jules.ca

telecom, technology and the occasional floobergeist

I’ve got an abundance of bits and pieces of canadian telecom and internet experience, and I am thrilled to be in a place in time when all is changing, technology is developing, and the status quo is being disrupted. 

Floobergeist is a word that is beginning to defy definition.  The more I roll that smooth pebble around, the more it becomes to mean. Floobergeist started out as the magic dust that turns dreams into ideas.  And then it began to encompass the zing that happens when you have conversations about those ideas. And now, it’s the whole evolution from dream to conversation, with each step improving the later and the former along the way.

Everyone aspires to good conversations. They can lead you to adventures you’ve never imagined, and to people you can twig with.

Let’s have a good conversation…

welcome.

My Addiction to AudioBooks

I shunned them for years.
Even with the myriad of portable audio devices at my disposal, it wasn't until this past August, and I was driving back and forth to Our Nation's Capital (Ottawa, for my gentle readers outside of Canada), that I fully understood the value of having options in audible entertainment that didn't include 17 static-y radio stations.

It started innocently enough with an iTunes purchase of My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  And then I accidentally downloaded Snuff by Chuck Palahnuik. And then I was hooked. I couldn't wait to hear what was going to happen next. The narrators were incredible, it felt like the book had been MADE to be read aloud.

When I finished Snuff, I was at a loss. What next? What would be good? I settled on something ambitious.... a Sookie Stackhouse boxed set. In audiobook format. About 300 hours worth. How's that for big ears?


And now I'm in trouble. There's not enough opportunity to *listen* any more. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to analog books. I can curl up and read in my "library", I can read before bed. I can read while someone else is driving. What I can't do is curl up with my iPod and listen, unless I'm on an airplane. Even then, I'm easily distracted. My sole refuge is in the car. Which is ok, unless you are primarily a tele-worker, and don't get out much for long-ish drives.

Lame confession: I'm driving to work more, if only to have a few more hours to listen to what Sookie is going to do next with those wacky vampires. I drive slow, I'm patient. Don't need to rush, Sookie is with me.

Next week I fly to Calgary, and all I can think of is having 4 hours to listen. My iPod battery will expire before my interest does. I'm a full blown audiobook freak. I now just wish I drove a transport for a living. :-)