Schinckel.net

I’ve written about referrer logs before, on various points, but today something strange occurred. I checked my referrer logs just now, and I had nearly 500 hits. Cool, but it’s only early in the (server) day, and I normally only get around 300 for the whole day. So, I checked the logs, and most of them are DIRECT, and point to invalid URLs. The weird thing is that they are all /wp/admin/, and I am the only user. When I try to visit one, it fails:

http://schinckel.net/wp-admin/www.blogsome.com//page/5/

Not only is it a weird URL, with a www.blogsome.com, and /wp-admin/, it’s also got a double slash (//). But otherwise, it nearly points to a valid page (schinckel.net/page/5/ is a valid and active URL). Strange.

I was reading up on the WordPress SEO scandal from late March/early April, and a comment I found in it got me thinking about keyword values. I then found a page that offers to sell a list of keywords, that can be used on Overture (a competitor to Adwords/Adsense) to receive high dollar values per click. (I’m not going to link to it, to protect you, loyal reader…) They ask for a payment of US$99. Bargain! (Note sarcasm). I’m not suggesting I’ll get into any SEO stuff, or try to scam Adsense, I tjust thought it was interesting to see how people do make money. Of course, it reminds me of the books you can buy telling you how to make a million dollars. I think the best way to become a millionare is to write a book telling other people how to do it, and sell 50,000 copies at $20 each.

One of my pet hates is the lack of knowledge about which your/you’re should be used in a particular context. From JB Hi-Fi’s website.

If your looking for batteries, headphones, plugs and leads or cleaning products, venture into any one of our stores and experience the JB - You’ve done it again philosophy.

I’m not totally happy with the standard iPod headphones. They don’t prevent much noise from outside, and they tend to make my ears sore after a few hours of listening. Quite by accident, I came across a review on Amazon.com for some Sony ‘in-ear’ headphones, that have silicon buds that actually seal quite well in the ear, increasing both comfort and noise reduction. I went into Sony Central in the city, and they have them, but at $99. I’m not quite sure I’m ready to buy $100 headphones.

Drunken Batman has an interesting post about the failures of trackbacks, and how he is going to remove them from his site in the near future.

He actually makes an interesting point at one stage in the post:

I did put the trackbacks over the comments for a reason, and preferred them over the comments for a reason. In a small way, trackback encouraged people to do their own site, because, well, they had to have one in order to trackback and have their stuff right there front and center and maybe get some hits from it.

I found this quite amusing, especially after this comment I received some time ago:

Blogs have polluted the web. Now, every time I search for a topic, most of the links send me to blogs. I want real information, not some blogger’s thoughts on the matter. How boring.

The irony of this comment is that I originally started a blog so I can post the sort of information I had searched for, and struggled to find initially, and then worked out for myself. My “thoughts on the matter” are indeed egotistical, but I’m like that. People as good as me usually are.)

Of course, by this I mean ideas for my next novel, not NEW ideas. Biology: Removal of junk DNA as part of creating the perfect soldier. Switching on our tail gene. Black Comedy: Person who kills people for their annoying habits/actions. Phone ringtones, 8 items or less, driving slowly in right lane. Historical Fiction: Eighteen Hundred & Froze to Death. The year Summer never came. (1816).

We Are All Made Of Stars • 18 • Moby

I got a phone call from a guy from TransAdelaide, or the Adelaide Metro, or something like that yesterday. I won the weekly draw, or monthly draw, or whatever; and won 2 tickets to paradise either the MotoCross or Monster Trucks at the Adelaide Entertainment Center mid August. Now, neither of these really appeal to me, but I’ll go anyway - I guess the fans expect me to… So, according to the email I received from them “YOU ARE THE WINNER!”. Luckily I was expecting it, otherwise I would have likely dumped it, since it looks an awful lot like a heap of the SPAM I’ve been getting lately.

I’ve been a member of the freecycle-adelaide list for a few months now - I’ve given away some stuff, and picked up a few good things, including a push mower. Recently, A Current Affair did a story on it, and now the list is filled with people asking for stuff. The moderator posted a message reminding everyone that you are supposed to only rarely ask for things, and must offer before asking for anything. I haven’t asked for anything - I see it as a way to use other people’s stuff they need to get rid of, not prompt someone to give stuff away. Anyway, I’m thinking about unsubscribing, as I had 78 new emails today, and 77 of them were either SPAM or [freecycle-adelaide] things. And not much there that was that interesting.

To stop an Application appearing in the Dock under Mac OS X add the following to the Contents/Info.plist:

1
2

    <key>NSUIElement</key>
    <string>1</string>

I use the fantastic Camino browser for MacOS X, and the latest update has something nice: better looking tab panels.