Podcasts at UCSD
Gotta love Podcasting at UCSD: It lets me fulfill my fantasy of sitting in on a buffet of learning without leaving my office. I usually end up starting a couple of podcasts, but only sticking with a few through the end of the quarter. If I wanted to listen to all of these, it would require 20.5 hours a week. So usually i end up sticking with the ones that don't require deep concentration, the ones I can listen to in the background at work. I hope a side-effect of this will be an improvement in my ability to listen to speech without actively focusing on it.
The ones I've started listening to:
ECON 103 - International Monetary Relations
Definitely interesting, the instructor's pretty good. Some of the concepts are mind-twisting, though. I need to get an iPod so I can listen to these away from the computer.
OK, so I still haven't listened to the first episode of this one. It'll probably be too chalkboard-intense to really absorb much via a podcast.
HILD 12 - Twentieth-Century East Asia
Pretty good lecturer, though it sounds like the material he's covering deserves a lot more than 1 quarter. I mean, a century of history for all of East Asia?
HIUS 155B - Religion and Law - Civil War to Present
I listened to the first half of this class last quarter, and it was quite insightful and engrossing. No doubt this quarter's will be as well. This is a guaranteed keeper.
POLI 103A USP 109 - Calif Government & Politics
A whirlwind tour through how California government works, and how it got to be that way. This promises to be a fun class to listen to. I'm definitely listening to this one, too.
Like the first two classes, the kind of class I'd like to listen to, but might be too technical for background listening while working.
Not sure about this one. Spends way too much time talking about logistics, need to hear more material to decide.
iPod, get one
Get an iPod! I've got the "fat nano" it's great. The video is great and I can even play chess on it!
Yeah, but
Well I hear rumors of future releases, so I keep saying "wait for the next version". Right now I'm waiting for an iPod Touch with bluetooth.
Wait for Red Tooth
What kind of things do you suppose they'll do with bluetooth? Answer your not-iphone, connect to keyboard, wireless headphones, sync with your computer (do Macs use bluetooth?)?
Bluetooth = cool
Macs do use bluetooth -- it's how I send pictures from my phone to my computer (thankfully Sprint does not lock that feature like Verizon and AT&T). I should be able to use it to sync my calendars. Also, when I (eventually) get a Sync-enabled car, I'll be able to play music wirelessly -- no plugging/unplugging :)