211 thoughts on “There goes an afternoon”

  5. Good gravy I can see how that can become addicting. If I didn’t have to pee I would play for hours….laughing and having a full bladder just don’t mix.

  7. Should I be grateful it won’t load? “Pro-crast-in-aa-aa-tion is putting off work!” (sing to “Anticipation”)
    –A fellow writer, or should-be writer

  9. I think you blew the fuse on them – or there are already hundreds of Harlot readers playing! I’ll take my time and check in later. sounds very intriguing!!!

  10. Oh, thank God it won’t load. ‘Cuz I don’t need any more distractions from checking email, clicking on you to see if you’ve posted yet, checking email again, making sure the phone is working…

  16. Hahahahahah awesome. And leanne is right, I think you’ve Harlotized their site because it took a loooong time to load. Thanks for sharing! =)

  22. Eeek, I can’t get to it at work (yet I can get to your blog)!! Can’t wait to get home and play.

  25. I think you Harlotted them.
    I would have been addicted but my 2 year old kicked me off and got addicted himself.
    Then it broke.

  27. I dont *dare* show this to my husband. One of us being totally unproductive this afternoon is enough, and he eats this stuff up with a spoon. Thanks a lot, Lene!

  29. I love it! I’m up to 204 feet, and I think I’m getting the hang of it now. (I love it when the littel hamster voices cheer after achieving a “0” score!)

  31. hmph. I don’t get it. Should I hit the hamster with the pillow? Catch it? Or merely boggle that the hamster has goggles?
    Knitting doesn’t involve hamsters and I’ve just been pleaded for socks by a co-worker…my plan to take over the office with yarn has begun!

  33. Okay, harlot, fess up…you’re really picturing a fleece-thieving squirrel instead of hampsters!

  35. I’m checking this out as soon as the server will let me – seems everyone else is checking it out too!

  37. I can’t do this kind of crap. I killed five hamsters in a row within seconds after they were out the gate. My 10 year old daughter thinks I am a hopeless relic.
    Yeah, well OK, but can she do a K3togTBL? Or follow a complicated fair isle chart? Or turn a heel without looking? No, I didn’t think so.

  39. OMG…”Flight of the Valkries!” Too funny…and I have a writing deadline I’m supposed to be meeting; thanks bunches Steph! :p
    Kim

  40. Is this the same person who gave you the schedule for Christmas knitting? So why’s she giving you this sort of thing when you haven’t finished the Christmas knitting?
    I’m sending this game to DH. He’ll love it.

  41. Evil. You’re totally evil. My kids are home from school today and now they’re plastered to my side watching me kill hamsters.

  43. Ok, I love the panicked flailing on the way down, and fact that after the hamsters bury themselves in the earth they pop up with this tremendous grin on their little hamster faces.
    (I also like the way you amended your blog post to reflect your new high score. If you get above 1000 today, though, we’ll know you didn’t get any real work done.)

  46. My children tell me this game also is available on the Cartoon Network Web site, if this linked site can’t take the pressure of knitting gamers.

  49. The hamsters have nothing to fear from me. Tried it, sucked at it, tried it again, same result. I am in the hopeless relic catagory and darn proud of it…

  51. I only have one thing to say.
    Seed.
    Now I have my revenge.
    (www.addictinggames.com/seed.html)

  53. It’s very hard to click on the rockets and rollerballs when the tears are streaming down my face since I’m laughing so hard it’s become difficult to breathe! That was incredibly funny. Thank you. I will admit I’m no where near as talented as you; obviously, I need much more practice and/or another bottle of wine!

  54. Anybody checked out freerice.com? A whole different sort of time waster — no gore, but no guilt either.

  56. Don’t you know better by now than to click on her links?
    (Your comment ID fields have forgotten me again. Glad to see everything’s back to normal.)

  57. hahaha No wonder you want to send those little critters into oblivion. They make me think of the squirels! It’s great snowy day to knit and after sending one of those rodents 28ft I’m off to do just that . Good laugh, thank you .

  59. I’m so glad the hammies smile after I’ve splatted them so badly!!! Fun game! Thanks Lene! Gotta turn off the sound so DH doesn’t come to see and take over the ‘puter! Going back to splatting hammies….

  61. I am truly feeble at this! My best score so far is 23ft!
    I’m going to have to spend the entire day practising before my teenager gets home and I lose all street cred forever.

  63. Dang… I suck. I’ve been playing for like half an hour now and you know what my consistent score is? 0. A big fat 0. I think the game needs to be renamed Splat-A-Hamster or something.

  64. yee-ha!! i got a whole 74 feet. what a riot! now i have to go back and figure this thing out!

  65. Holy Smokes. Add me to the list of writers dealing with a deadline by launching hamsters. 214 feet. I’m not showing this to teacher-boy DH until he’s finished entering his midterm grades.

  67. Pure Evil!!!!!
    And me with stuff to do. . . it’s like a deadly combination of nicotine and chocolate!!!
    ha ha ha

  69. Despite your advice and my being 24 years old (fully within the technological age and should be completely capable to thwart you all at this game)….I still stink.
    My yarn does not mock me so; why must the hamsters rub it in??

  71. I giggled the whole time I did the game. What a riot! My personal best after two games was 121ft in a single jump. We’ll not discuss the several 0 ft’s I got.

  73. Awesome! I love it!
    Hopefully once I get my new glasses, my score will improve. (damned hand-eye coordination!)

  74. Wonderful. Just what I needed. You have now corrupted my entire office. The strains of the Valkyrie song are echoing from all the surrounding cubicles as my co-workers abuse the poor hamsters.
    Hah. My longest jump so far is 169. None of them have beaten me yet. . .

  75. Personally I prefer “Huge Manatee.” When the eponimous animal flattens you, a solemn voice intones “Oh, the huge manatee!” Get it? hee hee he!
    now, get back to purlin’

  76. What fun! I managed to get a total of 459 ft! My normally computer savvy son hasn’t figured out how to grab the flight extenders on a regular basis yet, either. I did get them into the stratosphere (the sky turns blue) but that doesn’t do much for the distance. Lene’s blog had my mouth watering. Can’t wait for the book and calendar. Please come to Cleveland, OH for a book signing (or I’ll drive to Columbus, if need be.)

  78. My 5 year old thanks you. Yet another game he kicks his mothers butt at.
    However- when he goes to church Sunday, telling everyone “The Harlot” (he’ll conveniently leave out the yarn part, of course) showed his mommy a “website” for shooting hamsters… I’m sending them to you. You can explain better than I ever could…
    PS- best part? I can totally sit next to him knitting…while he shoots hamsters into the atmosphere— (which cannot be good for the environment)

  80. My longest single hamster flight was 131 feet. What’s funny is that was the time I put the mouse down mid-flight to answer the phone. Evidently the computer plays better on its own than with me “helping”.

  81. Curses! I had forgotten about that game…then I read your blog and there it is. Guess my knitting has been put on hold for awhile…along with housework….home schooling….sleeping…. gee – thanks!

  83. I find it particularly amusing that the comment number is increasing so gradually today. I have littered the site with corpses.

  84. Yes, http://www.freerice.com is my game of choice.
    As a non native speaker of English I have worked my way up to level 45 and am very proud of it….but…it took me about three sessions to get it that that were not 20 grams of rice that are donated for each right answer…..but 20 grains !
    I couldn’t load the hamsters either….so I did a bit of freerice….it’s for a good cause…..that’s my excuse….but lunch break is over since 4pm ( 2-4 pm in Mexico ) and it’s back to work for me until seven.
    Angelika
    Mexico City

  85. This is my problem… the kids got some great puzzle video games for Christmas – I see one, and I have to play – for hours. At the end of the day, no knitting, no work, no dinner – but I did score in the 800s on “virus buster!”

  87. On my apple laptop WITHOUT a mouse, the first time I managed to actually hit the hamster (took me a bout 7 tries), I got 171 ft. Woot!!
    I wonder how well I can do with a mouse??
    Ba

  88. It’s the soundtrack that has me hooked. (By the way, my youngest saw me playing and asked for a turn. On his first try he out-launched me by 63 feet.)

  89. You’re totally kicking my butt. I can’t figure out how to aim for the random objects, but I did finally figure out the trick to the whole gliding thing. I think.
    Also, reminds me of Toss the Haggis, where one tossed a haggis onto a target on the ground. Sadly no longer around, that game rocked.

  93. This was ridiculously hard to do on a laptop without a mouse. Must be why I had to spend half an hour at it before I got up to 160 feet. 😉

  94. MY CHILDREN ARE HUNGRY AND THE DAMN HAMSTER WON’T EVEN GO 100 FEET!!!! AAAHHHHH!!! Oh, I will get you, my little hamsters, just wait until the wee-ones are in bed….who needs sleep?? NOT ME!! *insane laughter*

  95. Now I remember why I don’t play many video games…or drive a stick shift…. This whole hand-eye coordination thing just ain’t my cuppa tea… LOL

  97. Looked like a great game but alas, I’ll have to stick to knitting. My timing is way off and I could only get one hamster to launch per session. After about 12 times I had to admit defeat. Perhaps instead of a pillow I need a skein of yarn.

  98. Holy cow!! My top score is 39 feet. And most of the time, my hamster just splats. How on earth did you get 633?!!!!! I can’t even hit them with the pillow.

  99. My kids are loving this . . . my 3-year-old outdid me on his first launch! lol
    Luckily, I’m too immersed in building my Ravelry stash to be distracted for long. ;o)

  105. Stephanie—thanks for sharing the hamster game….I think? On the third try I scored 328 and am totally stressed! Now I’m going to finish the second sock of a pair for a friends birthday. I’m wondering if my gauge will be waaay off due to my stress level. Oh well—it was fun in any case.
    Jane

  107. That’s one of the sickest, and therefore funniest, things I’ve seen in a long time! Thank you Lene and Stephanie!

  108. Thank you. I’ll file that in my “favorites” with the Llama Duck Song and Badger Badger.

  109. I don’t understand it, but that has me snortgiggling into my afternoon coffee. Let’s hope my students don’t walk in…

  110. Too much fun!!! If only I didn’t have things to do. Bookmarked for my next free moments (who am I kidding, I’ll be playing when I shouldn’t be…)

  115. I totally suck at the hamster thing! In the amount of time I spent on it, I could have knit a lot more feet of yarn than I can launch those hamsters! Thanks for the entertainment, though. . . I think.

  116. I can see I’m going to need a lot more practice at this hamster thing. I can’t seem to break 105 ft. But there are socks calling my name that I’m really wanting to finish.

  117. Once again, I stand with Rams. He who must write nice things about dead people isn’t.

  120. You are just evil, evil, evil. My husband heard me cackling down the hallway and had to check it out. Nice to know I’ve got a game now, too.

  121. Hi,
    I know that as far as these sorts of games go, this is one of the gentlest. But still… what is it but a way of laughing at little animals being heaved into the air, and one more thing that has us spending far too much time on our computers? I’m sure I’m not the only reader who thinks about the range of computer games and their place in society/culture/education. But, scanning the comments so far, I may be the only one willing to comment and to leave myself open to being called a party pooper. Best regards.

  122. Can’t seem to get past zero myself. You got to keep your power today? Scattered outages on this side of the lake.

  124. does it make me a bad person that i didn’t want to stop until i beat your high score? (i eventually got 757. hopefully you don’t have a competitive streak like mine and you won’t try to beat that, because i would have to challenge you again and i’m sick of hamster squealing)

  125. my husband and i have been launching hamsters for hours now (thank god for having two laptops and wireless internet… or maybe not… so much else could have been done with those hours). but i finally pulled off 674ft. i think it is time to retire.

  126. I just came back from my father’s viewing. We are burying him tomorrow. I needed a laugh in the worst way. Now I’m afraid I won’t stop laughing. Thanks.

  127. I managed to get stratospheric but I can’t send the little rat any further than 23 feet with one pillow. And let’s not mention the long string of zeros!

  129. I gave all five (six?) hamsters serious back problems by having them land without so much as a click on a pillow. I’ve decided to let them all recover without any additional friends coming their way. And, I’ll admit, I only tried it because Stephanie thought it was fun. Me, not so much – I suppose my distractions come in other forms.

  135. 🙂 I just wasted a good 10 minutes and got 0 ft! I need a teenager to show me how this works.

  139. This is all your fault, now my sister is beating me. Gahh. These hamsters do not listen to me very well. !60 high score for me.

  140. I’m so behind with my life right now, I will not even go there. I’m currently in the throes of interstate real estate hell with 2 houses going up for sale this week in 2 different states, and an offer on a house in one of those states, which is not the one where I am, and recovering from getting my mother’s house ready to sell in the other state so she can share the new house with us (not full time, TG).
    Anyway, just noticed the post title from 2 days ago and, since I was born in Arizona (in Tucson and lived in Sedona as a tyke in the late 50s when it was in the back of beyond) and head off there tomorrow to recouperate, I must point out that dogies is properly pronounced with a long o, so needs only one g. Of course, since your dogies are knitted viniferous grape leaves, you really probably needn’t follow the ‘rules.’

  141. Hah, I’ve been playing it for weeks… but you’ve beat my best score. Maybe I need a faster mouse.
    Or maybe I should knit and get a product when I’m done wearing out my wrist.

  143. I knew you were a yarn enabler, but this, well, for this I have forsaken my very 1st Rockin Sock club kit in favor of the hampster flinging. Where are my priorities?

  148. You are evil, woman! I MUST not go back to this site! Don’t you know that we serious knitters all have addictive personalities?

  152. Yeah, I can’t even get the pillow to hit mine. Smack, straight into the ground. I’ll have to stick to Bloody Pingu; I think I got that penguin up to 976 feet or so the other day.
    And thanks – drat, I don’t have time to look back – to whoever-the-two are who gave links for the seed and the Pratchett game; gonna try those out much later today! (Hm; maybe it’d work better for me if those hamsters were hedgehogs, and I drank some scumble?)

  154. if you tell us what kind of
    yarn you buy its sold out at webs
    i can not play games cause of you
    and lene could not get in
    the calendar is not out
    i will be lucky to get one
    from all the preorders
    you have been home too long
    getting us into all kinds of trouble

  155. this is just the sort of thing that amuses me so much that my husband wonders if I have lost it. Too fun!

  158. My children thank you. They think the Yarn Lady is so awesome for sharing such fun silliness. (My four year old is the best so far in our family!)

  159. Somebody mentioned Olympics, which leads me to ask an off topic question (which my massage therapist also asked me at my last appointment — I think she’s already worried!).
    Will there be “Knitting Olympics” for the 2008 Summer Games?!

  162. I stopped playing video games when the mail-lady came delivering my chablis sock kit… now I can say I’m taking leaf of my senses – wasting the evening away making leaves. It doesn’t seem to be just one more round, or finish this section, now it’s just one more leaf… and one more, and one more, and one more, well you can see the problem.

  164. It is sort of like playing the slot machines. If you can’t get higher than a zero, then it probably isn’t meant to be and you should walk away from the machine and don’t look back! I felt bad for my hamsters as they “splatted” on the ground.

  166. Stephanie, we are coming to Canada with our luggage. I am sure you have room in your lovely old house for two more people. Since my husband got “Flight of the Hamsters,” he has done nothing else and may lose his job.
    P.S. – He says the hamsters look a bit like your toes. LOL
    P.P.S. – He only has gotten to 23 feet.

  167. Yep – this one’s addictive. Who knew that sending hamsters orbital could be so much fun? (Socks are on stand-by -all three pairs, thanks to this…)

  170. I’m so glad that I’m not the only one that finds this game wildly amusing! I’ve gotten to almost 700 feet before (I think it was 682). Sad, but I love that game!

  171. Sent this link to a friend who works for the Canadian government, and this is what I learned: Federal government employees are denied access to Hamster-mania…those who work for small arts organizations funded by the government however…

  173. I was feeling pretty good about myself today – down a couple of pounds, hair holding it’s own, etc. That is until this darn game – I am the worst. I’ve launch 2 hamsters in a 1/2 hour. Ugh.

  174. Rachel? Denny? Maybe one of you should stop by Chez Harlot. Either she needs to be peeled away from the hamsters or the power needs to be turned on. Either way it’s ominously quiet.

  177. ok. Today my grandson and I wasted an hour launching hamsters. He finally beat you score at 669! Of course my high score is only 352. I need to practice!!

  178. My high schore is 101. lol i need to keep practiing! P.S. That free rice thing is addcting!!

  179. Thanks Stephanie, thanks a lot. First, yarn, then projects, now this?!? I can’t handle anymore obsessions!!! 🙂

  180. Thanks, I guess. I put off trying this (it took me a couple of tries to get used to the timing), and now I’m trying to make sure that I don’t get addicted.

  181. Um, have the leaves have finally gotten to you? Or is it just because hamsters, like squirrels, are rodents? I refuse to click. I remember Pacman rehab. Don’t want to do that again.

  183. Heh… I LOVE all the game links.. and I play Free Rice daily.. it is on my daily crawl.. I try to donate at least 1000 grains of rice a day.

  188. Joe, girls, Ken, anyone?
    If our Yarn Harlot is still launching hamsters tomorrow instead of knitting and writing and doing other harlot-normal things, you’ve got to do an intervention!
    I’m serious – this is a BAD THING! Take away her computer and wrap her in roving!
    Lives of millions of knitters will be ruined if this does not STOP!!!

  189. I’m going to break the mouse with that game. They are so cute and happy no matter how badly I let them drop to the ground.

  190. For all those who couldn’t get in, the original game is at the Cartoon Network site and, if I’ve done things properly, you should be able to click on my name (below) to get to it.
    If not, it’s under the Kids Next Door bit.
    Enter at your own risk.
    (BTW: 424ft)

  191. How do you use the skateboard? I can’t seem to get it to work…. 😀 I got my whole family playing this game, by the way. =-)

  192. I think I might be rescinding my earlier thank you . . . I’ve had to do battle with the kids to get time on my own laptop! lol (They don’t have a computer with internet access.)

  193. My kids discovered this last year, it’s connected with the Kids Next Door cartoon(which is actually quite well done). We’ve played it for hours on end, laughing hysterically when the hamster gets launched into space. When my eldest son got a real hamster I had to convince him that it would not work the same as the hamsters on the computer.(!!!)

  195. You know, this game has probably kept chemistry from completely melting my brain. Mindless fun is good after learning about enthalpy of vaporization, fusion, and other fun things that will have no bearing on my life.
    Btw, how do the skateboards work? I know that they let you glide a bit if you’re on the ground, but it works sometimes and not others.

  197. Stephanie, please will you stop playing Hamsters Go Splat and blog already? Come on! By the bye, I got your Meditations for Women who Knit Too Much yesterday at my LYS. Like you, I can’t pass up a good sale …

  199. Man, I’m supposed to be working. Not watching the hamsters go splat! It took me a while to completely understand it all, and I can’t figure out the skateboard at all.
    It might be more addicting than winding sock yarn . . . 🙂

  201. 413 ft in one shot- best total score:1005ft Ha! Beat that! Now if we could make our knitting work the same way…413 ft in one shot would make a pair of socks!

  202. How I remember the “Hamster Days” in our family! I remember children begging, promising to clean the cage(we all know how that turns out),and wearing me down.
    Because of this it was a pleasure sending Hamsters rocketing skyward and watching them splat on the ground.
    I did get the hang of it finally-and I am sorry to report that no hamsters were hurt in the playing of this game.
    We had Hedgehogs too!! Dear God, what was I thinking???

  203. oh gee thanks … i wasted away about two hours playing that silly game yesterday. btw, you are way better at it than i am. i only got up to about 200 feet! 🙁

  205. Okay, I showed my eight year old and he knows exactly what cartoon it came from…..something called “Kids Next Door”? Well we were all in hysterics.

  206. My new record is 500!!!!!!! I wish I had just let the link go, but now 24 wasted hours later, I reached my goal!

  207. Well, my son and I are hooked on Flight of the Hamsters. He absolutely LOVES it (and for a 5.5 year old, has beaten me hands down already!). His high score so far is 634 and mine is a measely 212.

  208. My seven-year-old is also quite the pro at this hamster thing — he made it to 647 ft while I remain in the double digits.

  209. Sheesh! I can’t get any work done! I love this game! My highest score was 360… But I need to try and get more. Tonight I went into the deepest space I’ve ever been in.. up and up and up he went. I think we should get to count the “up” feet!

  210. I’ve been playing this crazy hamster game for 4 days now and can’t get a score higher than 284!!! I just can’t figure out what’s wrong with my technique.

  211. Jo: Wool Revival and Ewe Asked For It are also VERY nice yarn shops in Edmonton; if you have a few days in the city before heading to Athabasca, I strongly advise you to get acquainted with Wool Revival in particular, then you will be able to phone in, and keep the ties strong — see you there one day?

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