Happy New Year!
For me, self-indulgence is not about binge-eating or binge-watching, it’s about numbers. Here we go:
The record-setting month of December ended with a strong number of views and visitors on its final day. Not only did the month have the most views/visitors of any month in the nearly three years this blog has existed, but the number of views was about 30 percent higher than the previous high-water mark set in October. Thanks to those of you who read the blog and thanks to Bill James for tweeting the link to Good Old Days. Interestingly though, the last time Bill tweeted a link to Disaffected Musings the number of views and visitors saw a two-day surge. This time, the surge only lasted one day.
So, December had the most views, the most visitors, the week with the most views, the day with the most views and–I hope WordPress doesn’t delete my blog because of this–the highest amount of ad earnings. I’d say that’s a good month.
Not surprisingly, the United States had the highest percentage of blog views in 2020 at 88.2%. Canada (5.6%) was the only other country at even one percent of blog views. In 2019, the percentage of views from the US was 92.3%. Oh, I have to mention the views from Malta. On a per capita basis, Malta had a higher percentage of blog views for November and December than any other country, including the United States. Of course, Malta’s population is fewer than 500,000 people and the US population is over 330,000,000. To whomever is reading the blog in Malta, thanks.
More year-to-year comparisons:
2019 saw a doubling of blog views compared to 2018 and 2020 continued that trend, basically. However, I obviously do not expect blog views to double again in 2021. In all honesty, I expect the number of views to decline. As the vaccine is given to sufficient numbers of people, I suspect many to abandon the indoors and spend much less time with their devices. This blog experienced a “quantum leap” in views/visitors beginning in April, when the damn virus shut down many activities.
Also, the Cristy Lee “boost” will have to fade away. Where Is Cristy Lee? accounted for 3.6% of all views in 2020. I suspect that searches for her added more to the view total than just for that post. Here are the six most-read posts in 2020, not counting the About page AND not counting “Home Page/Archives,” which is the main link to the blog and whose views dwarf that of any specific post, even Where Is Cristy Lee?
Throwback Thursday 36, this post was written in February but had almost ten times as many views in September
Ultimate Garage 2.0: Honorable Mention & Car Number One, this post was written last year but had three times as many views this year
Thanks again, please keep reading even after you’re vaccinated and please tell your friends about my blog.
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I hope my wonderful wife doesn’t get too upset over this picture:
This is Gemma Godfrey. No, she is not a model or an actress. She used to be a quantum physicist and is now an influential person in the world of finance. I kid you not…
Do people who look like that have more confidence in themselves or is there no correlation? One of my favorite restaurants in our former stomping grounds used to employ a gorgeous young woman named Laurelyn. One time while eating at the counter she served me and the woman sitting two seats away. The woman remarked to me how nice Laurelyn was and I replied, “It’s easy to be nice when you look like that.” The woman answered, “Oh, she is lovely.” Even my wonderful wife remarked on more than one occasion about Laurelyn’s looks.
If anyone has any studies they can cite I would like to read them. Obviously, this situation does not apply to me.
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You knew a post about self-indulgence would show some car photos. Yes, I am beginning to think about Ultimate Garage 3.0 that could be published in May or June, if I am in a position to do so.
The “credits” for all of these photos have been listed when these pics were originally shown in the blog.
I hope you enjoyed my exercise in self-indulgence. Once again, Happy New Year!
#AnExerciseInSelf-Indulgence
#GemmaGodfrey
#LooksAndConfidence
#ILOVECARS!
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.
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Disaffected Musings 
I was amazed when I started to track my blog to see the number of readers in other countries. It’s always interesting to see where views and readers are located.
You never know what people fancy on a blog. A hit from a search engine on a popular topic or person can lead to new regular readers. Here’s to you and increased readership in 2021! Happy New Year!
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Many thanks, JS. Numbers nerd/OCD sufferer that I am, the blog numbers are very interesting to me.
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O. K. dumb guy here, what is the swoopy little red 2-seater in the showroom? I know it not and I see no badging to assist me in identifying it. I saw a similar car on the street on the way back from our Mesa road trip and could not identify it also. Help, as I am interested.
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You’re no dumb guy, Philip, but that’s the latest iteration (circa 2008) of the Alfa Romeo 8C.
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I looked at the Alfa Romeo site and that is not the car I saw on the streets of Tucson. Similar, but not an Alfa. The car I saw was a two-seater similar to the 4C, but front engine not mid-engine like the 4C.
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OK…the car in the photo I took and showed today was an Alfa Romeo 8C, not a 4C.
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“Good looks=confidence”
I think to an extent there is merit to that theory, but it can also be a double edged sword. Anecdotal observation:
I have a cousin who from the age of about 9 to her late twenties was a model of some stature. Magazines, TV commercials, and some fashion work. Seems everyone wanted blond hair, blue eyed, attractive girls. She was/is both a “girly girl” and a bit of a tomboy. In my teens, she being 6 years younger, we lived in the same neighborhood and as such had fairly close contact. She had an interest in cars and would come hang out while I was tinkering on mine, wanting to help/learn what was going on. She also wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle as a teen, so I taught her. Even after I married, and then eventually moved away we stayed in contact as she thought of me more as an older brother than a cousin. Until she was in her mid 30’s she never married but was often dating model type men, none of which ever went further. She told me on several occasions she wanted a “regular Joe” but they were all, for the most part, intimidated by her looks and wouldn’t approach her. She stated that if she wanted to be approached by the “regular Joes”, she had to “dress down.” She did end up getting married to her regular Joe, actually Paul, and has been married to him since. They now live in north Florida so I still see them a couple times a year and she is still as happy as the day he proposed. He has told me before that he was surprised when she accepted his first date request and still considers himself the luckiest guy around that she married him.
Side note: the motorcycle riding didn’t last, but the car enthusiasm did. Her current ride is a 2017 Camaro Z-28.
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Great story, DDM, and thanks for sharing. Being intimidating to “regular Joes” is not quite the same as lacking confidence, but I get your point. In my first year in college, the RA (OK, Resident Assistant) in my dorm was very attractive and told me one day that she did not have many dates in high school as most of the boys were simply intimidated by her looks. No, I’m sure she wasn’t hitting on me and no, I did not ask her out. I can understand the notion of “She’s out of my league.”
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I don’t know a lot about looks=confidence=nice, but there is the line from the end of Clerks, which goes something to the effect of, “There are a lot of pretty girls in this world. Most of ’em ‘ll treat you like s%&@, not many will bring you lasagna.” On the more academic side of things, there is a pretty substantial body of research on the relationship between appearance and student evaluations of teaching (at the collegiate level). To summarize, there is a correlation. However, just what is meant by appearance may vary (is it the face? the body? just dressing nicely?). Also, it’s hard to break down just what contributes to the correlation. Some theorize that it’s not about being classically attractive, but rather that simply dressing in a professional/fashionable way and looking healthy communicates to students that a prof/lecturer has things together, which causes students to think more highly of them.
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Good to “hear” from you, Josh. Thanks for adding to the conversation about looks and confidence. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but some people are almost universally considered to be attractive or unattractive.
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