All Sorts of Tidbits II

Ah, yes, the compendium type post. Sure to be of interest to no-one, except, guess what? You're here reading it. So it must interest someone at least little on some level. That or your RSS reader has let you down in a spectacular fashion.

1. First, the blog is approaching 200,000 posts and I expect we'll hit that number this summer. Though recent traffic has dropped off a bit. I cannot believe how many hits I get, though about 70% of them are what I deem a "worthless" hit. To me, that's someone who reads the one post they came across and never comes back to the blog again.
2. Secondly the mix of visitors has slowly started to change. Search engine referrals are down to 73.5% while website referrals are up to 26% -- Google still provides most of our traffic (75% of that 73%).
3. My post on Led Zeppelin still remains the single most popular post and it generates people who linger and read the 300+ comments. Following that is the post about Daniel Radcliffe's Penis which generates more worthless hits than anything -- apparently people think they're getting the goods from my website. I think not. In third place is the Dell Sucks post which generates traffic as well as getting me lots of sympathetic e-mails. In fourth place is the Crazy Frog post, which like the Penis post, is worthless for valuable traffic. All other posts generate insignificant traffic when measured over time. Short-term some posts like mine on Wolfgang Van Halen and Terry Brooks generate short-terms bursts but then people move on to whatever else is news.
4. A special shout-out goes to Maury Wilkinson. She's the one who challenged me to make a blog. So I should thank her for that. But that's not why she's getting the shout-out here. She's been bugging me forever to get a TiVo. I broke down and got a DVR today (which she calls a Ti-Faux because it's a generic one) so I don't have to miss House, Heroes, and Lost any more. We'll see how I like it.
5. I love being a grammar Nazi. No, really. I'm not perfect but I am better than most people. And I certainly know the difference between your/you're and it's/its -- which about 80% of the people who write me obviously don't. I started a thread on my Panthers Hockey Message Board (which actually tracks back to another thread on a different board). I am only mentioning this because the thread is awesome. And better yet, the spiteful bitch on the original thread, who apparently runs the LED board, made an ass out of herself, engaged in petty-name calling, and then used RED on the matrix board to make the error worse.
The thread got locked and the entire ad was gone from the last game. Victory is mine! (Okay, it's got nothing to do with me or anything I said, but still.)
6. My guest room is now wired for HDTV for the benefit of my guests. And I've installed a new flat-screen LCD TV. Isn't that great? Except I don't like guests. Damn -- I think that may be ironic. That's why I'm in the process of finding a new home for my Sony KV27EXR10.
7. I saw Horton Hears a Who. It is surprisingly good. Really. Except when they break into song at the end -- a clear Shrek rip-odd. Everyone knows the story, has read the book, etcetera so there's no point in me going over it. You will like it. Visually appealing, very entertaining, and just a good film. Really. Saw previews for Ice Age 3, Narnia: Caspian, Wall-E and Speed Racer. I can't wait to see the first three. I was looking forward to Speed Racer but the preview has me reconsidering.
8. My neck still hurts (see accident report) and though it was getting better, it's acting up again. Not sure why. But my C4 vertebrae is in the wrong place according to the x-ray the chiropractor took. I definitely have whiplash. Progressive Insurance are being serious poopy-heads about it, and I've written a letter to their CEO and the State of Florida Insurance Commissioner. They lied to me, and I caught them in the lie. They also tried to get me to sign a waiver of rights including all future rights. I'm not even cured yet and they want to buy me off for a small pittance. I was very up-front. I want them to pay my medical bills. Nothing more and nothing less. Apparently they think this is unfair. State Law entitles to me reimbursement for missed work and other benefits. I wasn't really excited about the paperwork, but I suppose I have to do it now. It's clear they are lying scum and do not have my best interests at heart. Ultimately, I will be better so I'm not worried about long term issues, but if they think I'm signing a waiver for something down the road, they're nuts. What if something was missed on the x-ray? Too many things could go wrong. Woe be the person who gets rear-ended by a Progressive policy holder. Progressive Sucks. They must use Dell laptops :)
9. I am opposed to bio-fuels. Why? Food should not be used to operate cars when people are starving to death all over the planet. I can't imagine why anyone thinks this is a good idea.

Pain in the Neck (Literal)

Ouch. Today hurts much worse than yesterday. I am sore in my shoulders, my entire neck, upper back, and a little in my lower back. I have this burning sensation that goes from one shoulder blade to the other. And the weird random pain in my right hip. The insurance people told me that this is normal -- a few days after is when it hits. Well, it hit.

I am going to hospital first thing in the morning for x-rays to see if there's anything obvious. After that it's up to the doctor, but perhaps an MRI or two. Joy. Joy. Joy.

In other related news, Progressive is not being cooperative (they're the insurers of records of the lady who hit us). Per state law, I've contacted my insurance company who is going to have to deal with it now. I am displeased.

Randomness Part Eight

What a weekend. The Panthers won Friday and Sunday giving us a total of four wins in a row. Yay, Panthers.

Next up, I'm sitting in Thomas' car on Sunday and he's driving. We're both wearing seat belts. Though I often give him crap for his driving, he's a pretty good (ie: very cautious) driver. So Saturday afternoon at around 310pm, we're leaving Office Depot, and he stops at a stop sign. He starts to go, but someone comes flying by at warp 30 in a car, so he stops again. They pass. He's in the process of looking both ways when some lady in a Black Honda Accord rear ends us at a high rate of speed causing us to lurch forward about 6 to 10 feet. We both get out and survey the damage -- most of which is to Thomas' car. They trade insurance info, though Timmy fails to get her driver's license number, and I got down her tag number. They decide not to call the cops. Thomas is fine, me not so much. As they're wrapping up I notice my neck is unusually sore on the left side where it joins the shoulder.

Thomas goes home (a five minute drive) and calls his insurance agent and their insurance agent. They want to talk to me since I'm injured. They ask me for my auto insurance details. Really. I refuse to provide it since I was not driving and my car was not present. I hate this already. In other news, gets worse as the hours tick by. I try to ignore it because that's how I am. Today it hurts more, sore to the touch. My back hurts a little and my right hip a lot.

Adrian cancelled skating on me today, which is probably for the best anyway. I went grocery shopping and then to Walgreens for some drugs. Yay, drugs. Doing laundry now.

Watched some of the Pens vs Capitals game on TV and some stuff on the science channel. I did a great deal of work my tax packet. I hate taxes. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE. So much work.

Had dinner with Jason last week. That was fun to see him, Jenny, and Erica again. We really have to do that more often.

UK newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Telegraph are reporting yesterday and today on an expected deal between Sir Paul McCartney and Apple, Inc. to bring the Beatles catalog to iTunes. According to the Telegraph, the deal could be worth as much as £300 million. An Apple Corps label spokesperson said that the date "has not yet been set." The deal has been much delayed. But industry insiders say that by the end of the year fans using iTunes will be able to buy songs from albums such as Help! and Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Former hits from albums such as Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, and Help are expected to top the download charts for several months on release. I envision the long rumoured Yellow Submarine iPod which I will purchase on opening day because I must own one.

A literal pain in the neck

Yesterday, I found out I have a slipped vertebrae or disc in my neck. It's the one right where my neck passes my shoulder. I'm not quite clear on which, but more information will be given to me this Saturday when I return to the doctor. I do know it's painful as hell. This has, obviously, got me a bit worried. And, as I said, it hurts like all hell. I am rather upset about it too.

The Back Story: I was fine Monday morning. I got out of bed and proceeded to do all those other things one does in the bathroom whilst preparing for work. I started to brush my teeth and got this searing pain in my left shoulder (on the backside in the soft mushy part near my neck) which literally dropped me to my knees in mid brush.

I figured it was a pinched nerve, and it would go away by the following day. Tuesday it was no better and was a bit worse, and that night in bed was hellish pain. Wednesday morning I called and ended up seeing a Chiropractor who took an x-ray. I have no medical training and could see the problem right away. Sure enough, he told me "you have one of the straightest spines I've ever seen on a 40 year old, except for this one spot here" and then went on to tell me that was what was causing most of the pain. He showed me body diagrams and what not, but it was all over my head. He thinks he can fix it, but we'll see. (I have faith in chiropractors having used them successfully in the past.)

If I move my head at all, or my left shoulder I want to cry like a girl. He said he won't likely recommend an operation, and he said where the problem is happening is an extremely dangerous place to operate. But if the pain doesn't go away, I'm going to have my neck amputated at the shoulders.