Mindless Activities for the Homebound Geek

A very good friend of mine is sick and stuck at home. The Dr thinks it's Mono, but the tests aren't back yet. Effectively quarantined and living hundreds of miles from all his friends and family, he's going stir crazy. He's got just enough energy to need mental stimulation but not enough to really do much. I know what he's going through. He can only play so much World of Warcraft. He can only watch so many reruns on TV. He need distractions. So, for him and the rest of my readers, I present just a few mindless activities for the home-bound geek. And yes, I've mentioned many of these in the occasional post.

Netflix
Start with a Netflix membership. The 3-movies at a time deal is the best balance between cost & movies. It also allows for access to the online library. I recommend stupid action, anime & scifi. Serious films just add to the potential for depression. Consider a Babylon 5 marathon. Skip season 5. He actually already got the Netflix subscription today & I sent him a list of movies.

Read the following online comics
PvP - Follow the crazy adventures of the staff of a fictional gaming magazine. Find the archive and start from the begining.
XKCD - The comic that's smarter than you are. If you don't get the joke, you probably don't have a degree in science. Read it anyway.
User Friendly - The staff of this Canadian ISP and their pet "Dustpuppy" who formed in the server farm.
Questionable Content - The life of 20-somethings who hang out in a coffee shop and talk about music. It's wrong, funny and highly addictive. You will be sucked in. You must start in the archive.
Full Frontal Nerdity - Four geeks who play way too much D&D.
The Order of the Stick - The most unusual adventuring party you've ever seen.
ExtraLife - The imagination of Scott Johnson unfolds before us in a single panel. Part gaming reviewer, part social comentator, part insane, all Scott...

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited
Consider a one-month membership ($10) to access hundreds of issues from Marvel's comicbook line. Slick got me a 1-year subscription 6-months ago and I still haven't put a dent in it. They have huge selections from the "giants" of the Marvel universe including the X-Men, Spiderman & the Avengers. You can choose to read stuff from the early days or catch up on the events from M-Day & Civil War.

Classic VideoGame Rewind
Somewhere in your house there's a videogame that you loved so much that you tucked it away. Does it still work with your hardware? Do you still have that copy of CivIII? What about Fable or Tiger Woods for that old Xbox you're using as an extra DvD player in the den? Dust them off and have at it!

It's not TV, it's Hulu
Even if you have Digital Cable or Satellite sometimes there's just nothing on. Try Hulu. This online "channel" has an ever-growing line-up of reruns & movies. The average show has 5 very short (30-sec) commercial breaks. Catch episodes of Buffy or watch Ghostbusters.

Feel better my friend. If anyone else has suggestions or ideas, please share them.