interesting googles

In case you don't know, I can see who visits bryanbird.com and this blog. By that I mean there's ActiveMeter code embedded in the blog template that logs page visits and referrals. I don't actually know who specifically is visiting, but I can see the IP address of the computer and to whom the address is registered -- usually Comcast, SBC, Adelphia, or some other ISP. For example, I see "fl.comcast.net" or something similar in the log and know that it's a Comcast user from Florida.

What's also neat about ActiveMeter is it will show referring links. If someone just types in blog2.bryanbird.com, it'll show up as a direct hit, but if someone clicked through from Kristy's blog, it'll show kristyland.com as the referral. Often people will find this site inadvertently while searching for something completely unrelated. Some amusing recent searches:

elyria sucks -- I'm the first result on the fourth page with Google. No, I never actually said "Elyria sucks," but since the person didn't use quotes, Google found a blog page where I had used both "Elyria" and "sucks" on the same page.

Twist-n-shake eLYRIA [sic] -- because I mentioned it a few weeks ago

"flourish or expire depending on fate" -- a South Park quote

bird's alma mater -- because my last name is Bird and I mentioned my college alma mater back in February. But the popularity of this search has me baffled. The first referral was from Google, on Friday morning by someone in Tampa Bay. Seven minutes later, someone in New York (I think Syracuse) made the same query on Yahoo. Two hours later, another Google from Minnesota. The next day, there was yet another Yahoo search, possibly from Portland, Oregon. Five hours later, the same search from Bangkok, Thailand! The next one was yesterday from Harrison, Arkansas.

So, I'm intrigued. If any of you are searching for "bird's alma mater" again, would you mind letting me know what you were really looking for? I can't stand the suspense. :)

I'll post some more amusing googles as they come in. Of course, as I post them here, that only increases the chances that someone will inadvertently find this site, but oh well. Incidentally, not all the referrals are unrelated; many people search for things like "lump above collarbone" or "hodgkin's measles" and find some of my old blog posts from when I was undergoing chemo, so hopefully my archive is helpful to them.

Edited 7/7/06:
BAD HAIRCUT REPAIR STRONGSVILLE -- Uh... maybe try a wig?

I've also had a few hits from people searching for the Lorain County Relay for Life (which is tonight, July 7th). If you go here you can type in 44035 and find the listing.

Apparently I'm now an authority on shoes that match navy blue suits, because I've had quite a few hits from that too. What I've found, after my own googling and posting to a few message boards, is that either black or cordovan (burgundy) shoes are fine for navy blue suits; it mostly depends on what color shirt and tie you're wearing with it.

Edited 7/10/06:
Yahoo: "bryan breeding myspace"
Yahoo: "Search which bird uses shoes?"
Google: "Old Chuck E. Cheese"
Yahoo: "antibiotics for dog lymphoma"
Google: I am now the second result in a search for "Twist and Shake Elyria Ohio"
Yahoo: Yet another hit for "bird's alma mater" -- what's the deal with this search? This time it's from Harlingen, Texas, I think.

Edited 7/11/06:
Altavista: I'm the third result in a search for "caprice rode violin mp3"