You know time sinks. Those wonderful little traps that cause you, or let you, while away endless hours that you otherwise could or should spend do something productive. The power of procrastination is profound, and these nefarious creatures raise it to a high art.
In no particular order.
1. "Civilization" by Sid Meier. Described by the creators as "the only computer game you'll ever need" it is at least for me basically the only one I ever play. It really is a great game and I maintain that I use more of my brain playing Civ than most other activities, but what makes it such a powerful time sink is one design detail. When you finish manipulating all your units and cities and such in a given turn, which can take quite a while later in the game, a little flashing "End of Turn" sign beckons on the right side of the screen, begging you to to see what happens with all the work you just did. One little tap of the Enter button or quick click of the mouse and you're off. Next thing you know it's 2:30 AM, your pets are in revolt and you're spouse/partner/roommate is giving you that look. "Just one more turn . . ."
2. Sporcle. This little beast is vastly entertaining and appeals to my love of almost useless information. An online quiz site, it tests your knowledge of anything and everything - from the rivers of the world to '70s sitcom characters. It too has the "what's next?" lure, this time in the form of "Other quizzes like this". It also has the "stats" feature which lets you see how other Sporcle users have scored on the quiz you just aced, giving you the opportunity to feel superior in your mastery of all things Harry Potter.
3.Chuck Lorre's vanity cards. Mr. Lorre is a TV writer with a penchant for twisted thinking and biting sarcasm. He is responsible for "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men", among many others. At the end of each of his episodes there is a little card from which you just never quite know what to expect. They are often odd, occasionally semi-offensive and almost always hilarious. As "Big Bang" devotees, my family uses the magic of the DVR to pause and read every card, but as the guy has been at it a while there is a vast collection on line that is just hard to put down.
4. The Internet Movie Data Base or IMDB. This doesn't have the universal appeal of some things, but for film nut it is akin to quicksand. This is how it works: you find yourself wondering "who's that scary guy with the scars on his face in all of Robert Rodriguez's movies?". So you go to IMDB to look it up. It's Danny Trejo. But then you notice that he was also played the title role in Machete with Cheech Marin and wait, Jessica Alba? Wasn't she in Sucker Punch? No wait, Sin City. Isn't that the same director? Before you know it, you have gone through 192 degrees of separation and are marveling that both Anne Hathaway and Justin Long went to Vassar. See above comment about pets and cohabitants. And the worst part is, you've followed your original query - which was probably irrelevant anyway - with so much more useless information that the next time you try to remember who Danny Trejo is you will have to look it up again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
5. Blogging. I could do this all day every day - but promise not to. I don't know yet the long-term extent or power of this particular monster, but I'll keep you posted. Har, har. The worst part isn't just the time I spend doing but the time I spend thinking about it. Every post spawns it's own little ideas for other posts. Their like tribbles. But I do highly recommend it. I'll show you mine if you show me yours.
But if you find yourself feeling guilty about all that time being sucked away, just remember what Stephen King said about deadlines: "My favorite thing about deadlines is the the great whooshing sound they make as they go by." And your pets will forgive you.
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