June 2011 Archives

The jury is back in on Sunday's tomato sauce. I had my first plate of spaghetti and meatballs last night. Patsy had spaghetti squash with some of the tomato sauce. I grilled some garlic bread to go with it. We both thought it was excellent. Hers could not have been as good as mine but that's normal around here. Looking forward to dinner tonight even more than I was last night. I still have a couple of servings and a half loaf of french bread just waiting for my homemade garlic butter. :)

For the record, it went like this:

26 red tomatoes (Enough to fill that pot to the level pictured at the link)
1/4 cup olive oil (About ... I didn't measure)
1 Medium onion - Chopped fine
4 stalks of celery - Chopped fine
4 small carrots - 2 chopped fine
12 cloves garlic - Chopped fine
1 tablespoon salt
Some black pepper
10 leaves basil
1 bell pepper - Chopped fine

Remove skin from tomatoes. Boil for a few seconds. Make sure all of the skin comes in contact with the boiling water. Makes removing the skin much easier. Cut the tomatoes into quarters or so, place them in a food processor, and puree until the mixture looks like soup. Pour them through a strainer into the pot you're going to use (I recommend a ceramic or Magnalite aluminum pot, not cast iron). That removes the seeds and some pulp. Put on low flame.

Saute the chopped ingredients in the olive oil until they're soft (About 10 minutes). Add to the tomatoes and simmer. Add six fresh basil leaves (Whole), add salt, add pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring regularly. Taste. If bitter, shave carrots into sauce and stir until bitterness diminishes. Simmer uncovered another hour or so until it's the thickness you like. Remove basil leaves. Remove from heat. Chop remaining basil leaves and sprinkle on top. Serve with capellini for best results. Bon appetit.

About today's QOTD: Wonder what that guy is going to think of himself when he's reminiscing about that a few years from now.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Come To Me - Bonnie Raitt - Luck Of The Draw
2. Highway Halo - O.C.M.S. - Tennessee Pusher
3. Easy To Be Hard - Three Dog Night - Captured Live At The Forum
4. I Want To Disappear - Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
5. Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers And Sisters

Quote of the Day

Upon leaving the hospital, Brink refused to return to the squad car and had to be carried by three officers, court documents state. While being lifted to the vehicle, Brink pulled his shorts down and threatened to urinate on the deputies and the car, court documents state.

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Ok, here is the problem. I have a blog called “The Thursday Blog”, which many have hailed as a pure genius idea. It means I only blog once a week, every week and it gives the reader a nice sense of familiarity. Also it protects the blogger from what happens to all bloggers from time to time…….. they forget to blog."

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The fourth song on the iTunes shuffle is one everyone knows. I like a lot of classical music but I have some trouble remembering their titles. I can't be the only one with that trouble. It shouldn't be that way. I have Aaron Copland's Greatest Hits. More classical music should have gone that route. Those titles are much easier to remember. If Beethoven had done that, he might have sold more records. :)

The BOTD has a another good example of this. "Moonlight Sonata" is fairly easy to remember. "Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2"? Not so much.

Here nor there: I made meatballs last night to go with the tomato sauce I made Sunday afternoon. They were made by my Dad's recipe. Spaghetti and meatballs was his specialty. It was a staple in our house when I was growing up and, even after, when we came to visit. All of my siblings have the recipe and have made it but I haven't since Dad passed in 2003. The aroma in my kitchen last night was very familiar. It was a powerful memory and is still with me even this morning.

About today's QOTD: What a lovely choice that sounds like.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. The Ark - Gerry Rafferty - City To City
2. Cry Baby - Janis Joplin - Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits
3. Girl I Wanna Dance With You - Walter "Wolfman" Washington - Sada
4. Beethoven: Symphony #9 In D Minor, Op. 125, "Choral" - 4. Presto, Allegro Assai - Georg Solti: London Symphony Orchestra - Immortal Beloved
5. Wonderwall - Oasis - Rock: The Train Kept A Rollin'

Quote of the Day

I have made the decision to vote for the plan because national interests are more important than our own dignity.

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Beethoven’s “Moonlight sonata”, a name coined by German music critic Ludwig Rellstab after Beethoven’s death, is one of the most widely known classical music pieces, and has been since it was composed some 200 years ago."

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Spent the early part of yesterday evening confirming my status as the world's worst plumber. The job got done but it takes me a lot longer than it would an average do-it-yourselfer. The work, itself, isn't all that demanding although I pretty much have to relearn the how-tos just about every time. Getting in those tight spots is the part I have trouble doing. Well, that and the constant getting up off of and getting back down on to the floor, too. The job last night involved removing the trap under a bathroom sink. We had a slow drain for about a week that Liquid Plumber didn't help. At the end of that week, or perhaps even before, it developed a leak. There will be a bucket under it for a few days until I know, for sure, that it isn't leaking. That's both confidence and experience.

About today's QOTD: This cellphone hater doesn't think so. Go for it.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Solitary Man - Neil Diamond - Classics: The Early Years
2. I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls - Meav - Méav
3. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow - Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live
4. Downtown - Petula Clark - AM Gold 1965
5. Bron-Yr-Aur - Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Quote of the Day

I think cell phones have ruined pushing people into pools

Domonique Foxworth, Baltimore Ravens - Special to SI.com

Blog of the day via Kate is here.

Quote from said blog: "And that was exactly what I was still echoing through my head an hour later, when Laura and I stopped our shopping carts and stared up in confused, silent awe at a display of enormous metal chickens, made from rusted oil drums."

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A sad day for baseball. I'm certain there is no talk of moving that franchise like there would be if it was happening in Kansas City or Milwaukee.

Classic case of TMI. Say it aint so, Florence, or, better yet, don't say anything.

The QOTD is talking about mob-boss-on-the-run, Whitey Bulger, and his girlfriend. I'm willing to bet everyone who ever came into contact with them is replaying their conversations to see what could have gone wrong.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Eli's Coming - Three Dog Night - The Best Of Three Dog Night
2. Mad Russian's Christmas (Instrumental) - Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Eve And Other Stories
3. Ship Of Fools - Robert Plant - Now And Zen
4. Tusk - Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
5. Blowin' Free - Wishbone Ash - Argus

Quote of the Day

I just passed by them frequently and said hello, and we talked about the weather

Montanna Bischoff, 25

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The world's largest retail chain that sells worthless shit from China is now allowed to sell "Weed" What nots?"

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The blogs here have been offline since early Friday morning. My host, Network Solutions, was the victim of a series of DDOS attacks a few days ago and they've been scrambling ever since to put out all the fires. Apparently, the hacker community is pissed off at them or one of their clients. As a result, my host is doing extra maintenance and who knows what else but it’s damned inconvenient to me and thousands of other users. These guys fancy themselves as rebels but they're really not. They're just vandals and what they're doing is not just harmless fun.

Today was time to give tomato sauce another go. Last week, I used a cast iron pot. This week, I used a ceramic-coated one. Patsy and I both think the cast iron pot imparted unwanted flavors into the sauce. I also adjusted the recipe. I cut down on the tomatoes because this week's batch of tomatoes were quite a bit bigger than the ones I used last week. I upped the celery, carrots, garlic, bell pepper, and basil. I also removed all of the sauce from the pot as soon as I was finished. This batch is definitely better. We'll find out how much better tomorrow night or Tuesday night.

26 red tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Medium onion
4 stalks of celery
4 small carrots
12 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon salt
Some black pepper
10 leaves basil
1 bell pepper (I used another orange one from my garden)

CrabAppleLane Tomato Sauce - June 26, 2011

About the quote from today's BOTD: I always thought a botnet was something a cyber-criminal had to create. Apparently, you can rent one from other cyber-criminals. I wonder what they charge.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Warrior - Wishbone Ash - Argus
2. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) - Manfred Mann - Rock 'n Roll Relix 1968_1969
3. The Way - Fastball - All the Pain Money Can Buy
4. Prairie Wedding - Mark Knopfler - Sailing To Philadelphia
5. Doctor Doctor - UFO - Phenomenon

A suicide bomber in a wheelchair blew himself up at the entrance to a police station north of the capital Baghdad on Sunday, killing three people and wounding 18, officials said.

Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Last week, a DDoS extortionist got arrested for renting a botnet and attempting to blackmail German betting sites during the World Cup."

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After all those months of bluster and posturing, of insisting it was impossible to find agreement on an equitable split of $9 billion — something most fans could have managed over a pizza and a case of beer — there's been so much progress these last three weeks it seems the question is not if a deal gets done, but when.

No, it seems to me the question is if they can make this much progress in three weeks, what have they been doing for the last two years? Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay, said something similar a few weeks ago when he said he and Jeff Saturday could work it out over lunch but I think maybe now it's just starting to sink in with the owners and players how ludicrous this has been from the start. Opening day is 11 weeks from today and you want to get in six weeks worth of training camp and preseason? Might I suggest you start working at this full time like the working stiffs who are picking up the tab?

77 days until Saints v Packers ... I hope

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Cocaine Habit - Old Crow Medicine Show - Big Iron World
2. Already Gone - The Eagles - Their Greatest Hits
3. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
4. American Pie - Don McLean - AM Gold 1970-1974
5. One More Tomorrow - Henry Gross - Plug Me Into Something

Quote of the Day

There aint no doubt it
It's hard every step of the way
But there aint no doubt without it
Because when you find what you need
One more tomorrow
Aint gonna take that away

Henry Gross, One More Tomorrow

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Using the Falklands issue is a pretty basic ploy in Argentine politics – it seems to make normally sane people foam at the mouth."

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Going to tweak the tomato sauce recipe quite a bit and give it another go this Sunday. It didn't turn out like I'd hoped. It's OK but homemade sauce from these tasty tomatoes I have should be off the charts. It wasn't.

About today's QOTD: I think the Cardinals are going to lose their best and most popular player. Baseball is creating another minor league. They have A, Double A, Triple A, and now, Quad A. The new Quad A league consists of the smaller market teams that can't afford to keep their best players. If it were up to me, I'd put an asterisk next to every team that won the World Series with the highest payroll. If they don't create a salary ceiling and a salary floor like the NFL has, they will continue to alienate fans.

Pretty amazing picture from Omaha, where tornado sirens delayed a College World Series game. The whirlwind that is the SEC is still there, though. 3 of the 6 remaining teams, including both teams still in the winner's bracket are from the SEC. The SEC has won 5 football championships in a row and are well on their way to a 3rd straight baseball championship.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf - Harley-Davidson Cycles: Road Songs
2. Wild Theme - Mark Knopfler - Local Hero
3. Fever - Peggy Lee - iTunes Download
4. You Really Got Me - Van Halen - Van Halen
5. The Calm Before - Elijah Bossenbroek - Harmony in Disarray

Quote of the Day

Whatever Albert Pujols’ broken forearm means to the St. Louis Cardinals’ chances of reaching the playoffs this year, consider it one more likely reason he won’t reach the Cubs as a free agent next year.

Gordon Wittenmyer, Chicago Sun-Times

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "I figure that with today's requirement of minification and concatination most people have to have some sort of compilation step in their deployment process anyway."

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Near CrabAppleLane - June 21, 2011

The field above is about a mile from my house and I pass this guy every day both to and from work. It's been many, many years since I saw a real one in a field. It brightens my day a little. I don't know what the owner hopes to ward off. I don't think crows care much about watermelon. They're more into roadkill and whole corn around here. Washington Parish, about five miles from here, is famous for watermelons. They're the best I've ever tasted. These are undoubtedly one of those varieties. You'll have to come here to try one. They don't travel well.

I had a colleague once tell me that we want to be the "best of the worst". It appalled me at the time. I think of that every time I see one of these studies.

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Red Barchetta - Rush - Moving Pictures
2. Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu
3. Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of The Grass Roots
4. Gallows Pole - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
5. Rock Bottom - UFO - Phenomenon

Quote of the Day

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere will officially arrive on Tuesday at 1:16 p.m. EDT: the June solstice. At the same time, winter officially begins for the Southern Hemisphere.

Joe Rao, Space on MSNBC

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Often we talk about “good” vs. “bad” customer satisfaction scores. The idea is fairly simple – you want high customer satisfaction scores, because the higher they are the more (likely) you will bring in excess revenue for the company."

Excess revenue? -Rob

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I was very sorry to hear of Clarence Clemons untimely death and more than a little surprised. I thought I had read somewhere that he had no plans to stop touring with the band and I thought that was after his stroke. We are moderate Bruce fans here. Patsy has Born to Run from before we were married. I've bought the live boxed set, Born in the USA, and The Rising since. I still don't know their catalog all that well. Except for a memorable solo on Born to Run and some backing vocals, I don't know what else he contributed to the band. R.I.P., Clarence.

If the runner at second base is relaying which pitch is coming to the batter, he is not "stealing" your signs. He's reading them. Change your signs, dummies.

Interesting cartoon. Not so much if you're traveling abroad for vacation, though.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Child In Time [Live] - Deep Purple - Made In Japan
2. Only You Can Rock Me - UFO Essential - UFO
3. My Sweet Annette - Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day
4. Reach Out Of The Darkness - Friend & Lover - Rock 'n Roll Relix 1968-1969
5. Dead Horse - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion I

Quote of the Day

They are fighting Quakers; they are Quakers with a vengeance.

Ishmael, Moby Dick

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "It's a strange but very good feeling to see one of the real, "official" Moby-Dick drawings finally beautifully framed and hanging in someone else's home. I've already sold the handful of alternate illustrations I did, but I've been holding on so tightly to all the of book illustrations for so very long now that, even though I didn't think it would, it feels very good to let them go to new homes now."

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Happy Father's Day

Dad

CrabAppleLane Tomato Sauce - June 19, 2011 - Father's Day

I used about 30 of my reddest tomatoes for today's sauce. Seemed appropriate to cook this today. My sauce uses fresh tomatoes but I doubt it will be as good as my Dad's or my wife's and they don't use fresh tomatoes. Dad was a great cook. So is Patsy. It's now about an hour since that photo was taken. The wonderful aroma is filling the kitchen and spilling out into the rest of the house. I may have gotten it right this time.

Whatever happened to those little three-pack boxes of garlic? All I could find was the two-pound sacks and individual jumbo garlics, which I'm not wild about.

Speaking of cooks, Mr B appears to be a pretty good one. I had a New York Strip last night at one of our favorite restaurants. It wasn't bad but as far as my favorite cuts of steak, it ranks about last. Give me a filet, porterhouse, T-bone, or rib-eye, please, before you give me that lethal injection.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Roll Tide (Includes Hymn 'Eternal Father Strong To Save') - Hans Zimmer - Crimson Tide
2. Father And Son - Mark Knopfler - Cal
3. Dance With My Father - Luther Vandross - Love, Luther
4. My Father's Eyes - Eric Clapton - Pilgrim
5. Father And Son - Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman

Quote of the Day

I will take care of my niece and nephew. I will feed them and take them to day care. I will give them a stable home. I know them. And I love them like no one else can.

Adrian McLemore

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "It’s Father’s Day!"

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Remove one of Patsy's favorite trees for several hundred dollars or move the satellite dish for about $50? I have 30+ years of experience in making those decisions. We had the dish relocated yesterday. One of our Bradford pear trees was blocking reception from several of DirecTV's transponders. I have trimmed that tree several times in the past, much to the wife's dismay every time. Hopefully, the new location is its final resting place. Unfortunately, it is now pretty conspicuous in the front yard. I'm considering my landscaping options to make it less conspicuous and less susceptible to wind.

Last night, the temps dropped into the mid 80s here at CrabAppleLane after a day in the high 90s. High 90s expected all weekend. Miserable. The air conditioners are getting a workout. Hope they hold up. Louisiana and Texas are in the midst of a heat wave and a terrible drought. See QOTD and BOTD for more details.

Upgraded Movable Type here this morning. Pretty smooth. I'm having a pretty good run on upgrades and performance issues. I have a new policy in that regard. I now think the best way to deal with the blog gods is to taunt them.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
2. Crossroads - Ry Cooder - Crossroads
3. The Sinister Minister - Béla Fleck & The Flecktones - Greatest Hits Of The 20th Century
4. Song For Mr. C - Shawn Phillips - Second Contribution
5. Puttin' People On the Moon - Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South

Quote of the Day

The water crisis in Texas, the biggest oil- and gas-producing state in the United States, highlights a continuing debate in North America and Europe over fracking's impact on water supplies. Environmentalists say the method poses a contamination threat, while farmers face growing competition for scarce water.

Joe Carroll, Bloomberg Businessweek via MSNBC

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The drought situation in Texas has reached the critical stage, says a Texas A&M University atmospheric scientist who also serves as climatologist for Texas, and the U.S. Drought Monitor has designated parts of central and eastern Texas as under “exceptional drought” in its latest assessment."

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CrabAppleLane Dinner - June 16, 2011

I don't know if I could be as forgiving as Col. Jack Jacobs. Meeting someone who fought for the other side is one thing. Meeting the person directly responsible for an ambush on your units is something else. If you've forgotten how divisive the Viet Nam war was/is or if you're too young to know, read a handful of the comments.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Have You Seen My Wife, Mr. Jones) - Bee Gees - The British Invasion: The History Of British Rock, Vol. 8
2. Make It Last - Montrose - Montrose
3. It's Only Love - B.J. Thomas - All The Hits
4. Liar - Three Dog Night - The Best Of Three Dog Night
5. The Friendship Theme - Bette Midler - Beaches

Quote of the Day

I keep straining my ears to hear a sound
Maybe someone is digging underground
Or have they given up and all gone home to bed
Thinking those who once existed must be dead

Bee Gees, New York Mining Disaster (Have You Seen My Wife, Mr. Jones)

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "I used to make fun of the Bee Gees when I was in middle school and high school. They had high girlie voices. It was cool to make fun of them because of their feminine falsetto voices, but secretly I liked their music."

I've always liked them but never had purchased any of their music when they were in vogue. I prefer earlier Bee Gees to the later disco Bee Gees. Not a total guilty pleasure like ABBA but maybe a little one. :) -Rob

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Anyone who follows football knows who Drew Brees is. If you don't, I'll tell you. He is the star quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, the face of the franchise, and the unquestioned leader of the team. He is also a leader in the New Orleans community, a fantastic ambassador for that community, and an all around good guy. He is 100 feet tall in Louisiana and growing. Full Disclosure: I am a huge Drew Brees fan.

The NFL and its players are in the middle of a dispute and are trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Drew has been outspoken for the players in this matter and has been the target of some ridicule and criticism. Bear in mind that he didn't have to do this. He has nothing to gain. He's a superstar. He'll be fairly compensated, regardless of what the final CBA looks like, and he could have taken the low profile route that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are taking now and like Joe Montana took before them. That's not who he is. He stands up for what he believes. As for the criticism, that's fair enough. He put himself out there. That said, most of the ridicule/criticism is ludicrous at best, childish at worst, and most of it coming from people who have not sat in on any of those meetings or talked to any of the parties. Such as:

I’m tired of Brees, he has stuck his foot in his mouth and said horribly annoying things too many times for me to ever want to like him, turd. - bittersonicsfan

Brees has turned into a major douche. I have so little respect for him after all this. - rooneyruleblues

You don't have to look hard to find many more like that. Disagreement is fine. It's the American way. In all of his remarks, Drew has never been uncivil. I don't consider myself a civility hawk. Harsh criticism is fair and even warranted sometimes. I've engaged in it, myself. If comments like the two above are the best you've got, here's a little harsh criticism for you: You're a fucking idiot.

And, now, for something completely different: There is some embarrassment to the Chicago Bears in this "Exxxotica Expo 2011" story but the best line is in the video when the reporter says family-friendly Rosemont is going to put this expo in a corner so as to not arouse the public.

If there is to be a full NFL season in 2011, it will start 12 weeks from today. That would include about 6 weeks of training camp and preseason-don't-call-them-exhibition games and a pretty short time to get a whole lot of rookies and free agents signed. What normally takes several months to shake out will be compressed into a couple of weeks. Hectic is the word that comes to mind.

About today's QOTD: Let me remind you. :)

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Lonely Days - Bee Gees - 2 Years On
2. Boy Inside the Man - Tom Cochrane & Red Rider - Tom Cochrane And Red Rider
3. I Saw Her Again - The Mamas & The Papas - AM Gold: The '60s Generation
4. I'll Be The One - Badfinger - The Very Best Of Badfinger
5. Hand In Hand - Dire Straits - Making Movies

Quote of the Day

You can't teach something that you don't have. So two men will never be able to teach a woman how to be a woman.

David Tyree, Former New York Giants receiver

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Three Tabby Cats in Vienna are hosting this Weekend of Remembrance."

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This is a good idea: Teaching people to swim and to be safe in the water in a city that has water all around it is money well spent but I hope no one thinks that simply learning how to swim will be enough for them to be able to save their drowning children. Need to take a lifeguard class for that.

This is a bad idea: Searching for Bin Laden's body. Talk about a needle in a haystack and to what end? Advertising? See BOTD for more.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Holiday (Stereo Version) - Bee Gees - Bee Gees' 1st
2. Tears In Heaven - Eric Clapton - Unplugged
3. Spooky - Classics IV - Am Gold 1968
4. Suck - Nine Inch Nails - Broken
5. Come Together - The Beatles - 1

Quote of the Day

Millions of eyes can see
Yet why am I so blind
When the someone else is me
It’s unkind, it’s unkind

Bee Gees, Holiday

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Salvage diver Bill Warren of California is planning what could be the most ambitious underwater salvage in history; the search for the body of Osama Bin Laden."

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Happy Flag Day

About today's QOTD: In Louisiana, there is a place to declare your online out-of-state purchases so you can pay sales tax on them. I don't know how they verify them or if they verify them. I suppose the Alliance for Main Street Fairness doesn't think the honor system is working.

About the selected quote from the BOTD: It brings back my memories of our summer vacations to Minnesota when I was a kid. It was culture shock. My siblings and I "yes ma'amed, no sirred, Miss, and Mistered" all of the adults and referred to our aunts and uncles as Aunt Someone or Uncle Someone. My cousins, aunts, and uncles were ... less formal. I vividly remember my aunt greeting her parents, my grandparents, by their first names. I think I'd still be punished if I did that. :)

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
2. Beachcombing - Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning
3. Rebel Yell - Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
4. Fire And Rain - James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
5. Found Out About You - Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience

Quote of the Day

Amazon shoppers, beware. If some big-box retailers and cash-strapped states have their way, you may soon be paying sales tax on those online purchases. Amazon currently collects taxes in just five states, thanks to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that says Internet retailers do not have to charge state sales tax unless they have a physical presence, such as a store or warehouse there. But the Alliance for Main Street Fairness--a retail coalition that includes Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Sears--took out this full-page ad in newspapers this week, saying Amazon hurts small businesses and local communities. The alliance argues that Amazon enjoys an unfair price advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar stores that must collect sales tax from their customers.

Paul Gigot, Wall Street Journal

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Someone "ma'am"-ed me yesterday. As in, "Yes, ma'am." I forgave him because he was from the south. Had he been from New Jersey it would have been an entirely different story."

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We took in Super 8 yesterday. No spoilers here. I had read that the film makers had intentionally withheld things from the trailer and I wanted to see the movie before I accidentally read about them. I find myself in complete agreement with Roger Ebert on this one and it's not often you'll hear me say that. The early two thirds of the movie, which was mostly centered on a group of kids making a film for a festival, is worth the price of admission. See it for that.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
2. Beggars Day - Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog
3. Pictures Of Matchstick Men - Status Quo - STATUS QUO The Collection
4. Going Home [Theme of the Local Hero] - Mark Knopfler - Local Hero
5. Burnin' For You - Blue Oyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin

Quote of the Day

We dance even if there’s no radio. We drink at funerals. We talk
too much and laugh too loud and live too large and, frankly, we’re
suspicious of others who don’t.

Chris Rose, New Orleans Times-Picayune

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "We're getting closer to June 10th and there have been a lot of new clips in the editing room so if you haven't checked them out I suggest you head on over there. There's also a new poster that appeared over at impawards.com which I've included above."

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We're enjoying a free "Premium Movie Channel" weekend on DirecTV. Good thing I don't pay for these channels normally because my trees really block their transponders. Everything I've watched so far has a few moments of digitizing or fails because of a lost signal. If you have DirecTV or the Dish Network, you know what I'm talking about. I recorded Takers Friday because I wanted to see it when it originally came out. Unfortunately, it had a really short theater run and I just never got around to it. Takers is another in an increasingly long line of Tarentino-influenced caper movies. The strength of these kinds of movies are the cast and the dialogue. The plots are fairly predictable. Check reason and sense at the door and take the ride. Takers gives you a nice one.

I offer a few from around the yard on this beautiful CrabAppleLane Sunday. I had just finished the yard and gone inside when the rain came. I love it when that happens and it seems to happen a lot for me. We're having salads for lunch today. Patsy makes great salads. My bell peppers are turning orange. I have seen that kind at the market but have never bought them. I guess we'll see if they're any good. I've got a few watermelons in the garden and one of them has bite/scratch marks. Thinking the same enterprising raccoon that destroyed my corn crop is responsible. I removed a whole lot of Chinese privet in the back yard. Will remove quite a bit more next weekend. I'm thinking fruit trees in the cleared area but I don't want anything I'll have to protect from the cold.

About today's QOTD: I buy that. It explains a lot in my life. Please, let it be that.

CrabAppleLane Lunch - June 11, 2011

5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star Playlist:

1. Deceiver - Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny
2. Welcome to the Machine - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
3. One Way Out - The Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach
4. White Wedding - Billy Idol - Billy Idol
5. All Mixed Up - The Cars - The Cars

Quote of the Day

A recent Australian study showed a link between heavy coffee consumption, stress -- and auditory hallucinations.

Melissa Dahl, MSNBC

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "This weekend is the Ithaca Festival, which marks the beginning of summer in our lively college town. The students are gone, causing the locals to rejoice at the amount of on street parking and reclaim the best swimming holes!"

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Breakfast at CrabAppleLane - June 10, 2011

About today's QOTD: Can you believe Hawaii gave their last $4 million to the NFL rather than give it to their poor, uneducated, unfed children? Me, neither. They put it up to generate revenue. Stop doing it if you're not getting enough return on your investment. That's a good enough reason. Leave the children out of it.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Rock Candy - Montrose - Montrose
2. Coming Your Way - Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On
3. Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
4. Walk Of Life - Mark Knopfler - Live From The Ryman
5. Hold Back The Water - Bachman-Turner Overdrive - The Anthology

Quote of the Day

You can’t do things like give 4 million bucks to a $9 billion football industry and not give any money to children.

Governor Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The Okinawan drumming and dancing was mesmerizing, the taiko drum performance by Kenny Endo‘s troupe was exhilirating, the food was delicious, and the venue was absolutely perfect for an family-friendly evening celebration. The festival also proudly lays claim to hosting the state’s largest-ever paranku drum performance, in which my wife and youngest son participated."

I don't think I could eat the hot dog in that video. Not quite that adventurous. -Rob

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Pretty amazing.

If you've got a few minutes, you should see what Steve Jobs wants to do in Cupertino. I can't imagine anyone trying to stand in the way of that.

I think I want to see Super 8 at the theater.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Flick Of The Wrist - Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
2. The Hardest Button to Button - The White Stripes - Elephant
3. Coma White - Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
4. Beautiful Child - Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
5. Wond'ring Aloud - Jethro Tull - Aqualung

Quote of the Day

We named him Baby
He had a toothache
He started crying
It sounded like an earthquake

The White Stripes, The Hardest Button To Button

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "In next couple of weeks I will introduce more Irish castles where you can stay over night. First castle hotel is the Clontarf Castle Hotel"

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I did not expect the Bradford Pear tree to grow so fast. I had planted two 3-gallon ones in the front yard about 30 feet apart. The one on the right, lost to Hurricane Katrina, outgrew the one on the left substantially. It was only slightly taller but it was much fuller. They were in full sun and were growing at a modest rate. I bought a 5-gallon, only slightly bigger one for the back yard the following year so it would be about the same size as the ones in the front yard. It gets considerably less sun. There must be some spinach in the soil where I planted this one, though. It is about 5 times the size of the one remaining in the front yard. I've had to trim it a few times because it is interfering with the satellite. It wasn't too bad to do that last year but I had to get higher up and on my bigger ladder to do it this year. None of the options I have are pleasing to me. Relocating the satellite is expensive and temporary. Removing the tree is expensive and permanent and Patsy would kill me.

About today's QOTD: Good one, Roger.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Interlude - Béla Fleck & The Flecktones - Live At The Quick
2. Red Bats With Teeth - Angelo Badalamenti - Lost Highway
3. You're The One - The Vogues - AM Gold 1965
4. Your Latest Trick - Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
5. Hey You - Pink Floyd - Pulse

Quote of the Day

We can’t continue to shift the cost, whether it’s the rising player cost or the rising cost of operating an NFL franchise, on to our fans

Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "We have put together a video in which our Client Manager James, answers some common questions we receive on a daily basis from customers on the border line of going forward with the step of starting an internet radio, this video lets you know that its not as complicated or expensive as some may think."

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It's been many, many years since I held a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records. Then, the only records they didn't recognize were for gluttony. Now, they have a whole litany of records they don't recognize. Records they still recognize are the "youngest" to accomplish certain feats. How long will it be before something terrible happens and what will the youngster try to accomplish when common sense finally tells Guinness that this is also dangerous? Right now, someone is starting to teach their 3-year-old how to balloon so they can break this record.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Ready, Steady, Go - The Meices - Empire Records
2. Down To The River To Pray - Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live
3. The Buford Stick - Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
4. Having A Party - Rod Stewart - Unplugged... And Seated
5. The Hand Song - Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek

Quote of the Day

I know I didn't get this job because I'm a woman; I got it because I'm the best qualified person. But nonetheless what it means to me is that the executive editor of the New York Times is such an important position in our society, the Times itself is indispensable to society, and a woman gets to run the newsroom, which is meaningful.

Jill Abramson, New York Times

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The specific law outlaws posting a photo online that causes “emotional distress” to someone and has no “legitimate purpose.” While the law does state that there needs to be “malicious intent,” it also includes a massive loophole, in that it says that you can still be liable if the person “reasonably should know” that the actions would “frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress.”"

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Cancer patients are abandoning medical care because the costs are simply too high and medical bills -- even among the insured -- are unmanageable, studies show.

Isn't that a delightful thought? Market forces, alone, cannot fix health care in the US. The market is out of balance as long as one side is drowning and the other side is holding the rope. The side with the rope has way too much advantage.

If you've been wondering where the football went, it's here. I'll get some in on this blog, too, if and when it starts up again but I'd rather it didn't dominate the blog like it has for the last couple of years.

About today's QOTD: I've watched both of those shows from the beginning. Good writing. Good acting. Good fun.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Over, Under, Sideways, Down - The Yardbirds - Rock: The Train Kept A Rollin'
2. Take It Back - Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
3. Flowers On The Wall - The Statler Brothers - Pulp Fiction
4. Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles - 1
5. Man In The Wilderness - Styx - The Grand Illusion

Quote of the Day

And as you'll see Tuesday, White Collar and Covert Affairs are the formula done right.

Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Swaney is occupied with the urgent question of who we are and what marks we leave on the world. His images, in spite of their crowded nature,or because of it, allow us to step back and consider what strange creatures we are."

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It's both frightening and magnificent.

21 of the most spectacular images I think I've ever seen.

With apologies to Led Zeppelin ...

5 of the silliest things I've read in a while. "3) Notes in the margins help you think." is outright wrong, not the "help you think" part but the part that says you can't do that with an E-reader. I can only speak for my Kindle but I CAN highlight and bookmark words or passages and make notes about them if I like. I don't and I don't think it helps me think. I don't remember ever writing notes in the margins of any book that wasn't called a workbook. "4) E-books can’t be shared, donated to your local library shelter, or re-sold. They don’t take up space, and thus coax conflicted feelings when it is time to weed some of them out." is an argument FOR E-readers. I don't think publishers or authors mind that, someday, their property might always have to be purchased to be read or that their books might never end up on a table at a garage sale. The printed page is most definitely an endangered species. It's only a matter of time.

The QOTD is about another industry that is losing their battle with digital.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. I Can't Wait - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
2. The Milky Way Home-(w Eric Johnson) - Sonny Landreth - From The Reach
3. Wedding Song (There Is Love) - Noel Paul Stookey - Giving You The Rest Of My Life
4. Hot One - Shudder To Think - Velvet Goldmine
5. Iron Man - Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Quote of the Day

Herr returned to America full of excitement. In February he delivered a 40-page report to the House subcommittee that oversees the postal service. It makes two major points: The USPS needs to close post offices, as many foreign postal services have done despite real opposition. And the USPS needs to create products for its wired customers if it wants to play a role in the future of communication. He acknowledges some foreign digital services are in early stages, but they are in demand, and in some cases the digital technology reduces delivery costs.

Phillip Herr, US Postmaster General

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Panic at the Disco have released 'Ready to Go' (Get Me Out of My Mind), the latest single from the duo's 'Vices and Virtues' album."

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Delight all around as I watching the Cubs and Cards play yesterday. Good to see two former LSU Tiger National Champions again in the Cards' Ryan Theriot and the Cubs' DJ Lemahieu. Ryan scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th against Stanford in the 2000 College World Series and DJ hit a two out, two run double in the bottom of the ninth to send Game One into extra innings against Texas in the 2009 College World Series. The Tigers won that game in the 12th and won the CWS. DJ was in the middle of just about everything in that series. Besides the LSU stuff, it was a great game won by the Cards with a walk-off homer by Albert Pujols in the 12th inning.

From yesterday's inbox:

This year we're going to experience four unusual dates. 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11 and that's not all. Take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year. The results will be 111 for everyone in the whole world. (Snopes explains it as basic math, which I assumed to be the case - but it's still neat.)

About today's QOTD: I've been listening to The White Stripes a lot lately. I knew of Jack White mainly through the trailers for It Might Get Loud. I never bothered to check at the time why he was chosen as the third generation guitarist. I downloaded a few of their songs last weekend. I know now why he was chosen. He is an enormous talent. The White Stripes are no more and that kinda sucks for someone who is way behind the music scene and just discovered them. I love that old New York Times review. If you ask me, "rude and unhinged" is high praise for any rock band.

I offer a few for a lazy, hot CrabAppleLane Sunday afternoon. It should be noted that Patsy will adulterate her share of the lunch fixins with bologna or liver cheese, oatnut bread, and mustard while I will glorify my share with rotisserie turkey, swiss cheese, and toasted french bread. Two more below the jump.

CrabAppleLane Early Tomatoes - June 5, 2011

CrabAppleLane Lunch Fixins' - June 5, 2011

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Offend In Every Way - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
2. Treat Her Right - George Thorogood & The Destroyers - The Baddest Of George Thorogood & The Destroyers
3. I Ain't Superstitious - Jeff Beck - Rock: The Train Kept A Rollin'
4. Limelight - Rush - Moving Pictures
5. The Fuse - Bruce Springsteen - The Rising

Quote of the Day

They still sound as rude and as unhinged as ever, especially compared with the emo and alternative bands with whom they share the modern-rock radio airwaves.

Kelefa Sanneh, New York Times

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Based on personal experience (many instances of eating watermelon and drinking beer), I can attest that I’ve never experienced any ill effects from combining these two delicious barbeque staples."

I'd surely be dead if that was true. -Rob

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Jon Stewart is a little too much for me most of the time but he hits this one out of the park.

I've watched the Cousins-Posey collision several times now. It's a hard-nosed play but it was legal and it was the best play the runner had. Giants fans, coaches, and general managers think otherwise and are pretty outspoken about it. The way it looks to me is the catcher was in the baseline and the ball beat the runner to the plate. If he tries a hook slide, he's out. His only play was to try to jar the ball loose. Posey didn't actually catch the ball but the runner had no way of knowing that would happen. Giants fans are crying for no reason.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Everywhere - Michelle Branch - The Spirit Room
2. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground - The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
3. Never Gonna Change - Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
4. Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) - Kansas - Masque
5. Tangerine - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

Quote of the Day

He chose to be a hero, in my mind. If that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory. We talked to (former Giants catcher) Mike Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive.

Brian Sabean, San Francisco Giants

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Being a mod is far too much effort to be fun; too many rules, too many guidelines of what is 'mod' and who wants to be in their 20's or teens having to follow some worn out ideals?"

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It was 98º here yesterday at noon according to the radio. When I got in my truck to go to lunch, the thermometer in my rear view mirror said 99º. I think the mirror was right. I don't know how people with vinyl seats can stand it.

About today's QOTD: I am so sick of hearing of kids dying because they were left in hot cars. It's a horrible way for a child to die. Technology has to help solve this problem. The human element has to be removed. Today's cars have buzzers and chimes that tell you that your keys are still in the ignition or that your lights are still on. How about a system that reminds the driver of a much greater danger or, better yet, forces the driver to deal with it? Maybe a power door lock system that won't allow you to close the front doors until the back doors have been opened if a rear seat belt is engaged. A dumbass could, of course, still open the rear door and just close it back with the baby inside or they could just not use the seat belt on their child but they couldn't claim it was an accident and then, at least, it would no longer be negligent homicide.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
2. Happy Nation - Ace Of Base - The Sign
3. Waiting For The Day - Gerry Rafferty - City To City
4. Surf Rider - The Lively Ones - Pulp Fiction
5. Ticket To Ride - The Beatles - 1

Quote of the Day

His death is at least the second incident this year of hyperthermia involving a child in a car in Louisiana.

Leslie Williams, The Times-Picayune

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "We all have our ups and downs—a fight with a friend, a divorce, the loss of a parent. But most of us get over it. Only some go on to develop major depression."

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CrabAppleLane Bandit - June 2, 2011

As of this morning, I have two ears of corn left. I picked both of them. Looks like it was just this one raccoon who shucked and ate all of the others. Just as well because it looks like most of the ears were infested with bugs. I didn't expect much out of my corn crop when I planted it but I had some hope once I got them past the rabbit stage. I hadn't planned on the raccoon stage. Didn't even know there was one.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. All The King's Men - Tom Cochrane - Mad Mad World
2. Changin' Times - Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog
3. You Shook Me - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin I
4. Copland: El Salón México - Leonard Bernstein: New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Copland: Greatest Hits
5. My Monkey - Marilyn Manson - Portrait Of An American Family

Quote of the Day

I was driving behind a truck in Florida that I thought was carrying green apples. Some of the orbs flew off. At the side of the road, I got a closer look. Not one was smashed. They turned out to be tomatoes so plasticine and so identical they could have been stamped out by the same machine. Florida is the poster child for everything that is wrong with not -seasonal and not -local produce.

Barry Estabrook

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "We are, like many families, busy busy busy. Too busy. Which is one of the reasons we escaped recently for a year of walking around European towns with very few cares and even fewer obligations (family field trip – a year abroad to Italy)."

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Sometimes, a guide is all you need. I'm growing sweet corn in the garden this year. I truly hadn't given much thought to what I was going to do with it if I was able to grow it successfully so I bought some fresh corn last week to experiment. I grilled four ears last week just like it says to do at that link. They came off of the grill a little underdone but they were still pretty good. Went a little longer and a little hotter last night. I've never had any luck cooking fresh corn. Canned corn, frozen corn, no problem. My great uncle in Minnesota made the best corn I ever ate a long time ago when I was a kid. He picked fresh corn out of his garden, talked to us fascinated kids the whole time while shucking it, steamed it in some contraption that looks a little like the pot I boil crawfish in, and served it to us with homemade butter. His will never, ever be topped but last night's was the closest I ever got to it. They were fantastic and only a few hundred notches below my uncle's.

Meant to mention this when it came up. The Saints held a raffle last week for local charities. The prize was a chance to work out with the team. I believe they raised about $40,000. Among the four lucky winners was Dawson Schoening, an 11-year old boy from Texas. He caught a touchdown pass from Drew Brees. I hope that kid gets to see Drew play this season. It's not looking good from here.

Hurricane season starts today. Experts say it will be a busy season ... or not. Yippee.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Little Cream Soda - The White Stripes - Icky Thump
2. Pardon Me Sir - Joe Cocker - Joe Cocker: The Anthology
3. The Sands of Iwo Jima - Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
4. Desperado - Alice Cooper - Killer
5. Swim - Bush - Sixteen Stone

Quote of the Day

Fire crews and police could only watch after a man waded into San Francisco Bay, stood up to his neck and waited. They wanted to do something, but a policy strictly forbade them from trying to save the 50-year-old, officials said.

MSNBC.com

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Today, you can go from Wall Streeter to Wal-Mart greeter faster than you can put a quarter in the parking meter."

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