2012 in Review

Posted on Monday, December 31, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. The numbers differ a bit from the data that WordPress reports in its normal statistics package (e.g., the report below claims the site had ~270,000 page views, but the WordPress.com statistics package reported something over 272,000). Either way, the numbers seem to be in the ballpark.

It also reports who comments the most on this site. You know who you are, but if you’re curious how you ranked, feel free to click the link below to find out. Again, Happy New Year!

Here’s an excerpt:

About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 270,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 5 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!

Click here to see the complete report.

Posted in Blogging | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Top 10 Predictions for 2012: Results

Posted on Monday, December 31, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In 2011, I started this blog with my top 10 predictions for 2011. I also polled readers on these same predictions. At the end of that year, my accuracy rate was 40%, while my readers were right 50% of the time.

I continued the tradition in 2012 with my top 10 predictions for 2012. This year, my predictions were just as accurate as those of my readers with an accuracy rate of 40%.

Since I like to hold myself accountable for things I wrote in the past, now is the time I assess how I (and my readers) did.

To make things easier, I have included my original post in its entirety, but have included the results below each prediction in blue (if I was correct) and red (if I was wrong). I will also use the same coding methodology for my readers, who, it turns out, were right as often as I was.

Without further ado, here are my predictions with the subsequent results:

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Central Asia, China, Defense, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Investing, Leadership, Media, Middle East, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bush vs. Obama: Unemployment (November 2012 Jobs Data)

Posted on Sunday, December 9, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett
Change in Total Private Employment (in thousands), Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Change in Total Private Employment (in thousands), Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Update: Click here for the most recent jobs statistics.

On the first Friday of every month, I update the unemployment numbers so that I can compare the unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the unemployment rate under President Obama at that time. The genesis of this ritual began when I felt compelled to respond to some left-leaning sites that were comparing Obama’s first two years and four months in office with Bush’s last and worst economic year (the above chart shows the most recent incarnation of this narrative).

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The Joke Continues

Posted on Sunday, November 4, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

I’ve been meaning to send an update on the contest for the 4th Congressional District of Massachusetts, where my good friend, Sean Bielat, is running against an empty suit representing the Kennedy clan. Below, I’ve posted two segments of a video that the Kennedy nepotists don’t want anyone to see.

I just hope the good citizens of the 4th Congressional District realize that a vote against Joseph P. Kennedy III is a vote against nepotism, because Kennedy’s performance in these segments makes it fairly obvious that nepotism is the only reason he’s in this race.

Posted in Leadership, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Writers of the Future Contest 3Q29 Update

Posted on Sunday, November 4, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Back in August, I posted an update on the 1Q29 and 2Q29 quarters of the Writers of the Future Contest. On Friday, I received the results for my 3Q29 submission.

Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction, Technology, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Stalemate?

Posted on Sunday, November 4, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Today I filled out my predictions for the 2012 presidential election using CNN’s electoral map, and I’m predicting a stalemate. That’s right — a stalemate.

Source: CNN

Continue reading →

Posted in Policy, Politics, Predictions | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

My 2012 Voting Guide for California’s Propositions

Posted on Saturday, November 3, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Today I’m filling out my absentee ballot for the 2012 election. In the process, I have decided to offer my own recommendations for how a rational Republican should vote on California’s various propositions this year. Moreover, I’ve compared my recommendations to the official positions of the California Republican Party. I’ve outlined areas of differences with a blue border.

I look forward to a lively and constructive debate.

Source: http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/, Reflections of a Rational Republican

Posted in Business, California, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bush vs. Obama: Unemployment (October 2012 Jobs Data)

Posted on Friday, November 2, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Change in Total Private Employment (in thousands), Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Update: Click here for the most recent jobs statistics.

On the first Friday of every month, I update the unemployment numbers so that I can compare the unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the unemployment rate under President Obama at that time. The genesis of this ritual began when I felt compelled to respond to some left-leaning sites that were comparing Obama’s first two years and four months in office with Bush’s last and worst economic year (the above chart shows the most recent incarnation of this narrative).

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Bush vs. Obama: Unemployment (September 2012 Jobs Data)

Posted on Saturday, October 6, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Change in Total Private Employment (in thousands), Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Update: Click here for the most recent jobs statistics.

On the first Friday of every month, I update the unemployment numbers so that I can compare the unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the unemployment rate under President Obama at that time. The genesis of this ritual began when I felt compelled to respond to some left-leaning sites that were comparing Obama’s first two years and four months in office with Bush’s last and worst economic year (the above chart shows the most recent incarnation of this narrative).

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 32 Comments

The End of an Era: The Final Flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

Posted on Saturday, September 29, 2012 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Source: ©2012 Reflections of a Rational Republican

September 21st may have marked the end of an era for America’s manned space program. The space shuttle Endeavour flew a final victory lap over California. The pictures above and below show the shuttle passing over Alcatraz and by the Transamerica Building in San Francisco, respectively. Ironically, NASA must now rely on Russian spacecraft to ferry Americans to the International Space Station. Continue reading →

Posted in California, Mathematics, Policy, Science, Science Fiction, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments