Speaking of rss, my reader cut your post off at the third bullet, leaving me wondering if perhaps it was a choose-your-own-adventure post.

No, I am just still mid-authoring this morning.

two questions:

1) how are you measuring RSS readership? it doesn't look like you're using feedburner or similar. are you just measuring clickthroughs from feed readers? (in which case, are you sure that it's not a matter of more people reading through a feed aggregator and never 'clicking through'?)

2) i'm surprised at the idea that aggregation is on the downturn. what's replacing it? visits through bookmarking services? i'm not sure i agree with you here.

Through my admin, I see much more robust server stats that I do not share with you. I can track which aggregators age being used and can track the effect of the spammers. I assume I am the average joe of bloggers as well and I certainly see it when I use bloglines to track other blogs. Garbage is cluttering the street to the point it is getting impassible or at least a pain.

Where's the Chiz link? It doesn't work, Alan. Don't leave us hanging! Please!

Ooh! What stats software are you using? I haven't been successful in finding a stats package capable of churning out RSS readership metrics. The only approach I can find is to include a 1x1 pixel image appended to my feeds -- but this only measures hits (vs unique subscribers) and wouldn't include any feedreaders that don't have images turned on (or that change images around, like Kinja).

Here it is. I wish I were a Premier somewhere today as Chiz would be first on my list for hirings.

ALAN FOR PM!

Wow. NB's an exciting place for politics. I should move down there to get away from the drek that is Ontario.

Got any "national projects" in mind? Last one I remember was the happy NEP which pretty much finished the West off for the Liberals. Constitutional arrangments? Not unless the feds want to atually begin to devolve power in a formal way rather like they centralized it with conditional tax points.

The problem with George Grant and his ilk is they were convinced that it was up to the government to create Canada. It isn't and never was, Canadians invented, worked for, fought for and built Canada. The wee ensign you fly in the right column pretty much tells the story.

But then some factions with in the political elite decided to become secular, largely republican, multi-cultural and distinctly un-Canadian. We trashed a heritage, ceased teaching history lest we offend, embraced political correctness and a touchy feely, kumbaya singing sense of moral superiority with which we tried very hard indeed to distinguish ourselves from Americans even as we quoted Seinfeld to one another.

This did not happen because average Canadians were clamouring for more bilingualism or more immigration or the replacement of the Coat of Arms with the featureless Canadamark: it happened because government, particularily the federal government, decided to embark on a round of "nation building".

No, spare me the national projects and the dowdy little men (and women to be accurate, not inclusive) who run them. Better a visonette than a full on Trudeaupian nightmare. Or, best of all, quiet, competent, shrinking government.

(I will now go have a beer with Kevin Grace and have my moderate credentials restored by comparison...Happy Friday.)

<i>"It isn't and never was, Canadians invented, worked for, fought for and built Canada."</i><p>

You are! You are ananarcho-libertarian whack-job! Wow - that is the most dilluded understanding of Canadian history ever. But do go on. It is hilarious. Oh, it's too rich...tell us how property right and states' rights were cornerstones as well...my ribs...my ribs!!! Tell us how individual effort made the train tracks drive west and kept the border safe from American invasion. "Trudeaupian" - you actually used the jump the shark word in the first comment! Ah-hahaha.! Your're beautiful baby - bee-u-tee-ful. Have a good weekend. You're the best.

Its a little more stunning to hear Dryden and Kennedy actually say these things in all seriousness, out loud - and not expect the listener to snigger and make the circle motion with the index finger around his or her ear. Canada "the first international country" and "global society": now those are true "whack job" statements - but these are the leading lights of the Liberal party, who apparently think that a Canadian Passport should be as meaningful to you as your Library Membership card.

I meant to add, that this circle motion would, of course, be recongized in this "global society" as the "international" sign for "nutzoid".

Jeez Al, having a shitty day or something?

Forget George Grant's <i>Lament for a Nation</i>, how about Scott Reid's <i>Lament for a Notion</i>.

No - it's been a great day and week after all (bought a house, bad days turned out to have best possible outcomes, spring coming and everything) and my man Jay knows what the leftist libertarian likes to hear. For the record I think "global society" is up there, too, with "property rights" so we are all inclusive nutzo-ness around here. But anarcho-libertarians are about the most entertaining if only because you know sooner or later they will pick up the dog eared copy of <i>Atlas Shrugged</i> they bought in second year undergrad one last time and in that private moment look at it and realize to themselves...yeah, its a pile of crap. And then they grow up.

Wait a minute: more about the house. Pictures? Descriptions? Will there be a nice garden? If so, it seems like you will move in just in time to plant for this summer.

Jeez Al, having a shitty day or something?

Actually my impression was that Jay had a shitty day.

Sorry Gary. The guiding principle of the leftist libertarian is all about autonomy and privacy instead of property so no pics but it is a summer closing after the garden is well established for the year. There are a couple of hot spots, however, which may receive a grape vine or fig tree.

<blockquote><i>The guiding principle of the leftist libertarian is all about autonomy and privacy instead of property</i></blockquote>

I.e. I get to take your shit if I want it badly enough?

Re: grape vines ... Let me know if you'd like some canes, Al. :-D

I.e. I get to take your shit if I want it badly enough?

Eureka: The Principia Politica!

Interesting, Alan, the way you write about autonomy, libertarianism and privacy; I see a connection. It would seem that your thinking is automatically political-speak, whether it is a private issue or not. Hallmark of an attorney with several degrees?
Bummer about the garden. Perhaps this winter you will plan that new one acre of veg, as you had before on PEI. Big congratulations on the whole purchase. Can you at least tell us the color? Is the house purple with yellowy-olive trim?

Four bedroom ruddy brick 60's bungalow I would say. White trim. Fairly boring from the front but owned by house nerds for 15 years who have maintained it very well. Lots of hanging out and/or snoozing locations. It's all about the nap.

OOOOOO, brick. Very nice. Hopefully the fridge is large, too keep the stash cool.

Fridge is so singular.

Many beers and a whole day later....I'm always delighted to read the good burghers of Ontario puffing themselves up about the nationa building enterprise of the CPR. I note that the CPR, while the receipient of truly massive government largess, was a private company.

Most of the history of Canada, particularily the constitutional history, has been about our version of states rights: federal/provincial jurisdiction. And most of the cases have been about the federal government seeking to intrude on provincial jurisdictions and being allowed to by an often addled Privy Council. From which, more or less directly, we have the pleasures of Quebec seperatism and Western alienation.

Property rights - of course they should have been in the constituion. However, they are implicit in common law and that, to date, has been sufficient to prevent most of the more egregious attempts of government to abridge them.

Delightfully, I found Ms. Rand unreadable even in second year university and moved right on to the hard stuff like Nozick, Freidman, Coase, Oakeshott,von Mises, Hayek and Popper. Not stuff you wake up from.

However, it was stuff which oused me from my gentle slumber in the Liberal Party. Which was a bit of a drag as I had a fair bit of potentially useful wiring there. The problem being that Trudeau and people like Michael Pitfieeld and Marc Lalonde all believed that the federal government was somehow important and must be made to be seen as important. "The Land is Strong" and all that. And, in pursuit of that vision they were perfectly happy to barge into provincial jurisdictions dangling tax points to evade the constitution. It will take a generation to untangle the damage this caused and the dependencies it created.

(Great news about the house by the way...Janes and I will be moving into the top floor citing our natural right to housing which we'll argue can be implied under the Charter and which, of course, trump your mere "ownership" of the property in question. Keep that fridge stocked as I have no doubt the SCC will, in due course, find as a matter of law that just as "your house is my house, your beer is my beer".)

Hehehehe. I know someone who deeply believes in Coke over Pepsi, too.

The SCC will cite tradition, as when you're in my house, my beer (megre amounts) and booze (copious) is yours to partake in, except for the super-top-shelf stuff and even that I'm willing to negotiate.

Oh, never mind all that, does the house have a rec room for Glee Club practice?

I have a basement with couches, projection TV and an air hockey table! Much better. Plus I have a mini 8-track recording studio in my office, so maybe that would work better.

Wait a minute, wait a minute here, cm and David and Jay--did you notice that comment: 'fridge is so singualr' in relation to keeping the stash cool? I am getting the feeling that this house has MULTIPLE refigerators, placed strategically throughout the house. Hopefully, the rec room too, where I hope darts and foosball will also be on tap. I will bring the corn chips and salsa.......

"singular"

yeah, that's the ticket

Zack-lee, Gary. <p>But it is always instructive on matters libertarian to be reminded, as we are above, that it is not a matter of political theory or economic theory but a matter of faith like Quakerism or Taoism....or Coke for that matter. Never has the good been or will be evidenced in reality but yet continues the life of the earnest follower perceiving in flickerings here and there, inperceptable to most but well grounding fulfillment for the believer. Hail and <i>Vale</i>, I say: welcome impractical idealists all!

There are five spaces in the basement, one a work area that I have tagged for the Linoleum tiled music hall. I am thinking in addition to the glee club that a silver band would be in order. See <i>Brassed Off</i> for the reference and consider the firken broaching possibilities there implied.

A silver band would be a fine addition to any basement...And when I read "singular" I simply assumed that Alan had been collecting beer fridges of various sizes since college days. By this point - were he not married - a couple of dozen would not be out of the question. But, married, I'd say six tops.

I'll bring the Doritos and my tambourine and hope that one of those fridges has some Moosehead in it.

Whoa, good start, I'll bring along my "Best of the B'52s" and we can Rock Lobster in Alan's Love Shack.

This is exactly why I mentioned the whole privacy thing.