Ben Stein

* Writer and star of Comedy Central’s hit series “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which is seen at 7:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday.

Time to Spare: I love to take my 11-year-old son, Tommy, bowling at the alley beside Jerry’s Deli in Studio City, which is a great combination of ‘50s and ‘60s scenes. My son always has a fabulous time. I have a fabulous time, too. They have these rails that keep you from throwing a gutter ball, and that keeps me from being totally humiliated.

L.A.’s World Cup: I go to Rancho Park--at Motor and Pico by the Fox lot--and watch my son and hundreds of other young men and women play soccer. It’s an amazing scene. There are people from all over the world and many of them play very, very well.

Aural Fixation: After lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, I go to the Beverly Connection and look at stereo stuff. I love looking at stereo equipment. I could do it all day. I have five houses and a stereo in every room. Then, there’s a little corner near the Bookstar where people put out chessboards and my son likes to play, so I watch and give him advice.

More Gadgets: After we drive some golf balls at Griffith Park Golf course in Los Feliz, we drive out to the house in Malibu and stop at Mailbu Lumber and see if there are any new gadgets. And then we get to the house--the cheapest house in Malibu with a good view--and I garden. When I’m standing there pouring fertilizer on my jacaranda and smelling the breeze through the pine trees, I think I am the most blessed person.

More Games: And then we go to the L.A. Athletic Club at 7th and Olive to go swimming and play basketball and lift weights and sometimes play racquetball. Or sometimes we go over to Santa Monica and ride bicycles on the boardwalk, ride up to Pacific Palisades and then down to Venice--it’s not that far, really. And it’s amazing that given all these athletic things that I’m still overweight. My wife--a hard-working lawyer--by the way, is sleeping the whole time.