Any lurkers want to speak up? This is going to be another banner month here with about 9500 unique visitors and about 43,000 visits. About 26,000 of those visits are via RSS which I think means you are using an aggregator to read this – meaning you chose the site rather than stumbled on it. I still figure about 85000 of the uniques are search engine visits, maybe one timers, like those confused guys from the White House who show up looking for the results of seaching Google for “Kerry policies” which for reasons entirely beyond me Lord Goog places me today at #2.¹
Anyway, who are you? You who choose this place, whose statistical relevence keeps me interested in getting up an hour earlier weekdays to blab about something. Really, other than Hans…are you all connected to Heuvelton, too? What really kills me about google is I am #10 for “Heuvelton blog” but #2 for “kerry policies”. Please consider this when you push the value on the stockmarket to greater than Ford and GM combined. Please consider the meaning of bubble.
Andrew – October 30, 2004 2:20 PM
http://www.boundbygravity.com
I’m a lurking Red Ensigner…. I read all of the blogs on the blogroll.
Alan – October 30, 2004 2:43 PM
Fab and a big cheers!
OK – who the hell are the rest of you?
Lisa Howard – October 30, 2004 2:51 PM
I’m a dullard.
Okay. Okay. I’m an old friend of Peter Rukavina’s. I used to work at Trent Radio (I was a dullard there too!). I live in Hungary, remember? I’m married. I have two kids and I’m thinking of giving up blogging so that I can focus on my work.
Alan – October 30, 2004 2:53 PM
Yah, but you post comments. It’s eerie. Like you and me talking is a room of 500 people staring. portland is in the corner mixing drinks. It’s weird.
Lisa Howard – October 30, 2004 2:59 PM
Right. So who are the five hundred, I wonder? Also, who is saynay? Anyone I know?
Alan – October 30, 2004 3:13 PM
He is in the Peterborough area – that is all I know.
portland – October 30, 2004 5:38 PM
i live across the street. i’m watching you right now. for the love god close your blinds!
Alan – October 30, 2004 5:49 PM
You know, sometimes I think it is like Wayne and Shuster around here and you are like one of those guys on every show who also gets by by doing Kraft Food ads and Spiderman cartoons on TV. Unlike Wayne and Shuster, only 500 people tune in here regularly and there is no hockey after. I am working on a Tommy Hunter theme tune, however.
‘nee – October 30, 2004 6:02 PM
http://www.westcoastgirl.com
I’ll admit it. I have all the work computers set up to visit your site once a day.
Ok, that’s not true, but I think that it has the potential to become an elite form of stalking that I’m thinking about inventing.
portland – October 30, 2004 6:13 PM
tommy hunter had a great theme and nobody has used it for years. lets just make it ours. sing it with me baby – and i wander, wander…… i loved that song. and you’ve never said anything nicer about me. spiderman, now there’s a dream. you think i’d be a better doc otopus or kingpin? don’t say the goblin guy.
portland – October 30, 2004 6:15 PM
octopus. you wouldn’t know doc otopus. he’s one of the voices in my head.
Alan – October 30, 2004 8:21 PM
I always liked the bit with Tommy Hunter on the rollercoaster during the opeing. I remember in the mid-70s Alan McPhee made fun of the Kraft Ads on some CBC show that preceded his Ecclectic Circus – it always ended up with kiddies eating treats which had a molten core of “piping hot Kraft strawberry jam” in the middle.
Hans – November 1, 2004 10:51 AM
I am Hans.
Sereenie – November 1, 2004 4:33 PM
Well, here I am! Born and raised in Montreal, currently living in Gatineau and working in Ottawa (no, not for the government). I come here everyday (well, except on weekends–what better time to read than when I am bored at work!), which means I probably count for at least 20 of those 43,000 monthly visits. I usually resist the urge to comment simply because I have a far way to go to match your style and wint! Hehe… you know what they say: better be an idiot and keep your mouth shut than to open it and confirm that fact to everyone! (Or something like that…)
To be honest, I don’t remember how I first popped here. Probably through another blog, definitely not through Google. What I do know is I keep coming back for the sheer variety of topics you talk about. Name me one other site where I can ponder both good beer and American politics!
Alan – November 1, 2004 5:02 PM
Finally! A real lurker fesses up!!!
Good point – after my inability to spell and therefore my inability to correct others, it is true that I am known for my “wint”. I merely tease. Make sure you have a look at the beer blog from time to time as most posts are now going to make their way over there. Round ups will appear here.
Ben – November 1, 2004 7:54 PM
http://occasionallywright.typepad.com
I’m me. I had a very good pint of a locally brewed amber ale on Wednesday in Athens, Georgia. It came to $2.32 USD. If you need a quietish town to retire to you could do worse than Athens. You could do Canadian law guest lectures at the UGA law school as a semi-retired token liberalish foreign prof.
Alan – November 1, 2004 8:16 PM
Rock Lobster!
I lived there in my brain for a good part of 1981. When you were still peeing in your pants in a socially acceptable way, I was laying on the floor as they sang “down…down…down”.
…there goes a sting ray…there goes a manta ray…
Ben – November 1, 2004 8:23 PM
http://occasionallywright.typepad.com
Automatic for the People
Donna – November 2, 2004 1:18 AM
http://dishwasher.blogspot.com
Je suis Donna. Je blog. I’m thinking of holding a U.S. election night watching party tonight chez moi. Any tips, suggestions, and/or recipes for munchies?
Alan – November 2, 2004 4:53 AM
Hot dogs. Its 4:51 am. All I can come up with is hot dogs. And my wife figures “wint” isn’t “wit” but “wind” – what’s that about?!? Hot dogs.
Sereenie – November 2, 2004 4:57 PM
See what I meant about keeping my mouth shut? :0)
–> <--insert my embarrasment here (yeah, that wint was meant to be wit!) Mike M - November 2, 2004 6:19 PM http://ottawasportsblog.blogspot.com/
Another lurker here. I came by the site via the PEI connection, likely Steven G. I read regularly in spite of your love of the Red Sox. 🙂
Alan – November 2, 2004 6:22 PM
And here I thought I was going to find out I was big on Easter Island or in Malawi.
Make yourself most welcome Mike. You know Ben or Lana?
Ben – November 2, 2004 7:12 PM
http://occasionallywright.typepad.com
I have no memory of meeting Mike but we did discover that we went to the same Rural pre-prom dinner at the Bonnie Brae in 1994. I’m also one step removed from Lana (ironically I went to said Rural prom with a different Lana) in that I’ve met her friends here in Ottawa but not her. Apparently us Ottawa/PEI bloggers aren’t so good at meeting up.
marcia – November 11, 2004 9:32 PM
You know me! I come on and off, especially at hockey pool time but now I have put a link on my firefox browser so I come more frequently. Adam now has a blog too but he is one millionth as prolific as you – how do you keep it up. And thank you for the framed Bill Root cards – I am sorry it took me so long to thank you ——-been busy having kids. Keep blogging Al……and give me a call whenever you come to the big city.
marcia – November 11, 2004 9:34 PM
btw, adam’s blog is at http://blog.fugue.net
Alan – November 11, 2004 11:30 PM
How do I do it? Big part is getting up an hour early and running for the bus with wet fair. I write before work as part of the wake up ritual. We have to get to the smoke this winter. I have yet to really visit even though we have been here a year and a half – I have not even been to Pembroke, which makes me a schmoe of the first order. And I have not been to Ottawa since…when? At least I am there in a few weeks to see the Pixies. Getting all the tees. God is seven.
sean – November 23, 2004 4:03 PM
http://www.thehotlunchshow.com
How did I find your GenX-40 site? I googled “alan edmunds live it up” after reading that he had died. (Edmunds was one of the hosts of that CTV show “Live it Up” for kids that I loved)
Nicholas – November 24, 2004 10:10 PM
http://www.bolditalic.com/quotulatiousness
I’m another Red Ensign lurker. I lived in Kingston briefly (1967-68) and still visit a few times every year. If Prince Edward County develops into a real VQA area, I’ll probably visit more often. I certainly enjoy the photos and the commentary.
Alan – November 24, 2004 10:43 PM
Thank you Sean and Nicholas. I used to own 200 vines but abandoned them for Kingston.
Dino – November 30, 2004 9:35 PM
I’m a law school dean who stumbled across a link to your quote on an activist judiciary. Interesting viewpoint, not one I see very often.
Alan – November 30, 2004 9:52 PM
Thanks for that. I do not profess to be profound…but…ummm…one question – are you really Dean Dino? You really should have t-shirts with that one it. That is gold.
Declan – November 30, 2004 11:13 PM
http://www.crawlacrosstheocean.blogspot.com/
I’ve commented here once or twice, but I probably still qualify as a borderline lurker. I found your site through Blogs Canada (which I originally found through google while doing a search to see if anyone had anything to say anywhere about the green party prior to the last Canadian election).
I’m currently in Vancouver, but I grew up in Peterborough, so maybe saynay is someone I know (although I make a point to know as few people as possible).
Dino – December 1, 2004 1:52 AM
Hello, Alan. I’m only Dino to friends who knew me before I took this job. They, of course, are split between references to the late Mr. Martin and the eternal Mr. Flintstone’s house pet.
PS: It seems I’m no longer an accidental tourist, but have now evolved into a lurker.
Alan – December 1, 2004 9:19 AM
You lurk baby. If you are interested, I have a category relating to my legal gems which has its own index page. This may convince you to hold me in more mundane esteem.
dave – December 25, 2004 10:43 PM
http://davesbeer.com
I always thought you had to use the phrase “Lindsay Lohan’s breasts” often in posts in order to get big traffic. I’m impressed. Like your beer blog too.
Ben – January 5, 2005 4:59 PM
http://halifax.blogspot.com
What a great idea. I’ve just stolen it. 😉
But yeah. I have a much smaller readership, but it’s still a decent-sized one. Who _are_ those people? No law deans in it, I don’t think, but I _have_ seen a university president’s server pop up in my logs…
g rodrigues yes thats my name ,larkfeald.berick Rd – January 19, 2005 1:16 PM
born in greenock scotland seen morton died to manay times for them moved to canad 83 still look at the score …sunday
Alan – January 19, 2005 1:19 PM
I just knew I was getting the ex-pat Canadian-located Mighty Morton crowd.
Steve – February 12, 2005 9:18 PM
Well really I was just looking up information about so-called “public domain” movie content and here was Alan holding court on the subject on another blog and well, for a moment I thought he was a well-informed lawyer with expertise on the matter but now it seems much more like he reads avidly whilst drinking quantities of obscure micro-brewed beer. Jolly nice to know he’s ok after all.
Alan – February 12, 2005 9:45 PM
I suffer from being not as nice in work as in play.
JoJo – February 19, 2005 11:08 PM
http://jojochinto.blogspot.com
Hey….what’s going on over at ‘Switching To Glide’? Nobody’s home. It’s snowy white like, well, February… Did you here the King’s “STG/The Beat Goes On” on CBC’s 50 Tracks? I have no job, therefore I hear everything on CBC….
Alan – February 20, 2005 7:09 AM
I am having trouble with my hip. [I just thought of that – I’m so clever. I lack full hipness.]
David – February 20, 2005 8:44 AM
http://blog.davidjanes.com
Sigh.
cm – March 8, 2005 9:24 PM
Trouble with your hip? How tragic!
Mike Smith – March 29, 2005 2:04 PM
Just read your obit on C.J.J Berry here in bleak old England (UK). Fascinating. You speak with warmth and accuracy. I should know I married Natalie the younger of his two daughters, and tonight both my wife and Cyrils wife, who is staying with us for a few days over Easter read it too. Did you meet with Cyril? Did you visit Andover?
Many thanks for the kind words. He is greatly missed. He had a larger than life personality and was a great strength within the family right up to the end, yet despit his many achievements was always so modest. PS First Steps in Winemaking is still as popular as ever. Regards Mike Smith.
Alan – March 29, 2005 2:16 PM
Hello Mike and thanks for this.
I am not the author of the obit, merely a copier and I am sorry for not having provided the link to the source on the internet where I located it. It is, indeed a fine piece of writing which is why I copied it for my own record.
…now I understand what I did. I found it only at Google, cached on its computer from a page on a website, http://www.nawb.org.uk/documents/obitcyrilberry.doc., which is no longer apparently available. The site “http://www.nawb.org.uk/” is the website of the National Association of Wine and Beermakers of which Mr. Berry was President in the 1960s. It was likely written by someone who knew your father-in-law. It may also be an entirely lasped website as it was last updated in 2002. I will correct my copied posting of the obit to link to this comment.
As it turns out, I copied it to make sure it was not lost and am glad in doing so that it was saved for you, his family. By the way, I talked about your father-in-law at my beer blog in a post on another beer author, Terry Foster, and noted how CJJ Berry was one of the founders of the craft brewing revival which can be logically traced from his writings on homebrewing through David Line to the early stages of brew pubs in the USA.
Mike – March 31, 2005 8:57 AM
http://www.mikecampbell.net/the_campblog.htm
Similarly, ss well, my name, too, is also Mike.
I have the old Spidey cartoon on dvd. I love the later ones, when the writers started dropping some really serious stuff and Spidey was off to all kinds of different dimensions, etc. … long way from foiling the jewelry store heist (in the opening credits, there’s one scene where the sign above the store says “JEWELRY” and in the next scene it says “JEWLERY”).
Alan – March 31, 2005 8:59 AM
Is there a official DVD of these shows or is it bootleg? I want the interview with Paul Soles.
Mike – March 31, 2005 9:23 AM
http://www.mikecampbell.net/the_campblog.htm
Looks official. But I don’t think there’s any bonus material like a Soles interview unfortunately.
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001I55O2/ref=lm_lb_1/701-4729371-3477902
Alan – March 31, 2005 9:26 AM
You know what this means. We need to approach him to conduct that interview ourselves.
Alan – March 31, 2005 9:30 AM
Someone did it already.
Alan – March 31, 2005 9:31 AM
And again here.
Frenk – September 20, 2007 7:12 PM
Greats blog! Interesting work.
B. Green – November 3, 2011 7:08 PM
Re: ‘Who are you?’; I live in Reading, England, and I googled ‘C.C.J. Berry’ because I have a few of his excellent books and I love making wine.
Beer brewer – January 21, 2012 12:22 AM
Another C.J.J.Berry googler here, beer brewer moving to the vine side of life.