When Second Was Best

Did you know The Beatles lost out to Brian Poole and The Tremeloes when the two groups auditioned in 1962 for a contract at the London studios of Decca Records? Reportedly, Decca's decision was based upon location; The Tremeloes were from the London area, making them more accessible than the Liverpool-based Beatles.

Do You Love Me



Here Comes My Baby

March Stats

A few months ago, I decided to add a StatCounter as so to keep a better running count of visitors than the Feedjit Counter. Google Analytics seems to do a decent job, but I wanted to check those figures against another site counter.  StatCounter sends a monthly total, too, where as I have to go to Google to view the numbers.   I'm lazy, what can I say?

I also am not obsessed with the numbers, but just find them interesting.  I *might* be obsessed if this blog got thousands of hits each day, but....

As I have mentioned before, I was a little disappointed that page loads does not equal visitors.  (I thought this blog was more popular than it actually is.  Wishful thinking, I guess.) The new StatCounter keeps up with those, but it also counts first time visits as well as returning visits.  I have it set to ignore my own visits to the blog, but have to reset it when I clear cache and cookies. (the counter is "hidden" in the right-hand nav bar in the box at the very bottom. It's not actually hidden, but I have it set to a tiny size as so to not be so obvious to the casual visitor.)

Here's a screen shot of last month's stats:

Bring The Funk-Parliament Funkadelic

Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry

Funky Town - Lipps Inc.

Do The Funky Chicken - Rufus Thomas

Why I'm Funky

Your Quirkiness Makes You Funky

You're a little different, and you're proud of that. You purposely seek out the odder side of life. You think the mainstream is boring. The most interesting parts of life are undiscovered or at least underrated. You're probably a little old fashioned as well. Once you like something, you stick with it... even if it goes out of style. You've also found that the past is a rich place to scour for new things to love. You can't believe how many cool things have been forgotten. People who don't know you well may thing you're a bit strange, but they often come around to you over time. You are a rich source of knowledge and insight. You have more depth to you than most anyone else in this world.

What Makes You Funky?

Where's My Refund?

Check your refund status at the IRS website.

Easy enough to do; input your SS#, your filing status and the exact amount of your refund and a graph will appear telling you the status of your refund.

I filed electronically last week (the first time I've ever filed online; it's also unusually early for me - I almost always wait until the last minute), so my refund isn't too far along in the process.  The site says that checks will be mailed (or credited to your bank account, which is, from what I've read, how it will be done in the near future) within 21 days.

The IRS also says to check only once a day.

Where's My Refund?

Largest Easter Egg Hunt

The largest Easter Egg hunt on record took place in 2007 at the Cypress Gardens theme park in Winter Haven, Florida. It took the 9,700 participants just one hour to find the 510,000 candy eggs.

Source:  Guinness World Records

Wisdom of the Easter Bunny

All I need to know about life I learned from the Easter Bunny


Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Walk softly and carry a big carrot.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans.

Good things come in small-sugarcoated packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.

To show your true colors you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

"Father, Forgive Them"

Originally posted 4/10/09.  A "bump" for Good Friday. Other Groom Cross posts (and mentions)

Sincerely Another Quiz

Pretty close, except for the "conscientious and responsible" part.  And the "procrastinating or shirking", too. Oh, and the "puts manners first" is way off as well.  I DO try to make sure my emails are well-composed, though.  They're often always too wordy, but.... Thank goodness for spell check.

One of the questions was "When was the last time you hand-wrote a letter?"  I'm glad "I can't remember" was one of the choices, because I honestly can't remember.  It's probably been over fifteen years ago, before I got a computer, for sure.  It's hard for me to sign my name on a credit card slip; I've almost forgotten how to write.

I'm really not a "sincerely" type of person.  If it's a friend or family member, I usually sign off with "Love";  if it's a stranger, it's "Regards".  Most of the time I don't put anything other than my name.

You Are Sincerely

You're the type of person who puts manners first. You always act appropriately. You are conscientious and responsible. You don't like the feeling of procrastinating or shirking. While you don't always sign your emails 'Sincerely,' you make sure that they are well composed. Whether you're emailing a friend or a business associate, you take the time to double check your words. More than any other type, you make sure email doesn't pile up for you. You know it's important to reply quickly. Some may say that email is going out of style, but you still consider it an art form. And you couldn't imagine living without it.

What Email Sign Off Are You?

Maybe the quiz says I use "Sincerely" because this song came out the year I was born.  Just like me, an oldie but a goody.

Rank & Worth

ToTG is ranked #8,129,387 in the world according to Website Value. Different sites give some vastly different rankings, especially in what ToTG is "worth". ValueMyWeb says it's worth $499. I've said this before, but I'd sell it for that in a New York minute except I was taught to never cheat anyone.

webArbiter says it's worth $457. Yeah, right.

Alexa, arguably the most accurate of these types of statistics sites, globally ranks ToTG #23,066,013.

SiteWorthGet said this blog was worth $139, but after updating the information, its worth is now $109. I shouldn't have updated it, it depreciated 21 bucks with one mouse click! (the content has greatly depreciated over the years since I started it, too)

OTOH, siteworthchecker had a value of Zero, Zilch, Nada...the big ol' goose egg $0 but after an update, it is also now valued at $109. To be honest, that still seems way too a little high.

I guess "worth" means the potential for earning, but since there's no ads, that's a moot point. The numbers vary from site-to-site, but most of the estimated earnings come in at around ten bucks/month. It's worth $10 to me to NOT subject my few readers to ads and the potential for trojans/viruses many hosted ads contain not to mention the invasion of privacy and all-around annoyance of them.  I use various ad block extensions on my Firefox browser and I expect many others do as well.  If not, they should. 

urlpulse says it's ranked #28,916,047 in the world, #2,318,571 in the United States and worth $855.30, with a value per visitor of .03 cents.

Maybe that's why this blog doesn't get many visitors or many people leaving their two cents worth. I'd hate to post here too and have my worth devalued by 2/3.

Heart Skips a Beat - Lenka

I'm a Fun Guy!

Did you know mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants?

Mushrooms are fungi, which are actually genetically closer to animals than they are to plants. Scientists use a genealogical path known as the Tree of Life to trace the evolution of living organisms, and they have determined that fungi share a common ancestor with animals and are completely branched off from plants.

Fungi and animals have to turn to external sources for their food sources, but plants can produce their own nutrients. Chitin, a complex carbohydrate responsible for cell wall structure, is a molecule that is shared by fungi and animals but is not found in plants.

wiseGEEK: Learn Something New Every Day

Treat Her Right - The Commitments

Good News, Bad News

The bad news is it's taking its own sweet time getting here.

Tongue Out-of-Cheek

Did you know the Okapi is the only mammal capable of cleaning its ears and eyelids with its tongue? Their tongue can be up to a foot long.

Okapi at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Congo



Although Gene Simmons comes close.

I Rattle and Roll Them, Too

You Are a Rule Shaker

You generally follow the rules, but every now and then you like to shake things up a bit. You are both a rule maker and a rule breaker. You appreciate rules, but you also think they should be questioned. You think rules generally promote social order, and you're in favor of them - in principle. You also know, though, that rules can become outdated or irrelevant. You are willing to break a rule if you think there is cause to. You maintain flexibility with the rules you set up for yourself and others in your life. You aren't too strict about anything. In your opinion, there is always a middle ground. It's often best just to use your judgment instead of following a particular rule.

Are You a Rule Breaker or a Rule Maker?

Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell

I saw an article about origami the other day and it reminded me of an old friend from MSN Groups, Brad (in Kentucky).  I've been thinking of him a lot here lately and remembered he once said Joni Mitchell was his favorite musical artist.   So, here's thinking of you, Binky.  R.I.P.

primaveral

 

primaveral pri·ma·ve·ral [prahy-muh-veer-uhl] adjective
of, in, or pertaining to the early springtime

---

I have some primaveral longings for springtime, mostly so my heating bill will go down.

What Took You So Little?

I was checking out the StatCounter statistics; since this blog isn't monetized, it really doesn't matter about the number of visitors, but I have the counter mostly to satisfy my own curiosity as to just who - and to a lesser extent, how many - people visit. It's also interesting to see where they come from and what they're searching for.  I also like to see what browser and operating system they're using.  It doesn't keep a running total like the StatCounter does, but my Feedjit counter does a good job in "real time" letting me know who is visiting, what they were looking for and what country they're from.

I've only had the counter for a couple of months and learned something after going by the Google Analytics page statistics; I used to think this blog had about a hundred visitors every day, but that was "page loads" and not unique visitors.  That figure is usually from 30-40. Oh well. (the counter doesn't give detailed stats on the https traffic;  for that, I'd have to pay for it and I certainly don't want to do that!)

One statistic I hadn't checked before was the length of stay and I was a little dismayed to see how little time most people spent here. Here's a screen capture of that particular stat:

As you can see, nearly 80% spend less than five seconds after they get here. One thing I'll give 'em...they recognize a worthless blog when they see one.

The 9 that stayed longer than an hour must have fallen asleep at their computer.

qualm

 

qualm [kwahm, kwawm] noun

1. an uneasy feeling or pang of conscience as to conduct; compunction: He has no qualms about lying.
2. a sudden feeling of apprehensive uneasiness; misgiving: a sudden qualm about the success of the venture.
3. a sudden sensation or onset of faintness or illness, especially of nausea.

---

I don't have any qualms about subjecting my readers to my usual crappy posts. OTOH, they probably have a qualm when they read my crappy posts.

Enter Sandman - Metallica

Live at Nimes

How a Key Lock Works

How a standard key lock actually works:

From the site: I have always wanted to know how exactly a key engages with the lock, but of course I never bothered to do any research. This is how.



EDIT: I hope this doesn't break any copyright laws; I used the share feature in my reader and that's a hotlinked graphic from Today I Learned. If the webmaster sees it in his web logs and complains, I'll take it down. I'm off to ask permission!

EDIT (again): Just got a reply from the owner of the site saying it was fine, but to please put in a link.  I had linked to the article at the top of the post, but will put it in again.

How a standard key lock actually works

From Today I Learned Something New

The Bookshelf Test

Your Bookshelf is Comforting

You collect books because you love to read. You love stories, and you reread your favorites over and over again. It's hard for you to pass up a book by your favorite author. Once you find a writer you love, you tend to read his or her whole catalog. Your favorite books are full of engaging stories, relatable characters, and surprising plot twists. You like to be immersed in a story. You read when you want to relax a bit or get away from the dreariness of life. Nothing renews you like a book. You love books for what's in them, and you don't get too caught up in the appearances of your collection.  In fact, some of your favorite books are well worn, sentimental favorites. That's worth more to you than the latest shiny hardback.

The Bookshelf Test

The Cup Song

A new twist on an old game.



'Cups': Newfangled patty-cake game goes viral among young girls

There Are No Stupid Questions

I've heard that all my life, but earlier today on Facebook, I saw these questions posed by someone who was trying to be clever.  I decided I'd answer them.

If Mars had earthquakes would they be called marsquakes?

Yes, Wikipedia has an entry: Marsquake. Don't trust Wiki? Check out this article on the respected Space.com: Marsquakes: Red Planet May Still Rumble. It was even in the news a few months back: NASA wants to measure 'Marsquakes'

When lightening strikes the ocean, why don’t all the fish die?

First, it's spelled "lightning" and if fish were in the immediate vicinity of a lightning strike, they'd probably die, but fortunately for marine life, the electrical current spreads out and dissipates until it becomes too weak to do any harm.

How far away from the immediate strike do fish still die?  Ewen Thomson, an electrical engineer at the University of Florida says the "lethal distance,"  depends on (1) how much current there is in a lightning bolt and (2) how much current it takes to electrocute a fish. Ichthyologists (fish biologists) sometimes catch fish to study by zapping them with electricity. The best estimates are that lightning bolts probably don't kill fish more than 200 feet away in salt water, even less distance in fresh water. (because salt water conducts electricity better)

If there’s a speed of light and a speed of sound, is there a speed of smell?

The speed of an odor from source to the time your brain registers it depends upon the air currents and your own neural impulses.  So, there's no set speed of smell.

Can you cry underwater?

Of course you can.  The tears will rapidly dissolve into the surrounding water, but tears can be leaving the tear duct.  If you're wearing a mask, then it's feasible that you could cry enough to fill it up.  Doubtful, but feasible.  If you are in that much pain or having that much grief underwater, it's probably best to get to the surface ASAP...unless you're TRYING to drown yourself, then....

Does the postman deliver his own mail?

If his house is on his route he would.  Why wouldn't he? (or she - the proper term now is "letter carrier")  I was friends with my regular letter carrier and he told me routes are often rotated amongst all of them, with the more senior carriers getting their choice of the best routes. 

That said, I went to both the official USPS website as well as the one for the letter carrier's union and couldn't find anything.  I did see a phone number, so I dialed it and after FINALLY being transferred to a human, I asked the question.  She was taken aback and then looked through all of her "pat answers" and found nothing, but agreed with me there didn't seem to be any rules or regulations against it.  We both didn't think a carrier would be dispatched ONLY to deliver another carrier's mail.

Why is there a light in the refrigerator and not in the freezer?

The newer "side by side" fridges do have lights in both compartments.  Back in the days before the advent of LED lights and frost-free freezers, putting a light into the freezer compartment was an engineering challenge. An incandescent light globe in the freezer will generate heat while the door is open, and will be covered in frost soon after the door is closed.  The sudden temperature change and moisture could cause the bulb to shatter when the door is opened again.  In my search for the answer, I found several sites that sell add-on lights for freezers without lights.

Can crop circles be square?

If something is square, it can't be a circle, but there ARE squares that have been found inside the "mysterious" crop circles.   Google "crop circles with squares" images and you'll see them with not only squares, but triangles and other non-circle geometric shapes inside them.

Are eyebrows considered facial hair?

Eyebrows are on your face, therefore by definition they ARE facial hair. 

Is there ever a day mattresses aren’t on sale?

Well, the seemingly continuous sales aside, the answer has to be "Yes", simply due to the fact that most mattress stores aren't open every day.  Most are closed on Sundays and nearly all are closed on major holidays.  They can't have a sale if they're not open. Every store I've ever been to has sales on merchandise, even item specific businesses;   for example, tire stores have sales on the products that aren't selling well or tires they've got a deal on for buying in bulk and can offer them at a discount to their customers.  The same is true for places that sell stationery, liquor stores, clothing shops, etc.  

From my own short time spent working in a furniture store, I learned that mattresses have a huge mark-up in price and a "sale" might only mean the product is "marked down" to the store's regular profit margin.  Just a trick of the trade, used in many other businesses.  Other than that sneaky tactic, it's hard to begrudge them a good profit because a mattress store can have quite a bit of money tied up in inventory, what with different brands, styles, sizes, etc.  Also, if a customer buys a mattress, they probably won't be back for a replacement for at least four/five years or longer.

How come lemon washing up liquid contains real lemons but lemon juice has artificial flavorings?

The stupidest question of a stupid bunch.  How can a real lemon have artificial flavorings?

What's really stupid was me spending any amount of time finding the answers to these stupid questions.

When You Really Loved Someone-Agnetha Fältskog

Capital Trivia

Did you know the least populous state capital in the U.S. is Montpelier, Vermont? Its population, according to the 2010 Census, is 7,855.

Did you know the most populous state capital is Phoenix, Arizona, with a population of 1,445,632?

List of capitals in the United States

Roundabout - Yes

RIP Peter Banks



There were other better known Yes tunes I could have chosen, but this is the one that first comes to my mind when I think of the group. My roommate in college used to play the opening riff on his guitar and we'd listen to their album all night long, leaving it on the turntable where it would play over and over and over.

Psychic NASCAR

The other day I saw a quote attributed to Edgar Cayce on our Quote of the Day module in the right-hand column and while the name rang a bell, I wasn't for sure just exactly who he was. After a quick bit of research, I was reminded he was famous for being a psychic. I then went to the source of the quote and saw this:

What I'd like to know is what does Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton have to do with Cayce? For that matter why is Ric Flair, a pro wrestler or Fred Rogers - Mr. Rogers - included in the list? Why are racing legends Dale Earnhardt and Mario Andretti on there, too? That's more of a mystery than Edgar Cayce's alleged psychic abilities.

I wanted to put a really clever headline on this post and I did some looking around the 'net for words that rhymed with "psychic" but there aren't that many. Too bad there wasn't a soccer player on the list or I could have used "Kick Psychic" or some variation. Oh well. I did find some pyschic jokes; here are a couple of the best ones.

Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died. -- Steven Wright

Two psychic healers meet in the street - "You're fine - how am I?"

Under the Google search for psychic jokes was this: 9 Psychic Jokes I'm Sick Of where a psychic explains why she doesn't find certain jokes about psychics funny at all. (Personally, I thought some of them hilarious) At first, my eyes were drawn to her phone rate for psychic reading - $4.99/minute -(which I found offensive) then I saw something she had written about herself that was much funnier than the jokes she found offensive.

Ever since I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, I haven't needed a crystal ball. I could see visions in a toothbrush!

Wow.  Schizophrenia + psychic ability + a toothbrush.  There's gotta be a joke there somewhere.  One will probably come to me later in a vision.