Fun with Reverse Stalker

I've noticed on google analytics that my post about the benefits of having an art major sibling is one of my most popular posts but since all the people who find it are lurkers who likely only look once I don't get my curiosity satisfied as to what they were searching for when they stumbled on my blog and more specifically that post. I think the majority come from doing image searches on google but that does not answer the what they were looking for part. So I am getting ready for bed and my Reverse Stalker (right side bar) caught my eye:

Islamabad arrived from images.google.com.pk on "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks."

Islamabad left "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks." via theunmarriedhouse wife.blogspot.com

I edited the post to include a plea for a comment not too long ago, so far no one has, until then I'll have to keep an eye on the reverse stalker. Enjoy the stalker from Islamabad Sibling, and thanks for the awesome artsy stuff!

In other google analytics news the epic battle between North Carolina and Tennessee for forth place, until now only known to me, is currently nearly tied up with Tennessee ahead by only one visit (TN: 101, NC 100). I'm guessing that NukeDad (NC) and Nonna (TN) are the representatives of their states, based on the % New NukeDad is the main one representing his while Nonna might have some help (she says she is highly competitive so she might start recruiting people now so she can thoroughly trounce NC/NukeDad). The battle for second place isn't much of a battle anymore, at one point it went back and forth between California and Illinois but the home state (with the indicted and impeached governor, yeah!) has pulled ahead (IL: 185 CA: 143) and likely will remain that way since I have befriended several bloggers (WeaselMomma and LiteralDan) from the homeland and Sibling is there and also when I visit it counts all my clicks when I post and use my blog roll to catch up on my blog addiction while on vacation.

There won't be a battle for first until I move out of the frozen tundra, I click my own blog way too much and google doesn't distinguish between me and everyone else unfortunately, though I do have more than just me clicking here, Loren stops by regularly (or as regularly as someone with 4 kids, three of them 4 year olds, can) and Kev (has the baby been born yet?!) has been known to come for a bit, though he did not approve of my and my coworkers' immaturity involving the crazy visiting professor (it was not in the best taste and definitely not one of my finer moments, months of build up anger...), don't worry Kev I plan to make a "lab drama" post much more to what you had in mind, just have to get around to it, lol.

Time (ok past time) for bed, good night blogosphere.

Edited to add: Look, while writing this post another one came:

Munich, Bayern arrived from google.de on "My Microscopic Life: Why having an art major sibling rocks."

I am so busted, again.

I have a confession to make. My anal-retentive obsessive compulsive nature pretty much forces me to go back and read a blog from the beginning. I love to read, have since I finally "got" it one day in first grade (getting to that point almost killed Mom and me, I went from bottom of the class to almost head of the class overnight once it clicked but before it clicked...). To me blogs are like somewhat interactive books, and they are like reading a series (who doesn't love series books?!). You can NOT start reading a series at the end or in the middle, you HAVE to start with the first one (oh crap I am my mother)! And so when a new blog is brought to my attention I will go back into the archives and read from the whole thing. I rarely comment on old posts because I am not sure what the blog etiquette is, I think it likely varies depending on the blog author, and of course sometimes I feel a bit stalkerish and don't want them to think I am a freak or dangerous or anything... I mean I am totally cool with someone commenting on any of my old posts, especially the Guess that Gizmo posts, but not everyone seems to be. But there is one person who I know where stands on this issue. She commented on the last Guess that Gizmo (I adore you for that BTW, and everyone's comments on those crack me up, laughing with not at) and so I just had to check her out.

So I'm cruising her archives, laughing at the antics of her goat children (she calls her kids goats, I find this highly amusing). Noting that she is almost completely crazy, she is a fellow grad student but is getting a masters degree and so crazy but not completely crazy, though having kids at the same time might well bump the level up to the equivalent of me getting a doctorate with no children... She lives in one of my favorite states, though she is not too happy about it and I can kinda understand since I only visit and not live there when I go. Her daughter reminds me of my monkey niece at that age*, perhaps she should refer to her as a mountain goat since they can scale high peeks too, just they are not looking for markers and chocolate donuts...

So I am snickering at the picture of her mountain goat covered in marker (heehehehehe), and I happen to glance over and read her twitter thingy:

"Whoever you are, reading through my old posts, Hi, and thanks for coming! Would it KILL YOU to leave me a comment?!? (XOXO)"

And it gives me a flashback to when NukeDad outed my lurker butt on his blog. Interesting, I wonder if this happens to other lurkers or if I am just extra delurkable... Either way it cracked me up! And so I will start leaving some comments on her old posts and hope I don't die by doing so and if I do it is totally her fault and she will have to find my boss a new pet microbiologist, preferably one who can work out the contamination issues that are STILL going on...

So Waltz in Exile, it is I, Karen the microblogologist returning the visit, thank you for your original visit and awesome comment on my humble blog. I will be commenting, I was just trying to not appear too stalkerish as I mentioned above. =)

Edited to add that I didn't die and I totally forgot to add the footnote in my rush to make it to water aerobics, so here it is:

*Niecey seems to not be as much of a climber, she will climb but it isn't as bad as it was when she was 2-3ish. I may be wrong, I'll make Baby Sibling read this post and leave a comment making fun of me for foolishly believing she is no longer a total monkey if I am incorrect.

And thus it begins

Once upon a time there was a bored grad student who probably should have been doing lit review* or cleaning her apartment or something, but instead was screwing around on the computer as she does most of the time she is avoiding work. If memory serves she was cruising the AOL headlines and came across the story of a little baby girl who had been thrown into a latrine in Haiti and there was an link to a YouTube video of the rescue. They labeled the infant a "miracle baby" and given that she managed to survive the whole ordeal that is a pretty good title. YouTube, as I am sure all of you know, always shows "related" videos on the side margin and scrolls through a bunch after your video is over. This is a trap, a very well designed trap, because inevitably one of these "related videos" catches the eye and is clicked, watched and then when that is over another one is spotted... This can (and often does) go on for hours as there is an essentially never ending supply of "related videos" and the label "miracle baby" only adds to it given the massive volume of "miracle baby" videos and that babies are sooooo cute.

Some time during the "miracle baby" marathon came a video showing the NICU journey of a set of twins born at 23 weeks. Having a godson who was born prematurely this sparked interest and there was a link to a blog written by their mother. She lurked on that blog until it was set to private and she felt too stalkerish to ask to be invited, this could have been the end of the story but it isn't. Before the privatization of that first blog she had discovered links to other blogs with different stories, many of them premie blogs at first, that were just as compelling, and most of them had additional links to even more interesting and compelling blogs and so on. The list of blogs grew and it is still growing.

Mostly lurking with the rare comment here and there the bored, work avoiding grad student happily kept reading the many blogs on her list. Then one day she was catching up on the blogs after returning home from visiting the family back east when she came across this post. NukeDad and the now highly amused grad student exchanged a couple e-mails and comments and the idea of her becoming a blogger herself was planted. After letting the idea percolate a bit in her head she mention the idea to Baby Sibling who brainstormed with her and came up with the insanely witty name and title and here we are dear reader, a new way for the bored microbiology grad student to avoid work and chores. This will likely not do anything to help her blog addiction either! Yeah this is likely to make it worse, won't be long before she is attending a meeting and will have to stand up and say, "Hi, my name is Karen and I am a blogoholic."

So welcome to my blog, expect randomness, lots of rambling, and likely a liberal amount of nerdiness. The frequency of my posting will likely vary a lot, it is likely to be more frequent if people pay attention to me, find me amusing, and let me know about it with comments. If Baby Sibling ends up as my only reader then I likely won't keep up with this since I can bug her directly in so many easier ways. Oh and if you are like me and go back and read through archives feel free to comment on old posts =)!

*lit review = literature review = finding and reading scientific journal articles that relate to one's research area, a boring, tedious and sometimes extremely frustrating task that is totally essential for just about every aspect of my work.