How I Spend My Afternoons

As part of my ongoing effort to decrease the amount of actual work I do in any given day, I've started listening to podcasts in the afternoons. (That's pretty much all you need to know — the rest of this entry is just filler. Have I mentioned that I like to avoid doing actual work?)

Setting the scene: A confluence of seemingly random impulses

• Impulse 1
  I had iTunes on my work computer for a while, but got angry at it about a year ago and decided to use Windows Media Player exclusively. I'm not sure what in particular made me mad, but I must have gotten over it because a week ago I installed it again and now I'm using that all the time instead of WMP.

• Impulse 2
  I was doing a little online stalking of Anderson Cooper (Did you know he wears boxer shorts in the shower at the gym?) the other week, and came across a reference to his AC 360 podcast. I heart AC, but I don't really watch his show — mostly because I'm usually doing something else with my television at that time of night. That's also why I have trouble watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann, even though I heart him as well. Countdown does an audio podcast, so I can't swoon over Keith the way I get to drool over AC in the 360 video. (He's so tiny! And those blue eyes!)

• Impulse 3
  I've been falling asleep on the couch a lot lately, and waking up to Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN. Then I make myself late for work because I get sucked into watching the show. Guess what? They do a podcast!

• Impulse 4
  I listen to Ryan Seacrest all morning, but then I'm always at loose ends in the afternoons. Hmm. How to fill the void?

So, you can see how all the stars aligned.

I tried doing the Big Show with Dan Patrick and KO, but had to unsubscribe. Listening to it just made me miss the glory days of SportsCenter, and I had the deep desire to watch my SportsNight DVDs again — and doing that just makes me sad that the show isn't on any more.