Day: October 22, 2005

points out a New York Times press release which crows about the wonderful success of the NYT’s web site:
NEW YORK, Oct 20, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The New York Times Company reported that for September NYTimes.com achieved record traffic of 21.3 million unique visitors worldwide, a 49% increase from September of last year, according to internal data. NYTimes.com generated 561 million page views, up 17% year over year.
Mickey rightfully notes that somehow, the “stunning success” of the pay-for-punditry TimesSelect service seems to have been left out of the release. But if I were a NYT stockholder (and I’m sure glad I’m not) I’d be asking what they’ve got to be so proud of in the numbers they are reporting.
For context, here’s a table of the NYT’s September daily visits compared against those of some top-tier bloggers:

Site	September Visits
NY Times	21,300,000
Daily Kos	20,480,000
Gizmodo	7,360,000
Instapundit.com	4,500,000
Gawker	4,500,000
Eschaton	4,160,000
Defamer	2,880,000
Go Fug Yourself	2,600,000
Power Line	2,300,000
Wonkette	2,100,000

I don’t know about you, but “NYTimes.com: we’re slightly more popular than that Kos guy!” doesn’t strike me as a huge boast for a $3.3B media company. Maybe stick with “The New York Times: eight times more popular than those chicks that can’t stand Kirstin Dunst’s outfits.”

Folks:
The Miers nomination is reaching a critical point, with of her withdrawl swirling and conservative fixtures such as Jonah Goldberg and George Will coming out in opposition.
Recognizing that the Supreme Court is deliberately designed as a non-representative part of our government, I’d still like to hear clearly from bloggers as to whether they give Miers a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
So let’s make this simple: if you want to have your position noted, post your argument and include one of the following exact phrases (quotes and formatting are not required):
“I oppose the Miers nomination.” – If you believe the nomination should be withdrawn or, barring that, she should be voted down in the Senate.
“I support the Miers nomination.” – If you believe Ms. Miers should be confirmed.
“I am neutral on the Miers nomination.” – If for whatever reason, you either have not yet made up your mind, or do not plan to take a position either way.
(For group blogs, you can also use the appropriate phrasing “We oppose”, “We support”, and “We are neutral.”)
I will implement some code this weekend to search for the phrases above, and generate a running list of bloggers for, against, and neutral on the nomination. This will be much more interesting than a standard online poll, as it will ensure “one-blog-one-vote”, and avoid the usual ballot-stuffing silliness of online surveys.
(And yes, for me to scan your blog properly you will need to be registered in the Ecosystem, which is painless, free, and can be done right here.)
I’ll let you know when the tracking page is online, but it will be tomorrow at the latest. So start declaring!
Update: The tracking page is done and is now online here.
Please note that your position will not show up immediately, as the scans are run regularly every evening. While I am personally online today, however, if I notice that you’ve stated your position I’ll update your position manually.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: mess with the little creatures. They’ll bite your ankles.
LONDON, England (Reuters) — A rat released on a deserted island off New Zealand outsmarted scientists and evaded traps, baits and sniffer dogs before being captured four months later on a neighboring island, researchers have said.
Scientists from the University of Auckland in New Zealand released the Norway rat on the 23.5-acre island of Motuhoropapa to find out why rats are so difficult to eradicate.
They got more than they bargained for…
Despite all their efforts, including fitting the rat with a radio collar, they couldn’t catch the crafty creature.
After 10 weeks on the island the rodent decided it had had enough. It swam 400 meters, the longest distance recorded for a rat across open sea, to another rat-free island where it was eventually captured in a trap baited with penguin meat several weeks later.

Today&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 22, 2005 &nbsp
Semper Liberi – Don Surber (13)
Think again – Power Line (7)
Light at the End of the Miers Tunnel?: – The Volokh Conspiracy – – (5)
The Friday Night Celeb Spot – Wizbang (4)
Lashing Out At Bloggers In Iran – The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta (3)
"Insiders see hint of Miers pullout": Saturday's – How Appealing (3)
A Miered Religion – Confederate Yankee (3)
The Quake That Disappeared – Confederate Yankee (3)
What The Hell Is At The Top Of The Page? – Vince Aut Morire (3)
Anticipa-a-a-a-ation – firedoglake (2)

Yesterday&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp october 21, 2005 &nbsp
"WE HAVE TO EXTERMINATE WHITE PEOPLE" – Michelle Malkin (27)
Oh yeah, you know what day it is! – NIF (24)
BREAKING: DeLay’s Lawyer Lies About MoveOn – Think Progress (24)
Ye Ladies of Easy Leisure – Crooked Timber (23)
IT'S THE SMELL OF TEXAS HOME C – Instapundit.com (22)
Friday Ark #57 – Modulator (19)
THE DAMNING FEMA E-MAILS – Michelle Malkin (19)
Open Trackbacks Friday! – Oblogatory Anecdotes (17)
Curses, Foiled Again! – Power Line (16)
TGIF Specials – Jo’s Cafe (15)