Dead Scanner and Top Ten Posts

My scanner just died on me - the lid lamp has broken and needs to be replaced - so I can't scan any film over the holiday. The good thing is, it managed to break a few weeks before the warranty expires, so I can bring it in and have it fixed at no cost. The bad thing is, I can't scan the rolls I shot in Hokkaido, so anyone waiting for those posts¹ will have to wait a while longer. How much longer I don't know, since scanning takes some time and that's in short supply over the next couple of weeks.

Anyay, here's the top ten posts for 2009. I have some posts from 2008 and even earlier that show up high on the logs. They're being linked to from other places and just keep generating hits - the all-time top post on this blog is the 2008 one about Stirling engines that's being linked to from some actual physics pages for some reason.

I don't list them here, as the idea is to highlight the top posts for 2009. However, the earlier in the year it's posted, the more hits it will generate. Stuff I post in December never really has a chance the same year so I've decided to start the year in December 2008 for this list.

1. Pentax 67 (April)
   Where I write about my new toy, the Pentax 67 film camera. Great piece of gear. I just wish I had the time to get out and use it more.
   
   
2. Homemade Soba (December 2008)
   An illustrated howto for making homemade soba noodles. Just knead it longer than I did and you'll be fine.
   
   
3. Minolta SRT 101 (December 2008)
   The Minolta SRT 101, one of the great classic 35mm cameras. A true pleasure to use. A camera like this can be a real eye-opener to people that've only used digital cameras and think they have good ergonomics.
   
   
4. JLPT 1 Results (February)
   Where I announce my failing score for the JLPT last year. Why did this generate so much traffic? I have no clue.
   
   
5. Suma and Akashi (April)
   I and Ritsuko went on a day trip along the inland sea coast west of Kobe. Pleasant and relaxing, and only an hour from downtown Osaka.
   
   
6. All You Ever Wanted to Know About the Upcoming Japanese Election But Were Too Bored to Google on Your Own (July)
   A Q and A on (of course) the Japanese lower house election held last August. I'm a bit surprised it appears on this list, considering how overly long both post and title is.
   
   
7. Your Last Camera (February)
   Where I argue that the camera as a standalone device is becoming a niche product, supplanted by the phonecam.
   
   
8. Sweet Tools (February)
   I show off the chocolate toolset I got from Ritsuko for Valentine's day. I had as much fun lighting and shooting them as I did eating them, I think.
   
   
9. Umeshu (June)
   How to make umeshu in the comfort of your home. It's not exactly difficult - just put liquor, fruit and sugar together and wait.
   
   
10. Smoke Detector Stats (November)
    A newspaper columnist tries to support a line of argument with some statistics, but manages to bring proof for the exact opposite viewpoint instead, without even realizing it. Innumeracy is a real problem, in the media and elsewhere.
    

Three posts on cameras and three food-related posts; one travel, one political and one sciency post and one, um, miscellaneous post (really, why was the JLPT score of any interest to anyone?).

--

#1 Not that anyone is waiting with bated breath; people's holiday snaps are about as interesting as drying paint, I know.