at work lately, i've been spending outrageous amounts of time sitting in front of a microscope counting larvae. it's a bit mind-numbing. at first, i thought it'd be a great time to practice my spanish and listen to the various tapes i have and practice, but somehow, trying to count mussels and recite spanish phrases don't mix well. my mind just couldn't wrap around those two very different things at the same time very well. and i love listening to music, but i needed something else to help make time go faster.
enter the podcast.
i did not understand podcasts at all when they first came out a few years ago. i just didn't really understand the point. i did download the monterey bay aquarium one for a while and then just never listened to it, so unsubscribed.
but - podcasts are absolutely perfect for scope work. they keep my brain active, which is really nice. and, as a good sign i'm getting older, i listen to npr podcasts a bit obsessively. i always hated npr as a kid - i thought it was so boring - but i am loving listening to fresh air, talk of the nation, all songs considered, science fridays, and book tour. i also really like this american life, wnyc's radiolab, nytimes book review, pri's selected shorts, etc. i mean seriously, i get my news, science, and book fix all while staring through a microscope.
i am regularly sitting at my scope, ipod plugged in, earbuds in, laughing hysterically over some ridiculous thing.
p.s. i really recommend radiolab (especially the "language of music" one) and all songs considered, "the 80s, was it really that bad?" podcasts.
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