

Need game timer software cause I lack self control - ScotterC

I'm looking for existing software or direction for how I should write my own.<p>What I want is a simple timer that would allow me, say, a two hour session of Starcraft 2.  It would alert me when 2 minutes are left so I could save my game and then it would quit and disable the application for 24 hours.<p>All the software (mostly parental) I've found logs you off the computer or shuts it down.  I'm looking for something that is just application specific.<p>If it doesn't exist then I want to build it.  My experience is mainly in ruby and a little bit of java but I'm willing to learn something new if it would make it quicker/easier.
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slifty
I'm sorry to say it, but the only way to cure your sickness is to suck up your
time and just get 100% of the SC2 achievements. Once you do that the
temptation will go away.

Happy hunting!

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ihumanable
You got downvoted for trying to make a joke, that hardly seems fair, that's
why I voted you back up.

Now remember everyone, Hacker News is for SERIOUS business only, no joking, no
lightheartedness, no screwing around.

I would say in regard to the original post that a low tech solution might just
be a digital watch and some self-control. The thing is you have to be concrete
before you go into it. I used to have a terrible time exercising until I said
beforehand "I'm going to do X minutes of this or Y reps of that" Giving
yourself a goal provides you with a kind of instant gratification when you
complete it, which is similar to the stimulus you are getting from StarCraft
2.

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ScotterC
That's what irks me. I am actually quite disciplined in exercise and my diet
but when it comes to the instant gratification of computer games I just got no
self control :)

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charliepark
SafeEyes might work for you. I think they have both application-specific
controls and some cron limits. It's aimed at parents, but might work for what
you're going for.

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ScotterC
Hadn't seen that one yet. Thanks.

However, it appears to only block online gameplay and internet game related
sites. I don't see anything about blocking a specific application.

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charliepark
Oh, I think you're right.

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samratjp
Maybe <http://www.rescuetime.com/> could help with blocking distracting sites
and more. If it doesn't have what you're looking for, shoot them an email, who
knows they might listen to ya (besides, they're a YC company - show them your
HN love and that might get even more attention :)

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ScotterC
Thanks to @robdimarco. Found something that works for MacOSX. 'SelfControl'
<http://visitsteve.com/work/selfcontrol/> It allows you to choose specific
domains to block. For the Starcraft example, blocking battle.net would be
somewhat effective. Source code is on GitHub too. Now I just need something
for Windows 7.

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ScotterC
What's the best way to prevent an application from launching temporarily?

