In December an Altas rocket was launched from the west coast (Vandenburg?) at 2am. This series of pictures were taken by D. Bishop from his home 100 miles away in the high California desert. He was kind enough to post them on the Rec.Models.Rockets binaries newsgroup.

The fuzzy sky that the rocket trail eventually disappears into is the light pollution of the Los Angeles light dome.

Details, in his words:

I was using my Topcon Super D 35mm SLR film camera on a tripod holding the shutter button down with it set on "B", I was only using asa 100 film, and that would not have captured enough to realy show. The whole flight, from first liftoff light to where it was getting lost in the L.A. light dome (I hate that) took up the first 8 mins (about) as it was heading southwest away from me towards orbit. By the time I got inside my trailer out of the cold, it was already over India.

For each shot I was doing a mental count releasing the button at or about the count of 20.

As usual, the pictures are in the extended entry. There are seven photos, but each is rather small, so this isn't a huge bandwidth killer. more...

Posted by: Ted at 05:20 AM | category: Space Program
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In the extended entry. more...

Posted by: Ted at 06:25 AM | category: Space Program
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Work is going to be insanely busy for the next week or month or so.

Posted by: Ted at 06:20 AM | category: Seriously
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1 ..ha...I've got no work..la, la, la, la la! But then again, I get no money

Posted by: jim at January 12, 2004 04:21 PM (lN8eP)

2 Well, I am extremely busy too...Lori put me in charge of my own program. AHHHH!

Posted by: Robyn at January 12, 2004 07:12 PM (gWcjd)

3 I know how ya feel...

Posted by: Tuning Spork at January 12, 2004 11:44 PM (Mt4uz)

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This is a series where we build a model rocket step-by-step. You can find the rest of the series here.

The main part of the post is in the extended entry so you donÂ’t have to deal with it if you donÂ’t want to, but I hope you follow along because when we get done youÂ’ll have built and flown your first model rocket. Questions asked from before are answered too. more...

Posted by: Ted at 05:16 AM | category: Build It
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(besides shooting morons into the sun)

Everybody's talking about the Moon and Mars and going there and what we should do there and why we should go and on and on and on and on.

I used to have a great link to a site that clearly set out what kind of benefits mankind has gained from the monies spent on space programs. Not just the intangibles ("we learned things"), but the solid using-it-now-on-Earth technologies as well. I lost that link somewhere along the line, and I want to point some friends to it. I've done some Googling, but the list is long and so far not what I'm looking for.

So I'm asking for help here. Do you know of a site that has that kind of information? A place where Joe Taxpayer can go and read and say "Gee, I didn't realize...".

Posted by: Ted at 10:02 AM | category: Space Program
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1 Ted,

Check out this Spinoffs site. Many links from there, but this graphic is pretty cool.

Chris

Posted by: chris hall at January 11, 2004 04:50 PM (zH1Gw)

2 There's more to it than Tang and Velcro?!?!

Posted by: nic at January 11, 2004 09:19 PM (16A49)

3 Hehe -- I was watching the news the other night when it was declared that Dubya wants to "permanently" put astronauts on the moon. Among the many comments that I made to my cats was that he can certainly feel free to go on to be their leader there.

Posted by: Dawn at January 11, 2004 09:53 PM (LD0tK)

4 www.ssi.org would be the most appropriate site to visit.

Posted by: kert at January 12, 2004 03:55 AM (qsT7j)

5 Nic, I don't think velcro was invented for the space program, just very useful and used a lot (it contributed to the Apollo 1 tragedy).

Wouldn't you say that by itself Tang is worth all that money spent?

Posted by: Ted at January 12, 2004 08:07 AM (blNMI)

6 I was kidding, but what is the velcro-Apollo 1 connection? That might be a future blog subject, when you get over the month of insane work!

Tang is absolutely worth it. When I was a kid I loved the grape, and I had a purple moon rover with a rubber-band engine that came it a specially-marked Tang package.

Posted by: Nic at January 12, 2004 08:16 PM (16A49)

7 When Apollo was being designed, the astronauts kept requesting extra velcro stuck all over the place. When the fire broke out inside the capsule during the test of Apollo 1, the velcro burned, releasing poisonous fumes into the air inside. The astronauts asphyxiated before they burned to death.

Posted by: Ted at January 12, 2004 08:43 PM (2sKfR)

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I do a summary of our family's rocket activities every year*, and this year y'all have the chance to look it over if you'd like. *yawn* It's in the extended entry.

*We've kept complete records of every flight we've ever made. It's a good way to gauge our progress as we advance in this hobby, and helps us to figure out what happened when things go wrong. more...

Posted by: Ted at 02:08 AM | category: Rocketry
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What is this new television advertising trend where odd children are used in commercials? It all started with Mazda and that 'zoom zoom' kid. Tonight during the football games, Volkswagen started running an ad with another kid who looks just a little 'off', and now IBM features this truly disturbing young blond freak.

Then again, since I remember them I suppose the commercials are a success.

Posted by: Ted at 12:14 AM | category: Square Pegs
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The Weekly World News doesn't even pretend to be serious anymore. This week's headline sums it up: Bat Boy Led Our Troops to Saddam's Hole!

I miss the good ol' days, when you knew they were full of crap, but they didn't serve it up with a big ol' wink.

When I was stationed in Germany, in our office we had this big bulletin board. On it were various stories from the tabloids, by category. Bigfoot story, UFO story, and so on. Every week, we'd pick up a copy of each of the tabloids, cut out the best stories, and put them up as well. Then everyone would vote on the 'best' for each type of story. That one stayed up and the loser was removed. It was entertaining, and we kept up with the important news.

Totally unrelated. My wife hates going to the grocery store with me, because in line at the register I'll track down a copy of the Weekly World News and read it out loud to her. I make sure everyone can hear me. My favorite parts are Dear Dottie and Ed Anger. Are they even still around? It's been awhile.

Changing gears again, my 'brush with fame' bit for the tabloids involves a WWN story from a few years ago, about a possessed dishwasher in Italy and the priest who performed the exorcism on it. The 'priest' in the photo was a co-worker of mine, the 'owner' of Satan's appliance was his girlfriend, and the Italian kitchen was located all of about two miles from my house. I don't care though, it's still all true.

Posted by: Ted at 07:07 AM | category: Boring Stories
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If you're not already reading Curmudgeonly & Skeptical, you should be. He's posted some laugh-out-loud stuff lately. I especially enjoyed the links to this subliminal site and the simple solution to an age-old problem. Both are mildly naughty.

Speaking of subliminal, here's a nifty version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire". Thanks to SilverBlue for this one.

Ah Flea, thanks for this link to 'The Sweetest Thing'.

A Saturn concept car. Thanks to Not Quite Tea and Crumpets.

LeeAnn introduces us to Clip Clop Comix. This kind of humor is exactly what most scares people about me my style!

Posted by: Ted at 06:29 AM | category: Links
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Denita posted her bread pudding recipe, and since I've been looking for a great recipe for this for a long time, I immediately had to try it.

Some bread pudding is delicately flavored, with a consistancy like a steamed dumpling and just a hint of cinnamon. Not this one. Her recipe makes a bold, savory pudding that I have fallen in love with.

I learned a couple of important things from my first crack at it. In her recipe she calls for 1/2 to 2/3 of a loaf of bread. This first time I used probably even more than that - about 3/4 loaf of sourdough - and it was too much bread. Listen to Denita, for she is wise.

I also had to improvise a bit. I didn't have the 'pumpkin pie spice' called for, so I used 2 tsp Allspice and 1 tsp Ginger instead. Close enough. The recipe also calls for dried apples. I pared and diced half of a fresh Granny Smith apple and it worked well. She also mentioned almond extract but didn't list an amount (she's one of those 'that looks about right' cooks that I envy so much), so I used 1 1/2 tsp.

I didn't make her caramel syrup either, because I was pressed for time. *hangs head in shame* I had some ice cream topping in the fridge, so I used that instead. Bad zoot, naughty zoot! Denita, let the ritual spankings begin. As partial penance, I'll list a couple of bread pudding toppings I've come across, they're at the end of this.

Variations, variations. Cooking is when it's ok to play with your food. Right off the bat, I think I'll add more apple and nuts to the basic recipe. Personal taste, and I'll do that the third time (second time, I'll just cut back on the bread, because that might make things just right). Rachael and I also talked about using pineapple instead, probably with vanilla extract instead of the almond, and reversing the Allspice/Ginger amounts. Or use ground cloves instead of Allspice because it might go better with the pineapple. One variation I've seen but not tried is to make chocolate bread pudding by adding two squares of melted baking chocolate to the custard mixture.

Denita herself talks about pre-soaking the raisins in rum or kahlua. Yum!

Bottom line, if you look up 'comfort food' in the encyclopedia, there will be a picture of bread pudding there. For breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea, or as dessert after a bowl of chicken noodle soup, this is a wonderful version of a classic.

All right, those toppings I promised...

Whiskey Sauce

1/2 stick butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup bourbon

Cream the butter and sugar together, then slowly beat in the bourbon. Drizzle over warm bread pudding.

Brown Sugar Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt together over low heat. Do not boil.

Posted by: Ted at 08:12 PM | category: Recipes
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I've now encountered a few new comments that almost don't fit the category of 'spam'.

They come from ficticious but believable names, not something obviously botted together to defeat the filters (we've all seen them in email).

Instead of being link-filled messages, the only 'spammy' part of the message is the URL of the sender. It'll be to something about diet aids or breast enhancement, etc. The email addresses are usually obvious dead-ends.

The comment text itself is something meant to be inspirational. "Be a better person, be a friend" type stuff. Totally unconnected to the product being shilled in the URL.

The telltale signs of spam are subtle for the most part. Except that so far, each one of them has targeted an old old post. Like all comment spam, they hope to get lost in the midst of your archives.

It's kind of ironic that a spammer is giving me advice on how to be a better person. So I'll leave you with this quote from my Tagline Archive:

Imagine standing at a street corner and spitting on people to get their attention, then trying to sell them something. Spamming is a better marketing method than that only in that you get punched less often. -- Esa A. Peuha

You did notice the new tagline up there on the right, didn't you?

Posted by: Ted at 12:51 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Peanut Butter & Jelly. Mmmmmm. I still eat a PB&J for lunch once or twice a week. Somewhere I once read that the most nutritious way to make it was to go heavy on the peanut butter and light on the jelly, so that's what I do. Extra chunky please, although I don't turn my nose up at creamy either.

According to the commercials, "Choosy Mom's Choose JIF", and I agree. I'm not a big peanut butter snob, but you should never buy the store brand just because it's cheaper. It sucks. Trust me, your kids are just too polite to complain.

And you can keep the Wonder bread, I like mine on whole wheat.

We lived in Alabama for several years, and my dad did too in his younger days. I've had southern cooking and it's yum. My dad loves grits and hominy. I've tried both, and think they're disgusting.

And biscuits for breakfast. Hell, any meal is better with biscuits. Except at breakfast, I'll take that whole wheat again - toasted. And skip the butter if you're offering orange marmalade.

I just recently found out that black-eyed peas are actually beans. So now I can say "I don't like black-eyed peas, even though they're actually beans".

My mother-in-law eats black-eyed peas every year on New Years day for good luck.

We lived in Montgomery, Alabama and our corner house had four pecan trees. One year, we had a bumper crop of pecans. Luckily, my wife makes the best pecan pie on the planet. Of course I'm biased, because I'll take pecan pie and a glass of milk over almost anything else.

Lima beans are the alien pods that telemarketers and spammers come from.

Succotash is two syllables too long.

(mental list: bonfire entry... check)

Posted by: Ted at 06:29 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Posted by: Ted at 04:42 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Someone left a comment last night in a post from way back, asking what a 'hoya' was. The return address looks suspiciously like spam, so instead of linking to it or emailing directly as asked, I'll answer the question here, because it is kind of interesting.

Many years ago, when all Georgetown students were required to study Greek and Latin, the University's teams were nicknamed "The Stonewalls." It is suggested that a student, using Greek and Latin terms, started the cheer "Hoya Saxa!", which translates into "What Rocks!" The name proved popular and the term "Hoyas" was eventually adopted for all Georgetown teams.

That's from the official website of the GU athletic department.

Hmmm... I don't think they're named for a family of tropical vines and shrubs found in SE Asia and Australia.

Posted by: Ted at 08:57 AM | category: History
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Driving home yesterday, I heard on the radio the advertising for a new business that combines cosmetic dentistry and day spa services.

Their slogan was (something close to): "Why have a perfect smile if your whole face and body aren't just as polished?"

How freakin' shallow can you get? This place is advertising dental laminations and laser whitening to go along with your epidermal peeling and deep tissue massage.

Shallow enough to place an ad in the personals stating "SWF with brilliant straight smile looking for SWM with same." No shit, I saw that one*.

I'm getting to the point where I like seeing a pretty girl with a little gap in her front teeth or a slightly crooked smile, just because it gives her some personality. Everyone nowadays looks like airbrushed Playboy models between the lips.

*Yeah, I see the personals. We've got a couple guys at work who post ads there and want to talk about various potentials. With everyone. Whether you want to or not.

Posted by: Ted at 07:10 AM | category: Square Pegs
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1 a pretty girl with a little gap in her front teeth or a slightly crooked smile

that reminds me of the wonderful line in The Firm, when Gary Busey says something like "I love your crooked little smile," and Holly replies "Well, it's not my best feature." Smouldering!

Posted by: chris hall at January 08, 2004 08:52 AM (zH1Gw)

2 that was a great line, but it was David Strathairn as Ray McDeere, and his answer to that is just as priceless.

Tammy: You got the account number, you know how to access it? Mitch has verified that the money is there, seventy-five thousand dollars.
Ray McDeere: I love your crooked little mouth.
Tammy: [surprised laugh] Well it's not my best feature.
Ray McDeere: Wow. Well, what is?

Posted by: Rob at January 08, 2004 04:51 PM (cudbX)

3 I knew girls in two States: Vermont and Connecticut. The girls in Vermont had crooked smiles and a perfect way of looking at things. The girls in Connecticut had perfect smiles and a crooked way of looking at things. I likes my girls au natural!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at January 10, 2004 01:04 AM (mPmv1)

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More thoughts about the Washington Redskins rehiring former coach Joe Gibbs.

I'm trying to figure out whether owner Dan Snyder is a loon or a genius. No more making fun of the team for how far they've fallen, because as of yesterday the Redskins are the most intriguing show in the game.

Plus, Snyder bought himself another two years of breathing room. It's another win/win situation, just like Spurrier at the beginning. Who knows how it'll turn out? If it does go sour, it'll take local fans a while to work up the courage to blast Gibbs. The man is an icon around DC.

Fans around here are walking on clouds right now. Did they really hire Joe Bugel too? I don't even like the Redskins, but it's going to be fun to see what happens for the next couple of years.

Update: Deion Sanders is one bummin' unit. He had his burgundy suit dry-cleaned and everything.

Posted by: Ted at 06:11 AM | category: Square Pegs
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1 Hey, Deion probably already has a silver-and-black suit he might get to trot out.

So does Gilbert Gottfreid, for that matter

Posted by: Victor at January 08, 2004 08:58 AM (L3qPK)

2 Now I could see Gilbert as Offensive Coordinator. I'd love to hear him miked on the sidelines.

Posted by: Ted at January 08, 2004 09:13 AM (blNMI)

3 I bet Gilbert would *love* to be the Raider's Offensive Coordinator. Lord knows his voice is offensive. . .
*rimshot*

Posted by: Victor at January 09, 2004 07:45 AM (L3qPK)

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Courtesy of Coyote's Bark, this haunting series of drawings by an artist as he progresses through an acid trip.

Posted by: Ted at 05:59 AM | category: Links
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1 I've seen those before...it's pretty interesting, because I kinda like the ones the artist did while tripping. That was the first time I saw the comments, though.

Posted by: Victor at January 08, 2004 08:57 AM (L3qPK)

2 That was nifty. I especially liked drawing #6 -- and sadly, that's what my mind looks like most of the time WITHOUT drugs!

Posted by: Dawn at January 10, 2004 12:27 PM (LD0tK)

3 well the acid trip was really amazing. ive been on many trips like that. my drawings dont end up as good but i agree with dawn. acid trip number 6 is the best. i really liked the way it came out. you wont truly understand the drawings till youve been there yourself.

Posted by: pennylane at February 03, 2004 01:22 PM (ZZIAC)

4 I also liked #6 very much.

Posted by: arizona dui lawyer at March 02, 2004 12:32 AM (wJjUR)

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NASA's Stardust spacecraft is headed home after it's flyby mission to collect samples from a comet.

An estimated 10 million particles of dust traveling at six times the speed of a rifle bullet blasted the spacecraft as it flew past the comet Wild 2, members of the mission said. Stardust shot 72 black-and-white pictures of the dark nucleus of Wild 2 during Friday's swoop past the frozen ball of ice and rock.

To get its unprecedented close-ups, Stardust flew through the comet's coma, the fuzzy shroud of gas and dust that envelops it. The images show features on the comet's pocked surface as small as 66 feet across, seen from about 150 miles away, said Ray Newburn, a member of the Stardust imaging team.

The largest of the particles to strike Stardust's twin bulletproof bumpers was probably the size of a .22-caliber round, scientists said. The spacecraft fired its thrusters about 1,200 times to compensate for the battering it received during the flyby, said Benton Clark, of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the probe's builder.

Stardust is expected back in 2006. There's lots of good information and more links about the mission and spacecraft at Chris Hall's blog.

Posted by: Ted at 01:20 PM | category: Space Program
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A virtual twin to our Sun has been located in the claw of the constellation Scorpio. By galactic measurement, at a mere 46 light years away, 18 Scorpii is practically a next-door neighbor.

In further news, the top story there claims that szkikka-diva Btirrny Psrrses dmennqued less than 29 sluds after vrinkking.

Posted by: Ted at 01:07 PM | category: SciTech
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Jumping right into it.

Annika has started a nice little weekly thing called the Huge Comment. Visit her and check out this weekÂ’s, because itÂ’s a doozy. It also gives me the chance to point to Publicola, who I donÂ’t visit near often enough. Read all the good things Annika says about him, because she says it better than I could, and sheÂ’s right.

Over at Bad State of Gruntledness, weÂ’re promised pictures of the mighty carrier USS Midway coming into her final home port, where sheÂ’s to be converted into a floating museum.

Bill wants begs everyone to quote him more. Ok, just for you old-timer. “rhymey”… “bestest”… “fruiting”… “To be perfectly honest, I don't know anything”… and he also goes into this weird Jimmy Carter love thing. On second thought, don’t’ bother going there.

Instead, go visit Roberto at Dynamo Buzz, where he links to the Greatest All-time Hollywood Speeches. Do ya feel lucky punk?

Candy posted the link to this trippy psychic compass.

In a similar vein, Gee, ya THINK!? posts lots and lots of stiletto heels and boot pictures. What is the connection? Well, when I think of psychics, I picture the movie Scanners where the guy goes all spastic and throbby until his head blows up. Seeing a woman in thigh high stiletto heeled boots makes me throb too (and you sickos were waiting for some twisted fantasy about Miss Cleo).

Margi Lowry posts the lyrics to an oldie some might wish left forgotten, but not I! Many thanks, and may your mojo remain abundant. I'll be singing that on the way home.

Pictures time! We've got links to pictures. First up, the uber-sarcastic Norbi - known exploiter of happy furry puppy - cracks me up with not one, but two bits of captioning genius! From the top (blogspotted), scroll down and look for the picture of the Croc-dude. Then keep on going until you get to his first post of 2004, titled If You'd Like, You Can Stop Reading After The First One. He's right, the first one is by far the funniest, but the rest pale only in comparison.

Also, in our photos category we present Glenn over at Hi, I'm Gollum Black! and his link to a gruesome photo of a Paki homicide bomber. Or the identifiable part anyways. Warning, high ick factor.

Starhawk posts a picture of his dogs for all you Rachel Lucas fans suffering withdrawal, and he talks about the stock market.

Meanwhile, Marc Scribner of Idiot Villager points out that the 'destabilizing' effects of US foreign policy has resulted in huge positive gains in the Arab stock markets. Damn Americans, spreading western-style prosperity all over like it was a good thing or something.

If you voted when I asked, then you rule! If not, then you missed your chance to say "I knew Jezebel Diary before they got big." Thanks to us, they won the online poll and will now open for the Suicide Girls at their tour stopover in Seattle, Washington. And I bet if you go to the show, you can go to the side door and tell the guard there that youÂ’re with the band. If that donÂ’t work, just tell him Ted sent ya.

It’s also time to do it again – well, soon anyways – as The Meatriarch has been nominated for the Weblog awards. Vote people, because it’s the democratic thing to do, unless you hate democracy, in which case you should vote anyways so that the people’s voice can be heard above the imperialistic claptrap of the bourgeouis.

Damn, Tom Tuttle of Tacoma would be so proud!

Two states south is California. Kurt explains the origin of his blog name, posts pictures of his kids, and entertains from the Artichoke Capital of America. I just made that last bit up, I think the artichoke capital is north and west of him, closer to the coast. Anna of Primal Purge fame is another Californian, as is the California Yankee. I know LeeAnn and Mr. Navarre of the above mentioned Disgruntledness are also currently Californians. In traditional Munuvian fashion: Yay!

Finally, for the morbidly curious, you might want to compare the Dead Pool picks of Kelley, Kevin and Kin. It's only a weird coincidence that they all start with 'K'.

Dead? Dead... mmmm steak. Visit the Laughing Wolf for interesting conversation and cooking posts.

Jumping right out of it.

Posted by: Ted at 07:30 AM | category: Links
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