December 2006 Archives
As time winds down on another year, I've once again been pondering the expression, "don't have the time" and its brother, "can't find the time". Did so quite similarly last year and the year before and the year before. Everyone says it. Have you thought about what the person you're saying it to thinks about it? Spoiler alert: Do not expect any grandiose conclusions or Earth-shattering insight in this post. The more I thought about it over the last three years or so, the more I realized I still have no position on it.
About the time: A 91-year old person shouldn't take on a 35-year project with hopes of finishing it. He/she probably doesn't have the time. There are also instances where an arbitrary deadline is imposed. Someone called and is coming over in an hour. "I don't have time" to cut the grass before they get here.
Where age or deadline is not a factor, is it really true when someone says that? If so, wouldn't the person you’re telling it to know it? There are 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, etc, etc... (If you get less than that, you're exempt from these foolish thoughts). So, what you're really saying is, "I don't wish to use my time that way". To say it that way, of course, is kind of rude so we say, "I don't have the time" instead.
A task could/should be done and both of us are capable of doing it. I tell you, "I don't have the time". How should you react to that? Is my time more valuable than yours? Am I implying that you DO have the time? Am I simply saying I don't want to do it? Am I over-analyzing? Yes, absolutely, to at least two of those questions.
I planned to add considerably more thought to this essentially self-plagiarized (Auto-plagiarized?) entry after having another whole year to think about what I am trying to say but I have somewhere to go in a few minutes and ...
I don't have time to do it now.
Happy and Safe New Year
From a very wet CrabAppleLane
Quote of the Day
If we had not lost the way we had lost, we probably wouldn't be here today.
Joel Maturi, University of Minnesota Athletic Director
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Wow. What a year. I'll never forget how terrified I was when I clicked the "publish" button in May of '04 and launched this little blog called Ypulse."
Rumors were rampant in southeast Louisiana in August/September 2005 and this is an example of how things were reported during the chaotic days that followed Hurricane Katrina: It was reported that the Danziger Bridge, a photographic favorite here, was the scene of a shootout between the New Orleans Police Department and six people that were described as gunmen. It was reported then that five were killed and one wounded. First, the dead and wounded count was wrong. There were two dead and four wounded. Second, there appears to be several versions of this story. This story has already turned political, racial, and tiresome. Doubt anyone will believe the final outcome.
What little I know about this area and human nature: The Danziger Bridge is a draw bridge on Chef Menteur Hwy that spans the Industrial Canal. It is not known for pedestrian traffic. In fact, I have never seen a pedestrian on it. How people came to be shot on it is Katrina’s doing. New Orleans East is on one side of the bridge and the Ninth Ward and Gentilly are on the other side. The shootings occurred on September 4, 2005 (Six days after Katrina passed). There was 4-10 feet of standing water on both sides of the bridge then. All of the businesses on both sides were severely damaged by storm, by flooding, and by looters. As for the residents in this area who didn’t evacuate, imagine being stranded with no services whatsoever. Imagine 99º temperatures during the day with 100% humidity. Imagine looters, many of them armed, all around you. Then, there was a stressed out police force dealing with the stressed out citizens. Don’t know what happened that day on that bridge and probably never will know but I'm mostly surprised there weren't more incidents like this one.
Quote of the Day
We know that there were a lot of people out there who saw and heard what happened.
Mary Howell
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "seen at Conscientious"
Photoblog. -Rob
Quote of the Day
What were you - a drummer boy? You must've been 10 years old.
Michael Douglas, Falling Down
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Since full employment was killed by the double whammy of industrial automation and female emancipation, there has been a permanent base level of unemployment. There are now more people than jobs, and there always will be."
Not something you see every day in southeastern Louisiana. Sorry for the soft (Blurry) focus. Was in a hurry.
R.I.P., Mr President.
Congratulations to the fantasy football champions around here; Corey and Phil of the CFFL and Jay of Ya Boys. Also to Dave up there in Minnesota. Some luck was involved, of course, but they picked the players at the draft or auction, they submitted the right players into their lineups and made the right free agent pickups and trades, and they managed their team better than the other teams in each league and they've done it for 16 weeks. It aint all luck. There is some money involved but it will be long gone soon. Your championship will always be with you. So tip your cap to Lady Luck this week but also take some pride in your accomplishment.
Day 10 of the flu-that-won’t-go-away-and-die-already.
Quote of the Day
My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule.
Gerald R Ford, 38th President of the United States
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Favorite Quotes By Steven Wright #1: Someone sent me a postcard picture of the earth. On the back it said, "Wish you were here.""
Unusual blog. -Rob
Merry Christmas
Got a nice Christmas present yesterday from the Saints and can get an equally nice one today from the Eagles. An Eagles win will give the Saints a first round bye in the playoffs and render next week’s game with Carolina moot. I’d like to see them win that game with the Panthers anyway but I don’t want anyone getting hurt in the process. That's my Christmas wish for today. Hope yours comes true.
R.I.P., James Brown.
Quote of the Day
I feel badly for all Giants fans to come here on Christmas Eve and then for us to lose the game the way we lost it.
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants Head Coach
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Old church of Inkoo"
Beautiful pic. -Rob
Tom Coughlin: Disciplinarian? Except for Tiki Barber and Eli Manning, the Giants are nothing but undisciplined thugs and it was a pleasure watching them get waxed this afternoon. That coaching staff has lost that team and there is no way they should be back for another year. The Saints were the other team today as they’ve been most of the year when they’re playing one of the elite teams. They played OK but the game might not have been as close had they not dropped so many perfect passes. An Eagles win tomorrow against the Cowboys gives the Saints a first round bye in the playoffs. Therefore,
Dave talks to his team. Colston and Deuce helped him a little today. Big Ben and the Giants D/ST laid an egg, though.
The Sunday picture is one I took a few weeks ago. Pretty lousy day outside at CrabAppleLane and I’m still not up to going out in it without having to.
This log cabin looks like it will have a nice view of the sunset. Log cabins were very rare around here 10 years ago. Counting this unfinished one, there are 8 that I ride my bike past all of the time now.
Quote of the Day
DST-Giants. You guys haven't done squat lately. You are overdue to contribute to this team, so get it done today.
Dave E, Fish Fear Me
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "A sure way to start a heated debate in San Francisco--especially between locals and transplants--is to ask if we have seasons."
Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant in New Orleans is an institution. Doesn't look like much, does it? I had eaten take-out food from there a few times but had never eaten inside and had never been to it. My boss had our whole department and a few others over there last night for his annual Christmas dinner. Sad to say, I still haven’t eaten there. I put the broiled stuffed flounder and baked macaroni and cheese in a box immediately. I’m still fighting the flu and I’m still prone to violent coughing fits that ... let’s just say it’s best not to have fresh food in my stomach. Patsy and I shared it when I got home and my instincts were correct. I was able to keep it down but it was touch and go. This is no reflection on the food. The food was great. The baked macaroni is fabulous. It’s my kind. There are two kinds of baked macaroni fans. People, like me, who like it hot and a little bit creamy and others, like Patsy, who like it slightly burnt and crusty on top. You have to settle that part of the macaroni and cheese equation BEFORE you go on to whether to add brown gravy or not.
For those who may be considering joining the blogging world and can't decide which software to use, it should be noted that Word Perfect accepts maccaroni with two c's or with one but Movable Type only accepts the one c version.
About today’s QOTD: The following disclaimer is on the Underworld:Evolution DVD preceding the start of the movie. It comes just after the standard Unauthorized Use and Copyright stuff. I think it was supposed to be placed elsewhere on the disk but that it was here made it a bit comical. If you don’t know, Underworld:Evolution is a thoroughly ridiculous film that is part action movie, part rock concert and the clincher; it’s about vampires and werewolves. On to the quote.
Quote of the Day
The following Interviews and Commentaries are for entertainment only. The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment or any of their respective affiliates or employees.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "I know The Boy and I have our problems right now, but I request he do one small, fairly insignificant thing to relieve some of the stress in my life. It's not big, it's not difficult, but apparently it's impossible to actually do."
Quote of the Day
I'm a free man and I'm going out the front door.
Gerry Conlon, In The Name Of The Father
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "My head was banging like a Lambeg on the twelfth. Synapses fluttered and misfired in my temples and stars ruptured behind my eyes."
From the showbiz world: Sylvester Stallone still making Rocky pictures and Rambo pictures at age 60. His one-dimensional acting aside, he is a marvelous physical specimen. I know people who can’t wait to see these two films. I must confess that I liked the earlier films in these series. The first Rocky was a great movie. Very gritty and very deserving of its Best Picture Oscar. I'll pass on the current version.
From the Time Mag Mag: You, yes you, are Time Magazine's Person Of The Year. My first thoughts on that was that it was a lazy choice. That they probably agonized over if for a few weeks made it even more incredible. There are other thoughts, though. Dan thinks I should add it to my resume. Ilyka Damen has a pronoun issue. Jon Swift thinks it was conceived to inflate newsstand sales. I suppose everyone wants a copy of the magazine that named them Person of the Year is the thinking there. Me, I'm content just to work for the Person of the Year, buy my groceries from the Person of the Year, sit in traffic with the Person of the Year, listen to music by the Person of the Year ...
Unsolicited, unwanted advice for Mark McGwire: Your current strategy of staying mum on Hall of Fame voting is the best strategy. You surely don’t need Pete Rose on your side. You can’t help yourself by coming forward and stating your case. You can only hurt yourself. Every sanctimonious, holier-than-thou baseball writer, of which there are way too many, will fisk anything you say. Just go about your retirement. Making the Hall of Fame is out of your hands.
College Football Bowl Season is upon us: The CrabAppleLane Invitational College Bowl Pool is underway. With 32 bowl games this season, I'm thinking it will take 21-22 correct picks to win first prize.
About today's QOTD: 59???
Quote of the Day
Her lawsuit alleges that Starbucks, which runs 59 stores within a 2-mile radius of downtown Seattle, creates "Starbucks-only zones" that bar rivals.
USA Today
Blog of the day here.
Quote (November 29) from said blog: "I think I have to face it: Everything Is On Hiatus."
I managed to wrangle another cold out of my orbit of friends, family, and co-workers promising a joyous holiday season. Hooray for bone-rattling chills, fever, muscle aches, headaches, lost sleep, and sore, tickley throats. Theraflu, here I come. When the coughing gets to the sore rib and throwing up stage, I typically go to the drug store looking for any product that I haven’t used before. The reason I’ve always done that is because none of them have ever worked for me. Enter Theraflu a couple of weeks ago. It has helped me sleep. I use the powdered version. There’s a nighttime powdered version and a daytime powdered version. I've used them both with good effect. You stir it into boiling water and drink it. It has a strong lemon taste but it is not nearly as nasty as Nyquil. It works for me. Your mileage may vary.
Back in the Saints very first preseason game, one of their quarterbacks, Adrian McPherson, got run over by the Tennessee Titans mascot (Free registration may be required). He was warming up and about to enter the game at the time if memory serves. His chance to make the team was a longshot, at best, but that’s not to say that he had NO chance. He’s a terrific athlete but is also wild and undisciplined on the field and a liability off of the field. He never played a down for the Saints in the preseason and was released by the team. He has decided to sue the Titans NOW for that accident. Not a big fan of this kind of lawsuit normally but I think I see merit in this one although I really don’t understand the timing. Who knows what might have happened in that game had he not be injured by this act of unintentional negligence? NFL history has many examples of unexpected overnight success. He never got that chance and may never get another one.
Been doing Fantasy Football maintenance most of the morning. This is championship week in most leagues and both of my teams are finished ... as usual.
Quote of the Day
Doctor Jimmy and Mr Jim
When I'm pilled you don't notice him
He only comes out when I drink my gin.
The Who, Doctor Jimmy
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Yesterday, I discovered an advantage to golfing in December."
To hackers everywhere: That is no advantage in Louisiana. -Rob
Though they had been outplayed and lost a few games, I made a comment on Saturday that the Saints hadn’t been outcoached or outhustled yet and then they went out and got outcoached and outhustled by the Redskins on Sunday. It’s entirely my fault. I knew I had that kind of power and should have just kept those words to myself. Tip of the cap to the Redskins, who are not just playing out the string. It was a tough loss but they can’t dwell on it. They have to move on. The division and a home playoff game is theirs but they have to match the Cowboys in wins and not let the Seahawks or Eagles pass them from here on out to get the playoffs' other first round bye. It's a tall order.
On the fantasy front, it looks like my season is over in both leagues. Ragpickers have Rudi Johnson tonight but their opponent has Peyton Manning, Shayne Graham, and a 17 point lead. Erasers are done and have a six point lead but their opponent has the aforementioned Rudi Johnson. My prediction is that Rudi Johnson will do enough damage to eliminate Erasers but not enough to save Ragpickers. I’ve only been in this position about 500 times. I hate it. Hope Dave did better this weekend.
Friday’s sunset from work. The Danziger Bridge is a nice photographic subject. Love the street lights, crossing wires, and other urban elements, too. Regular readers here have seen a few versions of this scene. I never tire of it and hope I can keep them spaced far enough apart not to bore those readers.
Quote of the Day
I won't be celebrating at all tonight if that's what you're wondering.
Drew Brees, Saints Quarterback
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Note to mobile network operators everywhere: I get so much value out of my interaction with Flickr I would gladly pay triple what I pay today for my account."
My perspective on Flickr is different. The free accounts at Flickr should entice you to upgrade to one of their Pro accounts. Mine hasn't and I'm on the verge of closing it. -Rob
One from this morning at CrabAppleLane.
A little backyard color. I’ll let the tractor do the raking next weekend. I hate to rake.
Saints win the division today despite a loss to the very well-prepared Redskins. Will need to win more games to clinch a bye, though.
Quote of the Day
While we're on the subject of confession, I might as well tell you that no one in Ogden calls me Red except me.
Loring "Red" Nichols, The Five Pennies
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Ruth Webb, a talent agent who specialized in comebacks, died on December 4. Her client list included Gloria Swanson, Mickey Rooney, Tonya Harding, Phyllis Diller, and Divine Brown. She was also fond of raccoons."
How things change: When last I entered a video rental place, I established an account and got their rental deal of the day. It involved three DVDs but I don’t remember what the special was. All three DVDs were scratched pretty good and that seriously affected the quality of the viewing. I returned the DVDs and never went back. I prefer Pay-Per-View to video rentals but today I stopped in on a whim because I was nearby. I noticed a Buy Two and Get Two Free rack. I saw two side by side that I wanted immediately at a reasonable price (14.99). Found two more on another rack that I also wanted and that works out to $7.50/ea. I was very concerned that these might be scratched up, though. Asked if I could make sure they were OK before I left, the guy at the counter said he “highly recommended it”. Deal. All four of them were in pristine condition. We’ve seen three of the four but we like to have movies at our disposal whenever we want. Sometimes, you can find a DVD at a lower price in WalMart’s $5 stack but they go fast and you pretty much have to be there when they do it. Not the case here. Bought two boxes of Milk Duds, too.
How they stay the same: My goal for today was to see what I could do about these intermittent “internal server errors” that happen here both in commenting and posting. These are a common problem in Movable Type installations judging by the number of people asking about them in MT’s support forum. None of the solutions I’ve read about are within my skill set nor do they sound like they will absolutely, positively solve my problems. Not terribly encouraged to proceed until I learn more. If you get an internal error here, just click refresh/reload in your browser and it should finish what it was doing before the server rudely interrupted it. This problem might be with me for a while longer.
Quote of the Day
I had my chickens before I had her.
Mike Ratliff
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "The last seven minutes of the game demonstrated why the Redskins will finish with a losing record for the eighth time in the last 15 years."
New water fall flowing into City Park Lagoon.
Streetcar decorated for Christmas framed by two of City Park's magnificent oaks. You can really only see the red bow and a little of the green garland down the sides. Notice the purple, green, and gold trash can. It's a bit too early but those are the Mardi Gras colors.
Recently refurbished train tracks ready for the kids tonight. Some of those kids are not so young and I wish I could go...
Another foggy morning here at CrabAppleLane. We’ve been foggy all week on the morning AND evening commute. It rolled in so thick at work Wednesday night that you’d have thought you were in London. Pea soup. There are a lot of bodies of water in southeast Louisiana. If there’s fog on the Causeway, you will be stopped at the entrance if you don’t have working headlights or tail lights. They will not let you cross but they don’t impound your vehicle. They may not have the mandate to do so although I’m sure they have the authority. They definitely don’t have the facilities to do it. I guess they just want you to kill yourself and others elsewhere.
The QOTD is about the BALCO investigation. It is a colossal waste of time and money and more than a bit un-American.
Quote of the Day
The San Francisco U.S. Attorney's office sent out a warning Thursday that it will aggressively pursue athletes suspected of lying to a federal grand jury in its steroid probe.
Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "So long as "free" health care is considered a right, there will be no end to the number of "sick" people clamoring for their fair share."
R.I.P., Lamar Hunt. One of the old guard AFL owners proved you could own a thriving professional sports franchise without being a jackass.
From Jason La Canfora in this morning's Washington Post (Free registration probably required):
The Redskins need to simplify things enough to give Campbell the best chance to succeed over the last three games of the season while also identifying and correcting the flaws in his technique that must be refined for long-term success, Saunders said.
La Canfora is talking about young Redskins quarterback, Jason Campbell. “Simplify things” is a familiar refrain for fans around here. We heard that one for six years while the Saints waited for Aaron Brooks to blossom. It never happened. With Drew Brees at QB now and having a better season than anyone could have hoped for, we no longer hear about having to “simplify things” and the silence on that matter is welcome here at CrabAppleLane.
It was fun watching HBO’s Inside the NFL last night. They did a feature piece about Cowboys PR Chief, Rich Dalrymple, on game day. The Saints really spoiled that little party. The HBO sportscasters are not particularly high on our boys and that’s fine by me. The Saints were the “other” team Sunday night. Chris Carter apparently missed the game and still sings the praises of the Cowboys saying they have the best chance against the Bears. Music to my ears. Don’t know what the guys have to do to get on the radar and don’t care. Just go about your business and take care of the Redskins this week, guys.
Today’s has to be one of my favorite Quotes of the Day. Thanks, T.O.
Quote of the Day
That's what's really frustrating. Especially when we're supposed to be a family...enough is enough.
Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver and Family Man
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Photo from my hotel window... of the Stedelijk Museum rooftop"
Nice photoblog. -Rob
Permit processes can be tedious, expensive, and political in St Tammany Parish, where CrabAppleLane is located, so many take the approach that can be summed up as “Do it and then beg forgiveness”. It mainly applies to quick projects that can be over before anyone knows what happened. The costs in terms of fines for doing things wrong is generally cheaper than the costs in terms of delays for doing it right. I could never do things that way but not necessarily because I disagree with it in all cases because I don’t. My fear is that I’d be the guy they stopped.
This story in today's Times-Picayune is very similar to the one I encountered on the day we were to break ground at CrabAppleLane. Our contractor had rented the bulldozer (They’re called Earth movers these days) and was at the permit office being held up over a rule. The rule stated that you could only have two accesses on private roads. CrabAppleLane was a private road then and there were already two driveways to it. There were plans to donate the road to the parish but it hadn’t happened yet. Once it was under parish authority, we could have as many access points as we wanted. There was already one driveway out to CrabAppleLane. My neighbor in front, the neighbor at the end of the road, and I all had plans to build soon and any number of events could have jumbled which one of us built first. The neighbor in front did and we were the third “disallowed” driveway. After a very tense phone call from me, the guy at the permit office told me that he was going to allow our permit but no more. I expressed concerns for the neighbor at the end of the road to him but was told that wasn’t my battle. Just before said neighbor finally built about a year later, the road was donated but only after a $500 survey.
OK, extremism abounds. I find it a little silly that the photo wasn’t allowed in the first place but I also find it excessive that someone would go to court over it. Just take another picture, Mom. Jeez.
Quote of the Day
He sees it just as a theatrical expression of the reenactment community that he's involved in right now.
Heidi Farrington
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Vampire fiction, outside of Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, is something I am fascinated by but am admittedly not very familiar with."
Sometimes, TV programmers know what they’re doing. Patsy and I like How I Met Your Mother on Monday Night. We’ve been watching The Class mainly because it comes on afterwards and caught our attention before we had time to find something else to watch. Both shows are thoroughly ridiculous. Both are also funny but I think The Class is the better of the two. About The Class: It features a man cheating on his wife and a wife who cheated on her husband with her old boyfriend once but the old boy friend is now in her daily life. Got that? Sitcoms usually avoid this subject matter but Soap was doing it 30 years ago and a lot better. The Class has a good, diverse cast of characters but it’s a little too cutesy to have any shelf life. I don’t expect it to last but I’ll hang around while it’s on.
With apologies to Dire Straits once again:
Yeah, the Boys can play
Quote of the Day
For now, last night's loss simply means you can forget about that first-round bye. And that these aren't your father's New Orleans Saints.
Matt Mosley, Dallas Morning News
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Take an extra 20% off"
A blog for shoppers. Cool idea. -Rob
More of that, please. There is still a lot of football to be played but the Saints started the last quarter of the season pretty good last night. Deuce McAllister is playing great football for the Saints this year but the image of the season for me came last night as he watched and cheered from the sidelines as Reggie Bush ran for a touchdown. Deuce is still not quite 100% recovered from knee surgery last season. He got loose on a 35yd run last night that would have gone for a touchdown prior to surgery. I know it’s a business and anything could happen but it would be a shame if Deuce ended his career in anything but a Saints uniform. Besides, I love this Deuce-Reggie combination. A Saints win this week against the Redskins in the SuperDome will clinch the division.
Hey, ESPN
Lose that “America’s Team” nonsense. Dallas can keep that one.
I think I might have to take back just about everything I said about Vince Young not being an NFL quarterback. I didn’t think he was but it now looks like he may end up being what Michael Vick was supposed to be; a great athlete AND a great quarterback. The Texans draft strategy of selecting Mario Williams over Young and Reggie Bush is looking even dumber now than it did 8 months ago. Saints and Titans fans should send them a Christmas card.
To borrow that line from Dire Straits once again:
He makes it fast with one more thing
Quote of the Day
But I could see in the gleam in his eye at the end of the game. ... I could tell it meant a lot.
Drew Brees, Saints QB talking about Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "The last thing the Panthers wanted to do yesterday was to put the game and their playoff hopes into the hands of Chris Weinke, who had not started a game in four years and lugged in a 1-15 record."
A little redundancy never hurt, right? The CrabAppleLane Sunday picture:
The life of a CrabAppleLane cat. Maybe some more pics later as I wait for the big event here tonight. To borrow a line from Dire Straits:
He makes it fast with one more thing
Quote of the Day
I happen to like spiders.
Alex Cross, Along Came a Spider
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Though not officially billed as a sequel, "Along Came a Spider" (IMDb listing) continues the adventures of Dr. Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist we first met in the thriller "Kiss the Girls." "
Originally at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule. Also seen at Sheila's and Nightfly's.
1) What was the last movie you saw, either in a theater or on DVD, and why?
Theater: Prairie Home Companion - Knew something about it and had seen a tantalizing preview.
DVD: Total Recall - From the $5 rack at WalMart.
Pay-Per-View: The Breakup - Liked the cast. Movie sucked, though.
The rest below the jump.
Two old memories that require a little setup: Before we moved to the NorthShore of Lake Pontchartrain, I belonged to the Pontchartrain Astronomy Society. They met once a month, organized activities, had guest speakers, talked about their nights under the stars, their telescopes, etc... About what you would expect from such a club.
At the time, PAS was looking into leasing or purchasing a tract of land for observation. They had free use of a piece of property owned by Martin Marietta as I recall but there were problems with it. What they could do was restricted, it was too far away, it was not ideal, and there were times it couldn’t be used. There were some criteria for the type of property they were looking for. It had to be at least five acres (This influenced what I was looking for when I moved to the NorthShore. CrabAppleLane is five acres.). It had to be at least 40 miles from city lights (CrabAppleLane is about 40 miles from city lights, too.). I don’t know what ever came of that endeavor but they hadn’t acquired it when my membership lapsed in 1994.
Still with me? Also at the time I was a member of PAS, they owned a 10" Dobsonian reflector telescope and it was free for members to use on a first come first serve basis. A 10" reflector telescope was quite a step up from the 90mm one that I had and was ideal for the type of deep space observing I liked to do. I wanted to give that a try. I yearned for a larger telescope and wanted to see if a Dobsonian was for me (It isn’t). Another member, who never went to the meetings, had it so I had to go to his house to get it. No problem. He didn’t live that far from me. I knocked on his door and we introduced ourselves. He then told me the telescope was in the backyard and that he had been observing the moons of Jupiter crossing in front of and out from behind the planet. OK, I can give up a few minutes to see that.
Jupiter was low on the horizon that night and I had to get down on my knees to peer into the ocular (Eyepiece for those not astronomically-inclined). As I did that, his dog came over and sat next to me with considerable stealth. I heard breathing so I turned to look and there he was. He startled me. The dog is a 150-160 pound Doberman, his face is six inches from mine, and we’re looking each other right in the eyes. He is not sniffing or licking or doing anything else that pet dogs normally do. He’s also not making a sound. I said hi to him and patted his head and stroked his back. He’s still looking me in the eye. There is no other reaction whatsoever. I asked if there was anything wrong with him. I was told that he’s fine. That’s just the way he is.
It’s time to load up the telescope and be on my way. My host picks up the telescope and heads out to my car. I pick up the stand and the base and follow. He’s about 12-15 steps ahead of me. I get right to the threshold of the backyard gate and the dog starts barking. I turned around and his back hair is on end, he’s looking me in the eyes again, he’s growling and snarling, and he’s about three feet from me ready to launch. I called out to my host in the calmest voice I had to come do something about this dog. He didn’t hear me. He didn’t hear his barking, snarling, growling dog, either. He is busy loading the telescope in my station wagon and he’s perfectly oblivious to the drama going on between his dog and me. He finishes that task and I call out again. I’m a little jacked up, myself, now and I have something in each hand. Between that Doberman and me, one or both of us is going to get hurt. Just before things got out of hand, my oblivious host says:
“Oh, yeah, he’ll let you in but not out”.
I used to work at a place that would let guard dogs roam the lot on weekends. That’s what they were trained to do, too.
Me: “He’s a guard dog?”
Him: “Yeah”
Me: “When I asked if anything was wrong with him, this didn’t occur to you?”
Him: “I guess not”
Me (After a very deep breath): “I have to go”
I surely didn’t appreciate that bit of absent-mindedness and I have no idea what dredged up that old memory this morning but I started hyperventilating again just typing it. Another deep breath is in order.
Quote of the Day
Essentially, it's nutritional pornography. It's so bad for you it's shocking.
Jon Basso, Proprietor - Heart Attack Grill
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "It looks to me like NASA is trying to be sensational again."
I want to see Blood Diamond. Djimon Hounsou was superb in The Island and this story looks great. Like a cross between Hotel Rwanda and Congo and on a gigantic budget. Big adventure and intrigue. That’s me.
New Orleanians go to the polls tomorrow to choose the lesser of two evils. The incumbent, Bill Jefferson, is embroiled in scandal. His only defense to the voters so far has been, “In this country, you are innocent until proven guilty” and “I have not been indicted on any charges”. He hasn’t explained how $90,000 ended up in his freezer in Washington. If you won’t tell your constituents how that happened or if you think that’s a perfectly normal thing, Mr Jefferson, could you at least tell me where you bought that freezer? I could use an extra $90,000 this holiday season. His opponent, Karen Carter, is also a New Orleans insider, also well-connected and well-financed, but has some problems with the neighbors, particularly the sheriff of neighboring Jefferson Parish, Harry Lee. Lee is upset that Karen Carter made statements in Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts without first consulting him and has decided to involve himself in the campaign. All good theater from outside of Louisiana. Tiresome if you see it on TV every day.
19º outside on the deck at CrabAppleLane. A little cooler than I like.
Quote of the Day
However, as a voter, I think I'm entitled to the truth from him, and he's protecting himself legally, which he certainly has the right to do. But if he wants to continue as our congressman, he owes us an explanation.
Gay Cunningham, Uptown New Orleans Resident
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "It was a perfect story for the bold and eccentric host of Countdown With Keith Olbermann, which airs weeknights on MSNBC."
I’d like to think that Times Picayune sportswriter Pete Finney (Free registration may be required) does this to annoy me but he doesn’t know who I am. He’s a proponent of the Bowl Championship Series, more commonly referred to as the BCS. He’s also a proponent of the school of thought that controversy/bickering is good for college football. He’s a proponent of the “ If the system was perfect, people would have nothing to complain about” school of thought. I am not. He asks inane questions in support of his case such as
How many teams? Eight? Sixteen? Do you scrap the bowl system? If you retain the major bowls, who makes the pairings? Should all conferences, or none of them, have a championship tournament?
I’ll answer them. The answer to the first three questions is 16. They should all be conference champions and conference champions only. Teams not in conferences now should join one, form one, or be left out. The next two questions are stupid. There are 32 bowl games this year. The bowls can fend for themselves and revert to what they were before the BCS and what the vast majority of them still are; a reward for teams and their fans that had a good season and an economic shot in the arm for the host city. The bowls can even squabble over the teams eliminated in the playoffs if they like. The answer to the last question is obvious. Conferences can determine their champion any way they like. If the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place finisher has a complaint, they can take it up with their conference. That will definitely work itself out. Why use an imperfect system when a perfect one exists? The NFL, NBA, MLB, college baseball, college basketball, college hockey, Division II and Division III college football have figured this out. There’s no reasonable excuse why major college football can’t figure this out. Surely there are smart people at the major college universities. What I draw comfort in is his species is dying off. There are precious few of them left in the south. There may have been a few more sighted in Gainesville this season than last but they were surely offset by a similar or larger number in Ann Arbor. Extinction for that species is coming. Good riddance.
About today's QOTD: How did they arrive at that figure? Assuming each school is transporting 200 people, that's about $7000 per person.
So Jim Mora quit another job. OK by me. His stature in my eyes continues to go down severely since he quit on the Saints.
Quote of the Day
It will cost the conference about $10.95 million for the seven Big Ten teams to travel to their bowl destinations.
USA Today
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "With most fantasy football seasons heading into the postseason, it is time to crown our 2006 All Fantasy Team!!!!"
Congratulations to Dr Norman Borlaug. A more deserving recipient doesn’t exist.
Quote of the Day
Whenever somebody used the tub I had to drain it and dry it out so I could sleep.
Adopted Son of Michael and Sharen Gravelle
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "my moos are here"
Ran an errand yesterday on my lunch break to an area of New Orleans called Mid-City. It wasn’t just any area. It was the exact location I worked at for nearly 19 years and I know the surrounding area very well. That location is in new hands now and has been thriving both before and since Katrina. Hurricane Katrina’s flood waters devastated this area and many of the businesses haven’t re-opened yet and may never do so. I decided to try to find something to eat around there so I just drove down Carrollton Avenue towards the river. Ye Olde College Inn, Dad’s favorite, was still boarded up. Popeye’s was open but wrapped up with customers. Didn’t feel like chicken, anyway. Turned off of Carrollton and headed up South Claiborne. When I got near where the old Tulane Stadium used to be, I noticed Frostop was open. That’ll do.
Frostop is an old favorite of mine. They serve decent burgers and fries but the real treats are the draft root beer served in frosty mugs and the root beer floats, also served in frosty mugs. Quite famous for them when I was a kid. In fact, Frostop restaurants have a giant frosty mug of root beer on their roofs. The nostalgia link at Frostop’s website shows a New Orleans restaurant on St Charles Avenue with said frosty mug. I don’t remember ever seeing a Frostop on St Charles Ave but it could have been before my time or I could have simply forgotten it was there. This Claiborne Avenue Frostop’s mug was still on the pavement post-Katrina. Didn’t have time for the frosty mug yesterday but a to-go cup would have been just fine. Not to be. I was surprised and sorely disappointed to see that this restaurant doesn’t serve the draft root beer. Instead, they were serving Barqs from a carbonated drink dispenser. Barqs is decent root beer (Or is it?) but it wasn’t what I had in mind when I stopped. The burger was good, though.
I think I've used up my quota for 2006 for the words area, frosty, and mug.
Quote of the Day
Nothing tops it ... but the foam!
Frostop
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Indeed, my 20 mile trip from the office to my house, usually a 40 minute cruise, turned into a 2 hour crawl-a-thon. Here are some pictures that I snapped from the window of my car. The final picture is either defective or artsy, depending on your point of view. I like it, so its art."
After a slow start, the Saints got going and took care of business against the 49ers yesterday. I’m a little concerned about the injury to Joe Horn. They played yesterday without sensational rookie Marques Colston. No more injuries at that position are necessary. With both starting wide receivers out, the Saints turned to the running game and it was there. Deuce McAllister turned in a great game. Then there was Reggie Bush. He needs to take care of the ball a lot better but he didn’t lose any fumbles yesterday. He had one 74 yard catch and run that should have gone for a touchdown but he lost his grip on the ball and went out of bounds. He’s turning into a superstar before our very eyes.
With the Saints game out of the way, attention turned to two of the Saints next four opponents in New York. The Giants and Cowboys both look tough but I like the Saints chances this Sunday in Dallas and I like their chances in the Meadowlands in a few weeks. I think they can hang with both of them if they take care of the ball.
On the college bowl front, LSU and the Sugar Bowl are stuck with each other again. The Advocate out of Baton Rouge said it best:
Instead of playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time, the LSU Tigers will play in the Sugar Bowl for a record 13th time. Instead of playing Michigan or USC, as LSU seemed destined for during most of the last week, the Tigers will play Notre Dame.
Naturally, this turn of events is disappointing for the Tigers because a Rose Bowl matchup with Michigan or USC would have been a lot more prestigious. It’s equally disappointing for the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans. LSU fans will pack the Sugar Bowl. That much is a certainty. Unfortunately, most of them are already here or will drive in on the day of the game and drive right back out afterwards. Florida or Arkansas would have brought 35,000-40,000 tourists for a few days. Hopefully, Notre Dame will bring a ton of fans and money to the city but this shouldn’t be much of a game. If the Tigers play their game, they are way too fast for the Irish.
Although it ruined some plans in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Ann Arbor, it is best that Florida take on Ohio State for the BCS National Championship. Congratulations to the Gators.
On the fantasy front, both of my teams look to earn victories this week but it is too little, too late. They will not be in the playoffs. Erasers got a great performance out of Reggie Bush for the first time this season and Ragpickers had a good game all around.
Quote of the Day
I had a little extra aggression and I wanted to take it out on the 49ers.
Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Romo has done this in every start this season. He made the fans wait 59 minutes this time, but he didn’t disappoint. Tony, Tony, Tony has done it again!"
Congrats to the UCLA Bruins for a convincing victory over their crosstown rivals yesterday. The question of the day, of course: Michigan or Florida? CrabAppleLane thinks it should be Florida.
Hyde, friend and contributor to CrabAppleLane, will be at the Vikings-Bears game today in Chicago at Soldier Field. Temps there figure to be in the 20s at gametime. Undoubtedly, he will be watching the scoreboard for Saints-49ers updates ... and also appreciating the wonder that is indoor stadiums.
A little autumn color from CrabAppleLane on this glorious and cool Sunday morning:
Quote of the Day
With USC's fall, we now have this BCS gem: What figures to be two of the top four teams in the final standings did not win their league championships (Michigan and LSU). Nice system. At least they'd make a nice Rose Bowl matchup.
Pat Forde, ESPN.COM
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "audubon park, new orleans"
Nice photoblog. -Rob
Patsy has been wanting to go to The Old South Buffet in Bogalusa, LA for some time. Her co-workers rave about it and the Unknown Food Critic (Free registration possibly required) also raved about it. So, we hopped in the vehicle this morning and headed out to Bogalusa for lunch. The Old South Buffet is about 20 miles from CrabAppleLane. It wasn’t open. We decided to ride around Bogalusa, take in some sights, and find a place to eat. Most of the local restaurants were closed or didn’t appeal to us. We ended up eating in at Taco Bell.
Deb’ N Odes Corner Smokehouse.
The 4 smokestacks of the paper mill. When the mill is churning out smoke like this on a clear day with a slight breeze, you can smell it from 50 miles away. It’s not the most pleasant smell.
Bogalusa Cemetery is near the top of a hill next to a dump site. This is a fairly old marker probably attended to on occasion. Some of the markers were clearly unattended for many, many years. Saw a simple stone there that looked like it was handwritten with a black marker.
Quote of the Day
They need to have good taste in music ... and shoes. They have to have the whole package, and they rarely do.
Reannan Tyson, 22
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "I mean, if anyone should get compensated it should be the folks who now have to search for a new supplier, and go days (if not weeks), without their pot until they find one."
A throwback ... kinda sorta ... as per an earlier conversation about how gasoline is served in New Jersey. This picture was taken the day before Thanksgiving and is a rather rare sight in Louisiana. I don’t think it’s a case of anything but a station owner not bothering to change the sign. In the days when Louisiana gas stations were trying to convert their customers from Full serve to Self serve, the Self serve pumps were 2 to 4 cents per gallon cheaper on all grades of gasoline as an incentive. Not the case here. The prices were identical. In the 10 minutes I was here, not a single vehicle pulled up to the Full serve island. There was only one attendant and he was pretty busy with the 3 or 4 customers that were here that day. Not sure how he would have managed a Full serve customer. Also not to mention that the customers that are 30 and under probably don’t even know what Full serve is. For those in the Metro New Orleans area, this is the Chevron station at the intersection of Severn, Airline, and Metairie Road and these are some old stomping grounds of Patsy’s and mine. Is it still called an intersection when it involves three distinct streets?
Quote of the Day
The sun goes down, and I go in.
Marguerite Oliver
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "That would be the man who didn't call me back, who apparently has a pathological fear of my particular phone number. Absent an official explanation, I can only conclude that the Saints, beloved as they are in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, are being done a disservice by those charged with disseminating information about the team."
FWIW, the team has never been anything but bad with the media. -Rob
