justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

“Congratulations,

10,000 Games Completed”

WOW! What a surprise! The last time I played solitaire on my cell phone, this congratulatory message came up on my screen. I wasn’t sure if I should feel pride, or shame. One thing for sure, a few minutes here and there can add up to a real investment (or waste) of time.

I’m reminded of the song Seasons of Love, from the award-winning rock musical, Rent,  and the lyrics 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life?

In measuring the past year of my life, I’d have to take into account the following:

·   10,000 games of solitaire, averaging 3+ minutes per game, equals 30,000 minutes,

 or 500 hours, adding up to12.5 work weeks, 

or nearly 25% of a work year

One could also calculate the “lost wages”, figuring a minimum of $20/hour, totaling around $10,000, gone with a tap on my cell phone keyboard.

(If only there was a money-making task I could perform on my phone that would earn me the same amount of money…)

One could also say there’s the mental exercise from which I am benefiting, such as pattern recognition, number sequencing, a feeling of challenge and success, slowing loss of thinking skills and cognitive decline, and most importantly enhancing memory, perhaps heading off, or at least delaying dementia.

In the article, The Benefits of Playing Solitaire, we learn the following: “…you can get the opportunity to have a soft mental activity that should keep you sane.” Good news, eh?

So, where do I go from here?

P.S. I also estimate I have a winning percentage of over 30%, which would be an excellent batting average in baseball.