My daughter got an iPod for her birthday and she gave me her own, non-iPod mp3 player.

I used to be as into music as she is now. I remember thinking that as long as I had my album (yes, they were vinyl in those days) collection and my books, I could live happily alone.

Well, then I grew up and my radio listening time fell to the wayside so I had no real clue who was popular nor did I care. I had been in the Army and now was in college, then life, you know, got busier.

However, I’ve discovered a couple of really cool things lately that make an mp3 player or better yet a real iPod pretty cool.

I’ve discovered Podcasts and believe it or not, fan music for my favorite movie, Serenity. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am quite geeky. I loaded a whole bunch, all I could find, of Serenity music that fans geekier than I am have written and recorded. There isn’t a lot, but I put them on the mp3 player and listen while working out.

Then there are the Podcasts. I’m obsessed with LOST and found a podcast that discusses the latest episode along with theories and all that. I have downloaded episodes of that to my mp3 player, too.

The best Podcast I’ve found is The Sonic Society, radio dramas written for today. It’s fabulous and a great way to hear a story while doing something else.

Now, if my mp3 player works fine for all this, why do I want an iPod? Well, it’s a little harder for me to get these things on my player because it isn’t compatible with Itunes so I have to hunt around a little and find the mp3 version and download it to my computer then copy it over. With an iPod I can just sync it with Itunes and get these podcasts and the four or five other ones I try to keep up with more easily.

So, do me a favor and go over to Camy’s site, enter her contest and tell her that I sent you. I’ll get three extra entries for everyone who I refer, so tell your friends!! My email is nancy at nancysbrandt dot com. I’m sure you can figure out what to do with the spaces and extra words.

Oh, while you’re over there, check out this cool, funny lady. I’m looking forward to her book and I’m sure you will, too.