Another little thought on boredom:

When I was a kid, my mother said to me (more than once) when I complained of being bored that "That probably means you're tired."

And you know, that's right. I've noticed when nothing interests me, it usually means I need some sleep. Or that I have something else going on in my life that is draining all of my energy and leaving me without any to either make stuff or learn stuff (my two main free-time pursuits).

Makes me wonder how that relates to the idea of a "sleep-deprived nation" as some people are describing Americans. I wonder if some of the political snipiness or the mania-for-the-new (electronically speaking) are part of boredom brought on by being too tired.

I don't know.