Podcast Addiction

Saturday, November 25, 2017

I listen to a lot of podcasts. I’ve been listening to podcasts for more than 10 years, way before they were mainstream. I used to load podcasts onto my work-supplied IBM ThinkPad¹ and drive to work with it open on the passenger seat, playing podcasts. This was before I owned an iPod, let alone an iPhone. I think I may have been listening to Adam Curry at the time - there weren’t that many podcasts out there, and his was one of the first.

Since that time, I’ve never given up my podcasts habit. In fact, it’s gotten worse. Overcast, my current podcast player of choice says that I’ve saved 197 hours with Smart Speed (a setting that eliminates small pauses within normal speech). That’s 8.2 days saved via a very small tweak. So how many days worth of my life have I dedicated to podcast listening? I am glad I can’t find out!

My podcast listening trends have changed over the years. I had a multi-year phase with Leo Laporte’s network, listening to MacBreak Weekly, The Daily Giz Wiz and This Week in Tech. Now I don’t listen to any of them. The ‘indi’ podcasts I replaced the Laporte shows with have now themselves grown to be pretty big businesses in their own right.

Listening to podcasts is really a continuation of something I have done since I was little. Since I was about 5 years old I have fallen asleep listening to spoken word. Initially it was books on tape. Then I spent years listening to Graham Mayberry’s show on Perth local radio. Then I graduated to falling asleep to BBC World Service. Listening to speech has been a huge part of my life, and now podcasts provide an awesome delivery method far better than radio or cassette tape!

My subscriptions today

My podcast subscriptions today are a straight representation of my interests. I have a lot of technology subscriptions, a few basketball ones, politics and world news and some light entertainment. Looking at the overall list, I’m not sure how I manage to listen to them all. But I carve out time. Mainly it’s when I’m driving or doing some menial task around the house.

On micro.blog I saw recently that others had shared their podcast lists, including:

• Colin Devroe
• Jeena
• Gregor Love

In the spirit of participation, these are my current podcast subscriptions, broken down into genre:

Technology

• Accidental Tech Podcast - The best podcast for Apple news and speculation.
• Cortex - I listen just because I enjoy the banter and wonderful voices of CGP Gray and Myke Hurley.
• Fundamentally Broken - a couple of dudes talk about tech and American life.
• In Depth - Trialling this one, a couple of dudes talking Apple technology.
• Mac Power Users - Not quite sure why I still persist with this; I never learn anything new and Katie Floyd’s really strong US accent is a struggle to listen to, but I haven’t unsubscribed yet.
• Nerds on Draft - I skip the bit where they talk American beer, but I stay for the interesting take on technology. Is it just me who thinks that Gabe Weatherhead sounds like Kermit the Frog (no offence intended!)?
• The Omni Show - Not sure this will stick around, as it is a podcast talking to employees at The Omni Group.
• Release Notes - Two software developers talk about the business of software.
• The Talk Show - John Gruber talks about Apple and other things.
• Welcome to Macintosh - a produced podcast that details interesting historical facts about the Apple ecosystem.

News & Politics

• From Our Own Correspondent - BBC journalists tell human stories of things they see while on assignment.
• The Party Room - The best podcast about Australian politics.
• Trace - much like Serial, this is delving into an unsolved murder in Australia.
• The World of Business - Just not the same since Peter Day left/retired(?). I only stay subscribed in the hope of hearing his voice again.

Arts & Entertainment

• 99% Invisible - Roman Mars has the greatest voice, and this show’s research into design and culture is amazing.
• Back to Work - Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin dispense ‘wisdom’.
• Hello Internet - Hilarious show that is hard to pigeonhole, but it’s the best ‘two dudes talking’ podcast out there.
• Planet Money - Sometimes interesting takes on the world of finance and economics.
• Reconcilable Differences - a couple of nerdy dudes have a general conversation.
• Reply All - Some great journalism occurs here, covering the world of internet culture.
• Revisionist History - Malcolm Gladwell delves into historical episodes and challenges assumptions.
• The Unmade Podcast - A funny show featuring crazy ideas for podcasts that never get made.
• You Need A Budget - A short one to keep me abreast of what’s going on the world of the SaaS app, You Need a Budget.

Sports

• Aussie Hoopla - Features interviews with Australian basketballers.
• The Bill Simmons Podcast - Not as good as it was years ago, as it has become too ‘Hollywood’ focused for my liking. I used to love it for the sports coverage.
• The Dribble Podcast - My local news outlet has a weekly show with Greg Hire, a player for my team, the Perth Wildcats.
• Ozhoops Radio - a rundown of results in the National Basketball League.
• The Ringer NBA Show - A very annoying show with annoying hosts, but there is the occasional bit of good coverage.

Dealing with Illness

Friday, November 24, 2017

A few months ago I was unfortunate enough to contract Glandular fever and I am still suffering the effects of it now. The virus started out as what appeared to be the flu, but after I couldn’t shake the feeling of fatigue and general malaise for weeks after the flu symptoms ended I decided to go the doctor. Subsequent blood tests confirmed the glandular fever diagnosis. Normally this is a virus associated more with teenagers, so I am surprised to have contracted it at the ripe old age of 40.

The impact this illness has had on my ability to work effectively has been significant. Beyond the physical problems it has been a struggle to establish mental focus and remain concentrated on a task. I have had periods of forgetfulness and an incoherent mind. Making this worse from a working perspective is that there are not any external symptoms of the problem. This can make it hard for others to appreciate the truth that I am struggling to function. In a consulting environment, it becomes hard to step away from work when there aren’t any visible health problems.

Managing customer expectations

The client-focused consulting work that I do is not particularly conducive to long periods of leave linked to sickness. My work is a conduit for the success of other people’s goals and I need to fit in with their operational timelines. I engage with companies on the premise that our work will be done in a timely fashion. Often I am fitting my work around other projects they have on the go so any delays I create can have other knock-on effects. To suddenly need to take a lengthy break because of an illness that is not visibly apparent - but is impacting my mental state considerably - is a difficult thing.

Managing expectations in these circumstances is a challenge, because I don’t even know what I can promise in terms of timelines. The best I have found I can do is to be upfront and honest about the situation, and trust there will be a level of empathy from the client I am working with.

Managing self-imposed pressures

Even harder than managing the expectations of others are managing the expectations I place on myself. I’m self-motivated and I structure my projects and set deadlines to ensure I stay on track and maintain momentum. Having an illness that impacts my ability to meet these deadlines is a frustration that can tend to eat away at me.

I worry that I’m letting others down, and the feeling of ‘falling behind’ is not one I like. I have to take time to remind myself that I can’t always work with maximum efficiency; that I’m a living being who will have ups and downs. I need to let go, give myself time to recover and be assured that I will be able to catch up at a later point.

Ultimately, I just need to accept that stuff will just have to wait, and sometimes there is nothing that can be done about that.

Phone messages

Finally, a note on voicemail. They are the bane of my existence even in normal circumstances. When I’m sick, and a number of them bank up, it’s even worse. Seriously, voicemail is terrible, and it should be banished. With so many other options for communication, why is voicemail still a thing?