Recently in Pictures-Images-Picture Taking Category

Today has been a long time coming for Saints fans. Dad and I were at that very first Saints game in old Tulane Stadium. It started with a Saints kickoff return for a touchdown but ended in a loss. It was the first of way too many. We knew then it would take time to build a team that could win a championship but no one expected it to take this long. Dad didn't get to see this day. I'll be thinking about him a lot as the day wears on. We went to a lot of games together. Most of them were awful losses but there were a handful of great moments, too. We saw Tom Dempsey kick his 63-yard field goal. We saw Archie Manning's first game for the Saints. We saw a lot of great players for the other side, too. We saw The Fearsome Foursome of the Rams, Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo of the Bears, Sonny Jurgensen of the Redskins, Fran Tarkenton of the Vikings, and Roger Staubach of the Cowboys just to name a few. Today will be a bittersweet experience for a lot of New Orleanians.

By now, everyone, including Saints players, has heard all about Peyton Manning, the Colts offense, and how the Saints can't stop them. Everyone has also heard how the Colts defense is fast, better than they get credit for, and that they have players who are banged up and may not be full speed. I don't buy that last part. They're going to play, play well, and play "courageously". The conventional wisdom says the Colts will be all business and the Saints will be all emotion and nerves.

What chance do the Saints have? I don't know. If the moment doesn't swallow them, I think they can play with the Colts. The Saints defense figures to have a lot of trouble slowing down the Colts offense but the Colts defense figures to have trouble with the Saints offense, too. It will be all about confidence. To me, the toughest game they will play this year was the one they just played. If stats are your thing, the Vikings were better than the Colts offensively AND defensively. Stats never tell the whole story ... except when they do. Just one more thing:

I offer one for this CrabAppleLane Super Sunday. Boudin has been good luck for me this year.

CrabAppleLane Super Bowl Pre-Game Meal - February 7, 2010

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Big Brother - David Bowie - Diamond Dogs
2. Copycat - The Cranberries - Bury The Hatchet
3. Lazy [Live] - Deep Purple - Made In Japan [Disc 1] [Live]
4. No Matter What - Badfinger -The Very Best Of Badfinger
5. I Dont Want To Gone On Without You - Nazareth - Play 'N' The Game

Quote of the Day

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "This will be a running blog by quarter. Sorry, I won't be paying much attention to the pre-game. Rarely do. But I can still synopsize everything you'll hear:"

Whippoorwill Grove near CrabAppleLane - January 3, 2010

The Saints are in Charlotte today for a game that means absolutely nothing. The Panthers will try to win but I don't know why. Maybe to lower their draft position and save the owner a little money? The Saints will try to win with mostly second, third, and fourth stringers on the field. Both teams will say lots of silly things about how much the game means. Saints fans are more concerned about who their first playoff opponent will be and the team probably will have advance scouts at the Packers-Cardinals game, the Eagles-Cowboys game, and the Vikings-Giants game. The Eagles, Cowboys, and Vikings figure to be playing hard. Not so sure about the Packers and Cardinals, though. If the Vikings beat the Giants in the early game as expected, the Packers and Cardinals will know they'll be playing each other in the playoffs next week. Why play hard or show anything this week? One other thing:

I offer one today that was taken on yesterday afternoon's bike ride.

Whippoorwill Grove near CrabAppleLane - January 2, 2010

Pulp Fiction was on the Independent Film Channel last night and I found myself watching it while Patsy was doing something on her laptop. I love that movie. Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man is on the soundtrack. As soon as it came on, Patsy sang right along with it. I don't think she could resist if she had to. I wish we had gotten to see Dusty live in concert. She's one of our faves.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Son Of A Preacher Man 2:28 Dusty Springfield Pulp Fiction Soundtrack
2. Crazy Train 4:56 Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard Of Ozz
3. Terminal Frost 6:17 Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
4. Rock Is Dead 3:10 Marilyn Manson Mechanical Animals
5. Tvc15 5:34 David Bowie Station To Station [Bonus Tracks]

Quote of the Day

Being good isn't always easy
No matter how hard I tried
When he started sweet talking to me
He'd come and tell me everything is alright
He'd kiss and tell me everything is alright
Can I get away again tonight?

Dusty Springfield, Son of a Preacher Man

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Blue Cornbread with Pineapple Ingredient List"

The rains of 2009 are gone and 2010, so far, looks like this:

CrabAppleLane - January 2, 2010

The Clearing Project - January 2, 2010

I'm OK with this. Hope you're having as nice a day.

From CrabAppleLane

CrabAppleLane Backyard - January 1, 2010

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. On The Road Again 3:24 Canned Heat Harley-Davidson Cycles: Road Songs [Disc 2]
2. All Right Now 5:29 Free Harley-Davidson Cycles: Road Songs [Disc 2]
3. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen 5:20 Santana Abraxas
4. Gone Fishin' 2:32 Louis Armstrong w/ Bing Crosby Back Through The Years (Disc 2)
5. Heaven 4:18 Better Than Ezra Deluxe

Today's QOTD is about another squabble between a network and a cable company. I think everyone loses if they can't reach an agreement. The network, the cable company, and all of the subscribers. An agreement undoubtedly would mean higher subscriber fees.

Quote of the Day

The Fox television network pulled back from the brink on Friday, allowing its signals to continue for millions of cable subscribers beyond a midnight deadline as it continued to seek higher fees for its programming.

USA Today

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Here are the latest articles and postings about New Year's and New Year's Eve from our holiday blog site Holiday Rap"

So we saw Sherlock Holmes yesterday. My hope is this film is merely the setup for the next one because that's pretty much all it seemed to be. Director Guy Ritchie was introducing us to Sherlock Holmes and his world as Guy Ritchie sees it or wants it to be. There were two stories running throughout ... one for this movie, one for the next. The one for this film was only barely discernible amongst the stuff being thrown at us. The one for the next film was tantalizing and mysterious. Robert Downey Jr's Holmes is as physical as he is cerebral but we knew that from the trailer and Ritchie's turn-of-the-century London is industrious, gritty, and very dusty. This movie was only OK, a little too frenetic to suit me at times, but introductions are now out of the way and the next installment, assuming there will be one, will determine if Sherlock Holmes is the blockbuster franchise it should be.

Pictured below is an album cover that contains a bootleg album I spent about $5.99 on in 1975 or 1976. That was about $1 more than the record store charged for their regular albums. I blogged about this album a few months ago. I just finally got my USB turntable hooked up where it's usable. More on that another day. Hearing the jabber on this album now some 30+ years later is the only thing I like about it. Click on it to hear it. Bootlegs were ripoffs even in 1976 but more for the consumer than the artist. There's about 30 seconds of music in this clip. The recording quality is not very good. It was probably done by someone who sneaked in an old time cassette recorder. Added to that quality issue is the normal quality issue of a 30+ year old album that's been moved around more than a few times. If you don't recognize the hissing and popping of a vinyl album that's been mostly sitting around, then you're just too young and I envy you a little.

The Saints are playing for the top seed in the NFC playoffs today. They're at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and are 15pt favorites. I'd like to see them win the game this afternoon like they're 15pt favorites. It would give them a chance to start gearing up for the playoffs in three weeks. They'll be able to rest people who need rest, work people who need work, and give some of their banged-up starters a chance to heal.

I offer one today from the CrabAppleLane backyard. We're gritty and dusty here today, too, and the birds are industrious.

CrabAppleLane Chipping Sparrows - December 27, 2009

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Whole Lotta Love 5:34 Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
2. Scotch & Chocolate 38 Nickel Creek Why Should The Fire Die?
3. Under The Boardwalk 4:18 Bette Midler Beaches
4. Sunny Cellophane Skies 2:43 Status Quo STATUS QUO The Collection
5. At The Dance 3:33 Various Artists Closer You Get, The - Soundtrack

Quote of the Day

You've been learnin'
Baby, I been learnin'
All them good times, baby, baby
I've been yearn, yearnin'
Way, way down inside
Honey, you need I
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you my love

Led Zeppelin, Whole Lotta Love

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "So, I found out yesterday afternoon that a whole bunch of new people are discovering this site on a regular basis. Understand when I tell you that there was an annoying amount of "Whoop Whooping" when I heard. Sometimes it can feel like one is simply pressing the publish button and sending stuff out into the ether and in actual fact NOBODY knows it's out there and NO ONE is reading."

I know that feeling very well. -Rob

Merry Christmas from CrabAppleLane

CrabAppleLane - December 25, 2009

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. The Ark 5:37 Gerry Rafferty City To City
2. Every Breath You Take 4:15 The Police The Police Greatest Hits
3. Swanee River 0:37 The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy
4. Despertar 57 Aisha Duo Quiet Songs
5. Run Run Run 2:36 Jo Jo Gunne Back to the 70s

Quote of the Day

And we'll sail out on the water
Yes we'll feel the sea grow
Yes we'll meet out on the water
Where are all strangers are known.

Gerry Rafferty, The Ark

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "Here it is - my last share of the 2009 downloading season. I look forward to this one just as much as some of you!"

Tip of the cap to the Cowboys on a great game last night. They put together an excellent game plan and executed it. It was an inspired effort on their part and their quarterback, Tony Romo, played a great, mistake-free game. Disappointed here in the loss but it's just one and I know the Saints can play better than they did last night. Back to work for our guys. It's a tough loss but I expect them to put this one behind them and move on to the next one. No time to wallow in sorrow.

After the Saints game last night, I was only up for some CME. The new Star Trek fit that bill nicely. For what it's worth, I was done with the whole Star Trek franchise after the last New Generation film (The one where Commander Data died). I thought they had nothing new to offer until I saw the trailer for this one, which looked like a special effects extravaganza, except for the costumes. Nothing like super advanced civilizations that still dress like cave people.

Chris Pine did a pretty nice job with his James T Kirk in a mostly thankless role. William Shatner is so intertwined with that character that anyone else playing him will almost necessarily have to border on parody. Pine walked to that line without going over it and I give him lots of credit for that. There are holes in the story so big you could drive a starship through but I don't think anyone watches a Star Trek movie for the story any more. I surely don't. See Roger Ebert's QOTD for a description befitting the film. Ebert is both a fan and practitioner of CME. I watched it for the action and the special effects. It delivers on that score. Get yourself a big bowl of popcorn and surrender yourself to its absurdity ... and sign up for the next one.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. People Got To Be Free 31 The Rascals Rock 'n Roll Relix 1968-1969
2. Snowblind 5:31 Black Sabbath We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll
3. Joy/Angels We Have Heard on High 4:19 Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Christmas Attic
4. Everybody Wants To Rule The World 4:11 Tears For Fears Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92)
5. Something Wicked This Way Comes [Clean] 2:55 Barry Adamson Lost Highway Soundtrack

I offer one from the backyard today. It features a chipping sparrow pondering the universe at his/her favorite watering hole and some much-needed sunshine.

CrabAppleLane Backyard - December 20, 2009

Quote of the Day

But the franchise has become much of a muchness.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "The following movie trailer advertises yet another inspirational dance flick, right? No, no, wait. It actually advertises an emotional disease-of-the-week movie, right? No, no, wait. What the hell is this? And why is Satan in this movie?"

Bizarre movie trailer. -Rob

Everydaystranger was Blog of the Day here at CrabAppleLane on November 19, 2003. She had lost her job. Sorry about that, Shannon. We've been blog buds ever since. She's always a joy to read and is doing something she's calling Around the World in 80 Blogs. I meant to do this yesterday morning but a brain cloud or something prevented me.

I live in Bush, LA, USA. Bush is about 50 miles due north of New Orleans as the crow flies. There are many pictures littered throughout this blog and the original blog but I thought I'd present two from about 20 minutes ago. It has been raining almost nonstop for most of December here. Rainfall this month has already broken all records and it's still only the 16th. We're also still recovering here from a weather event you may have heard of; Hurricane Katrina. We were in the voluntary evacuation area and chose to stay. It was the right decision for us. It was an unforgettable experience. It is never far out of mind and most of us refer to it as "The Storm" as in "how did you fare in the storm?".

I present pictures from CrabAppleLane

CrabAppleLane Backyard - December 16, 2009

CrabAppleLane Backyard - December 16, 2009

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Born For Adventure 5:16 Styx Equinox
2. I'm In Love With My Car 35 Queen A Night At The Opera
3. Top Of The Bill 3:29 Scorpions In Trance
4. Politik 5:19 Coldplay A Rush Of Blood To The Head
5. Hells Bells 61 AC/DC AC/DC Live

Quote of the Day

They know best how they can mess with us
Nursing an opinion's getting dangerous
And in a world where good's not good enough
Let's get loaded and kick up a fuss

Garbage, Boys Wanna Fight

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "I wanted to get to know where you live, what you love about it, maybe what you don't love. It sounds strange, but this web thing, it connects us all and yet we're all so different in our environments - I blog drinking coffee and sitting at the kitchen counter. Maybe you read in a study, on a patio, or inside a frosted kitchen."

I offer one from yesterday's maintenance adventure. All amateur home do-it-yourselfers will recognize some of the techniques I employed. I first tried to get it off by hand. It's supposed to be only hand tight. Unfortunately, it was the original filter (Almost 15 years old. Note the John Deere green.). It didn't budge. The clamp was next. I was able to turn it about a quarter turn before I ran out of room to get to it. It's in a very tight spot. That quarter turn didn't loosen it enough for me to continue by hand. Finally, the last resort was to jam a screwdriver into it and turn it. Very, very messy and things got worse because the first jam didn't loosen it enough. I had to jam it in again in another spot. Hydraulic fluid is very slimy and it was all over my hands. This all could have been avoided if I still had one of those old-timey oil filter wrenches. Had one a long time ago. Couldn't use it on any of my vehicles any more and it was too big for the oil filter on the tractor. Wasn't thinking about the hydraulic filter when I finally threw it away. Lesson learned. NEVER THROW TOOLS AWAY.

Hydraulic filter - December 6, 2009

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. To Be With You 3:31 Mr. Big Love Bites: More Romantic Power Ballads
2. Can't Buy Me Love 2:12 The Beatles
3. Bird Of Prey 49 Uriah Heep The Best Of Uriah Heep
4. Tall Cool One 4:40 Robert Plant Now And Zen
5. St. Judy's Comet 3:17 Paul Simon Negotiations And Love Songs 1971-1986

Quote of the Day

With my one hand loose I aim to satisfy
You like my loving machine I like your bloodshot eye

Robert Plant, Tall Cool One

Blog of the day is here.

Quote from said blog: "No! A thousand times, no! Generations of newspapermen have clung to the dream that one day they might write something half as good. I will maintain with my dying breath that the line was genuine."

When I got up this morning, I decided to walk downstairs and head out on the front porch before turning on any lights. The theory was that my eyes wouldn't need any time to adjust to the dark. My front porch faces due south and the constellation, Leo, was positioned almost directly overhead. I was out there for about 5 minutes in the crisp and cool morning air. I saw three Leonids. If I had gotten a better night's sleep, I might have gone back inside, bundled up a bit, and gone back out to watch the show. Unfortunately, I think I would have fallen right back asleep out there in that magnificent, crisp, clean night air and I have things to do this morning. Meteor showers used to be my favorite astronomical events. Note to self: Plan next time.

Explored a new section of the subdivision across the highway Sunday. It wasn't much to look at when we first started coming out here almost 20 years ago. A few houses here and there, overgrown grass, raggedy trees, you get the idea. Pretty scenic over there now. Enjoy.

Whippoorwill Grove - Near CrabAppleLane - November 15, 2009

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. A Kiss To Build A Dream On 33 Louis Armstrong Back Through The Years (Disc 2)
2. I'm In Love With My Car 35 Queen A Night At The Opera
3. Glycerine 4:25 Bush Sixteen Stone
4. Drinking, Thinking, Sinking, Feeling 3:39 Slow Club
5. Miracles [Single Version] 3:32 Jefferson Starship At Their Best

About the iTunes-shuffle-inspired QOTD: I like the song but I have no idea what it's about. If a reader has a theory, I'd like to hear it.

Quote of the Day

We live in a wheel
Where everyone steals
But when we rise it's like strawberry fields

Bush, Glycerine

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "While there may be no pressure to win right now, the Bucs still fought for 60 minutes and showed us some signs to be optimistic about this team's future."

The Saints have a chance to equal the longest winning streak in team history today at 9 games. The St Louis Rams are not very good but they usually play hard and close for three quarters. They're coming off of their bye week and are likely to have a charge in them at their place. The Saints ran into that against the Dolphins a few weeks ago. It's a concern. I'd like to see the Saints get off to a fast start and remove all doubt early because they haven't been doing that lately but, really, the only goal for today is to just get out of St Louis with a win and no injuries. it is just about the worst thing to wish for, though. Just one more thing.

I haven't been watching a lot of non-Saints NFL football but I think I'll watch tonight's Colts-Patriots game. I'll be rooting for the Colts because Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Joseph Addai all have Louisiana connections but also because I've lost all respect for Belichick and their organization since 2007. That's when they got caught spying and ran up a few scores en-route to their almost perfect season. They haven't changed much since then. Belichick is more than a little vindictive if you ask me.

St Tammany Trace - Covington, LA - November 14, 2009If you continue, it's end of horse. It's about a 15ft drop off into granite boulders.


St Tammany Trace - Covington, LA - November 14, 2009 - Rising up alongside.

St Tammany Trace - Covington, LA - November 14, 2009There was a time in my youth I might have tried to climb something like this. Not something I would try to do today. Doesn't interest me at all. Yeah, that's it.

5 song iTune shuffle:

1. Cajun Song 2:57 Gin Blossoms New Miserable Experience
2. Empty Spaces 28 Pink Floyd The Wall [Disc 1]
3. Ace of Spades 2:48 Motörhead The Very Best of Motörhead
4. Believe 4:52 Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002 [Disc 2]
5. Signs Of Life 4:24 Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Quote of the Day

Look, we're not trying to do anything but run our offense. We went into the game with a game plan and I know the score got out of hand, but we were just trying to run our offense.

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Saw a bit of Will Smith's awful 1999s Wild Wild West movie. I had to get the taste of derivation and giant spiders out of my mouth, so I searched YouTube for episodes of the original TV show that starred Robert Conrad and Ross Martin. It was a fun and imaginative combination of James Bond, Steampunk before it was coined, science fiction, fantasy and of course, kick-ass western."

I agree. The movie didn't nearly capture what made the TV series great. -Rob

Very tough game for the Saints today in the SuperDome. Carolina has been their nemesis pretty much since they've been in the NFL. Jake Delhomme very generously throws interceptions to just about everyone ... except the Saints. This game will give me a better barometer of where they are than any game they've played so far. The formula hasn't changed here in several years. If they take care of the ball, they'll take care of the Panthers. One more thing:

On the upcoming 40th anniversary of Sesame Street, I am reminded of their silly decision to change probably their most beloved character, Cookie Monster. Don't do that again.

My ambivalence to capital punishment stems from A) because of appeals, it is probably cheaper to keep people in jail for the rest of their lives than it is to execute and I think life imprisonment is strong punishment and B) this guy. I just do not care one way or the other.

Premiering a new CrabAppleLane Blog daily feature this morning.

5 song iTune shuffle for November 8, 2009:

1. Scotch & Chocolate 38 Nickel Creek Why Should The Fire Die? Country 1


2. Before The Beginning 3:26 Fleetwood Mac Then Play On Blues


3. Hey You 4:39 Pink Floyd Pulse [Live] [Disc 1] Rock


4. Lazy 7:23 Deep Purple Machine Head 25th Anniversary Edition [Disc 2] Rock


5. I'm So Excited 5:39 The Pointer Sisters Working Girl Soundtrack

Speaking of iTunes, below is the most-played song in my iTunes library. It's a song by former U.S. Marine, Elijah Bossenbroek. I like a lot of his stuff but this one is my favorite. It's called The Calm Before. Enjoy.

About today's QOTD: Yes.

We bought or were given a bird feeder about a year after we moved in. It was painted nicely and said "Seed for a song" on the sides. It was similar to the one pictured only it was built by a much better carpenter than I, the worst carpenter you know. It quickly became the CrabAppleLane backyard birds' favorite. They seem to like the openness of it. That first one was repaired several times before it gave way to the second feeder for this location, one very similar to this one because it was also built by me. That one was also repaired several times before I decided on this third one. I cobbled this one together this morning in about 30 minutes in my garage. It looks it but I don't think the birds will mind one bit.

CrabAppleLane Bird Feeder - November 8, 2009

Quote of the Day

The Cowboys stand for everything that's wrong with the NFL.

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens Head Coach

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "While the UK initially appeared to have been ignored - its homepage featured Wallace and Gromit celebrating their 20th birthday instead - it has now been brought in from the cold, with a doodle of the Cookie Monster having apparently taken a bite out of a Google logo. (Made out of cookies, naturally.)"

The weather was just too perfect. Decided to load up the bikes and hit the St Tammany Trace from another point today. This time, we started in Covington.

St Tammany Trace - Covington, LA - October 24, 2009

St Tammany Trace - October 23, 2009

St Tammany Trace - October 23, 2009

St Tammany Trace - October 23, 2009

St Tammany Trace - October 23, 2009

St Tammany Trace - October 23, 2009

Not quite a playoff atmosphere in the Greater New Orleans area today but about as close as you'll ever get to one in October. WOW. This game won't make or break either team's season. The Saints have 11 games after this one and the Giants have 10. A lot can happen and I'm just not going to worry about homefield advantage, NFC supremacy, rankings, and implications further down the road. For one thing, there are teams in Minnesota, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Green Bay that will have something to say about that. For those reasons, I won't be watching any of the pre-game shows. I'll turn the TV on at noon. I'm looking at today's game as sports entertainment of the highest order. For the Saints, the formula is simple and hasn't changed since Head Coach Sean Payton got here. If the Saints take care of the ball, they'll take care of the Giants. There are other great matchups this weekend, too, like Ravens-Vikings and Bears-Falcons. On this perfect autumn Sunday at CrabAppleLane, I'll be staying in during the best portions of it. Oh yeah, just one more thing:

After running a few errands yesterday, we stopped in Abita Springs and took in the sights. They were having something called "Dem Fest" in the Abita Beer Plaza so we walked the other way and headed east down the St Tammany Trace. We plan to go there on the bikes one day but it will undoubtedly be a weekday the first time we do it. The Sunday images are from that excursion. More below the jump if you're interested.

UCM Museum - Abita Springs, LA - October 17, 2009 - A gas station in a previous life?

Quote of the Day

Barring an unlikely tie, the numeral "1" will appear in one team's loss column for the first time this season.

Joe Lapointe, New York Times

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "But this is crazy. It's roughly 2 and a half hours before kickoff and they are rehearsing for the halftime show which (spoiler alert!) will feature a cast of hundreds, a marching band, cheerleaders, dancers, zombies and music that includes Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Santana's "Black Magic Woman.""

Celebrating the 24th anniversary today of the night I quit smoking. Not sure why the date still sticks in my mind but there it is. For what it's worth, I smoked Marlborough. Aside from the health risks, it's a rather expensive habit these days.

I offer a couple of images from my bike ride yesterday evening.

Whippoorwill Grove - Bush, LA - September 16, 2009This subdivision across the street from CrabAppleLane offers pretty cool vistas. This is one of them at sunset.

Crabapple Lane - Bush, LA - September 16, 2009Crabapple Lane starts pretty much where I stood for this shot. It's about 2/10ths of a mile to my garage from here. No matter how tired I get on the bike, all I have to do is reach the spot where I stood to take this picture. If I can reach that spot, I can coast home without adding another pedal stroke.

The QOTD is from the London Times. There is an amazing picture there that he took of a bat.

Quote of the Day

In all my time working as a wildlife photographer I don't think anyone has ever tried to do this. I am very pleased with the results.

Kim Taylor, Wildlife photographer

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Drew Brees is a class act. Make no mistake, he wants nothing more than to destroy the Philadelphia Eagles defense on Sunday and give his franchise a huge win and a 2-0 start for this turn-around season for the Saints. But Brees also understands how hard it is to play through injuries in the NFL, and he wishes the best for McNabb."