Statistical diversion

Everytime someone in Boston hears for the first time that I'm from North Dakota, he or she inevitably follows with a crack about awful weather.  I always respond that it really isn't that much worse, just more intense and longer-lasting.

But I now have to respectfully disagree with my own past assessment.  Between Montana snowmelt and a wet spring, flood conditions are pretty cruelly kicking North Dakota's ass.

First, the Devils Lake region, a crisis years in the making that is displacing thousands of farmers. Then Bismarck's torture-drip of Garrison Dam releases, thanks to obscene snowmelt in Montana, allowing the Missouri river to cover the southern half the city through the summer. Then, at this very moment, Minot is experiencing levee breaches on the Souris River expected to inundate the homes of over 10,000 residents (including a number of friends and schoolmates); a full quarter of the city has been mandatorily evacuated.

Holy crap.

(And like Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that. Except that North Dakotans are notoriously community-minded and stubborn and, once banded, will soon be kicking the flood's ass. I have no doubt.)

Because anything I write today will be trite in light of this catastrophe, it seems the perfect day to bring up the fact that I this week -- after 3 years and 825 posts -- discovered the "stats" tab of this here blog: it essentially tells me what pages are most clicked on and from what referrering websites the clickers come. I can see in a day, in a week, in a month, or for "all-time," the most popular individual posts.

So. 

The All-Time Top-5 Most-Clicked Single in the City posts (in ascending order) are:

5) Friday (or a short tale in 19 scenes) -- 03/19/2011  In which I go to Symphony Hall in my yoga pants. And get ditched by an accountant.

4) The cliché of a Monday -- 11/09/2009    This was one of my many undistinguished gripe-fests, ending with a ode to Boston Public Works for getting the Southie Christmas tree stand out 2 months in advance. I can't figure out why it would ever attract a second reading, unless the BPW has it linked to their employee website?

3) Just a Couple Girls Cross-Posting -- 12/06/2010   Not surprised at this one because it involves traffic from my cross-posting-friend's blog which has a sizable readership of its own. It also includes, I think, the only time I've used the word "douchebag" in a sentence.

2)  Rules for Going out in Southie on a Tuesday --- 05/09/2009   Owing to my own vanity, this could be (by far and away) the next most popular (500 separate hits!) because it involves a photo of my legs in heels and pantyhose. But using that logic, why does the finale of the Bikini Challenge, with its far more revealing pose, not even rate in the top 50? The appeal of this one is also a mystery ..... if you're one of the people clicking on it a lot, let me know why!
 
1) BBC 10: Ode to Storrow -- 03/05/2011    What can I say? When a post gets picked up by The Universal Hub, 677 people read it.