LMAO. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone with this flashing light making patterns on the dark stain I'm using.
This is the basic stuff and this is the technical stuff, sorta. The 2nd link deals with the msconfig file (scroll down) which is pretty simple and the first link is the starting point for optimizing your system. It may not all apply but you can get anywhere from there (browsers, cache, etc.)
This is a direct link to clearing your cache. It's where you click Delete All Sites to clear your Flash cache. While you're there make sure media5.wgt.com is allowed to store 1 MB of stuff by clicking on it and sliding the bar above the window.
Incidentally, David's right about the friends list but you seem to have that under control. Hope this helps and thanks for asking. GL ;-)