well, i have found yet another distraction [like i needed one, sheesh]. i've now got not one, but two [yes, two, what of it?] stat tracking proggies for my blog. each one had a couple features different than the other, so i got both. [hey, they're free, so who cares?]
one of them says that someone someplace near new zealand is reading my blog... the other doesnt recognize that particular event for some reason... maybe the first one is hallucinating, it doesnt log IP addresses. the second one does however, which is totally cool, cuz i can see who visited me, and how long they stayed and how they got here.
let me just say, i was shocked. i didnt know so many random people from all over the US read this thing. i mean, i knew my immediate friends did... but wow. theres someone from the universtity of wisconsin, madison who shows up daily - for the past two days anyway [hi hi whoever you are :) hope this all is entertaining for ya :)]
on to other tech related nonsense... it is really disturbing how much information is dumped onto a website when you visit it. in fact, having my own site meter [WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY down there at the very bottom for those of you who are interested in seeing how many hits i've had since Nov. 17] has made me quite wary of how many times i hit my favorite blog sites for updates. i mean, gosh, i dont wanna seem like a stalker or anything! i've already had one experience where someone wondered about the berkeley.edu IP that was hitting their site on a regular basis... um... yes right out there in a blog post... talk about putting me on the spot [wisconsin, no worries, and no pressure :) i was just using you as an example, not trying to pressure you to speak out or anything like that -- not that i'd mind some comments every now and again *wink wink*]. but yeah, that particular happening prompted me to wonder what kind of hits *--I--* was getting, and put up a site meter, and a "data archiving system" from re_invigorate to quench my curiosity.
until i put these up, and checked the stats on a... um... well... hourly basis [yes, yes, i am pathetic, but having fun with my new toy. it will wear off eventually, i promise, and i will go for weeks without checking stats -- of course, site meter emails me a report every week, so i dont HAVE to check the stats if i dont want to go out of my way...*ahem*] i didnt realize how much information goes along with that one action of bringing up a web page. you give out all sorts of info, like your IP, your browser, your OS, what time zone you're in, what language is your default, if you clicked a link to get to the site, what resolution your screen is set at, if cookies are enabled on your computer... sheesh. who knew.
so yeah, now i'm paranoid about going to websites repeatedly during the day. i mean, gosh, its not like a berkeley.edu domain on my IP is inconspicuous or something... in fact, it rather sticks out like a sore thumb. from home, well, i blend in as just another pacbell.net IP amongst the masses. bleh. i much prefered blog surfing when i thought i was just an anonymous mouseclick... *sigh* leave it to technology to take the fun out of the blog-verse... [except when it comes to my own site hits of course *wink wink*]
and yes, i'm shirking work, and shirking getting some info for a friend that i'd promised to get her weeks ago... and shirking just about anything productive at the moment, to monitor my blog traffic, and blog about my blog traffic [lol. that sounds funny... dont ask me why...]. i need a break sometimes you know? [erm, besides my actual breaks of course... two fifteen minute breaks are NOT enough i tell you! they're just NOT! *stamps her feet and shakes her fists*] gosh. dont be all judgemental about it, please. [okay, so you haven't yet, but well, i have a feeling someone will be eventually, so i'm just hedging my bets here :P]
anyway... someone's gonna be realllllllllly pissed off if i dont get these invoices approved for payment... [namely the vendors... who i dont really care about, since most of them are HUGE companies that are getting paid with the money that they originally donated to us... erm... so why didnt they just give us the equipment outright, instead of making a buracratic nightmare for me? who knows... maybe cash is a bigger tax write-off -- something to ask my business prof about] ... so i should really be getting back to work for the next hour and a half, or until i decide to leave, which might be any minute at this rate. its friday, hardly anyone else is here, who's gonna notice? [oh right, the people not getting their payments cuz i didn't process them yet. damn. *sigh*]
Hi, Wisconsin here. Yeah, after you started hitting my blog and posted a comment (after I called you out of course) I just had to see what you were writing. I'm curious, what can I say!?!
ReplyDeleteLOL. too funny. well... erm. hope you like my dementia-induced ramblings ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah, odd coincidence we call each other out...(raised eyebrow and dramatic pause) or was it? Just kidding.
ReplyDelete"dementia-induced ramblings"??? you have read my blog, right? From one lunatic to another it's really pretty sane. Well as sane as anybody who is associated in any way with a university.
And the stats thing, it is addicting. I check at least every few days and then I'm thoroughly dissappointed with myself.
hmmm... i dont know that i believe in coincidences... *wink wink*
ReplyDeleteand you've got a point there about being associated with a university. i've begun to notice that one's level of sanity is inversely proportionate to just how closely associated with the university one is. me, well, i only spend 9 hours a day here, and thats just phyically. mentally i'm far far FAR away, so i'm slightly more sane than many of the people i work with. scary, cuz i always thought i was a bit off my rocker to begin with *grin*
oooh the stats... really addicting... and dissappointing if you expect anything more than 3 or 4 hits in a given period of time... the more you comment elsewhere though, the more hits you end up getting (you proved that point for me :P), and the more you link to other sites, the more other sites link to you, the more hits you end up getting.
not that blogging is all about how many hits you get or anything... lol.
You don't believe in coincidences? Is that an admission that you planned the whole thing? You wouldn't happen to be that stalker chick I dated in college, would you?
ReplyDeleteI've found that they hire the nuttiest most incompentent people around here because it's about making yourself look better. I think I was a fluke. Seriously, you've got nut balls running things and they can't be shown up so they hire more incompentent people. It's like the pyramid scam of stupidity!
I love and hate the stats. We don't get a whole lot of hits yet so it's more often than not dissappointing, especially since I can tell when it's Tim or Sean taking a look at what's going on and artifically inflating the number. I find the stats validate an already meager existance. Well, not really but I need and excuse and a reason to bitch.
mmm stalker chick from college... no, not me. unless "college" was culinary school 7 years ago, "dated" meant saw in the hallways, and "stalker chick" means someone who basically ignored you cuz she was too afraid of rejection to actually pay attention to anyone who might have caught her interest... erm... yeah... wow that was embarassing to admit to. lol.
ReplyDeleteomg. you mean berkeley isnt the only place run by nut-jobs who hire idiots to make themselves look better?? for a while there, i was starting to think it was just berkeley cuz... well... its berkeley after all. i mean, we call it berzerkeley for a reason ya know?
oh and the stats... you know you can probably tell your proggie to ignore Tim's and Sean's IP's so it doesnt count them, and doesnt skew the results. do they actually post anything anyway?? lol. and we all need a reason to bitch and moan sometimes :) no stress :)
That's exactly what I meant! lol
ReplyDeleteI do believe that all major universities are run as "Institutions." No really. This is a clever way to keep these people off the streets.
I probably should ignore Tim and Sean's IPs but I don't think my ego could take that bad a hit. No really. I'm fragile. Neither have been posting in a while, I gotta find out what's up. I don't think they fully grasp the blog concept yet. Nothing a little kick in the nads won't fix.
oh, well if thats what you meant... yah. i'm that stalker chick. lol.
ReplyDeletekeep these people off the streets? maybe you do belong in a university after all... cuz we dont keep them off the streets... we send them to conferences, and seminars, and to GIVE conferences and seminars, all over the WORLD. we buy the plane tickets for them and everything! lol. if thats how you keep someone off the street... well... someone please keep me off the street!
Wait a second. You're people get to go to conferences? I don't get to go to conferences. Hell, I don't get to leave the basement without written consent. I have grown accustomed to the shackels that hold me here at the desk. Really, once you've had them on for a while it's really not so bothersome.
ReplyDeletewell, our higher ups get to go... lucky them. meanwhile, i'm stuck back here, processing their travel reimbursements. lol.
ReplyDeleteoooh basement. that would be a nice change of pace. i'm crammed into an office with 2 other people and all our filing cabinets on "the floor that archetects forgot"... a mezzanine floor with no stair access to the floor above, tempermental elevators, no restroom, no break room, not even a SINK. *sigh* its like being in a prison ward, only my cubicle space is smaller than a jail cell.
Yeah, our higher ups get to go on paid trips, throw receptions, and basically screw around on the company dime while the lower life forms either have to pay their own way or are like me and just can't go.
ReplyDeleteBasement. I hate the damn basement. We can't even call it the basement. It's the "Lower Level." Anyone who says otherwise is in big trouble. We don't have windows, or even anything that resembles them. During winter we get here before the sun comes up and we leave after it goes down. Talk about depressing. But then at least I don't have to leave the floor for a bathroom break. I mean, I do anyway, but I don't have to.
i've got windows... 2 cubicle walls behind me... and they face the south west, so we get full sun all day long... which is great in winter, but in summer it turns the office into a sauna... and we dont have a/c (they keep saying they're going to get it for us, but, well, its um november, and still no a/c. maybe in time for next summer... yeah right).
ReplyDeleteand forget about leaving the floor for a restroom (or even just a sink), try leaving the BUILDING. the closest working restroom is the next building over. lol. its like the dark ages over here. at least its an excuse to be away from my desk for an extended period of time hehe.