Anyhoo (yes "anyway" was already taken).

Firstly I've stuck one of those annoying letter recognition things on the comments, as I've had a couple of anonymous comments come through and somehow I get the impression that they're not quite as, er, human as some others I get. It might have been the "I just came across your blog about **keyword**..." that did it.

Oh, and if anyone finds comment spam buried somewhere in archives let me know where and I'll come and bash it over the head (read: I can't find, and I've realised just how much I've written over the past couple of years).

But at least it was complimentary comment spam (in both senses - spot who just discovered complementary doesn't mean what I thought it meant). Here's how it continues:
...and wanted to drop you a note telling you how impressed I was with the information you have posted here. I also have a web site & blog about **plug** so I know what I'm talking about when I say your site is top-notch! Keep up the great work, you are providing a great resource on the Internet here!"

Top notch - Woo-who uses that phrase anymore?
Two greats in one sentence? Too great.
I'm intrigued by the "also". The link excised from the plug doesn't sound particularly relevant to this blog.

Other stuff:
I've been Azurised - check the link in the sidebar.

I've updated the HitMaps thing. Someone could have told me it's been showing error messages since July.

I've rediscovered various comments I'd forgotten about at the end of August. Tagged on the end of this post are a series of comments from this site's author and her boyfriend.

He leads me to this list of suggestions for bloggers to improve their success. To save space (and ctrl+c or v work) I'm posting only my rejoinders, which will make more sense if you go and read the list (hint: read it. I know what you lot are like about following links. Or of course you could just read the comments and try to guess the original statements, in the style of 42).

1. Not much to add. Either you have to pester or you have to not worry.

2. Assuming the big website's readers follow the link. Working from comparison of traffic from a couple of past big-ish links, about 10% of readers of the big site will come through to here. I doubt if any of them stayed.

3. I know. I still forget to though. Same with Flickr. "Oooh that's good" and I stay and scroll down. "Er..." and I don't.

4. Tuesday's normally best. No idea why.

5. Promotional email? Like those asking if I want cheap meds?

6. But be careful what you say about them (or about other people in the same paragraph as the link. Some people are none too bright and none too patient).

7. Yes it is sexist. Here's a cleavage shot [source].

8. Yeah. I have those. (Who are these people? Nothing is ever sure).

9. Advertising? Um, I don't think I have the stats for it.

10. Because I am me. (I am joking. Ish). Anyway, nothing is ever truly original; it all builds on something else.

11. Well it apparently is, but I know it's not entirely reliable. But I prefer to think something probably slightly underestimates than to know certainly just how pitifully few people come here.

12. Wow, I must have made it to the big time to get comment spam.

13. Bit late. But the deluge hasn't happened any more than for comparable addresses which aren't sitting on a website.

14. Copy and pastage into and out of MS Word (but I don't write in Word as it gets all confused by links).

15. Hmm, I suppose I ought to explicitly state it, even if it is a given.

16. This is not a job. It is a hobby, or maybe a habit.

17. See last answer. It's nice when other people read it and enjoy it, but I try to avoid making pleasing X my aim. I'm of the "write it and they will come" persuasion, even if I know marketing makes sense (and that is marketing in the true sense of find and fill hole, not advertising or sales).

18. Because they're good? They're written by intelligent people who write well, usually with acutely honed observation skills and senses of humour, who are kind to other people even when not suffering fools gladly. Actually that's more "blogs I like" than "popular blogs" (which tend to be humourless fools bitching about one another [i.e. American political blogs]).

19. And also it's a bit embarrassing if there are 4 lines of my comments to every one of anyone else's.

18. Remember to count in the right direction.

20. 1,000 words and 15 links? Does it matter if most of them are La? Even then it's too much like hard work.

21. Criticism by another blogger. Rather assumes they've noticed me in the first place.

22. Sometimes it is hard to find nice things to say. I shouldn't have just admitted that was ever a possibility in some cases, should I?

23. But it keeps people entertained.

24. That's why I don't bother with opinions. Although people who use "IMHO" on their blogs ought to be shot. A. It's on your blog, therefore it's pretty much a given that it's your opinion unless you state otherwise. B. If you feel the need for your thoughts to be introduced by "IMHO" then it probably isn't terribly humble. C. If you use "IMHO" expect to be answered with anything ranging from "WR" to "WTGPR" (the respect escalating with the humbleness of the prior argument).

25. Drat, and there I was saving up the post about my National Insurance number until a slow week.

Anyway, back to the woman who started all this. I'm still not convinced. There's posting regularly and there's fresh posting (just count the PETAs). Plus I'm not completely attuned to all her sensibilities. But all this is a bit moot, or maybe mute, as she's dropped me. Oh well.

One to file under "Yet another blog". Life's not long enough for things which aren't quite there.

And thus Anyhoo unwittingly spake his doom. Perhaps I do have a general lack of thereness. But I can't be arsed to worry about that now.

Anyhoo,