Monday, February 20, 2012

Being a janitor in the information age

Being a custodian has some advantages in the age of information overload. There's more time to absorb that information when one is doing simple tasks such as mopping a floor. Radio can bring lots of learning to the ear while the hands and the eyes are employed in what some call mindless tasks. In this digital age, internet radio and the MP3 player brings vast choices to the discerning ear.

Here are some of my favorite sources of good discussion on the radio that I download for listening to later during my custodial shifts at night.

I download the shows to my computer and then transfer them over to my MP3 player. People with smart phones can probably just click on listen, if their smart phone is in range of a wireless, or cellphone source.

KQED in San Francisco has a show called Forum. Wide range of topics. Interviews many authors and others. Archived with good description and a photo for each episode. Archive goes back years. Show aired most weekdays.

The Diane Rhems Show on WAMU, Washington, DC and NPR. Round table discussion. This one's hard to explain how to get to the podcast, but I find my way there for it to download. Seems like the only show available is the second hour of the most recent show. I click on podcast at the bottom of the show page. All the shows are archived for streaming, but seems like only the most recent 2nd hour is available for podcast.

I also like NPR Science Friday for good science news. Easy to find the download.

Many other shows are available. Just takes some time and thinking to find them. Learning to be organized.

Having the time, without a lot of distractions helps. Like the advantage of being a custodian in the information age.

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