Nigerian Scam Revenge

I just heard this on the latest NPR Technology podcast: "Scam-Baiters" Turn Tables on Would-Be Cons. The best part is "One scam-baiter convinced his correspondent to film a reenactment of the "Dead Parrot" sketch from Monty Python" and humiliated him by posting it on YouTube. As you can guess, it's wildly popular.

Follow the link to read all about it on Xeni Jardin's blog, including links to the Nigerian Dead Parrot sketch on YouTube and the e-mail behind the video.

I'm so glad to see someone fighting back against the Nigerian scammers. I wish I'd thought of it but I lack the technical saavy for dealing with scammers.

Lake Wobegon Podcast

At long last I can listen to Garrison Keillor's weekly News from Lake Wobegon (NLW) on my iPod, free! To subscribe go to the Prairie Home Companion's about the podcast page or subscribe through iTunes.

While you are at it, you might also want to subscribe to GK's Writer's Almanac. It's a daily 5- minute podcast with almanac info and a poem. (I like pithy podcasts, in case you hadn't noticed.)

I got hooked on NLW when we lived in Lansing. One of my co-workers, Helen, had been recording it for years. She kindly loaned me a box of cassettes filled with nothing but NLW and I was hooked. Sometimes it made me sad. I was living away from my hometown and my mom and the dog I grew up with had recently died, so sometimes NLW made me so homesick I could hardly stand it. Most of the time, though, it made me laugh because I knew just what it was like to grow up in a small town, albeit not quite as quaint as Lake Wobegon.

Helen, in case I never told you, thanks. I think of you every time I listen to A Prairie Home Companion or NLW. I wish I knew where you are now so I could thank you in person.

I"m off to listen to the latest News from Lake Wobegon, where the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

Grammar Girl Podcast

My new favorite podcast is Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl. Each week she answers questions about grammar and punctuation in a witty, entertaining, and pithy podcast. I don't think I'd be good at podcasting, but I wish I'd thought of this!

CNN Story 'Grammar Girl' a quick and dirty success
Grammar Girl Blog (includes links to subscribe to via iTunes)
Download iTunes (for Windows or Mac)
QD Now (Quick and Dirty Tips 4 Doing Things Better)

QD Now include 5 podcasts:

• Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
• Mr. Manners' Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Polite Life
• Money Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for a Richer Life
• The Traveling Avatar's Tips for a Better Second Life
• Legal Lad's Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life

The only QD podcast I've tried so far is Grammar Girl, but if the others are half as good they will be worth subscribing to.

What the heck are you waiting for?! Go subscribe!

Podcasts vs. Lectures

In "Podcast Lectures for Uni Students" the BBC describes how "a lecturer at a West Yorkshire university has abolished traditional lectures in favour of podcasts." I find this idea simultaneously intriguing and horrifying.

I love listening to podcasts and would probably really like it if one of my teachers did this. One of my favorite podcasts, Podvet, is designed for veterinary students and other people who love animals. (Warning: if you visit this site you need to know there is at least one graphic photo of a dog's injuries. You can avoid this by subscribing through iTunes.)

As an instructor, however, I hate the idea of making podcasts. I can't stand listening to a recording of my own voice! I also get the impression that while creating a podcast is easy (especially on a Mac), editing can be time-consuming and hosting it can be expensive, especially if you need to keep buying more bandwidth. At our U that probably wouldn't matter since I'd post any audio files in Blackboard where only my own students could access them, but apparently bandwidth is a common problem with many podcasts.

In short, I'll continue to enjoy listening to podcasts, but don't expect to see them added to my classes any time soon!

Podcasts Galore

Last fall I discovered podcasts. I was so busy with work that I sort of forgot about them. Yesterday I was reading How to do Everything with your iPod and iTunes by Guy Hart-Davis (my birthday present for myself) which reminded me of the many free podcasts available. After a quick look at iTunes I realized my podcasts subscriptions had stopped auto-updating the last time I updated iTunes, so I resubscribed to old favorites (PodVet, Science Friday, Skywatch, Stardate, and This Week in Technology) and discovered tons more (Archaeocast, Archaeology Channel, MacCast, Mysterious Universe, NPR Health and Science, NPR Technology, The Food Geek, and The Onion). I also figured out how to get recent episodes (more than one of each podcast) so I could get caught up on the ones I'd missed since the Holidays. Wow, I almost filled up my 4GB iPod Nano for the first time!

Another cool thing Hart-Davis's book covers is how to convert your cassettes and LPs to MP3 so you can listen to them on your iPod. Guess what my next project is? :)

Is sure is going to be hard to go back to work next week...