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
Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 142 words, total size 2 kb.

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:

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
Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 232 words, total size 2 kb.

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
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 164 words, total size 1 kb.

No wonder the Aussie's are so freakin' tough.

Posted by: Ted at 06:04 AM | category: Links
Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 20 words, total size 1 kb.

1 We knew this Ted--do the words Pixy Misa ring any bells?

Posted by: Susie at August 21, 2004 03:05 PM (mua5j)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

That's Alcohol WithOut Liquid.

The user chooses which alcoholic spirit will be used and the alcoholic spirit is loaded into a diffuser capsule in the machine. The oxygen bubbles are then passed through the capsule, absorbing the alcohol, before being inhaled through a tube. The resultant cloudy alcohol vapor is then inhaled from the end of the tube via a device that converts liquid to vapor.

Sorry, but this doesn't impress me as anything more than a gimmick. When I drink (rarely), it's because I enjoy the taste. Inhaling a Dewars on the rocks just wouldn't be the same, and if I'm drinking for effect (even more rare), I prefer a little ceremony with my buzz. Tequila, lime and salt please - and the salt is optional, unless I'm lucky enough to be doing body shots.

Oh yeah, they also advertise it as "low calorie and low carb". Jeez I am so sick of that crap.

Posted by: Ted at 06:10 AM | category: Links
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 220 words, total size 1 kb.

1 A brandy bong!

And I don't want my carbs taken away, I NEED my carbs!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 21, 2004 01:16 PM (aQTmy)

2 It wouldn't work for my favorite drink. I doubt you'd be able to dissolve the sugar cube and still turn it into bubbles.

And if I wanted to sniff liquorice, I'd buy a box of Twizzlers, dammit!

Mmmmmmm...Absente...

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at August 23, 2004 03:56 PM (bztKH)

3 I spent a memorable week at Spangdahlem AB in Germany, working hard during the days, and doing shots of Sambuca with Long Island Ice Tea chasers all night at the NCO club. Luckily, we were within crawling distance of our rooms. Didn't get much sleep though.

Posted by: Ted at August 23, 2004 11:02 PM (ZjSa7)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

My spell checker said the title was ok.*

Three to go onto the blogroll (actually, two new and one who used to be but got taken off when he was supposed to become a Munuvian but he never really moved and what's up with that?):

The Meatriarchy.

Starfighter.

Pogo's World.

Go say hi.

*Yeah, I'm recycling old old old titles from my Blogspot days. Next I'm gonna go out and hug a tree. It balances out, because of all the ozone I destroyed this afternoon spray painting a new rocket.

Posted by: Ted at 06:38 PM | category: Links
Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 92 words, total size 1 kb.

1 thanks a lot for linking me. it's great to have people helping me get the ball rolling.

Posted by: pogo at August 19, 2004 07:57 PM (ydjZq)

2 Good luck and have fun with it. You just happen to be comment #2600 on Rocket Jones. Yay!

Posted by: Ted at August 19, 2004 08:28 PM (ZjSa7)

3 awesome, that's my second favorite number.

Posted by: pogo at August 19, 2004 10:04 PM (ydjZq)

4 I've been wondering about Meatriarchy, too.
He wanted in but then never bothered to come in.
Wassup wit dat?!!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 19, 2004 10:44 PM (3E/Ba)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Second season here!

Posted by: Ted at 05:55 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 17 words, total size 1 kb.

Spotted on a Yahoo group today:

This is an FYI for anyone who might not have noticed the new feature in Yahoo's targeted marketing strategies....as Yahoo has not gone yodeling in the valley -- let alone on mountaintops -- about this software. I am neither condemning nor condoning this feature. You must decide for yourself whether you want to participate in this type of data snagging.

Yahoo updated its Privacy Policy to include a gimmick known as "web beacons." They're used to compile marketing information by tracking Yahoo users around Yahoo and the web. From their description, it's an updated/intrusive expansion of cookies. Yahoo's explanation: << Yahoo! uses web beacons to access Yahoo! cookies inside and outside our network of web sites and in connection with Yahoo! products and services. >>

If you don't want Yahoo to track your web surfing habits and log your mail reading habits, you can deny them the right to use web beacons.

TO TURN OFF WEB BEACONS:

View Yahoo's updated privacy statement.

Roughly halfway down the page, in the section titled "Outside the Yahoo! Network," there's a blue hyperlink marked, "click here" -- which brings you to a page acknowledging that you successfully opted out for that browser.

CRITICAL: You must opt out for EACH browser you use. In other words, if you opt out for -- say -- Internet Explorer, but you also use AOL, Opera, Netscape, and Safari, then you must also opt out for AOL, Opera, Netscape and Safari by going to the opt-out hyperlink while using each of those browsers.

Also, there's a vague remark about opting out on each computer you use. If you use separate computers to log into Yahoo (e.g., work and home, or home and laptop), opt out for each browser installed while logged into your various computers. Yes, this doubles your work (possibly triples it, depending on how many computers you use), but unless you follow through, you're leaving the door open for them to track your surfing and mail reading habits, in conjunction with Yahoo cookies, for Yahoo products and services.

After you click the "opt out" hyperlink, pay careful attention to the "Success" message on the next page. There's a "Cancel Opt-out" button. If clicked, you will UNDO your opt-out.

Posted by: Ted at 08:14 PM | category: Links
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 383 words, total size 3 kb.

Light a torch and run around your front yard.

Posted by: Ted at 05:56 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 13 words, total size 1 kb.

Steve the Llamabutcher says in my comments:

"A motto to live by--if only babel fish could translate into latin!"

So "It may suck, but it's my suck" translates into (drumroll please):

Translation courtesy of Sunsite and their java-based Latin-English/English-Latin translator. Any and all mangling of grammar is purely my fault (where's John Cleese when you really need him?). Automatically majestic just for being latin.

It reminds me of a bit I saw Buddy Hackett do, where he visited the Pope and asked some embarrassing question. And the Pope replied "Abscondi Obesii Illegitimo", which translates to "Get outta here, you fat bastard".

And I'd be remiss without mentioning Anonymous Kyle and his comment. You have too much time on your hands, amigo. Go count something.

Posted by: Ted at 05:50 PM | category: Links
Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 165 words, total size 1 kb.

Thanks to the Carolina rocket guys for the heads up to this "Inside tour of an operating Rolls Royce jet engine". In fact, I'm just going to quote Bill S:

Yes, this is off topic but most of this crowd will find it cool to watch.....there is most definitely combustion and thrust! :-)

This is a seriously cool shockwave flash animation. Whomever put this together deserved their pay.

Keep an eye on the right side of the display to see the operating parameters at each stage, and also down on the lower right where a red bar shows where you are inside the engine. There are some text comments that flash up below the play controls.

Has sound. Low res is about 2.1Mb, hi res version is almost 5 mb, so it may take a while to load on a dial-up connection. Broad band - no problem with streaming.

Posted by: Ted at 04:36 PM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 177 words, total size 1 kb.

An artist friend of mine was inspired by one of my rockets to paint his PC case and monitor (not the screen part, silly) with that fleckstone spray paint. It looks like something out of the Flintstones. Pretty cool.

On the internet, I've seen PC cases constructed out of clear plexiglass, out of lego and other interesting materials. My dad used to build 'executive' PC cases out of cherry, oak and mahogany for HP, but this case is a true work of art, and I want one sooooo bad.

Many thanks to the Flea Ethereal for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 06:05 AM | category: Links
Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 102 words, total size 1 kb.

Wegglywoo adds still another international flavor to the official Rocket Jones Blogger Bowl 2004 cheerleading squad. She asked, I invited, and that's all it takes.

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!
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!
LeeAnn, of The Cheese Stands Alone!
Denita, of Who Tends The Fires!
Jennifer, of Jennifer's History and Stuff!
Cindy, of Squipper!
Lemur Girl, of... uh, Lemur Girl!
Dawn of Caterwauling!
Big Hair, of Left & Right!

Posted by: Ted at 09:51 AM | category: Links
Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 135 words, total size 2 kb.

I bet the major PC companies are looking over their shoulders these days.

Posted by: Ted at 09:28 AM | category: Links
Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 23 words, total size 1 kb.

The schedule is up, and I see that my very first opponent is the lovely annika.

I should have some sort of special cheer or something here, just for her. Remember high school, when you "Clipped the Cardinals" or "Defused the Bombers" or whatever?

Anyway, I consider her the primary threat in the league right up front, because she actually does research and stuff before the draft. If I can whup her early on, before injuries become a factor, then I'll know the Rockets have good juju.

Her team doesn't really have a name, since she followed instructions (unlike yours truly) and signed up with her blog name.

Spank the annikas Poets?

Posted by: Ted at 04:50 PM | category: Links
Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 118 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Hey Ted, did you check out the draft results?

Just win babeeeee!

Posted by: annika at August 17, 2004 03:18 AM (jIr0u)

2 i looked at your draft Ted. Thanks for stealing my kicker. i had Vanderjagt ranked high, i thought. Nice job drawing Baltimore's D, too, you big meanie.

But how you gonna beat Clinton Portis? Huh? and as for the WR position, i got two things to say to ya:

...Marvin

Harrison...

:O

Posted by: annika at August 17, 2004 03:41 AM (jIr0u)

3 I realize I'm weighing in on this rather late, & honestly I don't follow team sports enough to give any insight on the particulars, but Ted I do have some advice for you:

"Spank the annikas Poets?"

Pick another verb. That's because A: she might like it rather than be deterred by it B: you will like it & C: everyone not involved in the proposed spanking will be jealous, including the lovely Mrs. Rocketjones.

So maybe whoop the .. no, that won't work.
How about pat the.. nah, ...
Maybe saying the annika/poets suc... er, cross off that one...
Perhaps slap the... no, either one of y'all might be that kinky...
Possibly blow the... nope - on second thought even I ain't touching that one.
Maybe you should just say you think you'll be victorious - no wait, someone will throw in "secret' right after that.

How about just shaking hands & saying you hope the best teams wins?

Posted by: Publicola at August 17, 2004 07:55 AM (Aao25)

4 Forget the cheers. Just have your cheerleaders in short skirts, and we'll just flash 'em some boobies on cue!

Posted by: dawn at August 19, 2004 09:09 PM (Zgn4s)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

So the governor of New Jersey, McGreevey (or however you spell it) has resigned and admitted that he's gay.

The cynic in me is screaming that this 'gay' thing is an attempt to deflect attention from the fact that he's being hammered from all sides by scandals and possible investigations.

He's a politician, and a pretty good one since you don't get to be governor without some skills. That doesn't change the fact that he's also (allegedly) a crooked scumbag. Cheat on your wife? Shameful, but personal business. Gay? So what, but having a couple kids with your wife makes me think the term you're searching for is "bisexual".

Then again, I think "gay" might be exactly the term you intended, playing for sympathy and simultaneously using it as a smokescreen.

For excellent coverage of New Jersey matters, go visit Roberto at DynamoBuzz.

Posted by: Ted at 07:17 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 151 words, total size 1 kb.

As long as she's not listening too carefully, you might just get away with it.

Shakespearean Sonnets for Every Occasion

Posted by: Ted at 11:08 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 26 words, total size 1 kb.

I've just started going through this archive of Sports Franchise logos, but so far I'm loving it.*

Thanks to Off Wing Opinion for pointing this out.

*That slogan is about as close to McDonalds as I get these days. *sigh*

Posted by: Ted at 07:49 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.

I first posted about the Flugtag '88 Airshow disaster almost eleven months ago, and since then there have been several comments posted and I've received some email from people who were there. I extend my sincere thanks to all who shared their stories.

The most recent commenter is Tricia, who also happens to be a blogger (I'll be adding her to the blogroll). Tricia's recollections are vivid and compelling and I'll admit that I had tears in my eyes as I read them.

If you're not sure what this is all about, look here. It's probably better if you start at the bottom and work your way up. Be sure to read the comments posted as well.

Posted by: Ted at 05:57 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 129 words, total size 1 kb.

Testing Meme Propagation In Blogspace: Add Your Blog

This posting is a community experiment that tests how a meme, represented by this blog posting, spreads across blogspace, physical space and time. It will help to show how ideas travel across blogs in space and time and how blogs are connected. It may also help to show which blogs (and aggregation sites) are most influential in the propagation of memes. The dataset from this experiment will be public, and can be located via Google (or Technorati) by doing a search for the GUID for this meme (below).

Please join the test by adding your blog (see instructions, below) and inviting your friends to participate—the more the better. The data from this test will be public and open; others may use it to visualize and study the connectedness of blogspace and the propagation of memes across blogs.

The GUID for this experiment is:

as098398298250swg9e98929872525389t9987898tq98wteqtgaq62010920352598gawst

The above GUID enables anyone to easily search Google or other search engines for all blogs that participate in this experiment, once they have indexed the sites that participate, which may take several days or weeks. To locate the full data set, just search for any sites that contain this GUID.

Anyone is free to analyze the data of this experiment. Please publicize your analysis of the data, and/or any comments by adding comments onto the original post (see URL above). (Note: it would be interesting to see a geographic map or a temporal animation, as well as a social network map of the propagation of this meme.)

INSTRUCTIONS

To add your blog to this experiment, copy this entire posting to your blog, and then answer the questions below, substituting your own information, below, where appropriate. Other than answering the questions below, please do not alter the information, layout or format of this post in order to preserve the integrity of the data in this experiment (this will make it easier for searchers and automated bots to find and analyze the results later).

REQUIRED FIELDS (Note: Replace the answers below with your own answers)

(1) I found this experiment at URL:
http://practicalpenumbra.mu.nu/

(2) I found it via “Newsreader Software” or “Browsing the Web” or “Searching the Web” or “An E-Mail Message”: Browsing the Web

(3) I posted this experiment at URL: http://rocketjones.mu.nu/

(4) I posted this on date (day/month/year): 10/08/04

(5) I posted this at time (24 hour time): 06:11

(6) My posting location is (city, state, country): (city), Virginia, USA

OPTIONAL SURVEY FIELDS:

(7) My blog is hosted by: mu.nu

( My age is: 44

(9) My gender is: Male

(10) My occupation is: Computer Consultant

(11) I use the following RSS/Atom reader software: none

(12) I use the following software to post to my blog: MovableType

(13) I have been blogging since (day, month, year): 04/07/2003

(14) My web browser is: MS IE

(15) My operating systems are: Windows ME

Posted by: Ted at 06:35 AM | category: Links
No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 516 words, total size 3 kb.