Noteworthy: Web readership stats, books on presidents, and Rattlers golf

By Medicine Hat News on September 8, 2018.

Reviewing Medicine Hat News website statistics is always interesting, and it proves (once again, unfortunately) that sex and crime sells. In March, the most-viewed story on our website was headlined “Man gets two years for using granddaughter for child porn.” It had more than 9,000 hits. The same month, a great local success story headlined “Hatter Mark Sakamoto wins CBC’s Canada Reads” had only 1,351. Same sort of eyebrow-raising stats in April. The top story, an important economic development for our city, was headlined “Hat lands massive pot plant.” It had almost 15,000 views, dwarfing an important story headlined “SPCA badly needs volunteer help,” which attracted about 2,200. … Theft of any kind is abhorrant, but an armed robbery at a Salvation Army thrift store in Airdrie over the August long weekend takes the cake. A thift store! Why didn’t the guy just take some candy from a baby? … Throughout the political brouhaha in the United States, is there any governing going on? Or is it just a 24-7 effort to keep Donald Trump away from Robert Mueller?… Studies show that talking on your cellphone while driving makes you more of a menace on the road than somebody with a .08 blood-alcohol level. If you must talk while on the road, pull over. Getting to your destination late is much preferable to getting killed, and perhaps killing others. … It might not be long before Donald Trump stops yelling ‘No collusion’ and starts pleading ‘No impeachment!’ … if you’re a fan of board games, you’ll want to take in FallCon at Calgary’s SAIT campus Sept. 21-23. There will be 1,200 games to choose from, and probably no shortage of people willing to compete. … Have you registered to vote? Elections Alberta is urging people to confirm their voting eligibility online (www.elections.ab.ca) but starting Sept. 8, enumerators will be going door to door to visit Albertans who haven’t registered. “Even if you have voted previously, we need to verify that the information that we have is still current,” said Glen Resler, Alberta’s chief electoral officer. Albertans will go to the polls and pass judgment on Jason Kenney/Rachel Notley, et al sometime in the first half of 2019. … Local photographer Kyle Steinkey (Vantage Point Photography) uses a drone to shoot some interesting photos, one of which — a shot of the Methanex Bowl — is shown above … It used to be called Vital Signs, but now it’s to be known as Vital Conversations, and the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta will be publicizing its findings Oct. 4. Says the foundation in a news release: “The information and data gathered from the following survey and from Vital Conversation 2018 will help direct the strategic planning and service delivery of many of our community’s service providers and charities, as well as guide our Community Foundation for future granting priorities.” … Sometimes I wonder how many terrific hit records John Lennon might have produced during the 1980s had Mark David Chapman not gunned him down. … If you think your club or organization has a listing in our weekly Clubs Calendar feature, please check to ensure the information is still correct. If changes or deletions are required, please send the updated info to me at the email address at the bottom of this column. … A couple of great stories recently surrounding the Medicine Hat College Rattlers golf team. Derek Whitson, who has cerebral palsy, has made the school’s six-man team, while Becky Martin, who will lead the Rattlers’ women’s squad into the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association nationals at Desert Blume Oct. 15-19, shot an amazing seven-under-par 66 at Connaught at the Labour Day weekend’s Southeastern Ope; tournament. Martin’s score is believed to be the lowest competitive score ever carded by a female at Connaught. … What a stark literary difference connected to recent U.S. presidencies: Bob Woodward of the Washington Post writes a book called “Fear — Trump in the White House” and Rick Reilly, U.S. sportswriter of the year winner on multiple occasions, has a book coming out called “Commander in Cheat.” Compare those to Barack Obama books “Obama, The Call of History,” “Obama, An Intimate Portrait,” “Bill Clinton — Giving,” and “Man of Integrity” (about George H.W. Bush). … Haven’t been to Popeyes restaurant yet, but judging from the lineups at the drive-through, I’m in the Medicine Hat chicken-loving minority. … Anyone critical of Medicine Hat City Council about the planned supervised consumption site should do some research. Mayor Ted Clugston has a right to be miffed at public outrage about it, because it’s a provincial deal. Nothing at all to do with city council. … It’s always fun to take a tour of the Parade of Homes. Reminds me of when I was five years old and taken through a candy store. “I want that red thing. I want that green one. No, that other one. Please, can I have that one?” … Canada is the ninth-best nation in the world for retirees, according to the 2018 Global Retirement Index. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Sweden are one through four on the list, with New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and Denmark also finishing ahead of Canada. Determining factors were strength of financial institutions, environment, health and income. The U.S. is 16th. … The ‘Pay What You Will’ experiment coming to the Esplanade — outlined Friday in a News column written by Trampas Brown — is certainly unique. You watch the performance, decide how much you want to pay for it, and slip that amount into an envelope before you leave the theatre. Brilliant! … If nothing else, Donald Trump must be one of the best in the world to face constant and extreme humiliation and act like it doesn’t bother him at all. … Longevity with the UCP and solid support for leader Jason Kenney will likely propel Cypress-Medicine Hat MLA Drew Barnes into a powerful position with the Kenney government if and when it unseats the NDP next spring. Perhaps as the minister of finance? Barnes could then put into effect some of the suggestions he’s had for current Finance Minister Joe Ceci in the last couple of years. … Friday was Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Day in Canada, but nothing special was happeninglocally to commemorate it. John Cherwonogrodzky said he is not aware of any Ukrainian-Canadian community in Medicine Hat and if anyone would know such a thing, it’s John C. “Years ago, there was a Ukrainian church on Maple Avenue, but its demise may reflect the culture in general,” he said.