Sitemeter, the stat-tracking service loads of bloggers use, did a major "upgrade" today. To put it bluntly, it sucks. I was wondering if there were just something I was missing because I couldn't see my day's unique visitor count and recent referrers -- the two things every blogger watches like a mental patient -- when I saw the new page. Oh no, it wasn't just me. Way to mess it up, guys. The number of people screaming "what are the alternatives" (I was going to give it another day or two, but most bloggers are the instant gratification (and instant whine)-type) has prompted a roll-back of the service. Smooth move ex-lax. I mean ...uh... poor Sitemeter guys.

In other news, you might have noted a slightly different look around here. Hope it doesn't grate on the eyes, I just can't leave well enough alone I guess. I've actually got a couple other backgrounds based on this one I will rotate in. I've been slowly tuning up the site to be able to easily swap in and out different style sheets and graphics, though at this point I have no plans for a javascript-based system where the user can select their own look as I had in the distant past. I don't think anyone really bothered with it. I think I'll just rotate the looks every few days.

You, the reader, are encouraged to voice your preferences.