AD/HD Distractions: Geocamming for Fish
Monday got you down? Getting stressed? Then take some time to enjoy somebody else's aquarium from the comfort of your office chair. It's a simple distraction, there is no tank to clean, no fishy odor, and it won't eat up time like a model in a donut shop fresh off the Atkins diet. Just in case you are new to my new Monday feature, I've decided to provide some constructive distractions over the summer. People with AD/HD are prone to distraction, but more importantly, we need distraction. Instead of finding ourselves aimlessly being browsey for hours, perhaps instead we should have a list of officially sanctioned distractions that won't get us fired or in debt. Fish cams are great because they interest us visually, break the monotony, but bore us quickly before we get lost in them. Remember, the trick is to not just mindlessly load up a fishcam but to begin with the end in mind. Allow yourself a limited amount of time to escape from whatever you're supposed to be doing so you can get back to it. I'd limit being browsey to 5-10 minutes. Consider this focus training.
Ever since Netscape's famous Fish Cam hit the net ages ago, webcams have gone hand in hand with aquariums. Instead of being refreshed once every ice age, however, fishcams are now broadcast in realtime. Here is a list of some of the more interesting ones I have found this summer. Enjoy.
Beluga Cam
Coral Cam - Pretty, but the video stream has AD/HD.
Jason's Fishcam - Three tanks to choose from. Tank #2 has rudimentary camera controls.
Biotrek Collection - Four in one (Larger Version 1, 2)
Japanese Fishcam - From Nakamura, Hajime. Not visible during their night.
Monterey Bay Aqarium
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technorati tags: ADD, ADHD, AD/HD, Distractions, Geocamming, Fishcam, Fish, Aquarium
Comments
have you tried selling your ideas to a publishing house?
perhaps you'd be more effective with a professional co-writer? I think you could get one, if they like your idea.
go to a bookbinder and make a book out of your blog, thus you eliminate the stress about becoming forty!
There's no such waste of time as depression...I know that.
It's funny you should mention making a book out of my blog. There are print-to-order services out there that can do just that. I've been mulling the idea over in my mind. Which columns do I include? Do I edit them to fit the new format? etc., etc.
Tonight my family was out and about and I sat down to a lonely dinner. I could have let it get to me but instead I fired up a new geocam I found. It's a rivercam in Norway. It was dawn there and the mist rose up off the river as the clouds caught the new morning light. I have never seen a river look so beautiful, even ones I've traveled on. What a delicious moment. I marveled at the technology that allowed me to watch a sunrise in Norway while I sat and ate spaghetti in Utah. And I wasn't sad anymore. There is power in positive thinking, but I wonder if my message will interest others bound by popular opinions that dictate otherwise.
Writing a self-help book will require quite a bit of study and research. I just can't spout my mouth off and think the masses will heed. This blog is a journey of self-discovery. Writing an advice book will be an entirely different experience. But thanks for your thoughts. They mirror my own.
"...a self-help book is definitely in the back of my mind."
Yes, I'm not surprised, in a way it's what you're doing already in your blog. But books are good to bring when traveling, and more comfotable when reading in bed etc.
"There are print-to-order services out there that can do just that. I've been mulling the idea over in my mind. Which columns do I include? Do I edit them to fit the new format? etc., etc."
I think you should just do it, for fun and for showing yourself (and others maybe) what you actually done. If there's stuff you get a bad gutfeeling about, cut it out. I don't think this is where the work should be, this is for amusement and content.
Give them a call, maybe they have alredy been printing blogs, and have some experience about it.
"There is power in positive thinking, but I wonder if my message will interest others bound by popular opinions that dictate otherwise."
Well, there are lots of opinions going on at the same time... I'm sure not everybody are into drugs.
"Writing a self-help book will require quite a bit of study and research."
That's why you'll need a co-writer. You have the personal experience and personally developed methods. Plus entertaining storys from your life. That's the interesting part.
For example you could work with a scientific journalist, who may have skills in strucurizing and doing research.
It should be a person that is a good listener.
"I just can't spout my mouth off and think the masses will heed."
Well, this is black-and-white-thinking. Some people might be interested, wouldn't that be enough?
"This blog is a journey of self-discovery. Writing an advice book will be an entirely different experience."
I don't think that you'll have to answer all the questions in your book. You'll bring your two cents. Or maybe more!?
You have to rethink what your contribution should be in such a project, and present yourself and what you want to do in some clear, elaborated to-the-point paragraphs.
I really whish you good luck! I think you could do it.
Looked at the webcam, was in the surroundings not so long ago. It's very familiar...
Best regards!