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First of all, what is a timesuck? Urban Dictionary does a nice job with that: “Something that’s engrossing and addictive, but that keeps you from doing things that are actually important, like earning a living, or eating meals…” Yeah, that sounds about right. Little to no real benefit. Yet for whatever reason we just can’t quite seem to put them down. Here are three examples of timesucks I’ve kicked to the curb so far this year.

Farmville. I’m not alone on this one. This I know. Okay, people. You know who you are. You start each and every morning like your great great grandfather probably did, just instead of waking at the break of dawn and getting on your tractor to harvest your crops, plant your fields, and milk the cows, you login to your computer. I once spent three hours (on my day off) rearranging my farm. It was then I knew it was time to quit. (Note: There are approx 60 million users globally.)

Mafia Wars. Weekdays, weekends, and holidays alike. It’s as much a part of your morning routine as breakfast (except every once in a while you might skip breakfast). What’s the goal here? To get to Level 500? To amass a huge Mafia Family and whack other families? Sounds a little sick, not to mention pointless, right? (Note: There are approx 45 million active monthly users.)

Video Games. There seems to be a trend here. Games. It probably matters even more if the games aren’t silly like Fish-Town or Cafe-Ville. High end video games can be even more addictive. While it may be nice to unwind by spending some time in the evening, or weekend mornings, blasting away at aliens, when the games keep you up at night, and begin to consume hours and hours? Timesuck. (Note: Metrics 2.0 reported that “With nearly 8 in 10 American youth (81%) playing video games at least one time per month, including 94% of all boys playing, this certainly raises concerns about video game addiction.”)

Now that you can identify a timesuck (Seek), how about Destroy? In the first two examples, my first step was to, pay attention now, here’s the key… make the decision. Genius in its simplicity. With the decision made, my second step was to block the application. Once that was done, I was home free! And I do mean free. There was a tangible sense of having shed a bad habit. It was instant. So, how about the video games? That was a little bit more tricky. I’ve had to do without my game console for a few months now. It made the decision for me when it broke. I suppose that I have always have been more of a cold turkey kind of guy.

What about you? What are some of your timesucks? Will any of them show up on your list of New Year’s Resolutions this year? First Seek, then Destroy. Timesucks beware.

Happy Tuesday!

Dear Microsoft:

Let me start this letter off by saying that I am by no means a Microsoft hater. I am (still) an especially big fan of your XBox Consoles. I bought the original, owned the 360, and will no doubt buy whatever you come out with next. My wife and I are XBox 360 Live Gold Members for crying out loud. However, I do have a suggestion; a bone to pick, if you will, in regards to a recent in my opinion avoidable experience. Allow me to describe.

After almost two years, our XBox 360 finally gave into what you call the Red Ring of Death. Heartbroken at first, some friends provided information on how to handle the situation. To my utter joy, when I called your support, they reassured me that my console was still covered under an extended warranty. The process was simple. More or less I take the console, put it in a box, affix the UPS shipping sticker you provided (you even provided me with free shipping!), and drop it off at UPS. The expectations were set and they were high! Two to three weeks later I would receive my repaired device.

As you know, that is not what happened. After three weeks, you returned my console to me in the same condition I sent it to you in. Broken. The accompanying letter you sent said the reason was that the console had been tampered with. Huhh? After a few phone calls over multiple days, several escalations, and a couple hours total on the telephone, we finally got to the bottom of what the “tampering” was all about. Stay with me Microsoft. This is where it gets weird.

As you can see, there are two laser etched serial numbers on the back of the console. As you can see above, they both match. However, it turns out that there is a third serial number you’ve decided to locate underneath a trapped door on the front of the console. As you are aware, it’s a sticker. Yet, in my case, the number on the sticker doesn’t match the other two.

Do you find anything about this a little off? First, why do you need three serial numbers? Second, why would you go to the trouble of ensuring the first two serial numbers are tamper proof and then make the third a STICKER? On top of that, when I talked to one of the your call center managers, he actually admitted you receive calls on this same issue all the time. Crazy amounts. Yet, you have denied the possibility this mixup could have happened on the assembly line during manufacturing or at inspection. You blamed me. You blamed the retailer. I actually had one of you suggest it might have been someone who snuck into my house and did it. You don’t know me very well, but believe me, that’s where I just about lost it.

Bottom line, this issue is still open; however, at this point you’ve seen fit to void my warranty. You win for now. I cave and will pay the $99.99 charge to have my XBox repaired out of warranty (which according to you means you’ll actually be sending me a refurbished model to replace my busted one). In the end, I say Caveat Emptor. Buyer Beware. You’d better believe when I receive my refurbished console that I will check the box to ensure all the serial numbers match.

Oh So Sincerely,

Owen