a social experiment

I had this entry marked as private for a while because I was trying to fine tune some of my words...and then I decided that the way in which I was saying it didn't matter so much as what I was saying.

At the end of August I decided to conduct a week long "social experiment."  The idea came one Saturday evening after sushi and maybe a little too much sake. As my friend chiefy says "It goes down easy."

I was curious to see if my profile picture had an impact on page views, blog views, comments, messages and friend requests.

I took a picture of my abs (yes, that was really my stomach) and left it as my main profile picture for a week. On the first day alone I had 150 page views. Normally, I get between 10 and 15 per day. 

There were noticeable increases in blog views, friend requests and messages received. Initially, men sent more messages and friend requests, but it started to even out by the end of the week. Also, I don't think the men paid much attention to the fact that I am a lesbian, but that's a topic we can reserve for another blog entry.

So what does all of this mean? First and foremost I have way too much free time on my hands. I knew the picture would have some sort of impact, but not to the extent that it did. I wonder what this says about people.

The thing that I think about the most is this...I have had some important and some not so important ideas conveyed in my blogs. By posting a picture of this nature, my thoughts were received by a larger audience. Whether or not it was a group able to appreciate it is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that my body is what lead people to explore my mind....and that just fascinates me.

And so the social experiment part two begins...I wonder how many of you are reading this.

random thoughts

There are these random advertisements all over the internet that ask you to "pick which one is snoop dog" or "pick which one is jennifer aniston" in order for you to "win" a free iPod. I gave it a try and...it doesn't really matter if you choose the correct photo or not.

This morning I was driving behind a fairly nice Volkswagen convertible, which was plastered with stickers from every place imaginable and for every cause known to human kind. If anyone who happens to read this has a similar vehicle could you please explain this phenomenon to me because I am utterly baffled.

Which brings to mind something else I will never understand. You have a nice car and you want to put a bumper sticker on it...perhaps you wish to proclaim the fact that your child is an honor student...how are you not going to take the time to put it on straight. It is the only sticker on your car and it's crooked. I just don't get it.

Finally...my health insurance company keeps sending me checks for small, random sums of money. Part of me wants to call and ask why, but I'm afaid that if I do they'll stop sending them.

questions for the woman at the gym

There are ten treadmills at the gym. I was the only person running. Why did you feel the need to get on the treadmill right next to me?

I could not breathe. Why did you you bathe in freesia body lotion prior to your work out?

I find camel toe to be utterly repulsive. Why did you wear those spandex shorts?

I was having a good run. Why did you turn the treadmill speed up to 10.0 and attempt to sprint?

You stomp your feet and kick your ass when you run. I am glad that your work out lasted only five minutes.

you know you think about too

i was making it a point to NOT post a blog unless i had something truly insighful to say, but i suppose that's all relative...i mean, i know that most of us have had this experience at some point in our lives...we walk into a stall in a public restroom, only to find that someone has taken a big shit in the toilet and negelected to flush it.

what would possess someone to do such a thing? i imagine two scenarios...one, the culprit is for some sick reason proud of his or her handiwork and is leaving it for the next user to admire...two, they are afraid that their load is too much for the septic system to handle. flushing the toilet will create an overflow, resulting in an embarassing situation.

either way, i just don't get it...one of the many mysteries of life i suppose