I started using LeechBlock again last week, mostly to ween myself off of Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader. I’m sort of OCD when it comes to these, so I absolutely have to see everything that’s been posted. Facebook I think I’ve been fine without and am getting better at not hitting that ‘more posts’ button. Twitter I still sort of feel the need to read everything, and it takes far less time than Facebook or Reader so I can live with that. Reader took up the most time of the three by far. It was similar to an Adam Carolla description of a buffet except the food line is endless so you have to consciously pull yourself away instead of looking for the end. (He was talking about other types of sites, though. Hint: rhymes with TubeGreat and MooCorn.)
What’d I miss last week? The entire Erin Andrews thing. Didn’t hear anything about it until yesteday, not even a peep. (ZING!) Considering that was pretty much the biggest thing I was missing by shunning Reader, first I question what the hell sites I’m subscribed to, and second it helps send the message that it’s mostly wasted time that I spend on it. As a sidenote, the Erin Andrews story seems shady and creepy.
The time wasted on these sites was mostly from refreshing and seeing one post, then getting hooked and browsing for a little bit, then refreshing and starting the cycle over. It’s the same reason some people swear by checking email only once or twice a day—just let the messages build up because most of them can wait. So this week I set LeechBlock to a timer, letting me browse those sites for 20 minutes every four hours. Keeps me accountable and I don’t feel guilty since I know I’m spending less than 10% of my time on it.
Without Reader I don’t have as many links to post here. But then again, I think my blog got a lot less interesting when 19 of 20 posts was just a link with comments. (Because it’s far more interesting to read about me writing about my site being less interesting! Somehow, I think it might be.)
Some scattered thoughts:
- Saw something about sugar-free gummi bears on TV and I tried to remember why I never got any of these. So I looked at some sugar-free gummi bears on Amazon and one review summed it up: “Tastes great, makes you fart.” I got flashbacks of those Costco protein bars and I’ll keep the sugar-free to diet drinks for now.
- Started P90X (as one of these comments shows). It’s not for everyone, I’m not completely convinced it’s for me, but so far I really like it. But I felt like I was doing a disservice to it by not following the diet. So I’m cleaning it up, getting my camera this weekend, and doing it right. Though I’m not planning to start from the beginning because I think that’d really just be a step backward with few positives.
- Didn’t really care for Modern Warfare 2 when the previews came on during the NBA playoffs, but it’s become one of the only things I can think of to look forward to after September. We’ve got a good clan and I’m getting Counter-Strike flashbacks. About the XBOX live vs. 2002 online PC experience, it’s not exactly an apples and oranges difference, but there are certainly some very distinct aspects that change things. 1.) You don’t have one (or a few) select server that you play on exclusively where a community exists and you meet and become a regular so that you know other players that you don’t know in real life. 2.) You usually play on the same team as your clan within games. Of course this is really fun, but a few times I’ve been on opposite teams against Wally and it reminded me that one of the fun things about Counter-Strike was, oh I don’t know, dueling on the Aztec bridge with Jason
- Don’t sit at the very front of the theater. It’s not as cool as it was in 3rd grade. You can spend an hour convincing yourself that it’s not too bad (“It’s like an IMAX!”), but it’s not the truth.
- I’m not mad at Soulja Boy. Paul pointed this out to me but when Turn My Swag On comes on in the disco everyone seems to lose it so that’s a good thing. He’s never claimed to be the best rapper or anything like that, mostly just says he’s young and rich and I can’t really argue with that.