It is really, really, really, really, really hard for me to find a good temporary distraction nowadays. The noise is so monotonous, so repetitive, so completely devoid of intellectual stimulation that I go between four websites in a loop looking for something interesting to read.
HN has maybe one article every two hours that pops up to the top that I find worth reading, and maybe half the time worth upvoting. And that's the only good source of noise I have. Everything else is shit.
I don't care about politics. I don't care about the tech scene, or gadgets, or games, or celebrities, or sports, or this quarter's fiscal projections for a multinational corporation. You name a "news" story and I probably would hate to read about it. Even if I want to read it, it has almost no background information or anything more than the re-cutting of a press release with a paragraph describing why the press release was released. Regurgitated stock information with nothing of value.
Here's some choice excerpts from Google News, which I guess is supposed to be some representation of what's happening in journalism today:
* Microsoft unveils new, more window-like logo for Windows 8
* Robin Thicke Arrested for Pot Possession
* The mostly good and sometimes bad Top 10 moments of Tim Wakefield's Red Sox career
* [John] Glenn worries the US is ceding its space leadership
* Ohio AG DeWine switches from Romney to Santorum
* Identity Theft Tops IRS's 2012 "Dirty Dozen" Tax Scams
* GOP candidates fighting over Michigan
* Anthony Shadid, New York Times foreign correspondent, dies at 43
* FDA Still Wary of Diet Pill's Side Effects
I don't want noise, but sometimes I
need noise. And when I want it, I want it to be worth while. It seems like nothing on the internet ever is.
HN has maybe one article every two hours that pops up to the top that I find worth reading, and maybe half the time worth upvoting. And that's the only good source of noise I have. Everything else is shit.
I don't care about politics. I don't care about the tech scene, or gadgets, or games, or celebrities, or sports, or this quarter's fiscal projections for a multinational corporation. You name a "news" story and I probably would hate to read about it. Even if I want to read it, it has almost no background information or anything more than the re-cutting of a press release with a paragraph describing why the press release was released. Regurgitated stock information with nothing of value.
Here's some choice excerpts from Google News, which I guess is supposed to be some representation of what's happening in journalism today:
I don't want noise, but sometimes I need noise. And when I want it, I want it to be worth while. It seems like nothing on the internet ever is.