Addictions

Hi, my name is Jones Johnson ... and I'm an addict.

I'm addicted to information. Not your everyday run-of-the-mill information. Not world news. Not politics. Not sports (sometimes). Not entertainment.

Technology, for the most part.

I'm addicted to information dealing with technology. This is how my usual weekday flies by (times vary):

630am - Wake up.
730am - Arrive at work.
735am - Check www.engadget.com for gadget news!
745am - Check www.kotaku.com for videogame news!
800am - Check www.gizmodo.com for gadget news!
810am - Check www.joystiq.com for videogame news!
820am - Check www.digg.com for interesting/funny news/pics/videos!
835am - Check www.gmail.com for email!
840am - Check www.facebook.com for mini-feeds and notifications!
855am - Log on to www.meebo.com for AIM and chat with my usuals!
915am - Check www.highdefdigest.com for high definition news!
930am - Refresh everything and read more!
1000am - Brainstorm ideas for a new blog entry!
1030am - Bathroom! Generally a #1, but lately #2!
1100am - Read adnrewblog.blogspot.com for some real laughs!
1130am - Think about what to eat for lunch!
1200pm - Lunch!
100pm - Refresh everything and read more!
200pm - Check www.myspace.com out of pure boredom (only if bored)!
230pm - Check www.wikipedia.org and look up something random!
300pm - Bathroom! Most definitely a #1!
330pm - Refresh everything and read more!
400pm - Leave work!

Somehow, I'm still able to get work done (although my websurfing is done very ninja-ly). Granted, I'm not as productive as I can be (plus the timeline above is somewhat exaggerated), but c'mon ... who is? I really don't know how I can quit this addiction. If I go two days without reading any of my tech sites, it's kind of bittersweet; I'm irritated that I don't know what's going on in the tech world, but at the same time, I love having so much to read all at once!

Call me crazy, call me a freak, and please definitely call me a nerd, but don't call me a loser. We all have our habits and addictions right? Mine are just weirder than most people. Some people are addicted to social networking sites such as facebook or myspace, and some are addicted to celebrity news sites like TMZ. We are all into different kinds of things.

I'll admit that my addiction can be a little bit too crazy though. Last year's Macworld keynote, all I did was stare my screen and hit refresh every minute just to find out if Apple would announce a widescreen 120GB wi-fi iPod. I was disappointed at first. Then they announced the iPhone, which I had dismissed as hogwash in the weeks/months leading up to the keynote. I had a phone already, and I didn't think I needed it. I thought wrong. Six months later, I was camping out for 5 hours in the summer sun waiting for my iPhone.

The same thing will probably happen one week from today when Steve Jobs hopefully announces sweet new laptops at Macworld. My PowerBook needs to retire soon, and the announcements might just convince me that it's time. We'll see. But do you get it yet? Can you understand the painful world I live in?

I need information about technology. As much as possible. When I'm not driving or if nothing's on TV or if I'm in the shitter, I bring out my iPhone and head straight to engadget. I'm insane!

But as I've said, we're all addicted to something. One of the weirdest addictions I notice among my friend are: World of Warcraft. I just don't get it. People don't get my addiction, but at least I'm gaining knowledge daily (although not entirely useful knowledge). With World of Warcraft, what do you do? Walk around and kill things? I guess that's cool. I'm glad I never tried it. I've lost friends for months at a time because of WoW.

What else? TV shows? Yeah, we've all got our favorites. The few people out there that don't enjoy television and think it's a waste of time ... are idiots. There's nothing like watching Must See TV on a Thursday night. In 2007 that is. But some of my friends are addicted to shows that I've never seen before like "Prison Break" or "South Park" or "Man vs. Wild" (I think that's the name). I have a billion channels, and seriously ... sometimes, there's nothing on. I'll admit something though: I like "Project Runway."

Anyways, one of my friends Lloyd, is addicted to buying exclusive sneakers and $1100 sunglasses. Can he really afford all that? No, but he loves it and he can't let go of his collection. I personally don't see the mystique with waiting outside for hours to pay hundreds of dollars for a pair of sneakers that you probably will not wear. At least when I camped out for videogame systems, I was in it to make a profit (and keep one too. I know there are people out there who camp out and flip items on eBay, but to camp out for a pair of sneakers and not wear them because they're that exclusive ... is ridiculous.

But I can see how someone may read this and think that what I do is ridiculous too.

We all do something ridiculous.

So maybe I am normal.

Fine, I'm probably not. I certainly am a bit strange. But we all are. I read an article on digg about the weirdest forums on the internet. One of them was a forum dedicated solely to flashlights. You read that right. Flashlights! I read a few of the posts and people were saying things like "Hey did you see CSI last night? They were using the Inova X5! OMG OMG OMG it was awesome! I just bought it last week too!"

I guess I'm just part of a subculture of fanatics that live, breath, and eat technology information.

I guess I'm what you call a nerd. But don't ever call me a fanboy. Unless you say Apple right before it.

Update: I just wanted to add that I have a really weird habit of smelling my iPhone's headset jack. It smells awesome. It's got that brand-new-gadget smell, yaknow? Okay, you probably don't. But if you own an iPhone, or know someone that does, try it out. Plant your nose on that sucker, and sniff like there's no tomorrow. It's probably an acquired smell. But give it a shot!