CrabAppleLane Blog II

You know there must be someone out there just dying to smoke that stuff. Dying to.

Despite their very clumsy efforts at seeking aid, I think it's in our best interests to help the US automakers. More competition in that industry is better for consumers.

Yeah, this is a good thing to have in your office. No matter how fun it looks and how bad I you want to play. Advertised as "especially delightful during work hours". I don't think so.

About today's QOTD: I don't think anyone is old enough or tough enough to live that life. It's a very sad, very angry, and very short life.

Quote of the Day

He thought he was old enough, tough enough to live that life. He wasn't. We all worried about him.

Keishell Hills, 19

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Back in the days of dial-up modems, when broadband was still kind of dreamy - we had these things called "utilities". Windows was just an operating system, and there were all kinds of things that it "didn't do" yet...like unzip files, manage themes, burn cd's, and countless other things."

I miss Norton Commander. -Rob

From the New Zealand Herald:

An Auckland internet cafe has been charged for allowing punters to watch movies at computer terminals.

Some of it makes sense. Most of it doesn't. I think I understand the desire to see a movie up to two months before its official release. That makes a little sense. A "punter" (Love that term) plops down $5 or so per hour to watch a two-hour movie on a computer screen and maybe buys coffee and a sandwich from the cafe. Something to be gained by both parties. Again, that makes a little sense. How many punters are doing that, how much money are they making on each, and is it worth the risk of getting caught? And why just prosecute the cafe owner? Why not prosecute the punters, too? It seems to me that if you have enough punters to make that activity profitable, you're going to get caught. Even if the amount of activity doesn't raise a flag with law enforcement, chances are pretty good that one of your customers will probably get caught doing something else and give you up in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Quote of the Day

When it comes to FEMA, it is so important, for our state that they fix this agency.

Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Governor

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Illinois entered the Union on December 3, 1818. The 21st state takes its name from the Illinois Confederation--a group of Algonquian-speaking tribes native to the area. An Algonquin word, "Illinois" means "tribe of superior men.""

The fantasy football regular season is over in most leagues this week. Some will play another week and have two rounds of playoffs but we prefer to end now because we like three rounds of playoffs. In one league, my fantasy football team (Spawn) finished 8-5, made the playoffs as a second seed, and will get a bye despite a convincing loss this week. My other team (Death on Two Legs) in my other league, which I thought was quite a bit better than the 8-5 team at the beginning of the season, finished 5-8 and is off to our consolation tournament. The team I felt pretty good about was pretty bad and the team I felt pretty bad about was better than I thought. A pretty typical year for me.

The Saints are pretty much done for 2008 but I'm optimistic for 2009 because they'll still have Drew Brees, the defense is playing better now in spite of the injuries, they'll probably have a last place schedule, and, finally, because Jake Delhomme and Jeff Garcia will be another year older and even less effective. Known-Saints killer Jeff Garcia was pretty ordinary this past Sunday. On top of that, I can't imagine another season where 16 players get declared out for the year. They still have to do something about their consistency issues, though.

Can we please NOT HAVE a Jets-Giants Super Bowl? Pretty please?

Oddsmakers have made the Gators a 10pt favorite in the Florida-Alabama SEC Championship game but I like the Tide's chances.

About today's QOTD: For once, I agree with Mike Celizic or "hat guy" as my friend, Nightfly, calls him.

Quote of the Day

I don't know what the Giants are going to do to Plaxico Burress, but none of the options should involve writing him a regular paycheck.

Mike Celizic, MSNBC

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "IT IS enough to send any fans of the Caped Crusader into a flap. Batman is set to be "killed off" after almost 70 years of crimefighting."

About Apple: I am wondering this morning how Apple got all of my email addresses. I'm getting 5-6 messages per day at several of my email addresses from them. My iTunes account is responsible for them having one of them but I can't account for the others. They're very close to the spam filter at the moment.

About Walmart: I've never been near a Black Friday rush and never will be but I think this is a tradition that can be discontinued. At the very least, they need to build barriers and take other measures to slow down the stampede.

About Plaxico Burress: What are you doing at a night club during the season? I wonder if I could hire out as a babysitter for one of these professional troublemakers athletes. You want to go where?

Quote of the Day

They were more than mere game-changers, those plays by the Buccaneers' defense. They were season-killers.

Mike Triplett, Times-Picayune

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "So I get it, I read the news, we're apparently facing some kind of worldwide economic apocalypse. This all seems unreal to me, not 'cause I've been immune to its impact -- because trust me, my consistently near-empty pockets are particularly empty these days -- just 'cause the economy is a structure we set up, like ... as humans? Why'd we invent something so crummy, and why can't we take it back, like a broken toaster? "No thanks, we prefer the fire pit after all, works every time?" I'm down to hunt & gather."

Just so I understand, who should toy manufacturers advertise to? The advertisers, the toy manufacturers, and the store employees need to make a living, too. Besides, I don't think it's such a bad thing for people to learn about disappointment at an early age.

Saints lead at halftime, 10-6, over Tampa but the Bucs get the ball to start the 2nd half. I don't like the new rule about allowing a team to "defer" their option after winning the coin toss. I think it's the ultimate lunacy to put strategy or advantage in something that couldn't be more arbitrary. Another arbitrary strategy/advantage is also on display in this one. A stadium without a roof has both teams playing in the rain on a wet field. Neither team can play their best game.

Notre Dame football: Deified when they're winning. 1001 excuses when they're losing. Some say they will have become just another football factory if they fire their head coach, Charlie Weis, before his contract is up. Says here they were never anything but.

I offer two busy pictures from the yard on this gorgeous CrabAppleLane Sunday. One works OK. The other not so much.

Should have done this differently - November 30, 2008

Got rake? - November 30, 2008

Quote of the Day

Seriously, it's what poor people do to look fancy.

NiCole Robinson

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "At this point in his career, it seems like Kiffin leaving the Bucs would be nothing but talk, but the idea of coaching with his son may be enough to convince him."

CrabAppleLane buff-bellied hummingbird - October 27, 2008

I was convinced this was a female rufous hummingbird until I heard the sounds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Well, first I found some nearly identical pictures of it on the web. On each bird's page on Cornell's Birding site, you can listen to its song. Very cool resource. What CrabAppleLane has here for over a month now is most certainly a buff-bellied hummingbird. It's quite the chatterbox and I hope it makes a permanent home here although the cantankerous ruby-throats probably wouldn't like it. You were right, Katie.

Quote of the Day

We'll just be satisfied with any bowl game we get, playing the way we played this season.

Brandon LaFell, LSU Tiger

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I am very excited that the Buff-bellied Hummingbird that first appeared in my yard, Oct. 27, was banded, shortly after daylight, on Halloween."

Pretty cool that my picture was taken on October 27, too. -Rob

Saw about 20 gift cards for various merchants from The Home Depot to Starbucks to iTunes on sale at the Shell station yesterday. The merchants must be paying Shell a commission but I wonder if that's any kind of good business sense. Not that I would know any kind of good business sense if I saw it. ConsumerMan says to pass. This little bit got me:

Scott Sistek of Mukilteo, Wash., saw the value of his Visa gift card melt away when he put it in a dresser drawer and forgot about it for about a year. He was "shocked" to learn the $50 card was only worth $26.50. After a grace period, the bank charged him a monthly maintenance fee of $3.50. Plus, Sistek was dinged $2.50 when he called to check on the balance.

Nice scam. If I had a different conscience, I'd say I wish I'd thought of it.

I don't golf but even I know the biggest name in the game is Tiger Woods. In fact, I'd say he's the biggest name in all of sports. The second biggest name in golf, though, seems to be John Daly and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why.

Just some silliness on a slow day.

Quote of the Day

With most terrorist attacks, it's relatively clear-cut who is involved. In this case, it could be all sorts of constellations that are at work.

Magnus Ranstorp, Swedish National Defense College

Blog of the day via The Coalition is here.

Quote from said blog: "Mr. Dave took six White Castle "Sliders" (mini-hamburgers for you folks not fortunate enough to have experienced them), stuck them in a baking dish, removed the top buns, lined them with bacon & cheese, added some homemade batter, and cooked the whole shebang to a level of perfection we can only imagine."

Happy Thanksgiving from CrabAppleLane

Quote of the Day

And if the cloud bursts
Thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

Pink Floyd, Brain Damage

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "How to Write a Thanksgiving Blog"

A memory popped into my head yesterday and I went about it on Google. I love the internet. I found King Zor in a number of places. I had one. King Zor is the coolest toy ... EVER. Batteries not included. I know Santa didn't pay $175-$1000 for it and if I still had it, that wouldn't be nearly enough to pry it away from me.

Quote of the Day

Be ready for King Zor. He's ready for you.

King Zor commercial

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "You do realize that if he wins, he will never shut up about it."

Well, that Packers game was fun but the sobering thought is that the Saints still need to win all five of their remaining games or at least four of five for any hopes at the playoffs. Games squandered earlier in the year are now brought into sharp focus. Tough one in Tampa this week.

One of my fantasy football teams has made the playoffs. Another win will earn them a bye. My other fantasy football team, the one I thought was better at the beginning of the year, needs to win, score a lot of points, and hope the right combination of tiebreakers happens. Uphill to say the least.

Ole Miss pretty much finished off any hopes LSU had of going to a New Year's Day bowl game. Been a tough season for a program that has gotten used to double digit wins every year. Most, but surely not all, of their problems stem from inexperience at quarterback.

Quote of the Day

We expected more from our defense

Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I looked back as far as the 2001 season and I still don't know the last time the Packers allowed over 50 points. It was too depressing to go back any further. But if you think this game was awful, a true sign the team doesn't have it this season, well here's some recent history."

Like most Americans, I am worried about the economy. The price of gasoline has fallen (I paid $1.85 per gallon Saturday night) but I haven't seen much ripple in the rest of the market. Popcorn and two soft drinks at the theater Saturday night was $16. What to think about the statement below from John W. Schoen at MSNBC:

As prices fall, the spending power of your money goes up. But so does the real value of your debt -- because you have to pay it back with money that has increased in real value.

The paying back power of your money doesn't go up along with the spending power? Economists give me a headache.

In New Zealand, where there appears to be some sanity, they are liking the lower gas prices for their upcoming summer. Good to be them. The global gasoline market is driven by US demand. When the price is up here in the summer, it's up there in the winter when they don't want/need it as much.

Looking like a bleak Christmas season.

Quote of the Day

A benign decline in prices amidst a sluggish but recovering economy would be unwelcome but tolerable but the price slashing now under way as the consumer beats a hasty retreat could allow that corrosive deflationary spiral to take hold -- something the Fed wants to avoid at all costs.

Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Is the intent to shame the naughty into paying their fair share? To a point. However, I believe government posts those lists to incite a very different emotion: envy."

We went to see Quantum of Solace last night. We usually don't go to the prime time 7:30PM shows because they tend to be noisy and overcrowded. That was surely the case last night. There were long lines to get tickets at the single ticket window but someone finally got a clue and opened their other ticket window. There were long lines to get concessions, too. We ended up sitting in the front section of seats (3rd row center). All of that was OK. We were on time and looking forward to the movie. More about the film after the mini-rant.

During the previews for movies these days, a PSA comes on where you hear a cell phone ring and a baby cry. The point of the PSA is Don't Add Your Own Soundtrack, be courteous to others, etc. Someone didn't get the message. We had a toddler and an infant behind us who made noise throughout the movie and their clueless parents/guardians/whatever couldn't or wouldn't do anything about it. It was so loud and so frequent that it was impossible to ignore. I'm mad at the parents/guardians/whatever this morning but I'm also mad at the theater for even allowing them in. There was nothing in that film for those two kids but once they're inside, the only way to deal with it is to get up, go find a manager, and confront them. Not only will you miss a large chunk of the movie, they may decide to do nothing about it or you might end up in an even larger brouhaha. Who wants to do that? Back in the days of ushers, they would have been asked to leave. That theater is getting a letter from me but I doubt anything will change.

About the movie: It's a continuation of Casino Royale. The action is relentless, really fast, and the camera is right in the middle of it most of the time. It's so close that it's a little hard to follow. It wasn't as good as Casino Royale but I still liked it.

One from the CrabAppleLane front yard on this rather bleak Sunday afternoon.

Quote of the Day

I really think you people should find a better place to meet.

James Bond, Quantum of Solace

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "I've raised this before as "bums on seats" was once suggested by tv film critic Barry Norman. If you paid say £4 to see Casino Royale 2 years ago and now pay £6.50 to see QOS, now times both by 1 or 10 million and you see where we're coming from."

45 year anniversary of a sad day. R.I.P., JFK.

Bill Simmons touches on a topic I've been on for a few years now. By building new, expensive state-of-the-art-stadiums (SOTAS) and courting the affluent but casual fans to buy suites and expensive seats, the NFL is relegating to the upper decks or even simply pricing out the real fans of their game.

Bug woke up on Sundays at 7:45 a.m. no matter how hung over he was, paid the prostitute and asked her to leave (OK, that's not true), took a quick shower (not true either), squeezed himself into his Willie McGinest jersey, packed his car with beer and food, picked up his pals, packed more beer and more food, and then they zoomed down Route 1 to Foxboro and snatched a choice parking spot right next to the stadium.

THOSE are fans. The ones sitting at the 50yd line in the club section, reading a magazine between plays with their sweaters tied around their necks and their designer sunglasses pushed on top of their heads, are probably there because someone told them that was the place to be or maybe just the place to be seen. Not sure which. The end result is the SOTAS are visually dazzling, comfortable, perfect environments for the target demographic but totally sterile to the real fans. Owners are draining the emotion out of the game and turning it into a cold, hard business. Well, here's a cold, hard business reality, Mr Billionaire Owner. Emotion is what fills 90,000-100,000 seat stadiums in Knoxville, Baton Rouge, Ann Arbor, Lincoln, and Tuscaloosa while cold, hard business is struggling to fill smaller stadiums in bigger cities like Jacksonville, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Cincinnati. Making her lay too many golden eggs is killing your golden goose.

Quote of the Day

The old stadium was a dump, but we felt like we were at a football game, you know? Now we're at ... I don't know. The fans don't affect the game anymore. It's really sad. Grover calls it the wine-and-cheese crowd. We've become the fans we always made fun of.

Bug

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Just back from football. I've rather stupidly played for two consecutive nights, with different groups of people. I find it hard to say no. I'm 40 and my body is slowly winding down, but I love playing, and the more you use it the less you lose it."

According to the ESPN article:

Imprisoned NFL quarterback Michael Vick expects to return to pro football

I guess you might as well dream big, Mike. Assuming his legal troubles are over when his sentence is over and assuming he can get the NFL to reinstate him soon, he will have to convince an owner to give him a chance in spite of his ineffectiveness in his last full season in the NFL that a two year layoff couldn't have helped and, more importantly, in spite of the absolute certainty of a public relations nightmare media circus in these difficult economic times for whatever team that gives him a chance. Not impossible, I suppose, but not likely.

Quote of the Day

All it was was dogs

Joey Porter, Miami Dolphins

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "The Bears' third-year kick/punt returner, who had 11 kick/punt-return touchdowns in his first two seasons, leaving him two shy of the NFL record, has yet to score on a return this season, and it's contributed to the lack of punch shown by the Bears' formerly stout special teams."