Jim – Yes, THAT Jim

Hello, my name is Jim and I’m a podaholic.

“Hi, Jim!”

I’ve been addicted to podcasts since some time in 2008.  I’m not sure exactly when I started.  It’s all become a kind of blur, really.  I still remember that fateful day when that guy on the street corner waved an iPod at me and offered the first hit for free.

“Come on, you know you want to.  Everybody’s doing it.”

And from the moment I first plugged that rich, direct podcast feed into my veins, I started a horrifying downward spiral from which there was no escape.

I experimented with RPG podcasts at first.  Sure, they seemed pretty innocuous, but soon they weren’t enough.  I had to have more.  I started in on philosophical podcasts, then the downward slide to comedy podcasts and music podcasts was inevitable.  Soon I didn’t even need an iPod to listen to them.  I started to hear them in my head!

Granted, this would usually happen when I sat down at the computer, and started WinAmp, but there surely must have been more going on than just an MP3 file being played through my computer’s speakers.  Something much more ominous had to be occurring.  Clearly I’d connected with these podcasts on a level that defied all sanity and reason.

After a little while it seemed as though some of the podcasts I listened to began speaking directly to me.  They began responding to questions and concerns that I’d had as though they could read my mind!  No matter that I’d begun sending e-mails to the podcasters, who were then reading them on their podcasts.  That was far too simple an explanation.  There was clearly a much more sinister force at work.

My addiction had spun completely out of control.  My desktop had become littered with icons for downloaded mp3 files from top to bottom.  I’d started playing MMORPGs just for something to do while listening to the podcasts.  My computer was turning into nothing more than a glorified radio!

I tried to be good.  I tried to cut down on my listening and live some semblance of a normal life, but every time I’d abandon my podcasts to go out and visit friends or shop for groceries or pick up my mail, I’d inevitably find myself rushing back to the computer to find more podcasts to listen to than ever before!

In the end, I came to the realization that I had utterly failed to stay on the podcast wagon (or, indeed, get on it in the first place).  So I decided that if I was going to fail, I would fail spectacularly.  I began to produce my own podcasts.  Instead of chasing the demon away, I’ve embraced it and am now proud to call myself part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

So, why not come and take a listen to my podcasts?  The Great Debate! and The Every World News Podcast are just sitting there waiting for you.

Come on, you know you want to.  Everybody’s doing it.

And incidentally, if anyone out there happens to be curious, here’s a list of the podcasts I listen to.

If you have a podcast and I haven’t listed it, don’t worry, I’ll probably be listening to it sooner or later.

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