November 2004 Archives
The idea for this rant came to me Saturday as I was standing in an interminably long line at a “ fast “ food restaurant. Everyone should have to show a special ID at one of those places. For instance, the whiny “ This is taking too long ” person in front of me, after waiting 10-15 minutes in line, when asked “ May I take your order? “, had to look up at the menu. That person should have to show a special ID at the door and go to the you-could-have-been-looking-at-the-menu, dumba$$ line. The person at the front of the line, with 22 people standing behind, took almost 5 minutes to place their order for a hamburger, fries, and soft drink. Give that person an ID for the I-have-all-day line. It should be noted that these two people are always, always in front of me. How do they know where I'm going for lunch? In the event the “ fast “ food restaurant gets to a certain stage of overcrowding, they should implement an express line for those who can order from the menu without the “ fresh lettuce only, please ” and “ I can’t have mayonnaise but I must have ketchup ” addendums. You’ll need a special ID for that, too. There’s also the person who has to spend precious seconds and/or minutes digging through their pockets or purse for that extra penny so they won’t get pennies in their change. Special ID for you, too.
It should be noted that these measures would only save me time when I go into one of these “ fast “ food places alone. Many, maybe even most, of the people I know and love qualify for the wrong special ID. I think I do, too..........sometimes............damn, never mind.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Apparently the loony toons weaselly ex-butler Paul Burrell 'hopes his appearance on the latest instalment of I'm A Celebrity will be the springboard to a TV career."
I’m learning a few things about my camera and the software I’m using. If I compose my picture with the camera and take the shot, I get a file of a certain size. I can reduce the size of that file in its entirety to an internet-friendly size without losing much quality. If I take a picture that has a lot of extraneous stuff in it that I don’t want, I can crop some or all of it out with the software but it somehow enlarges the file and it doesn’t look as good when I reduce it to an internet-friendly size. I’ve used two different software packages and they both do that.
There’s a certain $649 software package that may do a better job but I’ll never know. I can’t afford it, couldn’t justify it if I could afford it, and I don’t do the other thing although I get offered all of the time. I even have an offer that would probably save me about $649 but my conscience won’t allow it. You know they feed off of each other, outrageously-priced software manufacturers, don’t you? Piracy causes the prices to go up according to you but ridiculously high prices encourages piracy according to everyone. There are people, like me, that want to support you but don't want to go broke in the process. Help us out a little.
About the Saints: After yesterday’s loss, someone said the Saints need to start preparing for next year and start playing the young guys. That’s a dreamer if I ever heard one. Right now, if the Saints were to win their last 5 games, they would probably make the playoffs. I hold no illusions that they might do this although I’m sure the coaching staff and players somehow probably do. There is no point whatsoever in this coaching staff evaluating the existing talent on this team for next year because they will likely not be here to coach it. Their only chance of survival now is to make the playoffs and do some damage there. This season begs for housecleaning and a new start. That will surely disappoint the owner, who is not getting any younger and who has his hand out to the struggling state for money.
Oh, by the way, the NFC sucks this season. The power is in the AFC.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Happy Thanksgiving ! A holiday whos origins are sooooo messed up, twisted and enhanced. C’mon …think about it…half naked Indians …in loin cloths…having in effect a cook out…in Massachusetts…in NOVEMBER ?! I kinda doubt it."
Nostalgia and what.
This is a $5 t-shirt I picked up at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston. The date is on it. Wonder what it might bring on Ebay. This is the only memento I’ve saved from my younger concert days. I’ll let you do the math. Though it is well worn, I saved it by outgrowing it. Back in 1976, New Orleans did not get decent concerts. The venues were too big or too small plus they levied a 14% amusement tax on all shows. Might as well put up an Out of Business sign. This was a good concert but it was saved by Nazareth. Deep Purple was on their Come Taste the Band Tour while the forever-touring Nazareth had just released Hair of the Dog. This was the worst possible version of DP with David Coverdale on vocals, Glenn Hughes on bass, and Tommy Bolin on guitar. Nazareth was outstanding. The ticket for the concert was $5, too. We flew to Houston from New Orleans. Dad’s cousin, who lived in Houston, got us the concert tickets. Not long after this, we flew there again for Black Sabbath, Boston, and I think the third band was called Moxie. Also a great concert. Black Sabbath was on their Sabotage tour, Boston had just released their first and best album, and I’m afraid I remember nothing at all about Moxie.
A panoramic view from a place about a half-mile from CrabAppleLane.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “have you guys checked out martha's "from prison" website?"
Prepare to laugh. Link via Pitcherlady.
A cool article here about what to do with unsolicited, unwanted CD’s. Makes sense for IE users.
I have downloaded the latest version of Firefox, found what piece of code was making my blog look awful, and removed said code. I’m still not sold on Firefox as my default browser but I am tinkering with it now and again. I still really don’t know what the big deal is.
The CrabAppleLane College Bowl Pool gets underway next weekend. If you are interested in participating, drop me a line. My regular readers would likely be welcome participants.
Going to look at bicycle headlights and other accessories today. We have to be able to ride at night. Days alone just aren’t enough. Patsy has poor night vision. She almost ran into me the other night and the moon was almost full. There are almost no street lamps in our area. Normally, I prefer that because I’m also an amateur astronomer. It has drawbacks on occasion.
From the wish I’d thought of that department, Margi has a cool randomness thing going on here and here.
Kem's Top 25. I added a few I like.
On my blog rounds, I’ve noticed some friends blogs blistered with spam. This is a disappointment to me and just another reason I favor stiff penalties for spammers. Either my friends are unable to deal with it for whatever reason or they’ve thrown in the towel.
Blind Cavefish and Saucy Librarian are both a lot of fun and are quickly becoming favorite reads. Read those entries to see why.
This is one of the coolest images I've seen in a while.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “I don't know what these are, but they look like a broken parachute as it plummets to earth at high speed. If I was any good at photography, you'd be able to see what I mean."
Haven't done a photoblog in a while. Love photoblogs. -Rob
You may notice something different about comments from me and maybe some others. I’ve enabled gravatars on this site. If you have a gravatar, it will be displayed above your comment. This feature was added mainly for fun. Gravatars need not necessarily be a picture of you. They can be any kind of image. More about that here. It’s a free service. I like free. You can bet mine will be changed soon.
This is the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans at sunset. It is not far from where I work. Despite its proximity, I have only crossed it a few times.
Today will likely be a bit slow and I imagine most around here will be trying to catch bits and pieces of the LSU-Arkansas game. If LSU wins, I think they’ll be in line for a January 1 bowl. LSU is a very desirable bowl team for most cities with one notable exception. Their fans travel in huge numbers. Before bowls were used to try to determine a national champion ( A task that is impossible for them to do ), there was mostly an economic component to them. Most bowls are run by their city’s Chamber of Commerce or some equivalent. The idea is to invite two teams from different parts of the country, hope their fans will follow their teams to the game, and while they’re there, spend a few dollars in your city. The players and fans view it as a reward for a good season and the city views it as an economic boost. Everyone wins. Yes, but..........
The notable exception to LSU fans noted above is New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl. This has been a source of contention between New Orleans and LSU for many years. The Sugar Bowl in New Orleans is thought to not want LSU in their game unless it is for a national championship ( It was last year ). Merchants have been quoted saying as much but not on camera for fear of certain economic retribution from LSU fans. The reason is that the Sugar Bowl is easily within gameday driving distance for most LSU fans. LSU is in Baton Rouge, which is a little over an hour’s driving distance from New Orleans but LSU fans are all over the state. Whereas a Nebraska, Texas, or Tennessee fan might come in a few days before the game, stay in the hotels, eat at the restaurants, hit the French Quarter a few times, etc, an LSU fan can drive in on gameday, watch the game, and blow out of New Orleans on the same day. The Sugar Bowl is a major, very prestigious, and very monetarily rewarding event and it is thought they will snub LSU if given any chance to do so. Naturally, LSU and their fans hate it. If LSU fans can take any solace in this, it is that the only team the Sugar Bowl wants even less than LSU is the local team, Tulane.
Very low key day yesterday for us. Enjoyed it. Hope yours was good, too.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “I'm very excited, because I will soon be cleared to do backward somersaults without the harness. You can't beat that with a baseball bat."
I took the picture above yesterday on my lunch break. It’s the south seawall of Lake Ponchartrain not far from where I work. I had the whole beach to myself for about 20 minutes. It was cool and breezy. Hated to leave.
One of the perfect bike paths near CrabAppleLane. Don’t let the gentle roll of these hilly roads fool you. They are a good workout for someone as out of shape as me.
This flock of Canadian Geese flew by as I was on my return home. This was the best composition I could manage on my wobbly legs.
Patsy's got stuffed mirlitons going in the kitchen right now. The aroma is making me crazy. I think I have to get out of the house again. Soon.
This article hits home for me. I consider myself an intermediate-level PC-user. I have considerably more PC skills than the average user but considerably less than professionals. In some areas of PC use, I have fairly extensive knowledge. In others, I’m a complete ignoramus. That’s intermediate in a nutshell. For me, keeping my computers safe from the internet’s dangers and nuisances is the time-consuming and extraordinarily aggravating price of being online. For those below my skill set, it is a totally overwhelming and somewhat depressing undertaking. This is no indictment of them. There is no easy solution for this. All they want to do with their computers is XYZ but, to do so, they have to ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVW. That’s annoying in a nutshell. In my BBS days, we would have called that “ excessively annoying ”. Most computer users need help. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is especially true in this area of our lives. There’s $5 in it for anyone who can make that ounce easier to implement.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “When I participate in events at L. A. 's Staples Convention Center, I forego the expensive hotels in favor of staying with Patsy. Not that Patsy and I have a thing going; she runs a delightful bed and breakfast half a mile from the Convention Center."
No internet this morning when I got to my home office but I had electricity. This is the first time that’s happened since we went to broadband. It was a quite common occurrence on dial-up (Of yeah, dial-up sucks ). After a long search for a phone book, I found the phone number to the cable company. The number has changed since this 30-day old phone book was published. After a withering series of phone prompts, I got to the one I wanted. Instead of music while I was on hold, a lovely voice walked me through some steps I could take. 1) Unplug the modem, 2) unplug the router, 3) turn off the computer, 4) plug the modem back in, 5) plug the router back in, and 6) turn on the computer. OK, I recognize those steps from the Computers for Dummies manual. I’m resetting everything. Of course, it worked. I feel somewhat stupid for not trying that first. There were two power surges while the computer was re-booting. That was fun in the Oh, Jeez, what else? kinda way.
On the fantasy football front, my Ragpickers are playing for a division title this week against an old rival and two-time champion. Technically, Ragpickers have to lose both remaining games and Soulmen have to win both but I want to settle all of that this week. Although Ragpickers have won the last two meetings, I have not had a lot of luck against this team. I’m not the only one. They have been in the playoffs every year of our league’s 8-year existence and are the only two time champion. We’re going to kick their a$$. In the other league, my Erasers at 2-9 are a team of streaks. After losing nine in a row, they’ve won two in a row. The last at the expense of a former and maybe future CrabAppleLane Guest Blogger.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “The Smoking Gun has posted the first complaints arising from the basketbrawl incident in Detroit last week."
Deep pockets and video? Your chicken-egg question: Did the fan contact the attorney first or did the attorney contact the fan first? -Rob
Places I’ve littered with my comments the last few days:
At Kim’s Place, she and I comment on movies here and here. She’s also doing a series of features on some of her readers. Her thoughtful one about me is here. Thanks, Kim.
At Plugs and Dottles, a little science is offered. Very little, actually.
A More Empathetic Union at Ilyka Damen’s.
A dodgeball debate over at Fish Fear Me.
At The Cycling Dude, the talk is of re-acquaintance with bicycles. Mine to be exact.
Trucker movies, yes, trucker movies at Sheila’s.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Hobo: My pope, he's a terrible pope."
Fun idea for a blog. -Rob
Congratulations to Kurt Busch from CrabAppleLane. I really haven't been following NASCAR this season but he's my favorite driver. I may be one of his only fans. Well, Mayor Jimmy, too.
JT the Brick is an idiot. I agree that the Saints may never get it right in New Orleans but let’s not penalize New Orleans for it. This story is half-right. I’d like to see Benson “ cash out ”, too, but to someone in LA, not L.A. If L.A. wants to get back in the NFL, all they have to do is find an owner and get after it. The NFL is way more interested in L.A. than L.A. is in the NFL. For now, L.A. is nothing more than useful leverage to every team whose lagging attendance and profit margin won’t be resolved on the field mainly because current ownership is clueless about how to do so. Later in the story, he says the 49ers quit Sunday, that their fans deserve better, and that they play in the worst stadium in the NFL. Not talking about moving that team, though, are we? Why do the 49ers fans deserve much better and not the Saints fans?
The last sentence from this story is the quote of the day.
“We’re all old, dyed-in-wool hunters,” he said. “We wouldn’t go home because of this but we will keep it in our minds. We’re not forgetting it.”
Five people killed and that’s not enough to call it a day?
Sad anniversary today. Another one of those “ Where were you? ” days. For what it’s worth, I was in first grade when the principal, Sister Mary Veinard, barely announced it over the loudspeaker through her crying. This is wrong.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Tim was outside this evening and heard yelling and fighting. This is not something we hear around here all the time. At least not before the Redneck Mama moved in."
Some Sunday pictures from in and around CrabAppleLane for your enjoyment. My woeful descriptions below each one.
I bought this painting from a starving artist ( That’s what she said ) outside of Jackson Square in the French Quarter in New Orleans. It cost me twice as much to frame it as it did to purchase it. I know zero about art. I just liked the colors.
I don’t know what the story is with these things. You find this exact model in similar condition all over this area. I want to say whoever had them built must have gotten a deal. I think they might have been part of the Money Hill Campgrounds around here but they’re so far apart that I’m discounting that theory. I think they’re standalone barbecue grilles and were never part of any other building but I could be wrong about that. If I were to build on this lot, I would clean up around it a little and it would surely stay.
Louisiana is a flat state. The few hilly areas we have are usually enhanced. The dirt required to enhance this hilly area came from this man-made lake and many others like it. The house on the left was for sale at one time but I never saw a Sold sign. It has a full, 360º wraparound porch. You’d have to pry me out of it.
This area is littered with Christmas Tree Farms. It was the search for a Christmas Tree Farm that was the catalyst for us buying property and moving over here. They’ve fallen on hard times. Even people right around here buy theirs at the grocery/hardware stores.
Whippoorwill Grove is across the highway from us and the three previous pictures were taken here. We looked at the lots here before we decided on ours. They were a tad pricey then and a bit smaller than we were looking for but we liked what we saw. Now, the newer lots here are extremely pricey and even smaller. On the up side, they're not hurting our property value. :)
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Happy Halloween! The Anglophones have pretty much been successful in spreading this holiday, so much so, that it seems to be a worldwide observance now. It has lost its former roots, and has become a fun time of the year where kids dress up in ghoulish outfits and go "trick-or-treating" for candies. Houses have been decorated with cute pumpkins (mostly plastic though), skeleton effigies, bats suspended from the ceiling, and witches' images taped onto walls. It seems a bit macabre at first sight, but it's really just good clean fun."
As per yesterday’s entry, see below. The budget ran just about double what I expected. You might guess why.
Naturally, it was raining when we brought them home. It didn’t stop us from riding. We got everything we needed for about what the budget was. With tax, kick stand ( Not included, can you believe it? ), chains ( Update: For locking them up ), and water bottles, it ran a little over budget but we still felt like we got good value. We’re both a little sore from our first expedition but it’s a good kind of sore. We’re both a little unsteady on them but it’s true that you never really forget how. It’s going to take some time to relearn some things I did easily when I was 9. I’m rather sure the bouncing-right-back-up-when-I-fall technique is something I’ve forgotten forever but the no-hands-peddling and the peddling-while-not-seated techniques can be relearned.
Enough with the rain already.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Gilbert, Arizona, is in the process of becoming more Bicycle friendly."
sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug
Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits, On Every Street, The Bug
Feel like the bug lately. I can't seem to get ahead of it. It’s nothing in particular. It’s just the rut I find myself in occasionally.
We have brand new, gloriously smooth, newly-asphalted roads in and around CrabAppleLane, including Crabapple Lane. I’ve been talking about, thinking about, and keeping an eye on prices on bicycles. I was told by my orthopaedic surgeon after my arthroscopic surgery to exercise but avoid high-impact activity ( Running is high impact ). Walking is OK and I like to do that but I think I’ll enjoy cycling more. I haven’t been on a bicycle in 30 years. They say you never forget. I guess we’ll test that theory. Tomorrow, I’ll be looking for one that I’ll be comfortable on for a good bit of time in the $200-$300 range. I’d like but I don’t need a $6000 Lance Armstrong model. No one will ever confuse Lance and I. He’s the one who knows what he’s doing. I’m the other one.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “We’ve chosen an Italian place where the only thing worse than the live piano seems to be the service."
Tidbits for Thursday
I confess. I have a weakness for Sloppy Joe sandwiches. Patsy made Sloppy Joe last night and I overindulged. I always do. I’m a little miserable this morning because of it, though.
According to USA Today, Rolling Stone magazine put Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone at the top of their “ 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ” special edition issue. Sarcasm on: Yeah, I’m taking that seriously. Sarcasm off. I’m a music lover. In my opinion, Rolling Stone magazine has been nothing more than expensive bird cage liner since its inception. They are still over-enamored with the 60's and its music. Carry on.
I don’t understand big money. The story. My question: How can K-Mart, fresh out of bankruptcy, buy Sears? It wasn’t that long ago that they couldn’t buy a box of Kleenex.
If I had big money, this would be on the way to CrabAppleLane. I don't ask for much but $500 for a video card seems a tad excessive in my current budget crisis.
Last night’s West Wing episode mentioned a fictitious blogger. The last two episodes have been excellent, probably because they revolved mostly around Allison Janney. I hope there are more like those in store.
The Saints announced their extortion scheme proposal for what it would take to get the team to stay in New Orleans at a press conference yesterday. The Saints know the state can’t possibly meet some of the proposal’s demands. One of them is a $20 million per year payment from taxpayers for 15 years.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “This evening will be the first Tuesday I've spent at the 40 Watt since I came to grips with the fact that I'm worthless at work when the prior evening is spent downtown at a show."
Watched Femme Fatale Sunday during the time I would normally be watching a football game. When the Saints aren’t doing well, I sometimes just don’t feel like watching any football. This will pass. Anyway, about the movie: I recorded it because I saw one scene while channel surfing. When I hit the remote to see what it was, I noticed that it was directed by Brian De Palma. He also directed Dressed to Kill. Femme Fatale tries to be Dressed to Kill. The entire film is built around the lead character and the story is kind of weak to begin with. This film is intended to be all style and I’m OK with that when it works. Unfortunately for me, the only scene in the movie worth seeing was the one I accidentally saw while surfing. The surrounding characters are fine here but it doesn’t work this time mainly because of the lead actor. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos can't act. End of story.
We watched All the Real Girls last night. I recorded this when I read Kim’s review of it. I think Kim liked it more than I did. It’s quirky, a little too long, and overloaded with not very smart dialogue yet it is also a bit charming, mainly because of Zooey Deschanel and great location scenery. I’ve seen Zooey in three films now ( Almost Famous and The Good Girl are the others ) and a Dinner for Five. She is wonderful. More Zooey, please. Dinner for Five is also worth recording with your TiVo.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Oh yeah, bumper stickers are stupid and decrease the value of your car. But if you insist, don't have some pseudo-intellectual nonsense on it."
Good advice and that's a funny entry. -Rob
The main goal for me right now is to come up with a solution here for spam. My old server ran Spam Assassin for email, which filtered 90% of it. That was nice because I didn’t have to download it at all. Norton Anti-Spam is catching a good bit of it but I just don’t need to download 100 messages overnight.
Comment spam is totally out of hand here. I had to resort to comment moderation for a time until I have a solution. MT-Blacklist is disabled on my new server. I’m trying a few other things now. I've made a few changes to the blog commenting system. When you post a comment now, you'll have to preview it first. No, I'm not a grammar/spelling NAZI. It's just an anti-spam measure. Comment moderation works but it’s tedious. We’ll see how this goes for a few days/weeks.
On the fantasy football front: My Erasers scratched out their first win last night. Overdue is all I can say. My other team, Ragpickers, is 7-3 and quite probably playoff-bound.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “then i realized -- wait a minute, I have Adam Vinatieri"
Short one today. Thought the dns propagation would take a bit longer. Many things to correct this morning. One correction should be to stop posting like a telegram. One major kink and two minor kinks to work out and I’m done here on the new server. It is a bit bumpier transition than I thought it would be yesterday. I need Fred’s Ronco Day-Stretcher.
One of my errors. My reaction is the same. Still no solution.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “The more I think about it, the more the coincidence between both U2 and Eminem being with the same label (Interscope/Geffen) becomes less amazing."
When we lived in Metairie, we were not far removed from the upper crust of society. I’m talking strictly in terms of geography. We used to ride around in those neighborhoods in the winter with our dogs leaning out the windows soaking up the cool air. Some of the rich folks had gaslights all over their estates. I loved them then and I still love them. The picture below is of my front door gaslight. It doesn’t put off as much light as an electric light and it’s a bit more maintenance ( Bugs get in and die ) if you’re a clean freak. We’re not. Even when they’re not as clean as I’d like, they add a touch of elegance.
The Saints pulled one out today. I didn’t catch any of it. That was my intent. They’ll have to win three or four more before I get interested in them again this year.
I’ve got one more bug to figure out before I move the website to the new server. I probably shouldn’t say so but I think it’s going to be a smooth transition after all.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Occasionally, something weird happens. Like tonight. At 8:00 pm, Pamn heard a bomb explode. She looked out the window, and saw fireworks."
First things first.
Happy Birthday, Mom.
Love,
Robbie
And, now, a Saturday morning linkfest. I haven’t done one in a while. I’ve been keeping up with most of my faves but I must admit that I haven’t kept up with everyone I link to. I’m hoping to catch up now that things are starting to slow down.
Pitcherlady is posting fabulous pictures from her trip to Germany. Yes, Charlene. It does look like a painting.
Goldie gets 14 comments on an entry that says she can’t post. A bit of envy here.
Saucy Librarian is feeling guilty about visiting a Starbucks. She and Pitcherlady blog from Nashville.
Fred has a great picture up and is also looking for a “ Ronco Day-Stretcher “. I'll take one, too.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Chernobyl has been the subjects of repeated exposes and cover-ups ever since the explosion occurred in 1986. It will not be laid to rest until the entire story is completely known."
I still like John’s place, The Daily Irrelevant, for the great pictures and the stuff he finds but the constant criticism of America gets old. I used to comment at his site now and again because I thought they’d appreciate an American perspective. To be fair, they did. I don’t do it much any more, though. On any given day, 75% of his entries on his WordPress blog contain stories about American politics, American culture, or American companies, particularly Microsoft. It’s mostly wailing. He posts from The Netherlands, which I suppose is a great place to live but I wonder what consumes him about America and what joy he derives from finding fault? American faults are on full display here and everywhere. Wailing about American politics from Europe is predictable and amusing, though, and his site is worthwhile for that, too. One other thing: If not for his site, this average American wouldn’t give any thought to Dutch culture, politics, or companies. Thanks, John.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Last weekend I visited Oslo. You couldn't tell by the weather, 'cause the weather in Barcelona could not have been much better, warm and very sunny."
It was about 4½ years ago. I got a flyer in the mail from DellHost. I had kinda wanted a website and domain of my own for some time. I was using the web space my ISP provided to do fantasy football but I wanted to do more than that. I didn’t know what would become of the site. The idea was to put it up and see where it takes me. My ISP at the time provided hosting also but it was rather expensive and this was and is still just a hobby for me. Anyway, DellHost had an attractive hosting package, including domain registration. They were just getting into the webhosting business and I figured Dell was a big name so it had to be stable. I jumped on it and CrabAppleLane was born on July 7, 2000.
DellHost had some growing pains while I was with them. Their email servers were totally inadequate from the very beginning. Like all hosting packages now, they guaranteed 99% uptime. I should have kept records of that. If they were up 100% uninterrupted for the next 5 years, they might bring their average up to 99%. When I started blogging last year, I encountered two problems with DellHost. Problem Number 1: No databases. The bulletin board I was using had a serious problem that devoured server resources and Greymatter ( The blogging software I started with ) devoured server resources at an even more alarming rate once you got to a certain number of entries. The solution for this was to move to a bulletin board and blogging software that used databases. Problem Number 2: I was closing in on my 50MB limit. DellHost had other packages but were considerably more expensive and this was/is still just a hobby. I started shopping around.
Enter Bloghosts. They offered a package that was comparable in price. I moved from 50MB to 500MB of space and they offered to transfer all of my files and install Movable Type for free. Sold. If they were not going out of business, I would happily stay with them. This has been a great experience.
I have decided to move to IX Web Hosting. I’m upgrading in storage from 500MB to 2500MB. This is considerably more than I’ll need for a good while but that’s the idea. DellHost was just starting out in webhosting as was Bloghosts. IX Web Hosting has been around a while. That and their excellent rating were the determining factors. Transferring files and getting everything to work properly is a major hassle. It is not anything you want to do very often.
The transfer will take place over the next few days and things may get wonky around here. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “The sanctity of marriage may well be in jeopardy, but it's not because a couple of former alter boys from Dorchester want to tie the knot."
A spammer by the name of Rolex Replica managed to place a spam comment on the very first entry here yesterday. I almost let it stand out of nostalgia. Almost. Since I upgraded the blogs here not quite a month ago, 5374 spam comments have been blocked, including that one from Rolex Replica. Who names their kid Rolex ( Just joking, I suspect it’s not their real name )? 5374 is a ridiculous number for an obscure place like this if you ask me. I think the tide will turn in the effort to reduce spam with a few more high profile convictions and with the talent and energy of the people now dedicated to stopping it. I don’t think it will be totally eliminated but I think it will have to evolve into a different and probably more expensive ( For them ) form and that will be enough to suit me.
Speaking of spam, I offer you the following. I came across it via Margi who stole it from LeeAnn.
G'day, you're Bruce! You think like a philosopher,
especially after you've had a few cold
ones...Australia RULES!
What Monty Python Sketch Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
I was hoping to be the John Cleese character in the Ministry of Silly Walks. It would go better with the poster that Patsy is now getting framed. If you've never seen that Monty Python skit, there is no way to describe it. At least, I can’t. Search for it with your TiVo, rent it, or buy it. John Cleese’s body of work in comedy is off the chart prolific, all high quality stuff, and that skit may be the best of them all. I probably built it up too much there. Can’t help it. The man cracks me up.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “The Hormel company, makers of the potted meat product known as ‘Spam’, and, indeed, inventors of the word “spam” decades before Al Gore even invented the Internet, let alone email, has decided that enough is enough, and that it’s time to reclaim their brand."
It appears I’ll be searching for a new place to put this website and blog in the not-too-distant future. That’s a bummer for a number of reasons. The main one is that I like my current host so much. It is an understatement to say my current host was an upgrade from my old host. I’ll be looking at these and organizing my thoughts about how to make the transition as smooth as possible. The top-rated one on that link is the front-runner at the moment. I hate transitions. This will be the second time I’ve had to move the website in less than two years. The site outgrew the first host. The pipe dream goal is no down time. Stability and a hosting package that far exceeds my needs will be what I’m looking for. I definitely don’t want to keep doing this.
Thanks for the heads-up, Donna. I'll let you know what I'm doing when I decide.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “What are we to make of Ulysses S. Grant?"
While the Saints were being assassinated yesterday in San Diego, I watched two movies about assassination that I had recorded overnight on UltimateTV. The Assassination File and The Job were both a waste of time. The Job was the slightly better of the two but it was excruciating to watch. Not as excruciating as watching the Saints, though.
Speaking of the hapless, hopeless, worthless Saints, it appears the Haslett coaching regime in New Orleans is done. I expect him to ride out the rest of the season to a 5-11 or 6-10 record and on into the sunset. He’s just another in a long list of coaches who couldn’t do it here. The ownership has something to do with it. The Saints have had two owners. The first, John Mecom Jr, was a spoiled rich kid and the Saints were his tinker toy. He sold the franchise to the current owner, Tom Benson, who was/is a bean counter. They are both clueless about playing in the NFL.
My 0-8 and soon to be 0-9 fantasy team, Erasers, has been a victim of my bad handling more than anything else. This season, I have managed to stay the course when I should have made changes and made changes when I should have stayed the course. This weekend, I took out three players (Trent Green, Darrell Jackson, and Ashley Lelie ) who ended up having very good weeks. Two of the three players I started had average weeks and the third is playing tonight.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “green fairy dot com: if not the funniest weblog on the planet - it's close."
I had no idea this blog existed when I started the BOTD feature. -Rob
Some Sunday pictures for your perusal. The first three were taken yesterday in Covington, the next two were taken this morning in or from the yard, and the last three are for my friend, Andrea the Music Whore and Moody Mistress. She had mentioned Nights in White Satin this morning in a comment here.
This is part of the Tammany Trace. It's right in the middle of downtown Covington.
One of our favorite eateries, Judice’s.
A barbershop sign I thought looked cool.
Some morning rays through my neighbor's trees.
I couldn’t have made more noise banging on this tree with a sledgehammer than this Pileated Woodpecker was making with just his beak.
I had to break out the album below this morning after it was mentioned by Andrea in a comment to yesterday’s entry. If I’d have had to look hard for it, though, I wouldn’t have. It just happened to be in the first place I looked. I bought this album in 1968 or 1969. It was one of my very first albums and it hasn’t been played in over 25 years. When Patsy wakes up, I may just have to play it.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “If Madonna and Moby would have a baby his name would be Mylo."
I’m ripping some CD’s this morning as I compose this entry. I come across Rhino Special Editions: The Best of Foghat. It has “ Driving Wheel ” on it. I love that song. That CD still annoys me and brings one of my extreme peeves to the fore. In the old days before CD jukeboxes, 45's were used. Just about every song over 3 minutes was shortened for that format mainly so more songs would be played. I had The Beatles “Hey Jude” on 45 and that song is about 7 minutes long so there was no justification for shortening a 5-minute song into a 3-minute song other than greed. “ Driving Wheel ” on the aforementioned CD is that shortened 45 version. On this CD, it’s 4:32. The original is 5:13. They saved all of 41 seconds. " Slow Ride " is also shortened but I don't care about that one. Was it worth it? They could have fit the original versions on the CD easily. There’s no warning on the CD whatsoever. It’s quite possible the dolts who put the CD together didn’t even know it but I would have thought Foghat or some representative of theirs must have approved it. Warning to other music lovers: Many Time-Life, Columbia House, and BMG compilations contain shortened versions of the songs you love even though they quite often claim that it’s the original versions. You cannot trust anything from those three. Who has the time to research every song on a compilation CD against the original CD/Album to see if it contains the original versions?
Coffee adventure number 814: My coffee maker is cool but it has some features that worked against me this morning. It has an aluminum thermal carafe that I can’t see through. The carafe can be placed on any surface and the coffee remains hot. I can also pull the carafe out while the coffee is still brewing and pour a cup. I don’t have to wait until the pot is finished. Those are really neat features on most days. This morning, I took a sip of my first cup of coffee and I knew instantly that I screwed up. I had forgotten to empty the previous day’s leftover coffee. It was ice cold and also contained whatever other properties day-old coffee has. Yuck. On the bright side, I think the day can only get better from there.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Anyway, Dr. Phil, you can see my problem."
Anne Rice is still writing about vampires? I read the Vampire Chronicles a few years ago. It was sold as a three book set then. I had to put the fourth one down and have not picked up any subsequent novels in that series. To me, it ran out of steam after the big war in the 3rd novel.
Today would have been my grandmother’s 93rd birthday. Hard to believe she’s been gone for more than three years.
It’s clear and in the low 40's outside my window right now. That’s doable.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Last night, I witnessed the dumbest driver that I've EVER seen. I live in Atlanta, so I've seen many morons on the road!"
After playing Doom III for a while now, I remembered why I got out of computer gaming. I need to upgrade the video card on this brand new freaking computer to play the game the way I want to play it. It’s still early in the game and the game slows down when the action gets going. Having played earlier versions of the game, I know the action will be extreme at the higher levels so I’ve put off playing for a while until I can afford ( I’ll probably never be able to justify ) a new video card. This measure taken in order to save some desk-pounding, window-breaking frustration later. Computer gaming is an expensive black hole that devours time and money in huge quantities. Not things I have an abundance of.
We were promised cooler weather this weekend. I want to hold someone to it. Who do I see about that?
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “2 years ago, in Scotland, I slacked off celebrating Halloween because I felt it stupid to 'celebrate' an American tradition in a non-American country... Oh how arrogant and stupid I was."
Seeing Dan Rather still on TV this morning at 3:45AM is wonderful, just wonderful. I am so tired of this election. Can anyone make it go away? There's five bucks in it for you if you can.
My truck refused to start yesterday morning. I had stopped somewhere on the way home Monday night. When I came out and started my truck, it killed almost immediately. I started it again and drove to the parking lot exit to get onto the highway and it killed again. I started it one more time, kept it revved a bit, and got it home with no incident. That was all the warning I got. I changed the fuel filter yesterday morning and tried to start it again but it refused. I think the fuel pump is out. The fuel pump is attached to the fuel sending unit in the fuel tank on my truck. It was time to call the wrecker and that’s how my morning went. The shop wasn’t able to fix it yesterday but I’m hoping they can get it done today. The fuel sending unit has been broken for a while so I’m having it replaced at the same time. I really didn’t need that expense at this time but they have to remove the tank sending unit to replace the fuel pump. It would be silly not to replace it. The truck is 15 years old, has 350,000 miles on it, and it is still on the original fuel pump and sending unit. Both are known to go out on my make and model. I really can’t complain too much. The house water pump last week and the truck fuel pump this week. I’m not a superstitious person but if these things do come in threes, what’s next?
One of the joys of country living: When we got to the polls last night at 7:30PM or thereabouts, there was absolutely no one in line to vote. We vote at a firehouse that is the polling place for two precincts. Neither precinct had anyone in line. That was a first for us. In previous elections, there was always a line of three or four but the wait was never long. With the much higher voter turnout anticipated last night, we were very concerned that we’d be there a while.
One of the other joys of country living, loss of electricity, is probably about to happen. We have a pretty good thunderstorm going on right outside my window as I type.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “One of the non-joys of medicine is sitting on hold with a pharmacy when you're trying to call in prescriptions. The most painful part of this process is undoubtedly the Muzak they inflict on impatient callers. Once in a while, though, they play something you actually want to hear, and then it becomes even more frustrating..."
Election Day is finally here. Patsy works for the state. Election Day is a state holiday in Louisiana. We’ll go vote together when I get home at 7:15PM or so. Yes, it’s cutting matters close. They’ll probably have a winner declared by the time we get home. Polls nationwide should open at the same time and close at the same time. No official results should be tallied or announced until all of the polls have closed. If that’s inconvenient for the TV networks, I simply don’t care. All voting machines should be reliable. I would prefer all of them to be identical. Confidence in the process must be restored. Any measure to do so has my support. We’ve had four years to improve on it since the 2000 debacle yet we’re staring at potential controversy again. Both sides have an army of lawyers. I’m not comfortable with that and I think it’s inexcusable. I’ll just be glad when it’s over. Probably sometime in January.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “One in three California voters are not confident that electronic voting machines will count their ballots properly, and two out of three believe it is very likely that there will be problems at the polls, according to a new Field Poll released today."
New Orleans was awarded an NFL franchise on this day, All Saints Day, in 1966. Happy Birthday, Saints. There have been some ups and a lot of downs since then but New Orleans and the surrounding area has somehow kept the faith. Some cities/states who have been awarded franchises since (Cincinnati, Carolina) have been to Super Bowls and one (Tampa) has won one. We’re overdue. I doubt it will be this year.
At the extreme other end of ineptitude from the New Orleans Saints, we have the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, whose 21 ( Yes, 21 ) game winning streak came to an end yesterday in Pittsburgh. It was going to end somewhere. The Steelers have a very good team and played a great game yesterday in a playoff atmosphere. Those are two franchises that others ( Like the one in New Orleans ) should be studying.
Ya think there might be some political ads on TV tonight? Your local channels will be inundated but I expect some cable channels will have a few, too. I am ready for this to be over.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “With seven games behind them the Saints are now 3-4 with 9 games remaining. That being said, with this having been a bye week for the team, this week seemed like the best time to give the Saints their mid-season grades for each position."
