This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
I offer one image from the CrabAppleLane backyard on this beautiful autumn Sunday.
CrabAppleLane Wildflower - September 30, 2007Quote of the Day
Rob
Your last entry was 4 days ago.
Movable Type 4.01 Dashboard
Blog of the day via Sheila is here.
Quote from said blog: "Reading Together: c. 1900"
Lovely photoblog. -Rob
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
With 5 days left in the regular season, three of the four playoff berths in the American League are clinched and the fourth is one game from being so. We pretty much know who the four will be. In the National League, NOTHING is decided yet and I don't think we'll know until the last weekend. National League fans are being treated to real pennant races. They'll be told that their teams are inferior to the ones in the junior league and will be shown stats (There are always stats in baseball) to prove their inferiority. The National League representative in the World Series will be a decided underdog. It means nothing. World Series history is rife with examples of underdog National Leaguers beating powerful American League teams. These are just some of the ones I remember:
The Mets take 4 of 5 from the Orioles in 1969.
The Phillies take 4 of 6 from the Royals in 1980.
The Dodgers take 4 of 6 from the Yankees in 1981.
The Dodgers take 4 of 5 from the A's in 1988.
The Reds swept the A's in 4 in 1990.
The Marlins take 4 of 6 from the Yankees in 2003.
The Cards take 4 of 5 from the Tigers last year.
I offer a couple of images from City Park.
Quote of the Day
This ball will be branded with an asterisk.
Marc Ecko
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Next up for the UAW is either Ford Motor Company or Chrysler LLC. It has yet to decide which of the remaining domestics it will negotiate with next, but we're anxious to see if one contract already in place will make the next two go smoother."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Bad enough the Saints laid another egg on national TV last night but it appears they’ve lost Deuce McAllister for the season with a torn ACL. An MRI scheduled today will probably confirm it. Bummer. Looks like a long season is in store for Saints fans and the injury to Deuce will just make it longer. From my seat in the Bush bleachers, the Saints problems are on the offensive and defensive lines. The Saints can't run the ball or protect the QB and their opponents are running the ball and protecting their QB.
Quote of the Day
It's obviously time to be concerned.
Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints Head Coach
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Today is going to be a very long day waiting for this game to get here. The Titans have the chance to earn some national respect tonight. I think they will."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
It's LSU-Tulane week. These once bitter rivals used to meet every year at the end of the season. Tulane is in New Orleans and LSU is in Baton Rouge. It's a natural rivalry that was shelved a few years ago by LSU. It was the right decision and this week's game illustrates it perfectly. For LSU, Tulane will be just a tune-up for their big game with Florida the following week and it provides some of their New Orleans fans a chance to see them closer to home. They have absolutely nothing to gain with the almost certain win. For Tulane, it is a big payday and their bowl game all in one. A win or a close game would give their program some desperately needed credibility with recruits and it would certainly hurt LSU's lofty ranking. Tulane's football program is pitiful and pity is the only reason LSU has to play them. I was a Tulane fan for most of my life and would gladly return if they lifted a finger towards a commitment to football.
Upgraded this morning to MT4.01 and I managed to fix one nagging error message I was receiving that the upgrade didn't address. The installation is still not what I want it to be yet and I hesitate committing to it until I have some other issues resolved. Time and inclination to deal with them has been hard to come by lately. Time and inclination to blog has been equally hard to come by lately.
Just one image from CrabAppleLane today.
Quote of the Day
Never get a mime talking. He won't stop.
Marcel Marceau
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Instead, everyone at the bar took the latest slap in the face with an Abita Amber and the knowledge that next week at the same time, we'll all be watching the Saints instead."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Quote of the Day
He's hearing the voice of God through a crossword puzzle.
Anna Ran, Lady in the Water
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Can someone please tell me how she manages to look 26, while other Hollywood women who try to turn back the clock wind up looking like Martians?"
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
I watched Fox's K-Ville last night. I may give it one more go but I already have issues with it. I may be overly sensitive to its premise. Ostensibly, it is supposed to be a series about the post-Katrina New Orleans Police Department. One of the stars plays a cop who drinks on duty in public and tortures witnesses/suspects. He lives in New Orleans and is rebuilding his home in the 9th ward. His partner abandoned him during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and now wants forgiveness and his job/life back. The other star plays a former criminal, with just small stuff like armed robbery on his sheet, who is now the drinking-on-duty cop's new partner. He told everyone he was from Cincinnati but it turns out he's really from New Orleans East. If you can get past that good bit of ridiculousness, there's still more. The first episode dealt with a force unknown keeping the violent crime rate up and in the news so that former residents wouldn't want to come back and rebuild. The force unknown is advancing that agenda by buying up the properties of those fearful residents. As entertainment, the first installment was a little too melodramatic to suit me but that was just one show. Maybe the next one will be better. For what it's worth, there really isn't that much intrigue in New Orleans. Most, probably 95%, of the violent crime in New Orleans and most major cities is drug-related, turf-related because of the drugs, or retaliation having to do with the drug-related and turf-related. If it was supposed to be a snapshot into New Orleans culture, the first episode failed miserably. I like seeing some of the familiar landmarks, though.
Quote of the Day
And, of course, there is a visit to a voodoo shop.
Dave Walker, The Times Picayune
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "I went to the cashier. "Whoa! You got a lotta tuna, buster!" Yes. Yes, I do. I felt the tremors coming. I was actually buying close to three hundred dollars of canned tuna. For my parents, who live by themselves in Idaho, and who I guess are joining a militia."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
About today's QOTD: Seems to me that Patriots' players' anger is misguided. It's working for them in the arena at the moment but that won't last. Their accomplishments and their legacy are now tainted forever and it aint the fault of the media or other NFL coaches and teams. They really should be mad at their coach and their organization. What they were caught doing is unforgivable. It taints everything that came before it; the hard work, the shrewd personnel moves, the great drafts, the championships, everything ...
Had set the DVR to record K-Ville last night. It's on my playlist and I hope it's complete. These HD-DVRs from DirecTV spontaneously reboot sometimes. It did it last night right around 9PM. This is a new receiver that was replaced after the lightning strike a few weeks ago. The old one did this once or twice a month, too. Not wild about it. It happens at inconvenient times and it takes a good 10 minutes to complete.
Quote of the Day
I don't want to look at you all and punch you in the face for what you were saying. I just wanted to win the game.
Tedy Bruschi, Patriots Linebacker
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Linebacker Tedy Bruschi was particularly emotional in the post-game locker room tonight."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
The Saints will be answering all sorts of questions this week that they weren't expecting to be answering. They have not played well and it seems the offense has been figured out. That's a major concern because the offense was expected to be the strength of this team. The defense is still inconsistent and still gives up too many big plays. They need a productive offense to keep them off of the field for long periods. It figures to be another long week.
Patriots fan, The Great White Shank, is calling for Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick's head. I think this escapade was worth a few miles of psychoanalysis. The Chargers put their team through all sorts of cloak and dagger stuff before last night's game. Future opponents will do the same. On second thought, maybe the punishment wasn't harsh enough. I think the whole thing is now benefiting the Pats. It shouldn't be that way.
Slow news day in Woodstock, MD. Made my morning.
Everyone is talking Red Sox and Yankees in baseball these days. I think the Indians and Angels will have a lot to say about who represents the American League. I also think the National League will send a good representative. I like this year's chances at a great World Series.
Quote of the Day
I've experienced this now for 12 years. And it's unbelievable. It's exhausting. That's the only thing I can say. I dread it.
Joe Torre, New York Yankees Manager
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "The Sox blew an excellent chance at scoring off Joba in the seventh. Hisnke doubled and was bunted to third. But Lugo fanned and Ellsbury grounded to first. The Doctor doubled his pleasure and homered in the eighth, finally tagging an earned run on JtC's ERA."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Three weeks after a lightning strike at CrabAppleLane, I am ready for this ordeal to be over. The damage that has proven the most inconvenient has been to the water well. Today's issue is hot water or the lack thereof. The water well people came out again Friday, tested our water quality, and decided we needed to be chlorinated again. Another cycle of run the water until you smell the chlorine, then do not run the water for at least 8 hours, and then run it until the water well people come out to test it again. DO NOT DRINK THE WATER.
The most anticipated football season in Saints history is off to a rough start. They're 0-2 and have looked horrible both times out. The offense is pitiful and the defense has picked up in consistency where they left off last year. The offense has no patience. They don't want to take what they're being given. They want big chunks of yards but the defenses they're playing against have six and seven guys downfield. The defense gets off the field one series and then gives up a touchdown the next. Up next is the Titans. I expect Jeff Fisher will look at the Saints film for 5 minutes and say something like, "No need to come up with a new and creative game plan. We'll just do what the Bears, Colts, and Bucs did".
Two from the backyard today. CrabAppleLane Charlotte has moved her massive web. Her boyfriend moved along with her. I suspect CrabAppleLane Chloe was getting too many catches of the day. The two webs are almost parallel and are not in direct competition any more. The walkway from the driveway to the house comprises the other image. Enjoy.
Quote of the Day
Great country. Free cars.
Han Sing, Romeo Must Die
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "The Dali Museum recently put up a billboard of one of Dali’s works that includes the naked backside of his wife, Gala. They chose that work thinking the billboard would create some buzz about a nude. But St. Pete is too hip, and no one cared."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Led Zeppelin is getting back together for one show only according to Reuters and MSNBC. It's a benefit concert and I think it will raise a lot of money. To say that will be a hot ticket is an understatement. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have toured a few times together playing almost exclusively Led Zeppelin music but that's not quite the same thing from a marketing standpoint. It doesn't create the same buzz. Expectations are lower. I saw two of those shows and they were excellent. Jon Bonham's son, Jason, played drums with them for another Atlantic Records event some years ago and did a great job. Should be fun. I hope a DVD is forthcoming.
Looks like we'll finally get to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. They obviously have two complete bands/orchestras as they're scheduled to be in New Orleans, LA and Worcester, MA on the same day at the same time. Looking forward to November 10.
About a year and a half ago, I thought the New England Patriots organization was the class of the NFL. I have changed my opinion of them. They were caught cheating against the Jets this past Sunday. They were videotaping hand signals from the Jets coaches. Stealing signals is OK if you can figure them out on the fly. That's a time-honored art in sports. Major League Baseball coaches and players do it or try to do it all the time. What's different about this is the videotaping. Doing so gives you time to study them for use later in the game. They were caught last year in Green Bay doing the same thing. In fact, it was the same cameraman. And, now, the Steelers are saying they've been doing it for years. I think a very stiff penalty is coming. I don't think the league has a choice. They cannot show favoritism to one of their marquee teams. A slap on the wrist would surely be interpreted that way.
Quote of the Day
OK. Yep. That's all. OK. Thank you.
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Head Coach
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "All the Steelers had to do in this game was sit back and watch the Browns implode. The Steelers started three drives in Browns territory in the first quarter because of turnovers and before you could blink an eye the Steelers were up 17-0."
Today is a day to ring a bell or to give pause. It was a Tuesday, September 11 six years ago.
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
It is a bad week for professional football at CrabAppleLane. First, the Saints laid an egg on national television. Then, my two fantasy teams both took it on the chin this weekend. No need to panic yet. It's only Week 1. There's always next week. Then panic. Tip o the cap to my friend, Dave, who informed me that the Viking defense may score more points than the Viking offense this year. That tip was worth 14 points for me yesterday. That’s a very good performance for a fantasy football defense. It wasn’t enough for my sorry team this week but I surely appreciate it. Thanks, Dave, and congrats on the solid win yesterday. Although it's only one game, it looks like Adrian Peterson is the real deal.
About 80 miles up the Mississippi, LSU made their case for a higher ranking. They entered the game as the Number 2 team. They gained ground on idle USC but not enough to overtake them. It's a long season and the Tigers' schedule is loaded with land mines like Florida, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and the SEC title game if they make it through that gauntlet. Aside from that, there is going to be speculation all year about head coach, Les Miles, being offered the Michigan job at the end of the season. I think that's a certainty now. He played at Michigan for Bo Schembechler. He's the natural choice to replace Lloyd Carr. I don't think there is anything Carr can do to save his job. As college football head coaching jobs go, LSU and Michigan are both prestigious, both pay very well, and both programs are committed to winning. I think he'll take it.
Quote of the Day
Leave me alone
Les Miles, LSU Head Football Coach
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "On a more intimate level, New Orleans photographer David Spielman's Katrinaville Chronicles details through poignant photographs and personal e-mails, the challenges and hardships he endured while staying in New Orleans during and after Katrina."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Have been a little busy lately. Finding time to blog difficult to come by. Just one image this Sunday to show what a mess the CrabAppleLane backyard is now.
The well and the tank used to be on that slab on the right. That aluminum shed on the left used to go over them. That aluminum shed now covers the new well. We'll have to build or buy something to go over the new tank. The new tank is just a little too large for the old shed. That's red clay spread all over the yard. It's good for a foundation because it gets very hard. It's good for nothing else. When it gets wet, it becomes slippery and it gets on absolutely everything and is very difficult to get off. We have running water but doubt they're finished this installation. They came by Friday, tested the water, and chlorinated it big time. I think we'll have another round of this before we're bacteria-free enough to suit legal standards, whatever they are.
Quote of the Day
What a football team. They really took it to us.
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech Head Football Coach
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Beamer finally touched on where his team goes from here."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Things are slowly getting back to normal at CrabAppleLane. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look here. We still need to bring the computers in for inspections and get written estimates on what it will take to repair them. The insurance company will decide whether they'll be repaired or replaced. Not looking forward to either prospect at the moment. My backups are pretty good but moving things from one computer to another is always tedious.
After months of anticipation, the boys laid an egg last night in the RCA Dome. The Colts are a better team. I’m not too worried about losing this game or the lopsided final score. Games can get out of hand in a hurry. Hopefully, the Saints will get another shot at them a few months from now and maybe play a better game. This is the exact same defense the Bears used against the Saints last year and it’s the one I expect they’ll see for the next few weeks. They need to be much more patient against it.
Quote of the Day
A lot of young guys played good tonight. It's only one game and there's a long way to go, but we played really well tonight.
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts Quarterback
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "As seen from Mount Evans ..."
Nice pics. Seems to have gotten both ends of the rainbow. -Rob
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
With apologies to Montrose, there is only one thing on my mind today.
The buzz in the Greater New Orleans area for tonight’s Saints-Colts game is now growing by the minute. Just about all activity will stop at 7:30PM local time. As the commercial says, “If this doesn’t light your fire, the pilot light is OUT”.
Although this game counts, this is the closest thing the Saints will have to “one on the house”. It’s not a division game, not a conference game, not a home game, and it's still just the first game of 16. They don’t HAVE to win. That said, it would be a blast to win this one in this atmosphere. If the boys play their game and minimize/eliminate turnovers, they can hang with the Colts in Indy. A work colleague likened this game to a tennis match. Whoever holds serve will win. Maybe, but I think both defenses will surprise and hold each offense under 50 points. :) The wildcard and the difference will be Reggie Bush. It says here the Saints win, 37-31.
To Saints players from CrabAppleLane: Be on the sideline when they unfurl the banners tonight and imagine what that would be like in New Orleans next year.
To Colts players from CrabAppleLane: Tighten those chin straps. The Saints aint there just for show.
13 hours until football season ...
Quote of the Day
The Saints Are Coming
Green Day & U2
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "The countdown to kick off is ticking down. Thirty four hours at the time of this posting. But the moment has been building up for weeks and weeks. And in hopes of duplicating our success from last season, my superstitious ass is going to do everything the same that we did last year. And that starts with the beard."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
If you're wondering why I haven't changed the URL here from temporary to permanent (I assume you stay up nights pondering that), it's because this version of Movable Type has some new features but also some new issues. It is almost defenseless against spam. I've been getting some the last few days. I've found the best defense against spam is to close comments and trackbacks on older entries. There is no plugin for MT4.0 available to do that yet. Even though I had closed comments in MT3.35, importing those entries into MT4.0 somehow re-opened all entries that had comments. These major issues and a few minor issues along with what I have going on at home with the lightning strike have kept me from doing the silliness I like to do.
1 day until football season ...
Quote of the Day
The Colts will take advantage of the Saints’ mistakes.
Jay Novacek, MSNBC.COM
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "As Michigan fans everywhere try to find some way to move forward after the devastating loss to Appalachian State, we here at the MZone wanted to figure out what we could do to ease the suffering of our maize and blue brethren. Unfortunately we came up empty when we were told that time machines weren't real and BACK TO THE FUTURE was just a movie."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
Spent most of yesterday at the mall. From what I understand, there are people who like to go there for no reason at all. I hate it. People have no qualms about jumping in front of you, complaining loudly, asking ridiculous questions, bumping into you, and holding innocuous and quite unnecessary conversations with cashiers while other people are waiting. Hadn't done that in many years. I can go another many years without.
For what it's worth, wireless internet is OK if it's all you have but I prefer the speed of a wired connection.
2 days until football season ...
Quote of the Day
It's all happening!
Polexia Aphrodisia, Almost Famous
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "So, here it is…For those of you ramping up for the actual 2007 NFL season and who have just “missed” those preseason games, here is your introduction to Ed Johnson."
This is a temporary url. CrabAppleLane Blog will be at http://www.crabapplelane.net/roblog as soon as I can make the transition.
The week from hell is almost over but we're making slow progress. To recap: Lightning struck CrabAppleLane or very close by Monday afternoon. It did a lot of damage.
The yard is a mess. They dug up a ton of dirt here for the well-drilling process. It is almost all red clay, which is the messiest, slipperiest, and hardest-to-remove stuff you can imagine. The well people, the phone people, and the satellite people were all here yesterday. The satellite people were in and out the most. There was nothing to be done but let them do their job but we'll be cleaning that up for a while.
Patsy just turned on the washing machine for the first time since Monday. It works. Hallelujah. Think we may be closing in on the end of the tunnel for this ordeal.
On to other stuff ...
Speaking of the Saints-Colts game Thursday night, does anyone NOT think that game is going to be a blast?
I offer two from the CrabAppleLane backyard on this hot and overcast Sunday. You’re not seeing double. Charlotte has a new friend/neighbor. Chloe is about two feet away. She’s smaller but a much more accomplished webmaster.
4 days until football season ...
Quote of the Day
I'm tired of the phrase "train wreck," we need to start mixing it up.
The Sports Guy (Bill Simmons), ESPN.COM
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "In my zeal to educate children about owls, and birds in general, I have over-stepped the bounds of a law-abiding educator."
