For those of you who wonder, it does seem that quality leads to quantity. My per-day hit average has been in the 450′s over the last few months. Not bad. This last week, though, I saw a drop every single day, culminating in a hit count of only 253 yesterday. Why?
Because I was essentially on vacation and lazing it up at home. I did the bare minimum with the blog, and my hit totals show that the bare minimum of readers paid it any attention. This is, without a doubt, proof that quality begats quantity.
But I’m back to working/blogging like normal now. And I guess I’ll touch a bit on things I’ve largely ignored this week.
First, Ann Coulter, constant bitch, has published a truly vile piece about gays and “girls” in the military and how neither belong, but especially the gays! She’s always struck me as the kind of woman who wouldn’t have led Anne Frank’s family into the gas chambers, but would’ve been happy to tell the SS where they were hiding.
Second, let’s all boycott the Salvation Army. Yes, they do a lot of good work, and once helped pay my rent, but they have a really weird Christian fundamentalist agenda that discriminates against gays, as well as wizards and vampires.
Third, and for those who love a little cynicism with their blog reading, there’s an article on Salon talking about the end of the “American century” and how our “empire” will fall. While none of the scenarios listed are impossible, all seem implausible to greater or lesser degrees and make several assumptions that are not necessarily likely (ie: I don’t see China bothering to launch a massive cyber-attack to destroy the US military might, and I strongly doubt the various Arab Gulf states will ally themselves extensively with the Persian state of Iran). While we will likely slink into second place over the next few decades, I doubt it’s going to be as bad as all that, and if in the end we wind up more like Western Europe is today, well, I can think of worse things.
Fourth, Terry Pratchett has written a wonderful and touching article about Alzheimer’s, which he has. There’s not really much more that I can say about it, except that you should read it.
Finally, over at Vanity Fair, the always-entertaining Hitch has a few choice words about the Tea Party. They’re about as pleasant and friendly as you’d expect.
So I’ve neglected a few things this week, but I’m back now. Brace for quality, which will hopefully result in an increase in quantity. 
right after I read Dawkins’ 
. Dawkins’ book is much more of a purely intellectual exercise, while Hitch’s is both intellect and emotion, mixing the two to make for a really fascinating read. It’s safe to say that had I not read his book, I likely wouldn’t approach my lack of belief in the same way I do now.
