There are all kinds of recipes out there for "Crunch Salad", and this is one of them.

Crunch Salad

1 Cucumber, sliced lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces
2-3 stalks celery, cut into 1" lengths
1 Green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
handful of chow mein noodles
handful of shredded cheese

Wash, peel if you want (I don't), chop and toss together in a bowl. Top with your dressing of choice.

This is one of those dishes where there's really no set way to make it. Got radishes? Toss 'em in. Want mushrooms, go for it. If you don't have chow mein noodles, crumble some Ritz or saltines into the salad instead. Instead of cheese, add some toasted sesame seeds, shelled sunflower seeds and mandarin orange slices and top with a light vinegarette. Whatever you like is the best way.

I like this salad as a quick and easy light dinner on hot summer days.

Posted by: Ted at 07:36 AM | category: Recipes
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President Bush says we can't win the War on Terror and the Kerry campaign immediately jumps all over it like dingos on a crippled sheep. And they should've, because it was an incredibly stupid thing to say.

You. Just. Don't. Say. Things. Like. That.

No matter how much truth there is to it, and don't think for a second that he was wrong, because he wasn't. We can't win this war in a conventional sense. There won't be a peace treaty signed and POW's returned and victory parades, because it's a different kind of war. To Muslim radicals, it's not even really a war, it's a form of worship.

Admittedly biased, I think President Bush was speaking plainly, without nuance. I also think a lot of Americans will think about it and quietly agree without the defeatist hand-wringing we're currently hearing from certain quarters. It also gave Kerry something to be tougher on than the President, and that was an unexpected gift that he immediately siezed upon.

I read a science fiction book once (Star Trek?) where the last ragged remnants of terrorist organizations all gathered together for something or other. What stuck with me was the alternate history presented, where terrorist attacks had become more and more brutal and bloody until finally the entire world became disgusted and realized that there were limits to protest. Terrorism died out not because there were no more causes, but because it became unpopular and the results were opposite intended.

They weren't defeated, they became obsolete, but it took a lot of time and lives.

I really wish I hadn't remembered that book.

Posted by: Ted at 06:41 AM | category: Politics
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A sequel to Clerks is on the way.

Posted by: Ted at 05:49 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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(Sorry, that title has nothing to do with the rest of this post. It's just something I noticed on TV).

A new entrant in the rapidly expanding space industry emerged today as Masten Space Systems broke its silence by unveiling its new website, and vehicle development plans. The site contains details on the XA-1 suborbital launch vehicle the company will be developing over the next few years.

"This is the beginning of a lot of fun, but hard work. Work anyone can follow along with by visiting our blog where we will be posting regular updates of our progress," declared Dave Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems.

Posted by: Ted at 04:54 PM | category: Space Program
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In part one we saw how easy it is to create a PDA compatible version of your blog. It only takes a few minutes, and once complete you donÂ’t have to do anything special, because it updates automatically every time you post.

In this part, IÂ’ll go over the steps needed to download your blog (or other PDA friendly web content) into your PDA. ItÂ’s pretty easy too.

(in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 06:10 AM | category: SciTech
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Sarah asks if it's weird that the word "sniper" is a turn-on?

Now for those less militarily-inclined ladies, I'll mention that I have one of those sexy TS clearances, and that all personal detail-filled emails sent to the address on the sidebar will be held in strict confidence.

Just sayin'.

Posted by: Ted at 05:42 AM | category: Links
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Please? August has been one less-than-wonderful month around the ol' homestead.

Posted by: Ted at 05:21 AM | category: Square Pegs
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You should probably replace the "yahoo" above with your favorite exclamation of pleasure (other than "Oh God, YES!" maybe).

I noticed last night that someone found Rocket Jones by googling "Jets Cheerleaders Hot" or some combination of same. So I wondered where I'd rank on the list for "Jets Cheerleaders".

Congrats to Denita of Who Tends the Fires, for showing up #1 on google for anyone looking for Jets Cheerleaders. Cindy at Dusting My Brain is at number #7, and I'm at #14, which ain't too shabby. As Mookie would say, "Woot!"

Posted by: Ted at 05:11 AM | category: Links
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A caption contest over at Who Tends the Fires, so sharpen your wits and funnybones, and go to town. I've already disconnected the smoke detectors in my house, because I'm doing some serious thinking on it.

Posted by: Ted at 08:43 PM | category: Links
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Over at Q & O (happy birthday guys!), McQ posts a moving and devastatingly effective rebuttal to a comment that I thought cut right to the heart of the matter concerning the Swift Boat Veterans ads.

Until I read the comments, where one Viet Nam veteran summed it all up in as perfect a way as I could ever imagine:

"If Kerry loses, that will be the parade that we never had."

Posted by: Ted at 01:23 PM | category: Politics
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I understand the concept that news is a business, and bad news sells, which is good business. That helps explain why you'll seldom see this kind of good news on progress in Iraq.

Warning: there's a lot of good news.

Posted by: Ted at 12:08 PM | category: Links
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The upside is that I've found simple instructions on how to make a PDA-compatable version of your blog.

If you don't recognize the term, PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant, and refers to that group of handheld devices like the Palm Pilot, the iPAQ Pocket PC, Blackberry and many others. Basically, they're PC's that fit into your pocket. I recently got one, and love it to death.

Why in the world would you want to do a PDA-friendly version of your blog? Well, some of us out in the world are techno-junkies (not me) and some of us just don't have time to surf to all the places we'd like to each and every day (uh, that would be me). So by downloading your blog to our PDA's every day or two, we can benefit from your wisdom and insight whenever we have a moment or two to spare.

First I'll explain the steps to make your blog PDA friendly, then in part two I'll show those who have PDA's how to get this great blog content downloaded to your wee beastie. It's all in the extended entry. more...

Posted by: Ted at 07:34 AM | category: SciTech
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1 Hey, that was EASY BEEZY! Thanks!

Now you'll have to tell me whether or not you like it, since I don't have a PDA. )

Posted by: Emma at September 01, 2004 01:51 AM (MAdsZ)

2 Sadly, I don't use MT. I've been happy with pMachine so far, except for a couple minor quibbles. I wonder if anyone has done something similar (to your post, I mean) for my software. I'm too tired to google, though.

Posted by: buckethead@perfidy.org at September 03, 2004 01:30 AM (jHXik)

3 Done! Thanks for the hard work.
Update on VT Sounding Rocket project is in the works.

Posted by: chris at September 06, 2004 05:38 PM (zH1Gw)

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That certainly describes Rocket Jones lately. I've been a tad busy, so a lot of recent posts are full of quickie links sprayed around like some manic link-sprinkler. Yeah, that's me - a link-sprinkler!

Posted by: Ted at 06:15 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Seven also happens to be the number of new Munuvians added this weekend by our overworked and underappreciated uberlord host, Pixy.

Welcome and Yay to:

Flibbertigibbet
Drama Queen
Mediocre Fred
Dairy Diary
Ravings of a Corporate Mommy
Nouvel
Deja Vu

Stop in and say hellow. Say hello even.

And the cycle begins anew:
The Lyrics of Life in LA

Darn, did I forget to pick my robe up from the cleaners?

Posted by: Ted at 06:08 AM | category: Links
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I found this link-filled list of products that let you post to your blog from your PDA. Many are free, and I may be checking these out and posting reviews.

Posted by: Ted at 04:57 AM | category: Links
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Rich of Vertical Force Rocketry took a nifty picture of one of my rockets taking off yesterday. It's kind of a goth battleaxe, with lots of dripping blood and hammered metal-looking blade/fins.

Great photo Rich!

Posted by: Ted at 07:34 PM | category: Rocketry
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Today I met up with a friend from my old workplace. We had some lunch, and he says "you been smoking crack?" because I've lost some more weight. It's been slow and steady for me, so I don't really notice it other than clothing-wise. Even if he was just being nice, I appreciated the comment. The crack helps too.

Posted by: Ted at 07:20 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Stop cringing, it's not another cult movie review. I'm talking about the list of people joining in on the second annual Inter-Munuvian Hockey Whoopass Jamboree!

Newest additions are:
Heather - St Louis Blues
Dr Funk - Ottawa Senators
GEBIV - Buffalo Sabres

Already part of the fray:
Victor - Washington Capitals
Helen - Dallas Stars
Daniel - Atlanta Thrashers
Gir - Calgary Flames
Pogo - Calgary Flames
Cindy - Montreal Canadiens or New York Rangers or New York Islanders (not sure yet)
Frinklin - Vancouver Canucks
RP - New York Rangers
Tricia - Atlanta Thrashers
Nic - Washington Capitals
Kin - Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Ted (yours truly) - San Jose Sharks

Still waiting to hear from:
Steve - Carolina Hurricanes?

Wanna play? It's easy, click here for details.

Posted by: Ted at 07:04 PM | category: Links
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... and other rocket flying news from yesterday's launch.

It was a beautiful day for rockets yesterday, with the only real problem being the extreme heat. But the sun was out, the winds were light, the clouds were high, and we had a whole heap o' people flying their rockets.

My son TJ (home from the Navy) and I loaded up the truck and headed out to the field. I'd pre-prepped a bunch of rockets the evening before, so we were ready to fly.

The Civil Air Patrol was there, twenty five kids and rockets, each needing to make three flights. Needless to say, the launch crew was busy for awhile. By the time I did my 2-hour shift as launch control they were mostly done, but we stayed nicely busy with folks flying just for fun. That's also where my TV moment happened, as a local channel had a couple of people out there filming and I gave an explanation of how our launch control system worked and the procedures we used for safety. I heard that Doug Pratt was headed over to their studio later that day for an interview as well. Yay! Any positive exposure is a good thing in today's paranoid and fear-ridden climate.

So TJ and I flew almost everything we'd brought, except for my largest of the day. When I opened the motor reload kit, it was missing some pieces. I'm mildly annoyed about that, but I'll make it good next time I see Ken Allen at one of the launches.

The Hot Jets rocket made a flawless maiden flight, and there were many compliments on both the flight and how good it looked. How could it not look great, being decorated with the lovely ladies' names. Things went so well that I built another motor, this time an E18 White Lightning and flew it a second time later in the day.

Time for some gratuitous linkage (Yay!). The Hot Jets cheerleaders are:
Helen, of Everyday Stranger!
Gir, of Your Moosey Fate!
Tink, of Flitting Here and There!
Sarah, of Trying To Grok!
Blogoline, of Blogoline's Journal!
Wegglywoo, who's On the Beach at the End of the World!
Big Hair, of Left & Right!
Stevie, of Caught In The XFire!
Emma, of Miss Apropos!
Lynn S., of Reflections in d minor!
Heather, of Angelweave!
Kat, of Mostly Fluff!
Nic, of Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax!
Susie, of Practical Penumbra!
Mookie, of MookieRiffic!
LeeAnn, of The Cheese Stands Alone!
Denita, of Who Tends The Fires!
Jennifer, of Jennifer's History and Stuff! (nice custom banner, by the way)
Cindy, of Squipper!
Lemur Girl, of... uh, Lemur Girl!
Dawn of Caterwauling! (gone underground, am awaiting her reappearance elsewhere).

Posted by: Ted at 01:04 PM | category: Rocketry
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Since the spammers have refined the word randomizer routines they use, some of their 'from' names and subject lines have been pretty entertaining. This one was too good not to share:

Need a lover to enjoy this weekend with ,? That person you want to find is here ,. bacterial infantry

Posted by: Ted at 05:45 AM | category: Square Pegs
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