(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)
I’ve had the attention span of a gnat lately and the internet is the perfect accessory for the concentration-challenged.
I’m blaming my shortcomings on my recent surgery: I couldn’t stay awake for the first day after the anaesthetic and during the following two weeks I went from someone who would easily read two or three books a week to someone who struggled to focus on more than a couple of pages at a time.
I had my iPad with me at the hospital so between checking my emails, updating Facebook and watching animal videos on YouTube, I managed to keep myself fairly well occupied.
So, just in case there’s someone else out there struggling to do anything that involves mental focus, here are some weberiffic time-wasters.
Have you ever thought about mapping Bob Dylan? I suppose it would take a reasonably high level of concentration to go through all of the great man’s songs and put a pin in a world map for every street, town or city to feature mentioned in a Dylan song, but it has been done.
If that’s a little too challenging for a tired brain, then maybe a game is more your speed. The simple but addictive “Spot the Difference” game will keep you occupied for hours. As you solve each level, new and more complex levels become available but be warned: you may end up cross-eyed and frustrated.
If you’re looking for a slightly less stressful game, Guess the Celebrity Moustache could be what you are looking for. If you fancy yourself as a connoisseur of facial fuzz, give it a bash.
And if all three of those sites are still too much for you, then perhaps the American Cleaning Institute’s “do I need to wash this” page is more your style. Yes, apparently we do need a list detailing how often we should wash everything from our undies to our sheets.