I'm not eligible for the contest because of where I work, but had planned to compete under a pseudonym anyway (like arabchickencurry) figuring I would deal with the problem if I won. I ended up not writing anything mostly because it was hard work and I didn't have the time (my free hours were spent reading other peoples' blogs!) but also because I could see what was going on.

1. I've read more posts than all three judges combined, and I haven't read that many.

2. Sixteen finalists were selected before Christmas (the judges and staff have holiday plans like everyone else). Just before the finalists were announced, a few names were dropped and new ones who had started blogging very late put in their place to give the impression blogs were still being read up until the 29th.

3. Practically nothing got read after the 16th. It broke my heart to see the bloggers working so hard and doing such a good job not realizing the game was already over.

4. Despite the plan, probably half the blogs were never looked at. Not once. Not a single post. God help you if you weren't NFL or MLB or popular.

5. The bloggers are pretty much held in contempt down here. Even the finalists. Total contempt. Like they are some other type of life form. It makes me sick. I love my bloggers. (Please don't suck up to the judges and call them "Mr." anymore! They don't deserve your respect.)

5. McDonalds doesn't fare much better than the blogging community.

6. They are going to go lightly on arabchickencurry (they think it's all a con anyway, about him being only 15).

7. The #### finally hit the fan yesterday afternoon over all the plagiarism stuff. I'm not saying they were shredding documents, but something's going on and people are nervous. I'm trying to find out more, but there is the smell of panic in the air. It felt good to see the complacency finally dissipate.

8. The contest has been a mess from the technical side. It doesn't seem like anyone is trying to do anything about it.

9. They say they left the original "4 More Finalists" post up as a "freedom of expression" gesture, but it was really complacency, they just didn't catch it for a whole day. Blogs and posts are being deleted regularly, and peoples' access is being cut off, so if you think this post has value, please cut and paste it somewhere else before it's gone.

10. I've loved reading the blogs. I feel like I know a lot of you. I wish I could help.

Because I signed up planning to win but haven't written one yet (it's harder to do than it looks as you all know) and if the contest ends without me doing a single post, I'll feel like a loser.