Safe for work, but in the extended entry anyway.

Thanks to Kimochi-ii for the pic (that link is not safe for work!) more...

Posted by: Ted at 03:15 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Burger King's newest ad campaign is the chicken fight between two guys in chicken suits. One is crispy, the other spicy (or some such nonsense). Good to know that they haven't raised their standards since the days of Herb.

Posted by: Ted at 03:02 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I am definitely a winter cook. I love soups and stews and baking, and with the weather turning chilly you can expect more Rocket Jones kitchen alchemy to show up.

If you scroll through my recipe archives, you'll find this recipe for Biscochitos, a Mexican dunking cookie flavored with anise. Yum! This time around, I've got the more familiar Italian Biscotti. These are killer-good with a cup of hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Don't let the preparation steps scare you either, it's a lot less work than it sounds like.

Almond Biscotti

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup unsalted almonds, chopped, sliced or slivered
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together well the sugar, brandy, butter, vanilla and almond extracts, eggs and nuts.
Stir in the flour, salt and baking powder.
The dough will be sticky. I use a spatula to trowel it onto a cookie sheet and form it into two long flat loaves (about 3" wide by 1" high by however long).
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until firm and cake-like.
Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle them.
Using a serrated bread knife, slice each loaf into 3/4" thick slices on the diagonal.
Put the slices back on the cookie sheet, cut side down and return to the oven.
Bake for another 15-20 minutes, turning halfway through, until both sides are lightly toasted brown.
Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Posted by: Ted at 01:17 PM | category: Recipes
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I originally posted this a year ago.

* With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, it's time to buy new spices. Get rid of the old stuff in your spice rack or cabinet, and buy fresh. Do this every year around this time, and you'll notice the difference.

* Get a pepper grinder. You don't have to spend a fortune for one of those riot-baton sized monsters, small ones are available at Wal-Mart or kitchen specialty stores. Fresh ground pepper is a whole 'nother matter compared to the usual stuff folks buy.

* Along the same lines, try kosher salt for cooking. It's not iodized, so it doesn't have that metallic taste we've grown used to.

* Buy good knives. Unfortunately, quality costs. Even if you can only afford one a year (a present for yourself), it's worth the money. And regardless of the knife, keep it sharp. A sharp knife is safer to use.

* You should have at least two cutting boards. A wooden board for veggies and general use, and a glass or non-porous plastic one for poultry. Believe it or not, wood is naturally anti-bacterial. That doesn't mean you don't have to clean them, just that the board itself is helping.

* Ever see Rachel Ray on the Food Network? Love her or hate her, one excellent idea she taught me was to keep a big 'garbage bowl' close at hand. That way you're not running back and forth to the garbage can all the time.

* The first time you make a recipe, follow the directions and measure carefully. That way, if you want to adjust things to your taste the next time, you have a known baseline to work from.

* Something I've found that really works is to do like cooking shows and pre-measure spices and such into little bowls ahead of time. Yes, it causes a few extra dishes, but makes it much easier during the actual assembly and you're not running around snagging items from the pantry and fridge when things get cooking.

* Keep up with the dishes if you can. It just makes things easier if your workspace isn't cluttered with bowls and pots and pans. Plus, if you do one or two when time allows during cooking, then you won't be discouraged by the memory of the mountain of dirty dishes created next time you feel like cooking.

These are just common sense and little things, but it's stuff that I've learned or been taught over the years. They work for me.

Posted by: Ted at 12:11 PM | category: Recipes
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1 Looks like you've discovered all the same tips I have, especially about following the recipe the first time you try one. I still tweak them occassionaly and usually end up regretting it.

That link gets a "page not found" page, btw.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at November 14, 2004 01:46 PM (EdP1C)

2 tedster...i have to disagree about the wooden cutting boards. the wood may be naturally anti-bacterial however they are much more dangerous to use than plastic. because of the pliant nature of a wood board, you will cut much deeper into it when using your knife. The deeper the cuts into the board, the more difficult it is to get all the germs out of the gash when cleaning. a plastic board still suffers from cut grooves but they are much more shallow thereby reducing the possibility of badass germs hiding in the depths of the trough just waiting to poison your thanksgiving dinner.

in fact, the national "serv safe" standards for public restaurants specifically outlaw wooden cutting boards for this very reason.

Posted by: mr. helpful at November 14, 2004 11:44 PM (BIaN2)

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No news there, eh?

Actually, I mentioned that I'm having some computer problems. I managed to track it down, and am now running a complete hours-long system scan (I'm posting from my wife's PC). My son generously agreed to purchase the latest and greatest anti-virus software for my PC - let's say he has a vested interest in that, and he won't be visiting certain places on the 'net anymore - but my machine was boinked enough to fight back during the attempted installation. I expect eventual success, but it could be messy and will take some time.

ROFLMAO Mookie just wandered by, read over my shoulder, patted me on the shoulder and said, "Problems can be solved. Issues can't."

Posted by: Ted at 11:03 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Mookie posted a bunch of juvenile but funny condom ads. She also has them stuck all over one of her school folders. She just stopped by to show me her latest addition, the "Condom Fairy", complete with magic wand and irredescent butterfly wings.

As explained to me, "The Condom Fairy stops by in the middle of the night and leaves presents for all the naughty boys and girls."

She comes by it honestly.

Posted by: Ted at 10:58 AM | category: Square Pegs
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TV Dinners celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Thanks to Rand Simberg at Transterrestrial Musings for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 04:39 PM | category: History
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Someone put various Thanksgiving decorations up on our office doors. Mine has a turkey.

How redundant.

Posted by: Ted at 02:50 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I haven't been keeping up very well with the Hockey Whoopass Jamboree. No good reasons, just lame excuses.

But I guess I picked a good day to check back in, eh? Cleveland defeats the Manitoba Moose 3-2 in an overtime shootout! Take that, Gir!!!

Sometimes it's good to be an Earth creature.

Posted by: Ted at 12:10 PM | category: Links
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1 Stupid Earth Monkey!

Posted by: Gir at November 12, 2004 10:34 PM (yffrg)

2 Is anyone else still playing? Not to be a whiner, but I've won a few games and not seen my cute little pirate displayed. At least tonight Portland plays Albany, and that's one blogger I know I have some sway over!

Posted by: nic at November 13, 2004 12:10 PM (etHvD)

3 Nic, I can't criticize anyone else because I've been pretty lax about following along myself. I suggest that we report the miscreants to the proper authorities, because no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Posted by: Ted at November 14, 2004 12:50 PM (ZjSa7)

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Saw Van Helsing yesterday. I have the same basic feelings towards it that I had towards The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Great special effects, much more storyline than I expected. Not a very good movie, but fun nonetheless. Biggest nitpick: why was Dracula so damned gay? Dashing, suave and debonair, yes, but he practically swished and sang show tunes (he said, tossing out stereotypes with abandon).

Posted by: Ted at 06:10 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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If Isreal sent a representative, I bet his instructions included poking the body to make sure the sonuvabitch is really dead.

Posted by: Ted at 06:06 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Scary title, eh? I'm not personally thinking of committing suicide, but I have been thinking about what it is and what it means.

This line of thought was triggered (no pun intended) by someone I didn't even know, who recently took their own life for reasons unknown to me. That's most of the details I have, and I don't need to know more because it's none of my business, and I refuse to disrespect that individual simply to satisfy my morbid curiousity. They obviously had reasons of their own, but I'll never understand how someone can come up with that final equation.

If it's so bad that death seems like the only answer, then doesn't it make sense to believe that things can only get better?

Like probably everyone else, I've pondered suicide at one time or another. And like most people, it's been fleeting and never taken very seriously. More of a "what if?" kinda thought.

And I think that might be a key. I don't even pretend to know what's going through someone's head in that situation, but if you can think beyond the moment then you probably don't really want to do it. I've never been able to think of my own death as a final thing, there's always consequences and repurcussions to consider among those I'll leave behind. Dying is only final for the one who stops breathing. Everyone else still has to deal with it.

There's definitely an element of selfishness involved too. Simple rule: if you're gonna kill yourself, please be kind enough to leave something behind to explain why. It doesn't have to be a twenty page self-psychoanalysis, but that wouldn't be a bad thing. Don't leave friends and family staring at each other and asking "why?".

I think I'm a reasonable guy, and so there are many situations I can think of where suicide might be acceptable or even preferable. It doesn't even bother me to think that way, because not everyone thinks like me, or sees the world like I do. Still, I wish I could've been there to help in some way. Maybe just to listen or lend a shoulder to cry on. To try to point out some small sliver of silver lining they might not have thought of. To keep them from feeling so damned alone. To try to understand.

Posted by: Ted at 08:46 AM | category: Seriously
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1 I wonder why more people don't opt to do it in a less messy way. I always figured that if I was going to Do the Deed, I would arrange it so that I was on a tarp, had a sufficient backstop so that I didn't hit any innocent bystanders, etc.

Of course, that sort of thinking might be exactly why I'll never commit suicide.

Posted by: Phelps at November 11, 2004 10:48 AM (HlHi7)

2 Yeah, that is a scary title. And it wouldn't matter if a person left a 100-page, point-by-point list of reasons, the survivors (family & friends) will still be wondering why, and what-if.

"Still, I wish I could've been there to help in some way. Maybe just to listen or lend a shoulder to cry on. To try to point out some small sliver of silver lining they might not have thought of. To keep them from feeling so damned alone."

You probably do this every day. You probably hold a door open and say good morning to a coworker, you help a kid lauch a rocket, you take an interest in a sullen teen friend of your daughter. You never know which person out there is in desperate need of a kind gesture, and sometimes the smallest act from a stranger can have a big impact.

Posted by: nic at November 11, 2004 03:25 PM (JijW0)

3 I've also been thinking about why people kill themselves lately, as did Iris Chang, author of the Nanking Massacre. Regrettably, she did more than think about it. It is, probably all the time, a very selfish act.

Posted by: RP at November 12, 2004 07:54 AM (LlPKh)

4 To keep them from feeling so damned alone.

That's the msster's choice, in't it? To selflessly go where s/he wont go alone...?

I've come to believe that some people choose suicide (i.e.: die of lonliness) because they are tragically chronically lonesome. But also that they are distraught. Not just from lonliness, but from Life itself.

As hard as it is to try to put ourselves into the head of someone who actually goes and does it, it's even harder to understand what true lonliness even is.

Even when we're most alone we are never apart from our imagination. To feel so alone that he'd wanna just end it all probably means that he was in a state of mind that we will hopefully never completely understand.

I don't think of suicide as a selfish act but as an act of profound surrender. Selfish acts you do for your own best interests. Surrender you do for nothing.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at November 13, 2004 12:06 AM (7741C)

5 The thought crosses my mind all the time now. Mom's got a bit of a suicidal streak herself, and I've yelled at her for years about it, telling her that's just great, and gee thanks for not considering what that would do to me. But I've been so despondent lately that I've found myself realizing how very easy it would be to plow the car off a bridge or into a landfill somewhere. And I hate having those thoughts because I still have a lot of people I haven't sufficiently pissed off enough to say I led a fulfilling life. If I can't change the world, then damn it, I need to make certain people wish they were dead when they see me rise to be successful again!

Posted by: dawn at November 15, 2004 06:41 PM (Rgkju)

6 From someone that is completely and utterly despondent and suicidal....I actually believe that I would be doing those around me a favor (that they won't see) by killing myself. See, if I am not around to do damage to them because I am so angry, lonely, full of self hate and worthlessness then they will be better off. Until you have starved, you can not contemplate the feeling. Until you have been abused you can not contemplate the affect and the destruction. Until you have been abandoned, you can not know the lonliness...and I am not talking about some teenage love where I was left. I am talking about being abandoned as a child and some how being overlooked over and over and being abused over and over....knowing in one part of my brain that I am not worthless, but not being able to own it because the actions of others speak louder than words.....Don't tell me I am being selfish because I am the poison in the pond killing the fish.

Posted by: Cheese at January 25, 2005 10:38 AM (hua8b)

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Say "thank you" to a veteran today (Vadergrrrl, anything more is above and beyond the call of duty *grin*). Love 'em or hate 'em, veterans are the reason that you can have an opinion of your own, and that you can express yourself freely.

And for those inclined to do a little digging, here's a site with various information about the history behind today and plenty of links for more.

Posted by: Ted at 08:38 AM | category: Links
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One more step towards the day when we spend more time at the airport than actually in the air.

They call it a "scramjet," an engine so blindingly fast that it could carry an airplane from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in about 20 minutes -- or even quicker. So fast it could put satellites in space. So fast it could drop a cruise missile on an enemy target, almost like shooting a rifle.

Mach numbers signify how many times faster than sound you're going. This flight of the X34 is expected to reach some 7,200 miles per hour, which is nearly ten times the speed of sound.

The speed of sound isn't an absolute number because it varies somewhat with temperature, humidity and other factors. Seven hundred and fifty miles per hour is a fair enough estimate.

Go read it. Cool stuff. Thanks to Kyle the Nog-Warden and Carl (who has deep nog-secrets) for pointing this one out.

Posted by: Ted at 12:01 PM | category: SciTech
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The newest challenge for commercial space is the fifty million dollar America's Space Prize. Here's what it's going to take:

There's more:

And one last thing:

That sounds like a pretty ambitious set of requirements, and they're specifically crafted to encourage a private-sector replacement for Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. At this time, the US is dependent on Soyuz for transport to and from the International Space Station.

Bigelow Aerospace is putting up the entire amount of the prize after NASA was unable (for various reasons) to pony up half. I originally talked about inflatables in space here first, then here. Follow those links for even more links and information.

Posted by: Ted at 06:07 AM | category: Space Program
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1 I ask this out of genuine curiosity and pure ignorance:

What is the current state of the law regarding private space ventures?

I believe that these programs are a very good thing. But sooner or later there is going to be a big, headline-grabbing disaster of some sort. This is more than likely to provoke Congress into ramping up regulation of private space flight, if not shutting it down altogether. What actions are being taken to try and head this off?

Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher at November 10, 2004 10:03 AM (UMVKj)

2 From what I've heard, the private companies are having to jump through hoops to get government approval to launch. Safety for non-participants is paramount, which is why these groups are all launching from the deserts in Nevada or along the coastlines out over the sea (or into the Gulf of Mexico in one case).

I think everyone expects that at some point someone might die in some sort of accident or malfunction. That's the nature of doing something new. The idea is to limit fatalities to those taking the risk such as crew and associated scientists.

At the same time, it's exceedlingly bad business to have people die in your equipment, and the people controlling the money are all businessmen. Nobody wants to be the first (or ever) to have someone die, so testing will be and has been extensive.

In addition, these people all seem to be earnest and sincere in their plans to commercialize space (with one exception I'll note in a bit). The prize money is great and welcomed, but almost nobody is thinking that the final goal is winning the prize. The money is merely incentive, the real prize is creating an actual private business out of going to space.

That exception I noted above is Starchaser from the UK. Their "technical lead" is a self-promoting loon named Bennet who's main achievment so far seems to have been to set half of a British military base on fire with one of his craptacular signature "spacecraft". The result was the refusal of the UK government to allow any more experimental private rocket launches, which forced several serious groups to have to travel to Nevada in the US in order to test launch their rockets. You can do a Rocket Jones search on "Middlesex" or "MARS" for more about one of these groups.

That all happened a few years ago, and I haven't followed up lately, so it may be outdated information.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:41 AM (blNMI)

3 Robert, you should browse Rand Simberg's site and archives for a good sampling of policy and status of the law.

There have been no major changes in Space Law per se since the Cold War treaties of the late 60s, early 70s. There is specifically a 1971 international convention based on the original 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The liability convention imposes liability on the state parties for damages caused by nationals of that state. As with most international law, the treaties deal with state action only, and don't really address the interests of private individuals.

I might turn this into a post later...

Posted by: JohnL at November 10, 2004 10:51 AM (YVul2)

4 John, please do! I only have a vague understanding of legal policy as it pertains to space (it doesn't much interest me). A simplified explanation geared towards us simpletons would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:57 AM (blNMI)

5 Heh, I used variations of "simple" twice. I think my words get bigger the less I know about a subject.

Posted by: Ted at November 10, 2004 10:57 AM (blNMI)

6 Rutan has plans already for a follow on to the very successful and inaptly named spaceshipone. I'd say based on track record alone he's an odds on favorite for winning this one, too.

The money will be there for many entrepreneurs. And private industry has already proven that they can do the design/build/test/design cycle about a million times faster than NASA. I think five years is certainly possible. We will be getting not just a private orbital craft, but one that is deeply innovative as well - look at Rutan's design for evidence of the creativity that is being invested in these projects.

If NASA had spent it's money on half of the ideas floating around out there instead of its own bureaucracy and endless redesigns for teh ISS and other projects, we'd be so much further along... Think about using shuttle ETs for habitat space, shuttle-Cs, inflatable habs like you mentioned, and a thousand other things that have never been given the attention that they deserve by the powers that be.

It's looking like a brave new world out there.

Posted by: buckethead@perfidy.org at November 10, 2004 04:40 PM (2c+XF)

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After threatening to "take down" the Ohio State football program during the NCAA investigation caused by Clarett's inability to tell the truth, the nitwit has now come out with a series of charges against his former school.

The school's reaction? Ho hum.

You see, everything that Clarett is alledging was investigated as part of his original troubles. The school was cleared by the NCAA. He seems to think that this time he can hurt them by producing a corroborating witness, a former linebacker from the team. Only problem is, the linebacker is parrotting the same charges, and was thrown off the team for drug possesion. Sounds like an axe to grind to me.

In my view, Ohio State has been trying to do the right thing all through this, and Maurice Clarett refuses to grow up and act like a responsible human being. He reminds me of that player "Leon" in those beer commercials, where it's all about "me, me, me" and nothing is ever his own fault.

I guess the part of this that really burns me up is that he's talented, so someone in the NFL will draft him and pay him millions of dollars. And he'll keep right on being a dick.

Posted by: Ted at 05:29 AM | category: Square Pegs
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In September I posted here about a search for the mysterious Spider Pool. Seen in numerous vintage nude photo sets, some members of the newsgroup alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.vintage have been piecing together clues and photographs like a long-forgotten puzzle. Photo archives have been searched and sets identified, sometimes with little more than the pattern on a ladies skirt in two different photos. The fact that the pool may be dated from the 1930's or even earlier only added to the challenge.

Slowly, the pieces started to fit, and then last weekend, the Spider Pool was found.

(more in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 07:25 PM | category: History
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Attorney General John Ashcroft, a favorite of conservatives, and Commerce Secretary Don Evans, one of President Bush's closest friends, resigned Tuesday, the first members of the Cabinet to leave as Bush heads from re-election into his second term.

I've made no secret that I can't stand AG John Ashcroft. Yay!

Posted by: Ted at 06:45 PM | category: Politics
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This article has some interesting ideas about rule changes to improve the game.

Thanks to Off Wing Opinion for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 08:08 AM | category: Links
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Once again, the Rockets are on a roll. After a decisive victory this past weekend, we once again face the lovely and talented Syble annika, who'll somehow manage to be on both sidelines in the upcoming game.

In the meantime, check out any or all of these links, each hosted by a wonderful, intelligent and sweet Rockets fan. The Hot Jets cheerleaders:
Helen, of Everyday Stranger!
annika, of annika's journal!
Lynn S., of Reflections in d minor!
Susie, of Practical Penumbra!
Blogoline, of Blogoline's Journal!
Cindy, of Dusting My Brain!
Wegglywoo, of On the Beach at the End of the World!
Dawn of Dawn Enterprises!
Stevie, of Caught In The XFire!
Mookie, of MookieRiffic!
Denita, of Who Tends The Fires!
Gir, of Your Moosey Fate!
Tink, of Flitting Here and There!
Sarah, of Trying To Grok!
Kat, of Mostly Fluff!
Big Hair, of Left & Right!
Jennifer, of Jennifer's History and Stuff!
Heather, of Angelweave!
Margi, of Margi Lowry!
Nic, of Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax!
Lemur Girl, of... uh, Lemur Girl!
LeeAnn, of The Cheese Stands Alone!

Posted by: Ted at 05:21 AM | category: Links
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