Categories

Archives

Planning for WMC

Given that I let another unused domain name I own expire, and that I do not do as much blawging as I have in years past, and that I have redoubled my efforts in designing and maintaining several additional websites out of the kindness of my heart (and to get something of a portfolio started), I am beginning to plan for some changes to this here website, my little home on the 21st century range.

I want to reorganize this space to give more priority to a few sub-pages related to interests and my current activities, and dial back the significance of the actual blog stream, which you can see has slowed to a trickle over the past six months.

Long-term I need to learn how to set aside time for recreational writing, recreational meaning stuff I don’t necessarily get paid for (for this website, the MINI website, and the BMW / MINI newsletter).

I had a reaction to the nuclear issue following Japan’s quake and tsunami, but — just as I was railing against nuclear apologists who immediately jumped the shark and described all the redundancies that they said would make Fukushima Daiichi a non-issue — it was too early to be weighing in with an opinion.

Suffice to say, I do not think that burying nuclear molten caches in sand throughout the globe is a realistic and suitable option for dealing when nuclear goes awry. And the situation in Japan illustrates a distinct lack of premonitory skills among the world’s best minds who undoubtably strive to make things “fail-safe.” All the redundancies in the world planned for today’s and tomorrow’s nuclear reactors can not envision what will happen 10, 20, 50 years into the future — as today’s facilities designed in the 50s and 60s and built in the 60s and 70s demonstrate.

WMC Now Ad-Free!

Last Friday I received an e-mail from Google stating that my website was in violation of the terms of service for its AdSense advertising service. They flagged a post from five years ago, where I linked to an interview with the creator of “Real Dolls” and complained that a great deal of my site traffic was coming from search engine searches for said sex dolls (I had previously posted a link and excerpts from an article on them – they start at $5000, and apparently there’s a market. It had piqued my curiosity, what can I say?)

AdSense’s TOS restrict service to websites with “adult, mature, or pornographic” content. I’ve kept this in mind, but guess I focused on the key word of pornographic, as I tend to think of politics or even the weather as “adult” or “mature” topics – obviously there’s little sense in such a vague proscription. And my personal definition of pornography revolves around the express intent of getting off, which this website has never attempted to provide for anyone.

I requested a clarification on how exactly to bring my blog in line with their expectations – was their problem with the content, the linkage to the manufacturer’s site, or the long-broken image anchors? I received no response and my service was interrupted as promised three days after the initial notice.

It seems like Google allows itself to be the premier conduit for pornography the world over, but AdSense advertisers are expected to maintain a puritanical theme of fluffy bunnies and stork-delivered conception, suitable for the rug rat set whom Google’s advertising apparently targets.

I never made a dime with AdSense as this site never generated enough traffic to drum up the required threshold earnings (before they send your check), and I’ve only intermittently displayed ads in the first place. I might investigate alternative services, but for now it’s a low priority. Self-absorbed schizophrenic personal blogs have never been big money makers, after all.

So long, AdSense, it’s been nice sending you what limited traffic I could, for no compensation.

Expect a post soon about my Monticello track day. I had a blast and the car performed without fault.

Site Update Quickie

I made a few changes to the site today. Changed the header, minimal updates to the MINI and About sections.

I’ve been watching a lot of Letterman. I was uncomfortable even sitting in my living room watching McCain attempt humor. But Tina Fey was great last night. Tonight is supposed to be the night we get a Fey – Palin face off on SNL. I’m a bit disappointed they would even have Palin on, but I understand the draw.

No inclination to make a substantial post, but tomorrow is the last autocross so I should have results afterwards. (Come to think of it, I never made a post about the last event in September… Sheeet.)

Carry onward, you crazy Christian soldiers!

The Best Popcorn On Earth

Dale & Thomas’ Popcorn from Popcorn, Indiana. Limited selection available on store shelves, or WOW a huge variety online. I could eat the Aged White Cheddar morning, noon, and night. But I think I’m going to purchase a sampler online sometime soon. Maybe the Chocolate Lover’s 6-pack variety?

I just wish the website had shirts. I would totally rock a Dale & Thomas’ Popcorn shirt.

‘Motoring’ Category Nearly Separate

Awhile back I themed the motoring category with its own unique theme to try to differentiate it a bit. Check it out. I need to work on it more, but I’m not running into any huge problems, so that’s a relief.

Now I just need to give it a nicer URL. And then it’s onto the next one. I’ll probably do something for the writing section so that I can display it to prospective employers. (Yes, I’m still fucking unemployed. Although I’ve earned a few dollars here and there.)

There will be more posts to come.

Google Analytics & Site Stuff

Two weeks ago I decided to give Google Analytics another try. It’s changed quite a bit since I originally set up my account, and it’s all for the better. After getting some data to parse, I have to say it’s one of the better site trackers I’ve used.

Unfortunately, the picture it paints is dreary. The average visit time is just a hair over one minute, and more than 80% of visitors view one page and then leave. 90% of visitors are new, which seems nice, but the largest draw continues to be two posts that I made about “Real Dolls” from a couple years ago.

As I’ve lamented before, the site is being pulled in a hundred directions, and it’s impacting readability and quality. Divvying up the posts from here onto multiple sites would take ages, and I like being able to access everyone from a single back-end.

So I’m going to renew my efforts of creating multiple front-ends for the categories. Mostly, I want to separate the “motoring,” “politics,” and “health” categories into their own mini sites.

We’ll see how it plays out.

Sex Dolls Still Plaguing Me

Last week I changed my hosts, and I no longer have cPanel access. This mean I no longer have access to the really good, detailed site statistic logger things. So I made an account at sitemeter.com and slapped the little link up on my right-hand column. It’s there, click on it and check out the stats if you want.

Anyways, to test it, I went to the blog and then checked to see that my visit was logged. I already had another visitor too, and it was to an old post, one of my most popular. Five days from now, it’ll be two years since I blogged about “the World’s Finest Love Doll.” It was just a humorous story, I thought. But since then, it’s been one of the most popular entries on this site, and searches for that story are one of my biggest draws. This particular chap searched yahoo.com for “male real sex doll.”

Guess who’s the first hit? I’m getting a lot of hits because I quoted the article extensively, and for a while, nerve.com was requiring you to register to read the article. (Today I was able to go back and read the whole thing. Your mileage may vary)

Other related “Love Doll” posts..

I Have The Worst Visitors
Back By Popular Demand – A Real Doll Post

The original article at nerve.com that started it all.