• Stats, more stats, and being googled

    Those of you lured in by my title (no doubt statistics junkies one and all) are in for a little disappointment… there’s no rhyme or reason behind my titles, I just go with the first thing that pops into my head, wether it makes sense or not.

    One of my guilty pleasures is pulling up the stats on this site, provided by WordPress. I say “guilty” because I feel like I’m somehow violating visitors’ privacy… even though relatively little is revealed by the info WordPress shares with it’s users. If you’re running your own server, or if you’re running an installation of WordPress on server space you rent elsewhere, there’s ALL kinds of info you can glean about your visitors. Many of you probably already know this, but the little teacher in me loves a good lecture. I’m tripping on the power of knowledge! (… even if my share is below the per-capita average.).

    I can see how many unique visitors I get each day (and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank both of you for visiting), what search terms people are using to find this blog, and which pages are getting individual hits. I expect this number to be quite low, because my main page shows entire entries, not intros that require click-throughs to read the rest of the entry. In fact, it’s surprising to me that I get any at all. Unless my site is being read with a feed reader – that might prompt page views on individual entries that look enticing – which itself would be a big surprise.

    There’s one entry in particular that almost never fails to get at least one hit every day. I’m going to fudge the entry’s title, to avoid more possible misleading search results: “Beware of a-r-e-a c-o-d-e 3-5-2.” This little entry chronicling my tight-fisted shame has been reeling readers in by the handful, and I feel a little bad. Quite unexpectedly, a google search for a-r-e-a c-o-d-e 3-5-2 returns my entry on the first page of results (or it did last night anyway). I can’t help but wonder how many people are looking for useful info about the greater Gainesville (FL) area or UF, and instead are getting my crap entry about personal shortcomings.

  • Cowardice

    Written 8/18 and forgotten…

    I know it’s a coping strategy – wholly reasonable and acceptable by most standards, but I feel guilty. This morning when the kids woke up I wanted to play, share their youthful enthusiasm, and take heart from the knowledge that some of that enthusiasm was because of me. This morning when my wife was quietly reading the news, sipping her coffee, I snuck up behind her for one of several hugs, reminding her how much I love her. This evening my dad came over for dinner and I was determined to be in a good mood, to discuss happy times, and chat up common interests.

    Now everyone has gone to bed and I can’t help but slide back into this funk I can only assume is a blood relative to survivor’s guilt. I know my mother would want me to be happy. Some part of me believes that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying time with family; and that cheering up dad is probably a good thing. I’m glad to do it and all, I just feel guilty doing it.

  • Channeling the spirits of Kauffmans past

    There aren’t many comments as likely to draw my dinner table ire than “I want to save room for desert.” There are few times when I feel such a close kinship with my father. (Based on the title, you may think my father is deceased. He’s not, but I figure there’s a better than even chance he got it from his father too.)

    I can’t decide if I object to the comment with a pure, honest desire for my kids to eat well… or if I’m a victim of the “if I had to, you do too” phenomenon.