Cleverbot

Cleverbot - Chat with a bot about anything and everything - AI learns from people, in context, and imitates.

From Wiki: Cleverbot is a web application that uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to have conversations with humans. It was created by the British AI scientist Rollo Carpenter, who also created Jabberwacky, a similar web application. It is unique in the sense that it learns from humans, remembering words within its AI. In its first decade Cleverbot held several thousand conversations with Carpenter and his associates. Since launching on the web in 1997, the number of conversations held has exceeded 150 million.

 Cleverbot

The Head of Bob

Pray Before the Head of 'Bob'

From the website:

The Ultimate Oracle: Over 1625038 Questions Answered

Of the many True Oracles, none are more profound than the Mystical Smoking Head of 'Bob'. Not even the Severed Head of Arnold Palmer can penetrate the veils of bulldada protecting the Norms from the Terrifying Truths and Puzzling Evidence.

Concentrate and ask a Yes or No Question

Oh By The Frop Of His Pipe, Grant Me Vision!

With the recent death of Arnold Palmer, I'm wondering if they'll change that particular gruesome reference.  Probably not, though.

I asked Bob if I will win the lottery:

(click for larger view)

The Magic Button

My ex-wife should be glad I finally found that magic button she was always going on about.

The Magic Button

The Most Seconds

The Most Seconds is undoubtedly the most deserving of any time waster label we've ever posted here in ToTG.  The premise is simple, doing it is simple and honestly?  To enjoy it you'd have to be simple-minded.  It's pretty much pointless, but there's a lot of that on the world wide interwebs, huh?

As you can see, I stayed only long enough to get a screen shot:

The Most Seconds

incredibox

An auditory delight, incredibox might very well be the best time waster we've featured so far.

It's not hard to do, just "drag, drop and listen!" as the intro will show you.  A cute detail is, when you're dragging the sound effect/beat/melody/chorus/voices to each guy, you will see his eyes follow the symbol as you drop it onto his chest.  After you get done with assigning a sound to all seven guys, sit back and enjoy the tune you've created.  Mute any as you like for a different result or hit the "shuffle" button to change the overall effect (when it gets rid of one guy and adds another) or remove sounds.  It also has a feature that allows you to record the sound you like and send it to someone.

incredibox

Winning Solitaire

Winning Solitaire

Ever play Solitaire? I haven't, not in a long time, but it was cool when I won and the deck of cards would bounce onto the screen.

Too bad it happened so seldom.

Enjoy the special effects of winning Solitaire without every having to play the game!   The screen shot above is what happens with a single click; click on the screen multiple times for an impressive display of cascading cards.  Click fast and the screen will fill with cards.

Much of a time waster?  I suppose not, but it's cool.

Starfield

There's not a lot to Starfield and it just barely qualifies as a time waster, but it's still pretty cool. 

There's no ability to alter the parameters, but by moving the cursor in any direction, the "stars" speed up and you can hold the left mouse button down to create tails.

Starfield

Touch Effects

Touch Effects is an amazing time waster, truly deserving of the label; it is both addictive and mesmerizing.

Easy to begin:  just put your cursor within the field and click the left-hand mouse button.  The tiny balls will begin to ebb and flow and holding the button down and moving your cursor across the screen will create an even larger effect.

Customize the effects by changing from gravity well to magnetic repulsion, particle tethers from off to on, draw mode from rainbows to balls and blur effect from off to on.

I just noticed something odd;  after playing with the game while writing up this post,  I switched tabs back to this one to complete it and it sure looked like the balls were moving in the below screen shot.

Touch Effects

Staggering Beauty

WARNING: Flashing Images (That's what the site says, but it bears repeating. I'm not sure if any epileptics visit this blog, but I sure wouldn't want anyone to suffer a seizure from one of my time wasters posts)

"Staggering Beauty" isn't the name I would give to this time waster, but I didn't make it, so.... The page appears to have been created in Asia, so maybe "Staggering Beauty" means something altogether different than it does in the West. Here's what you see when you enter the page:

I know what you're thinking, and I did too, only I'd have added "blinking" to the description. (because the "thing's" eyes blink every now and then) Move your cursor and the "thing" sways with it, sort of like a cobra in a basket. Ahem.  After a little while, a message will appear "Shake vigorously".  Ahem, again.  Move your cursor rapidly and the magic happens. (another "ahem" here would be overkill)

That's about it.  Check it out for yourself.

Staggering Beauty

Creepy Box Spiders

This page didn't have a title, so I didn't know what to call this time waster, but the first thing that came to mind was "Creepy Box Spiders".

Nothing to do, not really.  As soon as the page opens, the creepy box spiders start crawling on the screen.  Put your cursor on it, and they start to home in on it.  Move it around and they'll follow. Stop, and they'll all eventually make it there and crawl all over it.

Like I said, creepy, but there are some shorter legged boxes that are "almost" cute.  Almost.  There's at least one box with hardly any legs at all and it can barely move and you can almost feel sorry for it.  Almost.

There's no annoying music, no colors, no adjustable parameters, no goal or payoff...just those creepy box spiders.

Creepy Box Spiders

Thisissand

Thisissand changes the pixels on your screen into sand.

(as you can see, I was lazy in creating something colorful to use in this post...just don't have a lot of time to waste today, unusual for me!)

How-to: (access directions by clicking the three-bar square at top left of screen)

1. Press or doubleclick to drop sand
2. Press C on the keyboard to access Color Palette and choose a color (or gradient by dragging between colors)
3. Browse between the colors chosen in Color Palette by pressing left/right arrow keys (first available color is randomized)

There's a feature to capture a screenshot after you're done or you can clear the piece and start over.  There's also a button to mute the sound.

There are also apps available for download on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Thisissand

Lines go all over the place

Lines certainly do go all over the place with this time waster.

The lines start going all over the place when you open the page, but then they'll follow your cursor...all over the place. You can change a few variables, such as fade, color and number of lines and the files are available for download so you can waste time offline on your computer if you like.

While it's not the best time waster we've featured, it's not the worst, but I've seen better scribblings with crayons on a white wall done by a three year old.

Lines go all over the place

Koalas to the Max

The title of the page says "Koalas to the Max dot Com".  That's the secret to this time waster.

When the page opens up, you'll see one big brown ball...that's it.  Run your cursor over it and it immediately splits into four.  Run your cursor over any of the four and IT splits into four.  It doesn't take long to get to this point:

Keep going until the dots are nearly too small to see and you'll see why it's called "Koalas to the Max". It's really pretty cool.  What's even MORE cool is the "prize" you get when you do every single ball.  It's almost maddening because you have to cursor over EVERY one of them, but then it lets you create your own puzzle. 

I won't say anymore because I don't want to ruin the surprise.

Koalas to the Max

Silk

Silk - Interactive Generative Art

After a few duds in the Time Wasters category, Silk is one that might very well be the most entertaining so far.

Easy enough to do; click on the screen and hold your cursor down to start drawing, all to the accompaniment of some "trippy" music.  The music fits, though, because Silk is trippy in itself.  Click on the Controls button (it's the blue dot) to change the colors or the mirror and spiral features. Use the slider control bar to change the rotational symmetry.

Don't like what you've drawn? Click the "Undo" button to start anew.  There's a feature to save your artwork if you wish.  They also have an app available for d/l to use on your iPad + Phone.

Look what I drew in just a few seconds - looks like some weird alien skull with butterfly wings.

Silk

Spider

There's not a lot to Spider; at first, it looks like it's only a tiny spider on the screen, its movement controlled by your cursor, but when you DO move it, a "dog" (I guess it's a dog - looks like a bird's head on a dog's body to me) comes out and follows the spider around the screen.  Stop, and the dog? peers at it intently. Click the spider and it will jump up and if the dog is near enough to it, it will jump up as well, startled.

Ehhh....it's OK, better than some of the time wasters I've posted lately but not nearly as good as others.   The thing that would make it better would be if the dog ATE the spider like most would in real life.

Spider

RRR GGG BBB

Out of all the Time Wasters we've posted - or will post - RRR GGG BBB is the least interesting and probably the one that the least time will be wasted viewing it.

(If you spend more than a minute on the page - Congratulations!  You're more easily amused than me!)

Scroll over the R - G - B graphic and the letters will be spoken in a mechanical (creepy) voice and the background will change to the corresponding color. Do it quickly enough, and you might induce an epileptic seizure.

RRR GGG BBB

Draw Ball

I'm not sure what the attraction is to Draw Ball, but there is definitely one because according to the counter, there were 18 others on the site when I was there just now. (in the middle of the night, no less...or, the middle of the day on the other side of the world, I suppose)

Wait for the images in the ball to load, then zoom in (and wait for THAT to load) then start drawing. There's an option to change the color and a tool to either write -with a feather- or make dots. You can leave a message and/or chat with other people (drawballers?) on site. You can also turn off the trippy music playing, which is some sort of New Age song with a background of either rain falling or bacon frying...or both, not for sure.

Personally, I got bored with it fairly quickly, but others might not. The most time I spent on the page was exploring what the images were, not in drawing. Draw or not, I didn't have a ball.

Draw Ball

lolz

There's not a lot to lolz at first, just a face and eyes that follow your cursor around the screen.

But, hold your left-click button down and you're treated to a tune and changing face and colors that will shoot out away from the eyes and opposite of the placement of the cursor.

lolz

Cat Bounce!

Cat Bounce! is another (Earlier: Bring in The Cats) cat-themed time waster (although IMHO, anything to do with cats isn't a time waster!)

As it says, it's cats bouncing.  If they're not bouncing fast or high enough for you, left-click on a cat and drag it upwards and then let go.  Click the flashing "make it rain" link at the top right-hand corner of the screen to unleash a short but furious deluge of cats.  Sorry, no dogs.

Cat Bounce!

Falling Dominoes

There's not a lot to Falling Dominoes and it doesn't waste much time, either. That's probably a good thing, since it's really just a commercial for Coke^TM.

It doesn't take much to start it off, either. Just move your cursor and a hand appears, then move it over to the first domino and nudge it. That's all there is to it.

It IS visually entertaining and there's something satisfying about watching the chain reaction of the cyber-dominoes. A lot of fun and you don't have to spend hours setting up the dominoes...or putting them back in the box, for that matter.

Falling Dominoes