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Archive for the ‘Time Sucker’ Category

This Week’s Time Sucker: Times Square Cam

Jan 27, 2010 Time Sucker

It’s Wednesday, you’re dragging, you’re not paying any attention to work.  You need a distraction, and I’m here to help.

There are few things more cliched than visiting Times Square.  Plus it’s cold.  It’s much more fun to go to the HD Times Square cam and watch other people walk around in the cold.

Or, if you’re one of those people who wants to see what the fuss is all about while you’re in NY, tell you’re friends you’re going, go to the top of the TKTS steps, and wave to them!  Yes, even though I just insulted you for being a big old cliched tourist, you know you’re going to do it anyway.  Don’t forget to have them take a screenshot!

Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.

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This week’s time sucker: the best of Wikipedia

Dec 9, 2009 Time Sucker

If you run into me and I start babbling about random fascinating facts and weird stories, you can blame these lists.  The first is on wikisbest, where users can contribute and vote on wiki articles.  Ever seen a dymaxion map of earth?  Or heard of the Boston Molassas Disaster?  The Museum of Bad Art is a fantastic concept and the only museum I could possibly aspire to be shown in (although, weirdly, I don’t think I have enough of a lack of talent to get in – you can’t just be bad, you have to be spectacularly, creatively bad, with conviction).  The article about raining animals will stay with me for a while.

Someone named Ray Cadaster put together a list of the 50 most interesting articles on Wikipedia, and then he followed it up with 50 more of Wikipedia’s most interesting articles.  The lists are totally subjective, and part of the fun is in seeing if you agree with the choices.  Actually, the very existence of someone named “Ray Cadaster” seems to be a mystery, with his Wikipedia page having been removed.

Anyway…

Ever wonder why U.S. highways have the numbers that they do?  Or where Bart Simpson got the idea to prank Moe by making him call out fake names in his bar?  Or why South Koreans think that electric fans can kill you?  I think my favorite is the John Cage piece “As Slow As Possible,” which is eight years into a 639 year performance.

Just beware: if you’re like me, you can’t just read a few entries on a list, you have to read the whole list.  In one sitting, if possible.

And as an extra time-sucking bonus, I leave you with this, from wikisbest: “Be Somebody…or Be Somebody’s Fool,” a motivational video for kids hosted by Mr. T. It is full of 80s awesomeness that shouldn’t be missed.  You can watch the entire 50 minute video here.  Personally I think it should be required watching for every elementary school child in America, with a warning that if they don’t behave they’ll have to watch it again.

Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.

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The Return of “This Week’s Time Sucker”

Dec 3, 2009 Time Sucker

Way back when I started this blog I had a couple of regular features.  “Randomosity” was my weekly dumping ground for all of those smaller items that I found interesting but that didn’t really deserve an entire post.  “This Week’s Time Sucker” was a weekly website plug – often a game – that had the ability to suck up all of my time.

Then, at BlogHer in San Francisco in the summer of 2008, I joined twitter.  It took a while to suck me in, but once it did it swallowed both Randomosity and the Time Suckers – I no longer had the patience to wait and post about those little, interesting things on my blog when I could tweet them instantly.  I’ve never had a very long attention span or much focus, and twitter has really exacerbated those problems.

But I’m bringing back This Week’s Time Sucker.  Before I post a new one, I thought I’d list some of my favorite original Time Suckers.  I apologize for the time you’re about to lose.

Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.

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This Week’s Time Suckers: cute cute!

Jan 28, 2009 Time Sucker

Until yesterday, I had never been to any site that exists solely for rating pictures.  I know lots of people who go to sites rating how hot people are and other variations, but I’d never had any interest.  Then I happened upon these two sites:

Rate My Kitten

Rate My Puppy

This is how I like my animals: two dimensional and unable to jump on me.  They are awfully cute.  Both sites work exactly the same: people upload adorable pictures of their pets, and other people rate them on a scale of 1-10.  I’m not sure why it’s addictive, but it is.  I would never just sit there and look at random pictures of kittens and puppies, but these sites tweak that a little bit by feeding my obsessive need to share my opinion, even if my opinion is just getting folded in with ratings from thousands of others.  Too cute!

But whatever you do, do not click on Rate My Poo.  Yup, it’s exactly what you think it is.  Trust me, do not go there.

Originally posted on Selfish Mom


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This week’s time sucker: Board Dots

Jan 21, 2009 Time Sucker

Go ahead, try the first level.  Deceptively simple.  Took me ten seconds.  Second level?  Took me ten frustrating minutes.  I have to let it go for tonight.  Based on the second level, if I start the third level, I will be awake until I solve it, and who knows how long that will take!

The goal is simple: you want to fill each empty box with a dot.  Put your blue dots wherever you want.  But when you connect two dots the line keeps going until it hits a wall or another full space.  And you can’t cross full spots.  And you can’t go diagonal.  Just try it, much easier to understand.

Board Dots

Originally posted on Selfish Mom

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This Week’s Time Sucker: know your geography!

Jan 14, 2009 Time Sucker

My stepmom Angela sent me this.  She sent it about two weeks ago.  Two days ago, she sent me an email stating that she had finally scored 100%, and that she wanted it on her tombstone.  My question, having only achieved around an 80% myself, was had she bathed or eaten in the past two weeks?  Her answer: only enough to keep my job.

I keep going back to it thinking I’m going to do better.  But if you get states like colorado first, you’re just screwed.

Originally posted on Selfish Mom

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This week’s time sucker, thou bawdy rude-growing measle!

Jan 7, 2009 Time Sucker

Don’t you hate it when you can’t quite find an insult bold enough?  Never again!

Shakespearean Insulter

Thanks to my friend Toni for this one!  She’s staying with me right now and emailed it to me from my living room :-)

Originally posted on Selfish Mom

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This Week’s Time Sucker

Dec 31, 2008 Time Sucker

This site is mesmerizing.  Even simple ragged lines become beautiful when spun into 3D.  Makes me feel way more creative than I am!

String Spin

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