- 2005.01.03
A POD,
by the way, is a "Picture of the Day" or a "Problem of the Day,"
and in the case of our favorite music player, it's a "Pretty
Original Design."
Anyway, have you ever wondered about the other PODs out there?
Wonder no more and read on, patient reader.
APOD. I frequently visit the APOD (Astronomy
Picture of the Day) site. I use it to start the day in my
astronomy classes. APOD is a website managed since 1995 by Robert
Meniroff and Jerry Bonnell. In the site's own words, APOD
"...contains the largest collection of annotated astronomical
images on the Internet." I agree, and that includes NASA. NASA's
sites are sometimes a little long on splash and short on content.
APOD shows how to get it right.
EPOD. This is one I didn't know about until I wrote this
article. Seems other folks like the example set by APOD. In this
case, it is the Earth science
Picture of the Day. EPOD features annotated random images
of the day, just like APOD. EPOD is run by Jim Foster and Martin
Ruzek. EPOD "highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which
shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive
photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system."
They give due credit where credit's due - kudos to them for
that.
iPod. Lots of iPod sites out there in the world now.
Notably Apple's,
iPod
InfoZone (part of MacSpeedZone), and iPodlounge. Any quick
Google search on "iPod" will turn up many more, I'm sure.
oPod. oPod
is a protective case specifically designed for your iPod. I haven't
seen one, but I'd review it if one of them should come across my
doorstep (hint, hint).
uPod. This one is either a book on the Universal Principles of
Design, a portable
satellite uplink, or a fake-out iPod
media skin for Windows Media Player, or a home mortgage company.
Basically, no one has a clear claim on uPod so far.
yPod. Another schitzo case with it being represented by
some sort of a plugin for
Quake, a business
club in Decatur, YeePei's
iPod, or an airport.
Since Y is only "sometimes" a vowel, I guess that's okay.
That's all the vowels I know.
So then it occurred to me there could be consonant Pods, too.
Here's a quick rundown, for the funniest Pods for the other letters
of the alphabet. Some of these are not acronyms, and for some the
connection to "Pod" is not clear, but still funny.
If you want to track down other variants, you can use Google too
- whaddaya need me for?
Now that I've done all this for you, do something for me.
Smile!
If you smile today, four other people at whom you smile will
receive good luck.
You can then start your own SmilePod. ;-)
