The personal site of Ryan Olson
Thursday, September 30
The Iraq War and Mrs. Johnson
I was surprised to hear President George Bush mention meeting with Mary "Missy" Johnson during tonight's presidential debate. I wasn't surprised by the president's reaction by meeting her.
Staff Sgt. Paul "PJ" Johnson, the first U.P. native killed in the Iraq war, was killed in action during an ambush in Fallujah last October. Johnson left a strong mark in the Upper Peninsula where he grew up.
Although I've only spent a few moments in touch with the family and friends of Paul Johnson, I was very impressed with the determination, strength and warmth they displayed in the face of losing someone so loved. This impression is supported in reporting for the articles I wrote and an article I read in The New York Times.
To provide more information about the Johnsons, here is my article The Ultimate Sacrifice about PJ Johnson's passage and the reaction.
Staff Sgt. Paul "PJ" Johnson, the first U.P. native killed in the Iraq war, was killed in action during an ambush in Fallujah last October. Johnson left a strong mark in the Upper Peninsula where he grew up.
Although I've only spent a few moments in touch with the family and friends of Paul Johnson, I was very impressed with the determination, strength and warmth they displayed in the face of losing someone so loved. This impression is supported in reporting for the articles I wrote and an article I read in The New York Times.
To provide more information about the Johnsons, here is my article The Ultimate Sacrifice about PJ Johnson's passage and the reaction.
Statistical Abstract
At the end of the month, I wanted to thank everyone for visiting the Web site. Hits on my Web site are up about fifteen-fold since February. Of course, there were only about 15 hits in February and about 270 this September.
It's worth noting that my stats show that Macs running OS 9 account for 12 percent of the site traffic. So, I'm assuming that's me (that and the fact stats also show that Chartermi.net accounts for about 15 percent of hits). So the remaining 85-88 percent of hits are all you guys and gals. Thanks.
I know that a lot of people are landing on old blog posts through Google searches. I hope everyone is finding what they're looking for.
I'm not going to post my miniscule stats every month -- I just wanted to express my appreciation for your traffic. If you like what you're reading, I hope that you'll stick around and let me know what you think.
Comments or questions? Please drop me a line -- rtolson -at- rtomedia.com. Thanks again.
It's worth noting that my stats show that Macs running OS 9 account for 12 percent of the site traffic. So, I'm assuming that's me (that and the fact stats also show that Chartermi.net accounts for about 15 percent of hits). So the remaining 85-88 percent of hits are all you guys and gals. Thanks.
I know that a lot of people are landing on old blog posts through Google searches. I hope everyone is finding what they're looking for.
I'm not going to post my miniscule stats every month -- I just wanted to express my appreciation for your traffic. If you like what you're reading, I hope that you'll stick around and let me know what you think.
Comments or questions? Please drop me a line -- rtolson -at- rtomedia.com. Thanks again.
Wednesday, September 29
The pre-debate debate
The pre-debate regarding tomorrow's debate is the post debate, specifically how each party and the media tackles its response after W and Kerry stop talking. Today's edition of The Daily Howler spells things out pretty nicely.
I've been wondering for a while if the tomorrow's debate will be a repeat of 2000. I was astounded then seeing a debate that I thought Gore won be transformed into a seeming Bush victory. This was after polls and other immediate response supported that assumption. I'm afraid that this might happen this year.
There's been a lot of talk about the spin and the media coverage of this election. There hasn't been much out there to assure me that this year's coverage will be much better than 2000.
Anyway, there's a lot of other political blogs out there if you want enough rhetoric to satisfy the most rapid of partisans.
I've been wondering for a while if the tomorrow's debate will be a repeat of 2000. I was astounded then seeing a debate that I thought Gore won be transformed into a seeming Bush victory. This was after polls and other immediate response supported that assumption. I'm afraid that this might happen this year.
There's been a lot of talk about the spin and the media coverage of this election. There hasn't been much out there to assure me that this year's coverage will be much better than 2000.
Anyway, there's a lot of other political blogs out there if you want enough rhetoric to satisfy the most rapid of partisans.
Monday, September 27
_Random_ eye movement
This blog is part of a rather impersonal personal Web site. It's got no pictures, sounds (until recently) or much mention of my personal life. The (ahem) intimate details of my life are just not anything that I'd delve into, least of all on a blog.
So, in a small change of pace, I'm going to talk about some dreams I had recently. Unfortunately (for you), my dreams aren't intimate -- they're more situational where I find myself doing something totally random. They're almost snapshots of things happening.
There were three dreams in three days. The first one involved my bathtub. Water from the shower (which doesn't exist in real life) soaked through the unprotected walls and it was peeling away taking the insulation with it leaving only tile beneath.
Yesterday, I dreamt that I was living with my family in a big modern city (with boutiques lining the street). Much of the city was having a holiday and I wandered around. I walk through the row of shops, underneath the subway line. I note many people standing in line outside a building with the NASA logo. It turns out that people are waiting to ride some sort of space-related roller coaster that zoomed around the neighborhood. I didn't ride the coaster.
This morning, I dreamt that I was in a TV station somewhere. There were meetings going on and I was in a maroon-painted room with several others (including comedian Rick Mercer for some reason). After small talk with Mercer and others, I went back to the kitchenette. After I go into a meeting room, I run into a guy who spills a bowl of chili over my clothes.
I don't know what 99.9 percent of my dreams mean, including these. I just wanted to note how bizarre they are -- especially three days in a row.
So, in a small change of pace, I'm going to talk about some dreams I had recently. Unfortunately (for you), my dreams aren't intimate -- they're more situational where I find myself doing something totally random. They're almost snapshots of things happening.
There were three dreams in three days. The first one involved my bathtub. Water from the shower (which doesn't exist in real life) soaked through the unprotected walls and it was peeling away taking the insulation with it leaving only tile beneath.
Yesterday, I dreamt that I was living with my family in a big modern city (with boutiques lining the street). Much of the city was having a holiday and I wandered around. I walk through the row of shops, underneath the subway line. I note many people standing in line outside a building with the NASA logo. It turns out that people are waiting to ride some sort of space-related roller coaster that zoomed around the neighborhood. I didn't ride the coaster.
This morning, I dreamt that I was in a TV station somewhere. There were meetings going on and I was in a maroon-painted room with several others (including comedian Rick Mercer for some reason). After small talk with Mercer and others, I went back to the kitchenette. After I go into a meeting room, I run into a guy who spills a bowl of chili over my clothes.
I don't know what 99.9 percent of my dreams mean, including these. I just wanted to note how bizarre they are -- especially three days in a row.
Where'd this 'doctor' come from?
I don't know if this is a sign that I've been in newspapers for too long, but I got concerned watching the short film "The Font Doctor." The "doctor" is a guy who formats fonts for Hollywood pitches.
I nearly jumped out of my seat when he criticized two poor authors of using the Arial font (which is a clean, sans serif font). I don't know what font it really was, but it was totally a serif font (maybe Times or Palatino).
I guess we now know what sort of accuracy to expect from an outfit like MocDocs.
I nearly jumped out of my seat when he criticized two poor authors of using the Arial font (which is a clean, sans serif font). I don't know what font it really was, but it was totally a serif font (maybe Times or Palatino).
I guess we now know what sort of accuracy to expect from an outfit like MocDocs.
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