Have someone write an application to change the HOSTS file on your PC to redirect boards.straightdope.com to 127.0.0.1, wait an hour, and remove the redirection.
Or, you could always visit one o’ them internet casinos.
[sub]I jest. I, too, work in the gaming industry.[/sub]
I feel I should apologize, too, in case I’ve offended you, Lobsang. That wasn’t my intent. Like I said, I wouldn’t use the feature if it were there, so I really shouldn’t care about the reasons of those who would.
Let me just add, though, that if you entertain using something to keep you away from something else, the addiction isn’t ‘mild’.
And anyway … if I were to stop browsing the SDMB all day and actually did something that involved using my hands, well … how would I get my smoking done?? Eh??
Well let me be the first to say that I think it’s a good (although impractical) idea, and that were such a feature to become available, I would definitely make use of it.
I don’t considered myself addicted to the SDMB or the internet. I can go days without logging on if I’ve got other activities to occupy me. But sometimes I log on and I just can’t seem to leave. It’s particularly difficult when I need to be on the computer/internet for some other reason, either at work or at home. You’re waiting for something to process, or for some information to become available, you’re already logged on, and the SDMB is just there, in your Favorites list, so friendly and inviting. The next thing you know, it’s six hours later and it’s too late to run those errands or go to that movie.
Just wanted you to know that you’re not alone, Lobsang.
AudreyK you didn’t offend me. No hard feelings.
Re: doing work for the sake of work. As I said, the nature of my job is such that there isn’t a ‘store’ of work to do. It isn’t as if I can ‘get ahead of things’. The set work we do takes a few hours. Once it is done it is impossible to do more because our work involves (in part) aquiring information from other sources. Once our work is done those resources don’t contain more info for us to work on. Once our work is done it is a waiting game until the timed work starts.
And btw - when I am not at work (or when I have even trivial other things to do) the SDMB is the last thing on my mind. Even if I happen to be on my computer. At home If I have turned the computer on I will probably spend about 5 minutes browsing the boards, looking for replies and glancing into threads I have looked at work.
My comments about weakness may have come across as sounding more serious than I meant them to. They were a joke. We NADs are habitually self-critical.
Have your boss give you a little speech about inappropriate internet usage and warn you that if ever the internet traffic shows you at the Straight Dope again you’ll be fired. It would do wonders to motivate you.
Lobsang, the truth is, I can talk because I have a small solid steel spiked club attached to my mousepad that smashes my fingers every time I load a thread after having spent an hour on the boards. It does wonders for your discipline, lemme tellya, and beats that silly electrocuting mouse I used to have. 