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.

Once again, Miami tops 'road rage' list

Once again, Miami has the worst road-rage of any city in the USA. As a driver here, I can tell you ... wait? how dare you cut me off? I'll kill you, you son-of-a bitch ... where was I? Oh, yeah, we have the most insane, impossible drivers. Anyone who lives here and has to drive knows how bad it is.

Much of the trouble comes from the fact that many things drivers in other cities take as gospel (traffic lights, traffic signs, road markings such as stripes, and laws) drivers here consider as mere suggestions that only apply to other drivers. Further, we have a multi-cultural, diverse city where everybody who drives follows the rules of their homeland and not our rules. We have vehicles that are not suitable to be on the road, and many other hazards that are just too amazing to list. All of this is done while the driver is on the phone and reading the newspaper while driving 90MPH in the right lane or 30MPH in the left lane. And God forbid someone should try and merge.

From CNN: For the second consecutive year, rude Miami drivers have earned the city the title of worst road rage in a survey released today. Miami motorists said they saw other drivers slam on their brakes, run red lights and talk on cell phones, according to AutoVantage. Other cities near the top of the rude drivers list were New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.