Seriously, I need to learn my lesson

Ok. I need to come up with a rule. I am not allowed to go waste time reading and posting comments on political sites anymore. This became very apparent when I spent far too much time recently arguing with someone who feels that there is NO POVERTY in the US. None. Zero. Zilch. Not a problem. Doesn't exist. Why? Don't get me started on THAT one. Suffice it to say that our "discussion" wasn't exactly fruitful.

For some reason I am drawn to this practice during particularly busy times of the semester. Hmmm. Why could this possibly be? It appears that there is a high correlation between "the need to finish writing a paper" and the "desire to fight the good political fight via some random political blog". What does it all mean?

It's all about procrastination. Period. And a recent post over at another anthro blog made me realize that this is a rampant social problem. Well, it's not exactly rampant. Or is it? I have no idea. Anyway, some of the solutions there seem like they MIGHT JUST WORK.

My solution? Maybe, in order to get away from all of the wonderfully ridiculous online distractions, I should start writing on one of these:

Image from Flickr user "mpclemens." Found here.

I mean, how could anyone POSSIBLY get distracted while writing on one of those machines? No internet, no political sites! Perfect, right? Well, unless the TV is on in the other room. Or "This American Life" is on NPR. Or maybe I need another quick sandwich. Or it happens to be snowing outside and I need to clear the driveway and break some icicles off of the edge of the porch so I don't lose my eye like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story."

Yes, I do realize that I am procrastinating at this very moment. The plague continues...