40,000 Hits!

I haven't been paying close attention to my hit counter recently. I still go to StatCounter just to see who has visited - I like seeing who my regular visitors are. Makes me feel happy to see familiar "faces" out there. And now that StatCounter has added a map feature, I can see just where everyone is on the planet: big cluster from DC through the Northeast up into Canada, a handful of midwesterners, a few in the Pacific Northwest, Javi in L.A. - who shows up as an ISP in Texas(!!), a group in California, and small but hearty groups in the UK, Norway, Germany, and Australia.

I'm not counting the people in Russia and Ukraine who hit my blog looking for "cannibals" or "Moscow hookers." I don't think they're regular readers. That, my friends, is what is known as a "specialty search hit."

Ahem.

But last night, I actually looked at the hit counter and was surprised to see it just fifteen clicks away from 40K. I thought I might stay up and see it turn over (I'm that way, too, about my car's odometer - if I miss it turn at a 1,000-point, I'm bummed.) However, my body had other ideas, and sleep won out.

So, while I dreamed really freaky dreams, someone turned my blog odometer to 40,000. It was about 2:20 in the a.m. here, which isn't a surprise, as the visitor was someone whose IP I recognize as a regular visitor from California.

I don't know who you are, friend, but when you visit, it's via the blog of the talented and accident prone Magazine Man. I've come to call you "Snuh-loca" when I see you on StatCounter, as your IP address includes the letters "snloca"... As in, "ah, 'Snuh-loca from California' was here today!"

So, thanks, Snuh-loca, unknown Verizon DSL user! Decloak sometime and let me know who you are.

And thanks, everyone, for visting, reading, and - most recently - for all the kind words, good thoughts, and support while I try to deal with the eye. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Best to you all,

Merujo