Remember I talked about the new job at work? Oh yeah, it's been kicking my butt. Lately, life has been work and working around the house, with no time left for much of anything else. I've even taken a hiatus over at Wildside Cinema as a movie reviewer.

I'm playing with ideas to change the look here at Rocket Jones again, kind of as a way to see if that re-energizes me. I haven't had a lot to talk about lately, and most everything I thought worth posting was a link to someone else's funny post.

I'm here, and I expect things will be slightly less dead what with the hockey playoffs, the return of rocket weather, and some truly twisted movies that I've watched lately.

So check back once in a while, and I might surprise you by rearranging a few electrons in the meantime.

Posted by: Ted at 08:59 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (26) | Add Comment
Post contains 152 words, total size 1 kb.

At work, things have changed quite a bit. I didn't get promoted, per se, but what I did get was moved from the reports team to the analysis team. Basically, where I used to write programs based on specifications, now I'm one of the people writing those specifications.

I finished up my last bit of official work for the reports team yesterday, and am already waist deep in analysis tasks. It's exciting because there's so much to learn, and I always loved that kind of environment. It's also going to be more stressful because at any time I'll typically have multiple projects that I'm working on, so juggling without fumbling is something I'm going to have to get better at, pronto. Hell, as the new guy I already have three, two of which may be short time frame (unsure at the moment), plus a couple of other things to get done "when I have spare time". Plus the numerous tasks I kept when I moved to the new team ("do a good job, and you keep the job forever").

So life is good. Busy, but good.

Posted by: Ted at 04:59 PM | category: About Ted
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 190 words, total size 1 kb.

I was surprised last weekend when my wife explained to one of the kids that Rocket Jones meant I was "jones'n" for rockets and my daughter claimed that never knew that. Hmmmm. I've sometimes been referred to as Mr. Jones around here, but I thought that the Cheech and Chong reference was pretty self-evident. Maybe not.

Thanks to YouTube, here is the original Jones. Basketball Jones!

Posted by: Ted at 05:00 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.

JohnL has tagged me with a holiday-themed meme.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Both have their place. For egg nog, there must be brandy and nutmeg. And an expiration date clearly and prominently marked.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? As a child, we'd open gift-wrapped family presents on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas morning we'd find Santa's gifts stashed under and around the tree. Santa didn't bother wrapping. With our kids we did the same thing, except Santa delivered wrapped presents.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colors on the tree, and the picket fence is lined with white lights. A single electric "candle" is in each window.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah, I'm a druid and I refuse to desecrate the sacred plant for a Christian holiday.

5. When do you put your decorations up? On the day after Thanksgiving I go into the attic and pull down all the holiday decorations. During the following week, my wife and the kids decorate while I'm at work and each night I haul boxes back up into the attic.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Liz makes a killer sausage stuffing, and we're collectively addicted to cranberry sauce, but the olde German in me insists that it's the mashed potatoes.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: One year Santa really outdid himself. On Christmas morning our gifts were laid out on a brand new ping-pong table. My brother got an HO-scale train set (which I fell in love with and sparked my lifelong fascination with model railroading). Even better, I scored a .22 bolt action rifle. Another is sitting down with Uncle Art and watching, back to back to back, multiple versions of A Christmas Carol. A television station where we lived did that every year, starting with the oldest available (1930's). Good times.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember but I was pretty young, maybe kindergarten or first grade. I do remember conspiring with my folks to keep my kid brother in the dark far longer than I was.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? All of 'em.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Regardless of the tree (we've had real and artificial over the years), and the lights (colored or all-white), most every ornament is special somehow. Some came from Liz's family tree, others we bought for the kid's special birthdays. We have several wooden ones we bought in a Christkindlmarkt in Perminsens, Germany, and we've made several ourselves. The only real sticky point about tree decorating is that Liz is a tinsel person and I prefer the icecikles (how the heck do you spell that?).

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it. I grew up in a climate without real weather. I relish each change of season.

12. Can you ice skate? Not anymore.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My wife got me one of those electric lightning balls several years before they became common. That was very cool and appealed to my inner mad scientist. As a kid, my Uncle Art gifted us with books. I still have a Rand-McNally World Atlas and a Moon-Flight Atlas from the mid-60's.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family. Reflecting on the good things of the past year. Refreshing my soul by being cheerful to people, whether they appreciate it or not.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Pecan pie (Liz makes the best I've ever had).

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? When it's time to open gifts, I sit on the floor and hand out presents one at a time to the family. Everyone gets to ooh and ahh over each other's gifts as we open them.

17. What tops your tree? An old, ratty, beat-up angel that might have come from Liz's Christmas tree when she was a kid. I love it.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving, without a doubt.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? Al Jerreau's version of The Christmas Song. White Christmas. The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Anything I can sing along with.

20. Candy canes: Take it or leave it.

21. Favorite Christmas movie? The 1951 version of A Christmas Carol starring Alistair Sim. Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. It's A Wonderful Life.

22. What do you leave for Santa? Dad, er, Santa prefers a Dewars on the rocks.

If you want to give it a go, leave a link in the comments since Mu.Nu trackbacks are disabled. Robbo and Steve the Llamabutchers and Buckethead of the Ministry have already posted theirs.

Posted by: Ted at 08:24 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 800 words, total size 5 kb.

Meme of Fours. It finally found me, via Cat (who is one of three Virginia bloggers that I know using that name (he said, to explain the apparent confusion)).

Four Jobs That I've Had:
1. Games Barker at an amusement park
2. Security Police guarding nuclear weapons
3. Bartender
4. Tupperware Lady

Four Movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Father Goose
2. King Ralph
3. The Incredibles
4. Guarding Tess, Airheads, The Mummy (original or remake), Twister...

Four T.V. Shows I love to watch: (I'm not a TV fan)
1. Hockey
2. Football
3. History Channel
4. LOST

Four Website's I read Daily (I'll keep it to blogs):
1. QandO
2. Two Nervous Dogs
3. Dustbury
4. Dawn's Place (and much of the rest of the blogroll)

Four Places I've Been on Vacation:
1. Brussels, Belgium
2. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
3. Winnepeg, Canada
4. Good Thunder, Minnesota

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Cheese
2. Pork
3. Mexican anything
4. Soup

Four places IÂ’d rather be:
1. Anyplace but the DC metro area

No tags, if you wanna run with it, go for it

Posted by: Ted at 11:43 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 190 words, total size 1 kb.

From John at TexasBestGrok (who's blog turned 2 the other day - yay!):

Context: Insects are specialists (drone, workers, queens, etc), where humans are generalists.

The original Heinlein:

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Items I've done are in bold, notes and explanations follow.

* Change a diaper - cloth for the first child, disposable for the third, a mix for the middle kid.
* Plan an invasion - in real life a security exercise designed to steal nuclear weapons, on a gameboard for entire continents and galaxies.
* Butcher a hog - deer, pheasant and fish.
* Conn a ship - my Uncle's sailboat, which he sometimes sailed to Hawaii.
* Design a building - the largest that ever made it past the paper stage was a shed.
* Write a sonnet - I've written some pretty bad poetry, but no sonnets of any quality
* Balance accounts - enough to get by.
* Build a wall - wood, brick, and maybe stone next summer.
* Set a bone - a friend's broken finger, although I never want to have to do it again.
* Comfort the dying - I've been fortunate in my life.
* Take orders - thirteen years in the Air Force.
* Give orders - ditto.
* Cooperate
* Act alone
* Solve equations - it's not math... it's not math...
* Analyze a new problem - welcome to computer programming
* Pitch manure - and hay and ground oats (?), family with dairy farms
* Program a computer - my job.
* Cook a tasty meal - check.
* Fight efficiently - fight? yeah. won? yeah. lost? oh yeah.
* Die gallantly - more than once in a simulated fashion while doing security exercises for the Strategic Air Command.

Hey, that's more than I expected!

Posted by: Ted at 05:21 PM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 371 words, total size 2 kb.

I found a link to an interesting "type of humor" test over at Boudicca's, and gave it a whirl. I like the results, but I wonder, do you think it's accurate in my case? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

(results in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 05:55 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 202 words, total size 3 kb.

1 er, no. Doesn't sound like you at all but then maybe I'm asleep at the laptop. :-)

Posted by: Cindy at July 28, 2005 09:29 AM (PvCQB)

2 That test is crap! I scored like...WAY LOW on dark. That test is crap.

Posted by: Derek at July 28, 2005 12:48 PM (wEVXE)

3 Sounds pretty close to me. And I'd definately say you have a dry delivery as opposed to over the top. Sample: "I want to know what this 'empty nest syndrome' is all about." heh.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at July 28, 2005 09:36 PM (0ovgk)

4 "somehow there's something slightly menacing about you"

No offense doll, and I hate to detract from your image, but you're about as menacing as a Care Bear.

Nor do I think your delivery is dry or OTT. You are damn funny and we're all laughing WITH you. And sometimes AT, but usually WITH.

Posted by: dawn at July 28, 2005 11:47 PM (Dh1V0)

5 Me: The Prankster

Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but neither are you into what some would call 'low humor'. You'd laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist.

You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it's highly likely you've tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor.

Hmm... That's pretty good.

No offense doll, and I hate to detract from your image, but you're about as menacing as a Care Bear.

Now that's funny!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 31, 2005 06:38 AM (4N+SC)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

24 years ago today, Liz made an honest man of me.

Posted by: Ted at 01:44 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (11) | Add Comment
Post contains 15 words, total size 1 kb.

From Susie, who passed the torch to me, knowing full well that torches and I do not get along.

Ten random CD's from my collection*:

Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time
Chicago - Night & Day
Diamond Rio - IV
Head East - Flat as a Pancake
Little Richard - Greatest Hits on Vee-Jay
Mariah Carey - Music Box
Sammy Kershaw - Politics, Religion & Her
Various Artists - Time/Life Rock Collection - 1976
Various Artists - Salsa Sensacion
ZZ Top - Deguello

I have an eclectic taste in music, plus I DJ'd for Family Dance Nights at our local American Legion for quite a while, so my collection is broad and shallow.

* No, I'm not at home, I have them listed in a spreadsheet on my iPAQ. Why? Because I'm a dork. Duuuuh.

On to part 2...

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer? Almost none on my home PC. I rip them to CD and then delete them. My iPAQ has not quite a half a gig on a storage card, but I haven't winnowed out the crap yet, so that quantity will be going down as well.

2. The last CD you bought is: Genuine Houserockin' Music, vol. 2.

3. What is the song you last listened to before this message: Little Feat - Let It Roll. On the way to work this morning.

4: Five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:

Blood, Sweat & Tears - You Make Me So Very Happy. "Our" song.
Blood, Sweat & Tears - And When I Die. To be played at my funeral.
Jim Croce - Time In A Bottle. That "drinking song" played at our wedding.
Chicago - Call On Me. My favorite Chicago song ever.
Molly Hatchet - Dreams I'll Never See (cover). The ultimate air-guitar song.

5. Who are you gonna pass this stick to (five persons and why)?

Dawn - it ain't a booty call, but if you do three quick shots of tequilla and squint real hard, you can use your imagination and make it one.
Catt - because I owe her an email and haven't forgotten and in the meantime this'll give her something to do.
Rich - hiding behind that boy-next-door face is the soul of a thrashpunk, I bet.
Rob & Big Hair - I mean, how could I not ask the keeper of the L&R Favorite 100 Guitar Players of All Time list? It's sacred. It's blasphemous. It's both!
Mookie - just 'cuz, peeps.

Posted by: Ted at 12:02 PM | category: About Ted
Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 443 words, total size 3 kb.

1 i love Chicago. i never could figure out what 25 or 6 to 4 was all about though.

Posted by: annika at February 01, 2005 02:22 PM (zAOEU)

2 The title? 25 or (twenty-)6 (minutes) to 4 (o'clock).

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Posted by: Ted at February 01, 2005 02:52 PM (blNMI)

3 Head East?! Been quite awhile since I heard them, or even of them. Cool.

Nice selection!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at February 01, 2005 04:01 PM (7tckq)

4 Ted,since I don't know for certain wether you have ever read any of my posts on The Rocketry Forum I'll go ahead and copy the one post that covered favorite songs.I hope it doesn't jam anything up.Glad to see you're a Hatchet fan.I've seen them 8 times at Shiley Acres in Inwood,WV.
Now before I post this I have to ask a question that I meant to ask someone several weeks ago.How the hell can you NOT like a song about the Big Fitz?

OH MAN!!!!! Another brain strain.Why don't you just ask something simple next time like explaining the physics behind time travel or something.LOL! Well let's see now;Deserted island! One song! Over and over and over again.You know I really don't know but here are some of my faves.Let me think about it a bit.Y'all look through the pile and see if ya' see anything you like.

Green Grass and High Tides
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Hurry Sundown
There Goes Another Love Song-The Outlaws

Swamp Music
Ballad of Curtis Loew
Simple Man
Tuesday's Gone
On the Hunt
Down South Jukin'
Smokestack Lightnin"
Don't Ask Me No Questions
I Know a Little
You Got That Right-Lynyrd Skynyrd

Bounty Hunter
Gator Country
Fall of the Peacemaker
Edge of Sundown
Dreams I'll Never See
Ain't Even Close
Freebird(better than Skynyrd)
Stone in Your Heart-Molly Hatchet

Highway Song
Wishing Well
Left Turn
Baby Blue
Train,Train-Blackfoot

Gallows Pole
No Quarter
What Is and What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
Immigrant Song
Battle of Evermore
When the Levee Breaks
In the Evening-Zeppelin

Playin' With Fire
Heart Breaker
Sympathy for the Devil
Beast of Burden-Stones

Planet Caravan
Into the Void
Sabbra Cadabra
Megalomania
Hole in the Sky
Heaven and Hell
Falling Off the Edge of the World
Country Girl
Children of the Sea
Walk Away-Black Sabbath

Still Lovin'You
China White
The Zoo
Rock You Like a Hurricane-Scorpions

T~N~T
Rock~N~Roll Singer
Stiff Upper Lip
Who Made Who
Thunder Struck
Whole Lotta' Rosie
Pretty much everything else from AC/DC

Hybernation
Great White Buffalo
Dog Eat Dog
Free For All
Bite Down Hard
Paralyzed-Ted Nuggent

The entire album The Warning by Queensryche(it is a rock opera)

Fuel
Unforgiven Unforgiven 2
Wherever I May Roam
Enter Sandman
Nothing Else Matters
Stone Cold Crazy-Metallica(Lars is DA MAN!)

Cumbersome-Seven Mary Three

My Own Prison
With Arms Wide Open
What's This Life For?-Creed

Alive
Evenflow
Jeremy
Why Go-Pearl Jam

Pinball Wizard
Behind Blue Eyes
Wont Get Fooled Again
Long Live Rock
Tommy-The Who

Voodoo Chile
Voodoo Child(Slight Return)
Fire
Gypsy Eye
Castles Made of Sand
Hey Joe
Third Stone from the Sun
Wind Cries Mary-Jimi Hendrix

Aqualung
Cross Eyed Mary
Locomotive Breath-Jethro Tull

Jane Says-Janes Addiction

Battle of New Orleans
Whisperin' Pines
North to Alaska
Springtime in Alaska
Sink tha' Bismark-Johny Horton

Midnight In Montgomery-Alan Jackson

The Ride-David Allen Coe

Please Come to Boston-Dave Loggins

One Tin Soldier-Coven

Comin'Into Los Angeles
Darkest Hour
The Motorcycle(pickle) Song(never did get to hear all of it.Did anyone?)
Alices Restaurant(a Thanksgiving tradition in D.C.)
City of New Orleans
Coopers Lament
This Land is Your Land(this song by his dad was one of the most controversial in history)
Last Train-Arlo Guthrie

Driver's Seat-Sniff 'N' The Tears(awesome drums on this one)

Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia-Vickie Lawrence(yeah!That Vickie)

Spanish Pipedream
Hello in There
Donald and Lydia
Paradise
Sam Stone
Dear Abby-John Prine

Lily of the West-Dylan

Run Through the Jungle
Born On the Bayou
SuzieQ Part Two
Bad Moon Risin'
Fortunate Son
Lookin' Out My Back Door-CCR

Summer Breeze-Seals and Croft

You're So Vain-Carley Simon(How can you not love a gal who writes a song about you?)

Superfly-Curtis Mayfield

Troglodyte-Jimmy Castor Bunch

White Knuckle Ride-Duke Jupiter(I gotta shiney new wooden nickle for anyone who remembers that one)

Southern Cross
Winchester Cathederal
Wooden Ships
Guenevier
Suite Judy Blue Eyes-CSNY

Convoy(both versions)
Wolf Creek Pass
Four Wheel Drive
Night Rider
Long Lonesome Road
Round tha'World With tha' Rubber Duck-C.W.McCall

Family Tradition
Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound
Women I've Never Had
Kaw-Liga
Dixie On My Mind
A Country Boy Can Survive!!!!!!
The American Dream
Country State of Mind
Mind Your Own Business
Born To Boogie-Hank Jr.

Good Hearted Woman
Only Daddy That'll Walk tha Line
Lonesome,Ornery and Mean
Ramblin Man
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
Luckenbach,Texas
I Ain't Livin' Long Like This-Waylon Jennings

Bringin' On tha Heartbreak
Too Late for Love
Billy's Gotta Gun(another ultimate drum track)
Rock of Ages
Foolin'-Def Leppard

Uneasy Rider
Legend of Wooly Swamp
Drinkin'My Baby Goodbye
In America
Long Haired Country Boy
Let It Roll
Stroker Ace
Uneasy Rider `88-Charlie Daniels Band

Talk To Me
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Sometimes It's A Bitch
Room On Fire
Needles and Pins
Leather and Lace
Landslide
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You?(yeah!Carley Simon did!)
Gold Dust Woman
Edge of Seventeen(I like to think she wrote this one about me,but probably not,huh?)
Bella Donna-Stevie Nicks

Rock ~N~Roll All Night
God of Thunder
I Love It Loud
Thrills In the Night
Black Diamond-KISS

Too Late for Love
Die Hard the Hunter
Billy's Got a Gun
Foolin'
Rock of Ages
Bringin' On the Heartbreak-Def Leppard(Rick Allen is probably my second or third fave drummer of all time behind Lars Ulrich in first and maybe Nicko McBrain in second.Now speaking of Nicko

Run To tha Hills
Be Quick or Be Dead
Flight of Icarus
Sun and Steel
Aces High
Hallowed Be Thy Name
The Trooper-Iron Maiden

Who Do You Love?
Night Time
Gear Jammer
I Drink alone
Willie and the Hand Jive
Memphis
Born To Be Bad
You Talk Too Much
Johnny B.Goode-George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers

Well y'all that is all that i'm gonna include here.This list is by no means anywhere near complete.Not in terms of artists or songs.Believe it or not most of this came from memory.I actually used this as an exercise to jog it a bit.Some did come from both net searches or going back through my album(remember those?),cassette,CD or singles stash.I reckon that if I have to answer the question with a gun to my head I'd have to say that the very first song at the top of the list would do.Green Grass and High Tides by The Outlaws.Best damb Rock~N~Roll band in the world.Period!They weren't called The Guitar Army for nothin'.
Now if the question had been;What's your favorite rocket song of all time then I would have to pick either Into The Void or Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath.Elton who?

Posted by: Russ at February 02, 2005 03:49 AM (Y9aSc)

5 Or is Susie the Hatchet fan?Either way it's good to see someone liking them.

Posted by: Russ at February 02, 2005 04:17 AM (Y9aSc)

6 Great list Russ! I'm the Hatchet fan.

Posted by: Ted at February 02, 2005 06:28 AM (blNMI)

7 Yes! You DO owe me an email.

And you realize that if I post this, I'll do what I've done to others who have called me out on stuff like this. I'll hide it in my archives.

But I'm crabby like that

Posted by: Catt at February 08, 2005 11:06 PM (GM8Un)

8 I'm trying to figure out the meaning of the song "one tin soldier". I've heard that it was a anti-vietnam song. If anyone has and idea, drop me a line (raivolynch@hotmail.com). Thanks, Peace

Posted by: Aaron Raivo-Lynch at March 25, 2005 01:30 AM (t4QcA)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

YOU ARE CATNIP


What herb are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ignore that last bit about being left alone. My inner-child constantly screams for attention.

Thanks to LeeAnn for the extra bit o' spice in my day.

Posted by: Ted at 09:04 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 56 words, total size 1 kb.

1 I am Moly, What the *%@! is Moly?

Posted by: Kyle at November 17, 2004 12:14 PM (blNMI)

2 Google is your friend.

Not that it helps in this case.

Posted by: Ted at November 17, 2004 01:10 PM (blNMI)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Rejected title: You can take the boy out of California...

As my Dad says, "It's all over but the shoutin'." Personally, I've never followed a Presidential election with this much intensity, and my stress level has been higher than a kite over it. I need a little calm and relaxation. I've thought of several methods, many are aerobic and at least a couple are illegal in some states.

President Bush won reelection with more than fifty percent of the popular vote. The importance of that can't be emphasized enough. He didn't win big, but he won big enough.

I have serious problems with President Bush, especially his domestic policy. My choice came down to two things: 1. Senator Kerry and his anti-war activities, and 2. President Bush's handling of the War on Terror.

I cannot and will never forgive Senator Kerry for his words and deeds following his return from Vietnam. I don't know if my attitude would change if he apologized, but he never has. I expect a fair amount of weaseling from politicians, but some matters of honor are beyond that.

Still, the Democrats ran a masterful campaign and damn near pulled it off. They had lots of help, to be sure, but even after presenting a ticket of epic unelectability (is that even a word?), America almost voted these guys into office. I don't think Senator Kerry is contemptous of average Joe American, because I think we don't even register on his radar. We are beneath his notice until he needs something. And what might be even scarier was the idea of being one pushy Secret Service agent away from President Edwards. In the computer programming universe, there's nothing more worrisome than a customer with a little knowlege. That's the definition of Edwards: just enough experience to be dangerous.

I think Dubya has done a pretty good job with WOT and foreign policy in general. I'd like to see his domestic advisors in the unemployment line.

For the record, I don't expect a mass exodus to Canada, but I remain hopeful.

I'd also like to thank George Soros for his massive spending on this campaign. As a free market capitalist, I've got to approve of that many millions of dollars being injected into our economy.

I believe that the Swift Boat Veterans once again served their country with honor. I'm proud to be known as a veteran, and hope that some day if called upon I can rise to the challenge with their conviction, dignity and courage.

I had a personal epiphany last year. I realized that I don't have the answers to many of the hard questions, and that for the most part, neither does anyone else. My personal wisdom might be knowing that I'm not wise enough to know what to do sometimes. I muddle along and try to do my best, which is about what I hope for from people in general.

I don't believe that President Bush is actually hated by almost half the country. Democrats in general are not the enemy, and both parties have to muzzle the fringe elements. We may never know how many people changed their vote because of the bad behavior (as minor as tearing down signs, as major as attempting to mislead the public using obviously forged documents).

527's should be history. Campaign reform is badly needed. Let's try it again, with a little common sense and forethought this time.

I'm shocked at the sweeping rejection of gay marriage as a concept. I grew up in the Bay Area of California, and had a lesbian couple as our next door neighbor for years. It's no biggie to me. Obviously, it still is to more people than I'd realized. I support compromise of some sort, call it 'civil unions' or whatever, but we need to catch up to reality. Passing a law doesn't make it go away.

Of all the issues on the table, abortion is the one I'm most conflicted about. I don't think I believe that life begins at conception. I am pro-choice. I am anti-abortion, and wish they were never ever performed. I hate that some people consider abortion a form of birth control.

Last night, Rachael and I split a huge steak, BBQ'd Texas-style over an open fire. To balance it out, we also had grilled asparagus, for the nuance don't'cha know.

One last thing. Michael Moore, here's your sign:

Posted by: Ted at 05:30 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 742 words, total size 4 kb.

If you peruse the latest issue of the NOVAAR Free Press (here in .pdf format), you can read about some of the neat stuff we've been doing rocketry-wise here in Northern Virginia. As an added bonus, yours truly is pictured in there twice and mentioned thrice!!!

I suggest printing it out and sliding it under your refrigerator to scare away vermin.

Actually, there's a very nice shot of the Air Munuviana prior to her maiden flight.

Posted by: Ted at 03:45 PM | category: About Ted
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.

I was Vice President of the Junior Anarchist Club in high school.

Posted by: Ted at 05:04 AM | category: About Ted
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 24 words, total size 1 kb.

Some notable things that happened on September 8th.

1565 - 1st permanent settlement in US forms (St Augustine, Florida)
1755 - Battle at Lake George: English army beats France
1760 - French army gives Montreal to Gen Jeffrey Amherst
1892 - 1st appearance of "Pledge of Allegiance" (Youth's Companion)
1920 - US Air Mail service begins (NYC to SF)
1921 - 1st Miss America crowned (Margaret Gorman of Washington DC)
1930 - 1st appearance of comic strip "Blondie"
1930 - Richard Drew creates Scotch tape
1944 - 1st V-2 rockets land in London & Antwerp
1945 - Hideki Tojo, Japanese PM during most of WW II, attempts suicide rather than face war crimes tribunal. Attempt fails, later he is hanged
1952 - Ernest Hemmingway's "Old Man & Sea" published
1959 - Ted of Rocket Jones enters the world. Mom slaps doctor.
1963 - Braves Warren Spahn ties Christy Mathewson with 13 20-win seasons
1965 - KC A's Bert Campaneris plays all 9 positions in a game
1966 - "Star Trek" premieres on NBC-TV
1966 - "That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas premieres on ABC-TV
1974 - Pres Gerald Ford pardons former Pres R Nixon of all federal crimes

Famous birthdays on September 8 ...

1157 - Richard I, [Richard the Lion Hearted], King of England (1189-99)
1897 - Jimmie Rodgers, Mendoza Mississippi, country singer/singing brakeman
1915 - Frank Cady, actor (Mr Drucker-Green Acres)
1922 - Lyndon LaRouche, American presidental candidate (1980)
1922 - Sid Caesar, Yonkers NY, comedian (Your Show of Shows)
1925 - Peter Sellers, England, actor (not now, Kato, Bobo, Pink Panther)
1932 - Patsy Cline, Winchester Va, country singer (Crazy)
1945 - Jose Feliciano, musician
1945 - Rogie Vachon, Quebec, NHL goalie (Canadiens, Kings, Vezina-196
1945 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Calif, rocker (Grateful Dead, Grass Roots)
1946 - Dean Daughtry, rock keyboardist (Atlanta Rhythm Section)
1956 - Maurice Cheeks, NBA guard (NY Knicks, Phila '76ers)
1971 - Cristy Thom, LA Ca, playmate (Feb, 1991)
1978 - Marco Sturm, Dingolfing GER, NHL forward (Sharks, Team Germany 199
1981 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Bethlehem PA, actor (Randy-Home Improvement)

Famous deaths on September 8 ...

0394 - Arbogast, French general, commits suicide
0701 - Sergius I, Syrian/Italian Pope (687-701), dies
0780 - Leo IV de Chazaar, Byzantine Emperor (775-80), dies
1100 - Clement III, [Wibert van Ravenna], 1st anti-pope (1084-1100), dies
1895 - Adam Opel, German manufacturer (motorcars), dies at 58
1914 - William E Darwin, British son of Charles Darwin, dies at 74
1933 - Faisal I ibn Hussein ibn Ali, 1st king of Iraq/Syria, dies at 50
1935 - Carl Austin Weiss, murderer of Sen Huey Long, shot down
1935 - Huey P Long, (Sen-La) assassinated at Baton Rouge Capitol building
1949 - Richard Strauss, German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra), dies at 85
1951 - Jurgen Stroop, Nazi commander of Warsaw Ghetto, executed
1962 - Hermann Standiger, German chemist (Nobel 1953), dies at 84
1974 - Robert Cox, last surviving member of Keystone Kops, dies at 79
1977 - Zero [Samuel J] Mostel, US actor (Fiddler on the Roof), dies at 62
1980 - Bruce Dooland, cricketer (prolific leggie for Notts), dies
1981 - Hediki Joekawa, Japans physicist (Nobel 1949) at 74
1981 - Roy Wilkins, longtime executive director of NAACP, dies at 80
1983 - Antonin Magne, French bicylist (won Tour de France 1931, 34), dies

For some odd reason, an unusually high number of poets and composers died on this date.

Check your birthday here. Link thanks to the Meatriarch.

Posted by: Ted at 09:44 PM | category: About Ted
Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 586 words, total size 4 kb.

I don't just sing along with the radio. I conduct.

Posted by: Ted at 06:55 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 22 words, total size 1 kb.

I have never seen a single episode of The Soprano's, Sex in the City, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, American Idol, Survivor, or any reality show other than one episode of The Amazing Race midway through it's first season.

Posted by: Ted at 11:01 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 52 words, total size 1 kb.

My usage of punctuation and the other doodads of writing is rather cavalier. I'm sure I use a dash when a semicolon would do, and vice-versa. You may cringe that I throw commas around like a cop writing tickets to meet his quota. Consistancy? Hah! I will damn well italicize whenever I wish, thank you. And I never met a convoluted sentence structure that I didn't like. It should be obvious to all that I hated, Hated, HATED those fiddly bits in English class. But I think the message gets across, which is what it's all about, eh?

I am fishing for comments curious about this. Does my writing make you grit your teeth?

Posted by: Ted at 10:48 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (14) | Add Comment
Post contains 146 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Not at all!

I was actually paid to be an editor at one time in my life (which you'd never know by my sloppy writing), and there's a lot more to communication than comma placement. You are very clear, you have a conversational and relaxed style, and I feel like I know you.

Posted by: nic at June 05, 2004 03:29 PM (16A49)

2 Huh? No way.

If someone can tell what I meant, and it was typed in a relatively English-like format, then I generally hope that they'll let it go without comment.

As I always say, "You must have known what I meant, otherwise you couldn't have corrected the punctuation".

Posted by: Patton at June 05, 2004 05:24 PM (cLlFA)

3 My use of punctuation is pretty haphazzard, too. I just try to make it look like it sounds and everything usually works out.

And I think your writing style is superb!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at June 05, 2004 05:42 PM (0Vz8o)

4 Thanks.

I'm serious about the feedback, good and bad, so don't let me commenting kill this thread. Anyone?

Posted by: Ted at June 06, 2004 08:31 AM (ZjSa7)

5 Rules?... Ther are rules to these little marks I throw around?... Not being a major fan of "correct" punctuation myself, I'd say you're doing fine. Everything always seems clear, and that's what really matters, no?...

Posted by: Tim at June 06, 2004 09:54 AM (CDV4y)

6 Well, for the most part I agree with the earlier commenters. Your writing style is clear, and as a rule the syntax, spelling, and punctuation isn't all that wince-worthy.

But watch out for the attitude, bub. I don't see it yet, but it's easy for it to slip over into "f* you, gomer, I'm in charge around here, and if I make what looks like a mistake it's because I'm *important* enough to define what's correct."

Spelling, punctuation, and syntax are redundancy, extra bits in the datastream that help to disambiguate errors. One can argue about this or that detail, and a lot of them are just finicking, but overall they're useful if not absolutely necessary, just like the checksum on an IP packet. Saying that you can ignore them with impunity is taking the bean-counter approach: those bits are expensive, don't use so many of them. Which is fine until the channel gets noisy, or some more subtle concept needs to be transmitted, whereupon said bean-counter is terribly disappointed that mistakes get made and nothing is done about it.

Yeah, a relaxed attitude is OK, but think of it this way: the Arabs don't normally put all the vowels in their words, because they're "extra" marks above or below the script and they get lazy. The difference between "virgin" and "raisin" in Arabic is one vowel...

Regards,
Ric

Posted by: Ric Locke at June 06, 2004 08:30 PM (s6nvi)

7 I knew my degree would come in handy for something! (not that i've got it yet though, only just finished my first year and have got 2 left)

*ahem* from my point of view a blog is your way of putting information across. I know personally i write as though i were speaking and therefore it comes across very chatty. I believe you may also do the same, but ina slightly more structured way. Bear with me, i'm getting to the point! Written speech and spoken speech follow very different sets of rules. What is ok in speech looks "wrong" in writing and similarly if you were to talk with "perfect" grammar you'd sound like a weirdo!

So, this brings me to my point. Your writing is a reflection of your speech, therefore your grammar and punctation reflects that you use in everyday life. It's not as if you have to submit this to an English teacher. If you did they would go through it with a red pen saying "too chatty", "what does this mean?" & "why have you done this?" and they would then re-edit it until it is no longer a piece of work that contains a bit of you.

We understand everything because you right for us. Don't worry about your use of punctuation. If however youa re that concerned I have a very boring book on syntax and another one on morphology you could borrow.

Ah the wonders of English linguistics... how i love my degree!

AxXx

Posted by: Lemurgirl at June 07, 2004 04:50 AM (YcruH)

8 I don't see anything wrong with it either. I usually am very conscious about the way I write because English is my second language but I don't want to sound (or read/write) like it. My problem is spelling. I agree that your blog is more like a speech rather than a term paper and therefore it's not really important if you use punctuation right. I always have (even at college) put commans where I "felt" there should go.

Posted by: Blogeline at June 07, 2004 01:19 PM (O27QY)

9 I like your style. Once you know the rules it's okay to break them. I scored absurdly high in English and I know the rules, but I often choose not to follow them because what you're writing is makes a big difference.

I do a lot of business writing and follow rules to the letter, but on my blog--pshaw!

If you've never tried it, type a few lines from a great novel into MS Word and watch it destroy the beauty and pace. Especially writers like Hemingway who knew how to craft a sentence.

Besides, creative punctuation is used on many blogs to illustrate timing.

All that aside, great job.

Posted by: Paul at June 07, 2004 04:03 PM (qdpUa)

10 Umm, Ted, you misspelled "consistency," so I completely missed the point of your post.

Not.

Seriously, your writing style is great, and you make fewer spelling and punctuation errors than most bloggers. My job is all about words, so I am usually a pretty tough critic (although I usually reserve my harshest criticism for fellow lawyers). No complaints here.

Posted by: John Lanius at June 07, 2004 04:21 PM (YVul2)

11 Thanks everyone, the input is appreciated.

Posted by: Ted at June 08, 2004 11:09 AM (blNMI)

12 Nah Ted, your writing doesn't make me grind my teeth. Well, not any more. At least not since most of them broke...

ha!

Posted by: Wind Rider at June 08, 2004 02:54 PM (VjGI/)

13 I read blogs for content, unlike my "Paco the Angry Hispanic" who keeps correcting my grammar (for the record, it's Shawn doing it). Really fucking annoys me to be corrected in public. Anyway, I'm off topic. I think you're a damn good writer, you present clear and interesting concepts, and so what if there's an errant comma here or there? Much better than having perfect grammar and nothing to say. ...

Posted by: dawn at June 09, 2004 02:08 PM (9B1bj)

14 The comments I get on my writing style amuse the hell out of me. I LOVE exlamation points, italicizing & frequently putting things in parenthesis (just love to set things apart)!! In other words, I write like I talk - animated, frequent asides and often off-track.

Posted by: Fierylynx at June 22, 2004 04:29 PM (/G779)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Favorite bands, alphabetically. First seen at Blather Review.

A - Joan Armitrading, Atlanta Rhythm Section
B - Beach Boys, Bachmann-Turner Overdrive
C - Chicago, Alice Cooper
D - Doobie Brothers, Diamond Rio
E - Earth, Wind & Fire, Electric Light Orchestra
F - Foghat, Myron Floren
G - Grateful Dead, Guess Who
H - Heart, Head East
I - Incubus
J - Jethro Tull
K - Kansas
L - Little Feat, Lovin' Spoonful
M - Glenn Miller, Michael Stanley Band, Molly Hatchet
N - Night Ranger
O - Orleans (yeah, I like 'em. deal with it)
P - Pablo Cruise, Pink Floyd
Q - Queen
R - Rainmakers, Lou Rawls
S - Styx, Sly & the Family Stone, Spinners
T - Temptations, Third Eye Blind, Tubes
U - Black Uhuru
V - Van Halen
W - War, Bob Marley & the Wailers
X - Xavier Cugat
Y - Weird Al Yankovich
Z - Frank Zappa, ZZ Top

Posted by: Ted at 05:14 AM | category: About Ted
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 171 words, total size 1 kb.

Over at the Llama Butchers, Robert comes out of the geek-closet and lists ten things that he knows way too much about to be considered healthy. Well, I have a few of those niche interests myself, so here's my list:

1. Stonehenge
2. Druids
3. Star Trek paperback novels (original series)
4. WWII Battle of Midway
5. BDSM
6. Car Wars game
7. The Fantasy Trip role-playing game
8. H.P. Lovecraft
9. Hitchcock movies
10. James Garner

Things I know quite a bit about but not enough to go on that list:

1. Cooking
2. Gardening
3. Hockey
4. 60's & 70's tennis
5. Cary Grant movies
6. Movie musicals
7. Woodworking, cabinetry and carpentry
8. Oakland/LA/Oakland Raiders
9. San Francisco Giants

Robert also asks that you run with this and post your own list, however long or short, on your own place if you have one. Feel free to leave it in my comments if you'd rather.

Posted by: Ted at 06:15 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 170 words, total size 1 kb.

1 You're an expert on BDSM? Whoda thunk it?

Posted by: Victor at May 12, 2004 01:55 PM (L3qPK)

2 Long story. Never forget, I'm boring.

Posted by: Ted at May 12, 2004 02:28 PM (blNMI)

3 BDSM... Okay Dad, I know your wierd.. But I think this is a new level for you... And something I did not want to know.

Posted by: Mookie at May 12, 2004 04:11 PM (ZjSa7)

4 And how do *you* know what that means?

Posted by: Ted at May 12, 2004 04:35 PM (ZjSa7)

5 LOL, maybe i should leave the room so the two of you can chat.

Posted by: annika at May 13, 2004 02:27 PM (zAOEU)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Rob posted the medals he was awarded while in the Navy, and Wind Rider put up his collection as well. Here are my modest awards, plus a couple of other bits that I'm proud of.

(in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 12:41 AM | category: About Ted
Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 365 words, total size 3 kb.