked on. This is a show that takes some getting used to. Basically, its a group of buddies talking about all sorts of stuff, other than hockey...and they throw in some hockey related talk with special guest Lyle Richardson from spectorshockey.net. It strikes the balance between geeky hockey information and fun...and I like the fun part.
The Glenn & Helen Show This is the show for issues. Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, and his wife, Dr. Helen, interview high profile subjects and talk about issues that interest them. It's well produced and gives you a load of information. I love it when they interview people in the local BBQ/Brewery joint in Knoxville. People are relaxed and chat freely with them and it makes for a compelling podcast, no matter what the subject.
The Crazy Canucks This gives me what The Face Off Hockey Show does not...Canucks. They have all the fun of the above mentioned show, but its all about my favorite team, the Vancouver Canucks. Again, the format is just a bunch of hockey friends sitting around talking puck. The key is, none of them whine and moan about 'Trade Naslund' or any of that...its just discussion of the latest games and fun stuff too. This is my favorite and most anticipated podcast each week.
From that podcast, came my introduction to the next two...
Canucks Outsider A really off the wall look at the Canucks. No other way to describe it. Dave's journey's to games and his interviews with the average fan are great...I really get the sense of being at the rink. I usually have to listen to these twice to catch everything going on.
RadioZoom John & Rebbecca provide a variety of podcast experiences through music, talk and also video. John does a frequent 'Six-Donut Song Spectacular' which includes a load of indie music he has picked up through a variety of sources. Some good stuff. Their tours and chats about Vancouver have my interests piqued to make a real visit someday.
Finally...
The Diner. James Lilek's venture into podcasting. I have been off and on about listening to this one, mostly because his format is m4a and my podcast download software doesn't really like that format...although it downloads. This podcast is set in an old Diner, where he shares with us old music, radio shows, commentary, etc. Very retro...and very cool.
There are others I have discovered and listened to, but they haven't captured me as a listener. It's usually one listen and then delete.
These few keep me going for the week. Most are produced at the same time of the week, so I download and then pop them into my phone or my mp3 player and listen to them on my commute to or home from work.
Thanks to all those that put these things together.
UPDATE: I forgot to give a hat tip to Rebecca for getting me thinking about a post like this
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