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- Go to Number one with a bullet - thanx knuckleheads
Gomedome
Somehow I have never really bothered, nor has it given me any excitement for that matter to be on the top. Phantom clicks? Well, it never crossed my mind. I find more contentment in the content of my writings, rather than on the number of clicks. Why bother whether they leave any comment or not? It's a free country. Writing, to me is very personal, and I should be satisfied. That is all to me. It is like sharing a pleasure. Free you are if you want to come and partake of, free you are also not to partake of. And the irony of it all is that I have rarely ever talked the language of covention. Explore and experience has been the keynote.
posted by
Bhaskar.ing
on April 17, 2007 at 6:56 AM
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Interesting bunch of comments and responses on Blogit wars...
Interesting for the same reason I "never" watch Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil who never gives flash your boobs beads, but in his own way exploits the lowest, meanest human behaviors for fun and profit. Both Jerry and Phil end their daily shows with a 30-second patronizing moral platitude which translated means at least I'm not as mean or stupid or corrupt as these jerks.
posted by
Pat_B
on April 17, 2007 at 4:35 AM
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Keep up the great work!
posted by
Soterios
on April 17, 2007 at 12:30 AM
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:)
posted by
arGee
on April 16, 2007 at 9:52 AM
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Sunnybeach7 - you didn't miss anything
It was really just a case of me being oblivious to the goings on around me, commenting on a post where the author was in conflict with someone else, having that someone else and their friends think that I was siding with the conflicted blogger, which in turn fostered a blogger bashing session with me as the subject, which in turn prompted me to issue a warning to the authors of a few of the more malicious comments . . . all of which propelled my blog upwards to flirt with number one overall for a brief period.
So what else is new?
posted by
gomedome
on April 16, 2007 at 9:21 AM
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saul_relative - thank you for the kind words
There is no doubt that our North American societies would be a frightening place to live if some of these people had their way.
posted by
gomedome
on April 16, 2007 at 9:16 AM
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arGee - no where did I say that the ladies drive to Michigan just to pick
up a few boxes of noodles.
Admittedly their trips are more a social outing than anything else but they are cognizant of the basic economies. The car is usually loaded with as much as they can smuggle back. This despite the fact that they all have the "female shopping gene". Perception is probably the most important influence but also appreciate that the example I gave is but one product example. I was attempting to illustrate that real savings do sometimes exist but not in any great way. Still, one need only cross the border on the weekend to see which of the two currencies currently have the greatest (perceived) buying power. For the last little while the lanes heading into the USA have had long line ups of Canadian shoppers. A few years back it was the other way aorund.
posted by
gomedome
on April 16, 2007 at 9:13 AM
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David1Spirit - "the philosopher guy" - for some reason that cracked me up
Thank you for the kind words. When us bloggers have dealings with "the philosopher guy", the treatment we receive is entirely dependent upon whether or not we have professed a belief in God. Those who do believe in God are subjected to personality #1. an articulate, courteous and obviously educated man, while those who do not believe in God are subjected to personality #2. which is something entirely different. I need not comment further on what I think of personality #2. other than to say that the dupliciousness, lack of integrity, childishness and stupidity detract in a great way from being recognized as personality #1 by everyone. This mental disorder is predicated upon one simple and rigid line of reasoning; those who believe in God are good people, those who do not believe in God are bad people . . . some philosophy. For most people this rigid opinion of "us versus them", is at the very least elaborated upon by the time an individual leaves grade school. I've never met a person who has carried it so far into their adult life and puts so much effort into reconciling the idea.
posted by
gomedome
on April 16, 2007 at 9:03 AM
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gome, you have been # 1 in my book for a long time my friend
As for some of them "knuckleheads"; I have dealt with the "philosopher guy" before. He speaks out both sides of his mouth sometimes. He is a decent enough person, but he can also say things that don't back up his own beliefs, some of which he has written about in his blog. That may be the reason he deletes all his posts from time to time. Wafflers tend to do that a lot.
Oh wait; I delete mine from time to time too. Guess that means....LOL!
posted by
David1Spirit
on April 16, 2007 at 7:52 AM
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Thanks, Gome...
So your wife drives some distance with the ensuing wear and tear on the car plus the cost of fuel to save what appears to be 7% on a product – but more than that, the trip costs are "fixed," meaning the cost is the same if she buys one box of noodles or a thousand dollars of goods. Perhaps you need to educate her in Economics 101.
Of course, it may not be about savings at all. She is, after all, a shopping female (with apologies to all the ladies here who might otherwise take offense at this reference)!
I suspect your comment about perceptions may actually be the clincher. Since the names of the currencies are the same, the perception of savings is there, no matter the reality.
(Thank you, as always, for an interesting exchange.)
posted by
arGee
on April 16, 2007 at 7:43 AM
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Gome
Apparently, I've missed some action around here...once again.
It's probably better that way. Though I am open to other's beliefs, I'm not very tolerant of people who try to degrade others for their beliefs or lack of them.
posted by
Afzal_Sunny7
on April 16, 2007 at 7:01 AM
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Hypocritical behavior by the religious on Blogit is not all that
surprising considering Christianity's long track record of extremist and intolerant behavior. Glad to see you at the top spot, gomedome. It is refreshing to see an even-toned voice of reason in this evangelical swamp of guilt-ridden and judgmental posts. All I can say to those who tend to cast particularly hateful aspersions, criticisms, and advice toward you: thank the founding fathers for their foresight in penning us religious and expressive opinion, because if they hadn't, we'd be living in an intolerable Inquisition-like period or, at best, in a rigid theocracy akin to the most unenlightened in the Middle East.
posted by
saul_relative
on April 16, 2007 at 6:50 AM
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Gomedome, I think that it is absolutely fantastic that all of the ‘phantom clickers’ propel you to the very top spot in ‘Religion and Spirituality’. How totally audacious is that? LOLOLOLOLOL Marvelous!!!! MoonSpirit 
posted by
syzygy
on April 15, 2007 at 10:25 PM
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MoonSpirit - I wouldn't want it to sound as if I am relentlessly hounded by
these people, nor do I want to come off as "whoa is me" but....
Once it is accepted that; anyone who writes a blog in a public forum with content such as mine will be subjected to some derision, there are times when some of my detractors cross the line. It is nothing I can't handle however as so far most attacks have been merely emotional outbursts, quite often coming from those who have never run into a divergent religious opinion before. When I look back on my time here on Blogit there have been but a handful of real nutcases that have attempted to attack me with any real zeal, most of them have fallen by the wayside as their their illogical arguments inevitably crumble. It is my hope that their conflict with me is in some small way beneficial to them, as many of these people are in desperate need of deprogramming. It is also my hope that learning to think for themselves comes in time for them.
There have really only been two individuals who have caused me any real concern during my time on Blogit. One of these people took his religious disagreements with me off of Blogit into my real life, another did in fact relentlessly pursue me over 3 years, exhibiting some of the most childish and attrocious behaviour that I have ever seen from a so called adult. (I am thankful for the blocking utility). Periodically I receive emails from the "saved", mostly with bible passages as their content but for the most part, our resident fundies phantom click on my posts, deny that they ever read my blogs yet quite often refer to my blog content when they get involved in blogger bashing sessions with their friends. ....go figure.
At the end of the day these people make me a much better person than I am. They provide a perfect illustration of all of the things I hope never to be. In the meantime however, when they start up a fresh round of blogger bashing with me as the subject, I will continue to utilize their childishness to propel my blog upwards in the rankings.
It never fails, I should probably thank them.
posted by
gomedome
on April 15, 2007 at 10:12 PM
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I haven't read this one of Gomedome, but your's is classic, Moon.
posted by
Bhaskar.ing
on April 15, 2007 at 9:46 PM
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Gomedome,
Apologies for returning to the original issue that you raised (all of the discussion about international currency issues is most fascinating).
Regarding the people who follow your around attacking you (I take your word for that, I haven’t bothered to search the comments; but, I have no doubt that it is true), let’s just say for the sake of argument that you are in fact a despicable Godless Commie pervert. (Uh Oh. I think I reverted to my childhood of the 50s - and no personal offense intended, it is all in the hypothetical)
Anyway……what did Jesus say that His Disciples should do about such people (note, I say ‘Disciples’, His 12 chosen followers)? These were the crème de la crème. They were the original 12 to walk with Jesus. They were closest to Him. They are worshipped and venerated as Saints (except of course for one.) Here’s what He told the Disciples:
Luke 9
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
1When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." 6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
“Shake the dust off your feet.” That seems pretty clear. Basically, it says: “Fuck ‘em. To Hell with ‘em. If they don’t want to hear the Truth, turn your back on ‘em.” I don’t see where He said anything about following ‘em around and persecuting ‘em mercilessly until they relent, lament and repent. Anyway, that’s my take on it. And the way that I would think that this translates on Blogit is that they should ignore you, have nothing to do with you, and, perhaps, block you so that if you get some wild hair and actually want to communicate with them, you will be unable to do so. (Although, I don’t think Jesus would really say that last part because the NT is replete with examples that God always welcomes the ‘prodigal son’ – not thereby implying in the slightest that you are in any way ‘prodigal’……just that God never turns His back on anybody.) Going way out on a limb here, and I'm certain to catch flak over this heretical statement, I would think that Jesus would tell His followers that they should love you. He was, after all, the God of Love.
I expect to be excoriated for my irreverence. And the ‘knowledgeable righteous’ will say that I have my theology all wrong and parade a number of competing Bible quotes in support of their position. Since I have no ‘theology’ and since I am not a ‘scholar’ or ‘academic’ (and not a Christian in the way that they define the term), I can’t argue with them and I hereby yield to their superior knowledge. I still stand by my interpretation of the above quotation.
And lest anybody get me wrong Gomedome, unlike you I love God. God is my best friend. Of course, with the way that I ‘define’ / ‘understand’ ‘God’, most of these same people would label me either an ‘atheist’ or a ‘worshipper of Satan’, so in the end, we are in the same boat.
The funny thing is, in the end, we are all in the same boat anyway. And that boat carries us across the River Styx. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL MoonSpirit
P.S. Yes, I did have a 'little' wine but, not so much. Really!
posted by
syzygy
on April 15, 2007 at 9:32 PM
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arGee - let me give you an example
My wife regularly heads to Port Huron, Michigan with a few friends to buy certain select items, mostly grocery items but yardgoods and clothing as well. 5 years ago, our dollar was at 62 cents versus the American dollar. One particular item that they purchase is StoveTop Noodles (really, no kidding) . . . they were $1.49US Funds per package 5 years ago, they are $1.69 per package today but our dollar is now at 87 cents versus the American dollar. Using a factor of 1.15 to cover the exchange of currencies, the cost of this box of noodles is $1.95 Canadian funds. 5 years ago, this product cost $2.10Can Funds. The real story lies in the differential between the Canadian price for this product: Then $2.49, now $2.79.
Now this is not simply a currency conversion scenario as many other factors come into play such as economies of scale in both food production and the purchasing power of the larger American food distribution outlets. Nor can we ignore the fact that by going to get the product on the other side of the border, the purchasers are effectively getting closer to the source of production. The saving at point of purchase is a mere 7% on this product, in reality; not enough to get excited about but one of the most important factors is the perception of the consumer which creates an identifiable trend and in turn is capitolized upon by the vendors.
posted by
gomedome
on April 15, 2007 at 7:05 PM
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Just to make sure, however, Gome...
Is it cheaper in REAL money, or just cheaper in whoever's dollars? When an American pays with U.S. Dollars, does he or she pay at par, or through the exchange rate?
(I understand the economics of side-by-side countries, but in our case, the factor I brought up plays a significant role, don't you think?)
posted by
arGee
on April 15, 2007 at 6:30 PM
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arGee - there is no disputing what you are saying and on paper it rings
completely true.
In day to day life however, there are countless other factors from perception, to lagging market adjustment to unseen factors such as social programs and taxes that can effectively average down or affect the cost of living. While considering these factors; fluctuating currencies can play an enormous role in determining the cost differential of consumer goods between two neighbouring countries. Living near two major Can/Am border crossing points, I see the effect first hand. There have been times when every second car in my part of the world had an American license plate on weekends. It was no coincidence that during this time period the value of our dollar versus the American dollar was artificially weak. Now the situation has reversed itself. We make regular excursions into Michigan to buy much cheaper clothes and groceries.
posted by
gomedome
on April 15, 2007 at 6:17 PM
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Hey, guys, you're missing something...
Just because the Canadian and U.S. currencies have the same name, it really means nothing. If, for example, the Canadian dollar were named the Shilo, then nobody would think anything about the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Shilo. What really matters is how much a loaf of bread costs in U.S. Dollars or in Canadian Shilos, for example, or how many U.S. Dollars or conversely Canadian Shilos a worker in a similar job earns per hour in each country.
Thus, except for the arbitrage of the instantaneous exchange rate, a Canadian Dollar (Shilo) is what it is, and a U.S. Dollar is what it is. If a product costs 20% less in U.S. Dollars than Canadian Shilos, this is not because it is 20% more expensive in Canada, but because there is a 20% difference in the value of the exchange medium unit of each country.
posted by
arGee
on April 15, 2007 at 5:41 PM
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this was about 12 years ago when i went on a fishing trip
all i remember was that my uncle brought up cases of cigarettes to sell to his fishing buddies because they were so outrageous. i was too poor for shopping but they gobbled up those cigarettes like they were gold.
posted by
ladychardonnay
on April 15, 2007 at 12:10 PM
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ladychardonnay - to say that Toronto was very expensive for a visitor from
the USA would be influenced to a great extent by the currency exchange at the time of the visit.
5 years ago, our dollar was worth 62 cents versus the American dollar, we had many American visitors taking advantage of the buying power of their currency. Today, the dollar is worth about 88 cents American. It makes quite a difference for visitors from the USA, with shopping day trips from Northern US residents down dramatically.
posted by
gomedome
on April 15, 2007 at 12:04 PM
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i went to toronto once - everything was so expensive
posted by
ladychardonnay
on April 15, 2007 at 11:50 AM
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ladychardonnay - if you lived in Canada you could use that $3.00 to
put a downpayment on a single red pepper or other vegetables from California.
posted by
gomedome
on April 15, 2007 at 11:48 AM
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numero uno!!! i am around 1205 - what will I do with that $3.00
posted by
ladychardonnay
on April 15, 2007 at 11:31 AM
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