August 31, 2004
If you shake a dead body, it looks like it's dancing
(
Sorry, that title has nothing to do with the rest of this post. It's just something I noticed on TV).
A new entrant in the rapidly expanding space industry emerged today as Masten Space Systems broke its silence by unveiling its new website, and vehicle development plans. The site contains details on the XA-1 suborbital launch vehicle the company will be developing over the next few years.
"This is the beginning of a lot of fun, but hard work. Work anyone can follow along with by visiting our blog where we will be posting regular updates of our progress," declared Dave Masten, CEO of Masten Space Systems.
I saw this over at
RocketForge, where they have a vested interest in the success of this venture.
Posted by: Ted at
04:54 PM | category: Space Program
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Reading blogs on your PDA
In
part one we saw how easy it is to create a PDA compatible version of your blog. It only takes a few minutes, and once complete you donÂ’t have to do anything special, because it updates automatically every time you post.
In this part, IÂ’ll go over the steps needed to download your blog (or other PDA friendly web content) into your PDA. ItÂ’s pretty easy too.
(in the extended entry)
more...
Posted by: Ted at
06:10 AM | category: SciTech
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1
Thanks for this Ted. And I'm glad you're taking me with you! I hope to return the favour once I get my Blackberry sorted out.
Posted by: Simon at September 01, 2004 12:52 AM (FUPxT)
2
My only question is does this mean it doesn't count as a hit on my sitemeter? I'd imagine not, plus I wouldn't see you in the referrer logs.
Posted by: Simon at September 01, 2004 12:56 AM (FUPxT)
3
True on both points Simon. I've gotten away from looking at my site stats (although I do check the referrer logs occasionally), so that part doesn't bother me. Plus, I still wind up visiting just to follow interesting links I've noted.
Posted by: Ted at September 01, 2004 10:01 AM (blNMI)
4
Ted, you can't really be suggesting that I do work, can you? No matter how easy you claim it is? The Ministry's beaten down html gnomes might not be up to this one...
Posted by: buckethead@perfidy.org at September 03, 2004 01:28 AM (jHXik)
5
Bucket, in my MT-centric world, I never thought about folks on other platforms. I do recall coming across similar instructions for other software, but don't remember where or which ones. Darn, guess I'll just have to continue to visit and keep that hit-counter clicking.
Posted by: Ted at September 03, 2004 06:10 AM (blNMI)
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Naw, it isn't weird
Sarah asks if it's weird that
the word "sniper" is a turn-on?
Now for those less militarily-inclined ladies, I'll mention that I have one of those sexy TS clearances, and that all personal detail-filled emails sent to the address on the sidebar will be held in strict confidence.
Just sayin'.
Posted by: Ted at
05:42 AM | category: Links
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Is it September yet?
Please? August has been one less-than-wonderful month around the ol' homestead.
Posted by: Ted at
05:21 AM | category: Square Pegs
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1
Theres too many days in August
Posted by: Mookie at August 31, 2004 07:40 AM (ZjSa7)
2
I wouldn't mind so many days, if we had just gotten some sun in Western New York. Rainiest August I can remember. :-(
Posted by: GEBIV at August 31, 2004 12:37 PM (Rf4AM)
3
Rest assured, hon--less than 10 hours left and then it's Sept. 1st, and the beginning of a better month for your family!
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at August 31, 2004 08:10 PM (SuRbS)
4
I'm with GEBIV; where's the damn SUN?! My tomatoes are frickin'
hollow.
Here's hoping for a long Indian summer this fall.
Posted by: Tuning Spork at September 01, 2004 08:57 PM (izqWa)
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Yahoooooooo!
You should probably replace the "yahoo" above with your favorite exclamation of pleasure (other than "Oh God, YES!" maybe).
I noticed last night that someone found Rocket Jones by googling "Jets Cheerleaders Hot" or some combination of same. So I wondered where I'd rank on the list for "Jets Cheerleaders".
Congrats to Denita of Who Tends the Fires, for showing up #1 on google for anyone looking for Jets Cheerleaders. Cindy at Dusting My Brain is at number #7, and I'm at #14, which ain't too shabby. As Mookie would say, "Woot!"
Posted by: Ted at
05:11 AM | category: Links
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1
Woot! I don't know how the heck that happened, but it gives me an excuse to finish the night off with a nice homemade margarita... ;-)
GO HOT JETS!
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at August 31, 2004 08:06 PM (SuRbS)
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August 30, 2004
Oooooh Goody!!!
A caption contest over at
Who Tends the Fires, so sharpen your wits and funnybones, and go to town. I've already disconnected the smoke detectors in my house, because I'm doing some serious thinking on it.
Posted by: Ted at
08:43 PM | category: Links
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1
Thanks for the shout-out hon! I think you'll do just fine! ;-)
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at August 30, 2004 08:49 PM (2qdm2)
2
found your blog from tricia. sounds like you have some amazing stories.
thanks for sharing them.
Posted by: vadergrrrl at August 30, 2004 09:59 PM (Gmc2U)
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Striking
Over at Q & O (
happy birthday guys!), McQ posts a
moving and devastatingly effective rebuttal to a comment that I thought cut right to the heart of the matter concerning the Swift Boat Veterans ads.
Until I read the comments, where one Viet Nam veteran summed it all up in as perfect a way as I could ever imagine:
"If Kerry loses, that will be the parade that we never had."
John Kerry is paying for his actions upon returning from the war.
Posted by: Ted at
01:23 PM | category: Politics
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Things you won't hear on the news
I understand the concept that news is a business, and bad news sells, which is good business. That helps explain why you'll seldom see this kind of
good news on progress in Iraq.
Warning: there's a lot of good news.
Posted by: Ted at
12:08 PM | category: Links
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The downside is that I'll have to post more real content
The upside is that I've found simple instructions on how to make a PDA-compatable version of your blog.
If you don't recognize the term, PDA stands for Personal Digital Assistant, and refers to that group of handheld devices like the Palm Pilot, the iPAQ Pocket PC, Blackberry and many others. Basically, they're PC's that fit into your pocket. I recently got one, and love it to death.
Why in the world would you want to do a PDA-friendly version of your blog? Well, some of us out in the world are techno-junkies (not me) and some of us just don't have time to surf to all the places we'd like to each and every day (uh, that would be me). So by downloading your blog to our PDA's every day or two, we can benefit from your wisdom and insight whenever we have a moment or two to spare.
First I'll explain the steps to make your blog PDA friendly, then in part two I'll show those who have PDA's how to get this great blog content downloaded to your wee beastie. It's all in the extended entry.
more...
Posted by: Ted at
07:34 AM | category: SciTech
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1
Hey, that was EASY BEEZY! Thanks!
Now you'll have to tell me whether or not you like it, since I don't have a PDA.

)
Posted by: Emma at September 01, 2004 01:51 AM (MAdsZ)
2
Sadly, I don't use MT. I've been happy with pMachine so far, except for a couple minor quibbles. I wonder if anyone has done something similar (to your post, I mean) for my software. I'm too tired to google, though.
Posted by: buckethead@perfidy.org at September 03, 2004 01:30 AM (jHXik)
3
Done! Thanks for the hard work.
Update on VT Sounding Rocket project is in the works.
Posted by: chris at September 06, 2004 05:38 PM (zH1Gw)
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Here a link, there a link, everywhere a link link
That certainly describes
Rocket Jones lately. I've been a tad busy, so a lot of recent posts are full of quickie links sprayed around like some manic link-sprinkler. Yeah, that's me - a link-sprinkler!
Posted by: Ted at
06:15 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Seven is like, so mystical, I mean, it's like, ya know, mystical - updated
Seven also happens to be the number of new Munuvians added this weekend by our overworked and underappreciated
uberlord host, Pixy.
Welcome and Yay to:
Flibbertigibbet
Drama Queen
Mediocre Fred
Dairy Diary
Ravings of a Corporate Mommy
Nouvel
Deja Vu
Stop in and say hellow. Say hello even.
And the cycle begins anew:
The Lyrics of Life in LA
Darn, did I forget to pick my robe up from the cleaners?
Posted by: Ted at
06:08 AM | category: Links
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1
MuNu is a cult! MuNu is a cult!
Posted by: Kin at August 30, 2004 11:33 AM (t9u+J)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 30, 2004 12:53 PM (+S1Ft)
3
And eight is clearly more mystical than seven.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 30, 2004 12:53 PM (+S1Ft)
4
The taking over the internet plan is really coming together.
Posted by: Simon at September 01, 2004 12:58 AM (UKqGy)
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August 29, 2004
Hitchhiker
Rich of
Vertical Force Rocketry took a
nifty picture of one of my rockets taking off yesterday. It's kind of a goth battleaxe, with lots of dripping blood and hammered metal-looking blade/fins.
Great photo Rich!
Posted by: Ted at
07:34 PM | category: Rocketry
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1
It's a little blurry. I can't imagine why...everything else is nice and crisp...
All stupidity aside, about how fast was that puppy moving right after launch?
Posted by: Victor at August 30, 2004 08:23 AM (L3qPK)
2
I've never done a real simulation on that particular rocket, but she does get moving pretty good off the rod. Right there, I'm guessing (wildly) that she was approaching 100mph. Top speed was definitely less than 200mph.
The rule of thumb is that you want to be moving 30-40mph minimum within the first 3' of the launch to ensure stability.
Posted by: Ted at August 30, 2004 09:18 AM (blNMI)
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I'll take that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch
Today I met up with a friend from my old workplace. We had some lunch, and he says "you been smoking crack?" because I've lost some more weight. It's been slow and steady for me, so I don't really notice it other than clothing-wise. Even if he was just being nice, I appreciated the comment. The crack helps too.
Posted by: Ted at
07:20 PM | category: Square Pegs
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It's still growing, what can we do?!?!?!
Stop cringing, it's not another cult movie review. I'm talking about the list of people joining in on the second annual
Inter-Munuvian Hockey Whoopass Jamboree!
Newest additions are:
Heather - St Louis Blues
Dr Funk - Ottawa Senators
GEBIV - Buffalo Sabres
Already part of the fray:
Victor - Washington Capitals
Helen - Dallas Stars
Daniel - Atlanta Thrashers
Gir - Calgary Flames
Pogo - Calgary Flames
Cindy - Montreal Canadiens or New York Rangers or New York Islanders (not sure yet)
Frinklin - Vancouver Canucks
RP - New York Rangers
Tricia - Atlanta Thrashers
Nic - Washington Capitals
Kin - Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Ted (yours truly) - San Jose Sharks
Still waiting to hear from:
Steve - Carolina Hurricanes?
Wanna play? It's easy, click here for details.
Posted by: Ted at
07:04 PM | category: Links
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1
Ted, I think that you'll need to post some sort of source for the logos. I'm having a hard time finding a Sabre's logo, so there is not much likelyhood of me finding one for the Thrashers. ;-)
Posted by: GEBIV at August 31, 2004 12:40 PM (Rf4AM)
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Rocket Jones on television
... and other rocket flying news from yesterday's launch.
It was a beautiful day for rockets yesterday, with the only real problem being the extreme heat. But the sun was out, the winds were light, the clouds were high, and we had a whole heap o' people flying their rockets.
My son TJ (home from the Navy) and I loaded up the truck and headed out to the field. I'd pre-prepped a bunch of rockets the evening before, so we were ready to fly.
The Civil Air Patrol was there, twenty five kids and rockets, each needing to make three flights. Needless to say, the launch crew was busy for awhile. By the time I did my 2-hour shift as launch control they were mostly done, but we stayed nicely busy with folks flying just for fun. That's also where my TV moment happened, as a local channel had a couple of people out there filming and I gave an explanation of how our launch control system worked and the procedures we used for safety. I heard that Doug Pratt was headed over to their studio later that day for an interview as well. Yay! Any positive exposure is a good thing in today's paranoid and fear-ridden climate.
So TJ and I flew almost everything we'd brought, except for my largest of the day. When I opened the motor reload kit, it was missing some pieces. I'm mildly annoyed about that, but I'll make it good next time I see Ken Allen at one of the launches.
The Hot Jets rocket made a flawless maiden flight, and there were many compliments on both the flight and how good it looked. How could it not look great, being decorated with the lovely ladies' names. Things went so well that I built another motor, this time an E18 White Lightning and flew it a second time later in the day.
Time for some gratuitous linkage (Yay!). The Hot Jets cheerleaders are:
Helen, of Everyday Stranger!
Gir, of Your Moosey Fate!
Tink, of Flitting Here and There!
Sarah, of Trying To Grok!
Blogoline, of Blogoline's Journal!
Wegglywoo, who's On the Beach at the End of the World!
Big Hair, of Left & Right!
Stevie, of Caught In The XFire!
Emma, of Miss Apropos!
Lynn S., of Reflections in d minor!
Heather, of Angelweave!
Kat, of Mostly Fluff!
Nic, of Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax!
Susie, of Practical Penumbra!
Mookie, of MookieRiffic!
LeeAnn, of The Cheese Stands Alone!
Denita, of Who Tends The Fires!
Jennifer, of Jennifer's History and Stuff! (nice custom banner, by the way)
Cindy, of Squipper!
Lemur Girl, of... uh, Lemur Girl!
Dawn of Caterwauling! (gone underground, am awaiting her reappearance elsewhere).
Posted by: Ted at
01:04 PM | category: Rocketry
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1
Hey! How's come I didn't get to see the Hot Jets rocket??
Posted by: Rich Aldridge at August 29, 2004 06:01 PM (L64L8)
2
Yaaaaaay! I'm now a member of the Mile-High Club!
...Sorta. ;-)
--TwoDragons
Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at August 29, 2004 07:35 PM (NawDQ)
3
Those two producers were shooting for a program called Around Space, which is sponsored by the National Space Society. They produce it at the Fairfax public access cable facility, and it gets picked up by cable stations around the country. I did a guest spot on the show three years ago and I'm still getting emails from it; you never know where these things will pop up. In any case, I helped them review the field footage, made sure they knew how to spell Phipps, and gave them the url of your blog. Don't know if they'll use it or how much they'll use, but they seemed very interested in it. If they send me a tape I'll make a copy for you.
Great to meet your kid! I'm sorry mine was feeling under the weather; I'm sure Brian would have enjoyed meeting him.
Posted by: Doug Pratt at August 30, 2004 10:35 AM (D6ZyB)
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August 27, 2004
Looking for that silver lining
Since the spammers have refined the word randomizer routines they use, some of their 'from' names and subject lines have been pretty entertaining. This one was too good not to share:
Need a lover to enjoy this weekend with ,? That person you want to find is here ,. bacterial infantry
You sweet talker.
Posted by: Ted at
05:45 AM | category: Square Pegs
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1
Bacterial Infantry
That's the greatest BAND NAME in the history!
I'm stealing it!
Posted by: Rob @ L&R at August 28, 2004 08:21 AM (9B3PF)
2
D'oh! Bacterial Infantry roooooocks.
Posted by: Kin at August 29, 2004 02:36 AM (t9u+J)
3
LOL You're so right, that *is* a great band name!
Posted by: Ted at August 29, 2004 09:44 AM (ZjSa7)
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August 25, 2004
Hockey Whoopass Jamboree Update and Roster (so far) - updated
Last year, we were four. This year, we have expanded more than Nate Newton's waistline after a visit to the all-you-can-eat buffet, and like Nate, we want more, more more! So come on, join in the fun.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, here are the rules for the second annual Inter-Munuvian Hockey Whoopass Jamboree:
You're not required to be a Munuvian to play.
Declare your team, and place their logo somewhere on your front page. It's ok if more than one person wants the same team.
When your team plays someone else's in the Jamboree, then the loser must display the logo of the winner on their page for 24 hours.
Send me money each time you win or lose and by next season I can afford season tickets.
Simple.
This season's lineup:
Victor - Washington Capitals
Helen - Dallas Stars
Daniel - Atlanta Thrashers
Gir - Calgary Flames
Pogo - Calgary Flames
Cindy - Montreal Canadiens or New York Rangers or New York Islanders (not sure yet)
Frinklin - Vancouver Canucks
RP - New York Rangers
Tricia - Atlanta Thrashers
Nic - Washington Capitals
Kin - Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Ted (yours truly) - San Jose Sharks
Still waiting to hear from:
Heather - St Louis Blues
Steve - Carolina Hurricanes?
Posted by: Ted at
07:09 PM | category: Links
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1
Hockey? Isn't that that game with the short little j-shaped sticks and women in kilts?
(I'm trying to distance myself now so the void won't be so hard to deal with in October. Remember, being a Caps fan is as close as I get to religious faith.)
But if we do have a season, I will play.
Posted by: nic at August 25, 2004 10:05 PM (etHvD)
2
Well then. Go Mighty Ducks!
Posted by: Kin at August 26, 2004 12:04 AM (nmUDH)
3
I'll play IF there's a season...
hln
Posted by: hln at August 26, 2004 09:02 AM (CWwGn)
4
You can count me in as the representative of the Buffalo Sabres. Just give me some time to remember how to put things on the sidebar of my site.
Posted by: GEBIV at August 26, 2004 03:37 PM (Rf4AM)
5
Put me down as the Ottawa Senators' representative. Now I have to find their logo...
Posted by: Dr_Funk at August 28, 2004 12:09 PM (cSPIC)
6
After sifting through team listings at (I think) hockey pundit, I'm still vacillating over my choice...
Posted by: Cindy at August 29, 2004 10:35 AM (9i10V)
7
Oh I wanna play! Can I play? I have to take the Avs, it was between the Avs and the Maple Leafs, but I gotta take the Avs.
Posted by: Jenn at September 06, 2004 12:29 PM (o5wex)
8
I wanna play too! Calgary Flames fan right here! :-)
Posted by: vegasbaby at September 09, 2004 03:55 PM (J4DEk)
9
I want the mid-Atlantic Hurricanes, as, thus far Charley and Frances have displayed a high level of aggressiveness and the ability to score at will, and, already, the new guy, Ivan, is incredibly powerful.
Posted by: Kang A. Roo at September 09, 2004 05:22 PM (JCxVY)
10
I wanna get in the action, too, but I can't find a place to get my Flyers logo so I can display it...help, please??
Posted by: Wendy at September 11, 2004 02:10 PM (WfjO4)
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August 24, 2004
Odds and ends
Lots going on, maybe more later.
Happy Birthday to Daniel, who's comments didn't work for me so I couldn't make it timely or personal. Have a link, and I hope you had a great day.
For now, the Second Annual Inter-Munuvian Hockey Whoopass Jamboree is picking up the big mo', with lots of folks signing up for the season.
Lastly, I've been playing with a new design for Rocket Jones over at the Skunkworks. It's not quite done, but give it a gander and leave comments. Let me know what you think, like and don't like (I have a thick skin, so be critical). I've heard there's a problem in Mozilla with column creep, so let me know if you see it too. This also nicely fits in with work, where I'm formally learning HTML, XHTML, Java, XML and PHP (and lots of other confusing acronyms eventually) on their dime.
Almost forgot, Cindy, the banner is for you.
Posted by: Ted at
08:21 AM | category: Links
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1
I think I've been hit in the head with an invisible hockey puck -- the squipper.com domain is acting all dopey again, and even though the new domain isn't quite finished, please change your bookmark to: http://dustingmybrain.com -- please stop by and say howdy.
In the meantime, as I extract the puck from my left eardrum, what banner might you be speaking of Ted?
Posted by: Cindy at August 24, 2004 08:51 AM (9i10V)
2
Thanks Ted! (Yeah, the comments thing has been acting up for me lately... not sure why)
Posted by: Daniel at August 24, 2004 11:26 AM (Oc6V9)
3
psst, Cindy, up top... "not" Rocket Jones... do the rollover thing with the mouse.
Posted by: Ted at August 24, 2004 03:09 PM (ZjSa7)
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August 23, 2004
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