It was a weird sort of weather day. It remained largely overcast but bright. It was cooler but sweaty because of a little humidity. As I began to think about what to post today, it occurred to me that we've already been in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for two months.
In our time here, we've had just one rainy morning. I know the rainy season is mid-June through mid-October. As a general rule, it's now supposed to be dry. The nearby hills look a little less verdant than when we got here. You know, I wouldn't mind having a real tropical drencher, a few hours of really heavy downpour. Perhaps, I'm homesick and used to the days-on-end drizzle of coastal British Columbia. Here, the rain would be warmer. Bring it on!
I spent part of the day consuming audio. As an educator, I recognize the audio-learner in me. I process information easily when hearing the spoken word.
So, the newly discovered NPR One app is a godsend. Radio is finally catching up with how the world is changing. To an end user, it may seem like listening to an NPR station, but if you discover what is really going on, this is an enormous change. It is not streaming a broadcast. It is not a podcast which really only updates the timeshifting capabilities.
Instead, each story now arrives as an individual file. This makes it easy to have customized arrangements based on different criteria. The stories flow like a personalized program. Some can be based on what one has searched for or what one has marked as interesting (read: favourited). It also becomes easy to share an item.
I must admit that I have listened to more public radio since finding the app three days ago, than I ever have. I get so sick of the one-track mind of CNN. Also, BBC may have global resources but the news only comes a long form chosen by editors for podcasting. I might not have an interest in one story in the middle of a twenty-minute segment but have no way to easily skip though it. Lastly our own CBC seems to have fewer and fewer reporters covering international or local stories. To me the network has started looking pretty much like news from any US network with a wee bit more Canadian coverage.
There are only few things that a publicly-funded organization can do better than the private sector; radio seems to be one of them. NPR One is providing a groundbreaking use of technology in information delivery!