I can't complain, but . . .

Traffic has been good lately, so I can't say I'm unhappy about that. But there are holes in the Eff You map. I don't really have a mechanism to easily determine which countries have not yet come by and thus deserve a little prompting (cough, cough, Bermuda, cough, cough) but there are, in fact, countries that have not yet visited Eff You. I don't know why. On the other hand, we have a long and proud tradition of nagging countries that have not yet represented to Eff You Nation in hopes of getting somebody from that country to come on down.

Well, I've decided Andorra needs to drop by. You guys know who you are. Get it in gear, folks.

Blast from the past

The Netherlands, which in the early days of the blog was second only to the United States as a source of visitors, came by today for the first time in quite a while. Welcome back, guys. I love gouda cheese. And canals. Always good to get a little love from The Netherlands. So where the hell is Mongolia? What do I have to do here? I like Mongolian barbecue as much as the next guy. I even thought about buying one of those funky cast iron pans they use to cook it that looks kind of like an upside-down wok:

I know, I know, it's not really a Mongolian recipe. But the pan is. So why won't Mongolia come by? It hurts, guys. Come on over sometime.

My first first-time visitor from a place I've never heard of

Traffic has been kind of interesting lately. Sure, typical summertime doldrums, although visits have been at acceptable levels. And we've had the usual pr0n-seekers from places like Russia and Turkey who have challenged for the daily visitor-count lead (always failing to pass the U.S., at least so far). But we've also had a number of visitors who made me check to see if anyone from their country had ever come by -- folks from Kenya, Israel, Venezuela, Pakistan, Singapore and other less-commonly represented nations. In fact, I think Kenya might be the only nation in Africa besides South Africa and Madagascar to come by. I'd have to check, and that sounds like a lot of work, so I probably won't.

But today we have a genuine oddity. Sure, I've had visitors from nations that don't exist, like Palestine, and from nations that actually aren't nations, like Reunion -- which is an island in the Indian Ocean that is a French possession, or "overseas department" -- but I have never had a visitor from a country I've never heard of.

Until now. And I didn't get one visitor -- I got 4. So let's extend a big Eff You welcome to Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Yeah, that's what I said. Who, what and where the fuck is Saint Pierre and Miquelon? If I had to guess, I'd say somewhere in the Caribbean.

And I'd be wrong. Saint Pierre and Miquelon is another French possession that Wikipedia describes as:

a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, situated in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean near Canada.[3] It is the only remnant of the former colonial empire of New France that remains under French control,[3] with a population of 6,080 at the January 2011 census.[1]
The islands are situated at the entrance of Fortune Bay, which extends into the southern coast of Newfoundland, near the Grand Banks.[4] They are 3,819 kilometres (2,373 mi) from Brest, the nearest point in Metropolitan France,[5] but just 25 kilometres (16 mi) off the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada.

OK, then. Apparently, the weather is brutal, and the economy, based largely on fishing, is shitty :

The inhabitants have traditionally earned their livelihood by fishing and by servicing fishing fleets operating off the coast of Newfoundland.[3] The climate and the small amount of available land hardly favour activity such as farming and livestock (weather conditions are severe, which confines the growing season to a few weeks, and the soil contains significant peat and clay and is largely infertile).[39] Since 1992, the economy has been in steep decline, following the depletion of fish stocks, the limitation of fishing areas and the ban imposed on all cod fishing by the Canadian Government.[40]

The rise in unemployment has been curtailed by the state financial aid for the retraining of businesses and individuals. The construction of the second airport runway has also helped sustain the activity in the construction industry and public works.[24] Fish farming, crab fishing and agriculture are being developed to diversify the local economy.[3] The future of Saint Pierre and Miquelon rests on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture. Explorations are underway to exploit deposits of oil and gas.[24] Tourism relies on the proximity to Canada, while commerce and crafts make up the bulk of the business sector.

Sounds like a tough place to live. So tough that four if the residents there apparently are considering becoming contract attorneys. Or maybe they're looking for pr0n. Maybe they just like kit-tays. In any event, please welcome St. Pierre and Miquelon to Eff You Nation. Y'all come back soon!

Algeria in the house

We have our first visitor from Algeria. Welcome. Officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Algeria is really big -- the 10th largest country in the world. The capital is Algiers. Algeria used to be a French colony, and it fought a long war of independence against France. Not sure Algeria has enough to put together a Greatest Hits album. But hey, welcome, Algeria, and here's to better days!