A collection of more than 12 million historic photographs, capturing scenes from the Boer War to the D-Day landings, was published on the Internet Monday.

The images, which date back to the turn of the 20th century, have been captured from the archives of the British Pathe newsreel, a cinema news service that pre-dated television.

Peter Fydler, archive marketing director at Britain's Independent Television News, which owns British Pathe, said the collection should provide a powerful learning aid and a trip down memory lane.

"By using the newsreel archive to create a huge collection of still images, people can have access free of charge to printable pictures which will add to their enjoyment of history," he said.

The collection can be accessed at www.britishpathe.com. This morning the link was very slow, I suspect due to the amount of traffic trying to reach it. The quotes above come from a story accessed via Yahoo! News, which has more details.

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I'm going to take my time going through this one, because Kelley is headed to Hawaii for a vacation. If you've been wanting to expand your reading circles, then you definitely need to check it out.

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One year I took one of those decorated kiddie bedsheets, this one had cartoons of Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie, Mickey Mouse and Pluto, etc. I cut out eyeholes and draped it over our son for trick or treating. When people asked what he was supposed to be, he told them he was the ghost of Walt Disney.

This is cool - Extreme Pumpkins. Thanks to TwoDragons for the link posted at Suburban Blight.

Q: How do West Virginians celebrate Halloween?
A: They pumpkin.

(Every state has a neighboring state that they make fun of. Washington has Idaho, North Carolina has South Carolina, Virginia has West Virginia, and everybody has California.)

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I've been meaning to add some folks to my Links Roster, and tonight I finally got around to it. Most of these I've been visiting from other blogrolls or technorati, so all I've really done is make it easier on myself.

(in no particular order)

Spacecraft
Rocket Forge
Backstage
JimiLove, Inc.
Madfish Willie's Cyber Saloon
Say Uncle
Sophont

If you haven't seen them yet, drop in and check 'em out, you might find something you like.

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Bonus points if you understand the title without reading ahead to the end.

Tonight’s Final Jeopardy answer was about someone being killed by a spear (1700’s I believe), and the price said spear fetched in auction. The correct question – which I didn’t know – was Captain Cook, who was skewered in the Sandwich Islands, now known as Hawaii. The host of the show tossed in another little tidbit. The spear was recovered from Captain Cook’s body by his navigator, a man named Bligh who later became a captain of his own ship – the Bounty.

This kind of historical trivia floats my boat, so off I went into the realm of Google to see what more I might find.

HereÂ’s a site maintained by a distant ancestor of Captain Cook with some nice background information about the man and his voyages. I especially like this part:

What he had bequeathed to future generations was at once grand and simple: a coherent map of the Pacific.

Helluva legacy.

After reading this stuff for a while, I became curious about historic maps in general. Back to Google.

The very first site I found was this nifty online collection of historical maps. I love maps, especially old ones. They just fascinate me. In fact, when I worked at the US Department of State in Washington D.C., I went to a special seminar once in their research library that was totally devoted to the maps in their collection. So I went looking for a link to that.

What I came across instead was this extensive link list to online cartography resources, which includes the above link, the Library of Congress archives, and much more both modern and historic.

Back to Google, and looking for ‘antique map’ brings up a long list of map auction houses and retailers. This non-commercial site jumped out at me, it lists antique maps of Iceland. Their home page displays a map from 1547, and there are many more to view.

Frozen rocky bits of land in the middle of nowhere made me think about maps of the planets in our solar system. This link, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is pretty cool. The maps are stitched together from satellite images and such.

Further Googling led to this page containing a map that many scientists believe shows positive evidence of the asteroid strike that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. You can read more about it here.

From NASA to Vasa. Why? Because I knew a little about the Vasa already, and was curious about the progress. You see, the Vasa was a Swedish vessel that was designed to be the most powerful warship afloat. Unfortunately, she capsized and sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 – within a mile of her starting point and in sight of throngs of people gathered to watch her launch. After more than 300 years on the bottom, she was salvaged and raised, and a museum built to display her and tell her story. There’s another nice site about her here, which includes detailed lists of the items salvaged from the wreck.

The Vasa wasnÂ’t the first ship to sink in such a manner. The British ship Mary Rose had suffered a similar fate about 80 years before. This site gives a little history, as well as a look at underwater archeological techniques.

Unlike James Burke, who manages to neatly wrap everything up at the end of his columns (no longer in Scientific American – drat) or shows on the Learning Channel, I’m going to take the easy way out here. By the way, if you’ve never had the chance to read or watch his Connections, you should. It’s a fun look at history, in ways you’ve never dreamed of.

Anyway, back to my copout... The Mary Rose was a British ship, and Captain Cook was the leader of a British exploration voyage. All wrapped up into one neat little package, right back where we started from. C'mon, if I was any good at this, I'd get paid for it!

Here's a little personal map story. When we first got married my wife could not read a map. One long weekend we travelled to a nearby city to shop and just get away for a few days. When we got inside the city limits I handed my wife a street map and told her that she had to navigate every bit of the way around town. We spent most of that weekend lost, but by the end of it my wife could read a map and get us to where we wanted to go. To this day she keeps an accordian folder full of maps in her trunk, and she knows how to use them when she travels.

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Dana at Note-It Posts tells of a great Google search result. Hilarious!

What caught my eye though was a little farther down the page, the listing for Dean Guitars. Way back when, I wanted one of these in the worst way. Not that I was hurting for a quality instrument, because at the time I was playing an Ibanez (the one on the right).

Then I got married and did some serious growing up and re-prioritizing in my life. (I'm going to bookend this whole post with another) Dammit!

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I missed this when I put together Rocketing Around the Blogosphere last night, but that's ok, because it's worth a post all to itself.

This is so freaking awesome.

Thanks to Mark of Not Quite Tea and Crumpets for pointing this out, and thanks to One Hand Clapping for originally posting it.

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Welcome back Kin. YouÂ’ve been missed. Special thanks to Jennifer for letting me know.

Welcome also to the newest Munuvians: Heather, Don, Jim, and the Lady H. Stop by and say hello.

Interestingly enough (and this has nothing whatsoever to do with the new Munuvians), I saw on the referral list that someone visited Rocket Jones from a porn site. Possibly the one I wound up on today at work. DoesnÂ’t matter, because the lesson to learn is: surf porn, increase hits!

Daniel points to a funny test to see if youÂ’re a leftist. HereÂ’s my favorite quote: "You believe President Bush is too dumb to be President and Arnold Schwarzenegger is too dumb to be Governor of California, but the Dixie Chicks, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, Eddie Vedder and Jeanine Garofalo are qualified to discourse at length on foreign policy."

Hockey lovinÂ’ blogger buddies! If you have to ask, you wouldnÂ’t understand. Go Sharks!

I love these “xxx things about me/my car/whatever” lists that bloggers do. Really I do. Compile more of them, because I’ll read ‘em.

Serenity has reached her 6 month anniversary as a blogger.

Wind Rider pulls a fast one on Bill. ItÂ’s mean and funny as hell, but a little sad too. Like teasing the slow kid at school, ya know?

Starhawk has been posting regularly about WiFi hotspots and all. I have a WiFi story IÂ’ll talk about tomorrow.

I donÂ’t agree with most of what Norbi says, but I donÂ’t have to. ThatÂ’s the beauty of friends and laughter.

Glenn is... Glenn. He’s got a viewpoint that’s all his own, as well as weird fetishes for fish and Ivan Drago. He also posts near-naked women pictures and dedicates ‘em to me. Panderer. Works every time.

John cracked me up with this one. And just below that, another list! IÂ’m doing the happy dance.

Kelley did not do the Cul-de-Sac last week, but promises one on Sunday. ThatÂ’s ok though, because sheÂ’s headed to Hawaii to visit with Kate of Electric Venom. I look terrible in green.

Tiger points the way to the Hokey Pokey as done by Shakespeare. Good one Cherry.

Meet Al. AlÂ’s in the Air Force. AlÂ’s learning to fly AWACS. He already knows how to fly. Not fly by himself. Fly airplanes. The AWACS is an airplane. Why canÂ’t he fly that then? If I knew that, IÂ’d still be in the Air Force.

IÂ’m going to finish up with one of the best posts IÂ’ve read in a long time. If you havenÂ’t already read about the Indepundit (aka LT Smash) having to fire someone, you should now. Seriously.

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I don't remember where I first heard it, but the name Art Frahm always stuck in my mind, so I suspect it was in some sleazy True Detective magazine or some such nonsense I used to read as a kid. In truth it was his illustrations more than the name that caught my attention. Looking at it now, his work seems pointed directly at every young man raging through puberty. It's the stuff of adolescent (wet) dreams. It also helped that his name seems absurdly contrived to match his occupation.

Several years ago, I did an internet search for Art Frahm and found this site. This was long before I'd heard of James Lileks the writer or blogging.

You can find more of Art Frahm's work here, along with a little more history. It's still cheesy and crappy and wonderful all at once, just like I remembered. Have fun.

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"Why can't this team just lose? Why do they have to write the greatest chapters in the history books of other teams? Stupid Angels. I mean, Marlins."

It's a San Fransisco Giants blog, but it's fun to read if you're a baseball fan.

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The Day the Earth Stood Still is on right now. One of my all time favorites, and the first movie to use the phrase 'Klaatu Barada Nicto'. Do you know what the second was?

Ready for some great flash animation? An official Huffington production. Priceless!

Also, this from one of the lesser known California candidates. Does the name Abner Zurd mean anything to you? Thanks to Jockularocracy for the pointers to both of these.

Incommunicado is handing out a new sportscaster award. McCarvers, for inane and stupid commentary.

Laugh therapy, from Across the Atlantic.

Staying in the humorous vein, Mr. Helpful has a new series, Adventures of Bionic Dick.

This one made me laugh! Good one John. Maybe now my boss will see my point...

Cherry has an excellent explanation of moon orbit dynamics and the end of the dinosaurs.

Jon over at Q and O notes that Hillary gets her first international endorsement to be US President.

Paul writes a touching story about a town, a boy, and a mailbox. Keep the tissues handy.

I read Serenity every day, but Serenity is to serene like I am to terse.

Tasberry is an edgy slice-of-life blogger. She's also donated a pic of her self-described 'choco-rockets' to the boobie-thon, as well as some cash. Have you?

Meanwhile, Tiger holds a little contest of his own alongside the boobie-thon. The winner? The -thon, now $60 richer thanks to Tiger.

Tink fantasizes about straight single massage therapists, but settles for hot Krispy Kreme donuts. From a hetero point of view, I think she made the right choice.

You know when Pixy starts talking computer-tech and tosses around acronyms and terms that nobody understands? Well, Nic does the same thing about grammer. She must grind her teeth when she reads my blog, because for me 'creative writing' means I take liberties with words, spelling, grammer and everything else. Victor, if she wakes up screaming with nightmares, she's dreaming of me. Hah!

Are you a hockey fan? So are these guys... which reminds me. I need to check my fantasy hockey roster.
Update: draft not held yet.

Flea talks about the Chesapeake Mill. There is a restoration project underway to save this historic British building built from the timbers of the American Frigate Chesapeak, captured during the War of 1812.

Wind Rider bids a fond farewell to the Concorde.

Wanna beat on something? How about Ken Brashears virtual drum kit? Have fun! Kudos to the Ministry of Minor Perfidy for this one.

Look for a special photo caption contest tomorrow. Kevin of Wizbang did it firstest and bestest, but you'll want to check this one out.

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1 Actually, I only donated $50. Contestant #2 didn't get the required 5 votes so I was only required, by my pledge, to donate $40. I ponied up an extra $10 as consolation for Contestant #2's participation. If I hadn't done so, I couldn't have gotten the key to the bare boobie page.

Posted by: Tiger at October 03, 2003 10:34 PM (ZpaC8)

2 You're one of the good guys Tiger, no doubt about that.

Posted by: Ted at October 04, 2003 08:58 AM (2sKfR)

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From their website:
"The purpose of the Long Bets foundation is to improve long-term thinking.

Long Bets is a public arena for enjoyably competitive predictions, of interest to society, with philanthropic money at stake. The foundation furnishes the continuity to see even the longest bets through to public resolution. This website provides a forum for discussion about what may be learned from the bets and their eventual outcomes."

This is a fascinating concept. The basic idea is that you make a prediction that you think will come true some time in the future (2+ years), and your reasoning behind the prediction. Others bet against you, and explain why they disagree.

Bets may be time limited, such as "In a Google search of five keywords or phrases representing the top five news stories of 2007, weblogs will rank higher than the New York Times' Web site.". They can also be open-ended, as in "The first discovery of extraterrestrial life will be someplace other than on a planet or on a satellite of a planet."

Charities are designated by each bettor, and when a winner is determined the charity is given the money (plus interest).

Discussion is encouraged. You really should check this out.

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Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject! has his newest essay posted. Power.

It's hump day people and you might be looking for new and interesting stuff to read. May I suggest the Cul-de-sac, courtesy of Kelley at Suburban Blight?

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The first of the month is always the busiest day for me, and when it happens on a wednesday it just doubles the workload. Guess what tomorrow is? I also picked up a new end-of-the-month task, and I have to go into D.C. tomorrow for half a day, so things are going to be hectic in real time.

(Translation: if blogging sucks, blame anything and everything else.)

By the way, thank you for the long list of words for the next Google Junket. I really don't like to whine like that, but it works for Bill, so I figured I'd give it a try. Bill's not home right now, anyone care to take bets that's he lying in a gutter drunk with Collins?

Some out-of-the-way stuff for your reading pleasure:

King of Fools won this weeks New Blog Showcase. Excellent article.

Backstage writes about kitties and theater (theatre for you uppity types), which pleases Jennifer and Mookie.

Mookie also claims that my (alleged) jokes just come across as snotty. True? I don't think I have the charm to pull that off like Bill.

Casual Brain Rotting, courtesy of Random Nuclear Strikes.

Hold The Mayo - the truth served plain. Yum.

(aside: If Laughing Wolf ever invites you over for dinner, be fashionably late. He likes flava fava beans. [doh!])

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, The Ministry of Minor Perfidy. Where "evil isn't just our hobby, it's our job."

Enjoy your roasted stomach, infidel. Or maybe the pain is from laughing hysterically because Allah is in the house.

I'm a gardener. Much like Samwise to Frodo, I am to, uh... someone else. Ok, maybe not. But the point I'm trying to get to here (the looooong way around), is to go visit Starhawk. He posts beautiful pictures of cool growing things in his garden. He's also a WiFi wizard. What's WiFi?

Victor thanks everyone for remembering his birthday. He's made mention (repeatedly) that he's younger than I am, yet he can't remember telling anyone when his birthday was. Victor, when you're asking the doctor about Rogaine and Viagra, better check into the memory pills too.

Hmmm... that was testy, eh John?

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Short and sweet, you should check the following out:

Shooters Carnival, firearm information without the politics.

Sports Blog. The name says it all.

Despite what the media is telling us, things are going pretty good in Iraq. There's a new effort being put together on the internet called Frontline Voices, which will let the troops actually there tell their stories. Watch for the link, I'll announce it when it officially kicks off.

Chief Wiggles is in Iraq, and an encounter he had with a young child inspired him to begin a toy drive. Read about it and please, if you can, help out.

Completely changing gears here, LeeAnn tells about what it's like to like on Sesame Diablo Street.

The Flea talks about an upcoming Alien vs. Predator movie. In my humble opinion, that's a much better premise than Freddie vs. Jason, but the one I'm really waiting for is Gumby & Pokey vs. Davey & Goliath.

I saw this exhchange over at Caught in the XFire.
Stevie: Stupid damn plastic ass-bitin' chicken-livered monkey-lipped brainless dickless sack 'o poop computer.
To which Pixy helpfully replied: Hey, that's the same model I've got!
Priceless.

Paul is sharing his wisdom on dating. There's pearls there among the laughs.

At Velociworld, we get the rundown on public washroom habits. Very funny stuff, and no, IÂ’m not shaking his hand. HeÂ’s got a cool story about Goddard too. That always scores points with me.

Publicola is one of the good guys. I love this bit:

Of course it'd be cool if the producers of Cops & similar shows allowed me to just insert commentary over an episode or two for perspective. Instead of people seeing a police officer frisking a guy for everybody's safety that he/she stopped to ask some questions, you'd see the images along with a quick recitation of the 2nd, 4th & 5th amendments followed by an explanation of why the cop just threw some of the highest ideals of the framers out the window because that's what they taught him/her at the acedemy.

But my dream would be to feature the BATF. Then again a cursory glance would probably make people think they were watching a bad juxtaposition of F-Troop, Hogan's Heroes & 1984.

How can you not love this guy?

Those who donÂ’t learn history are doomed to be California Republicans.

An emergency 911 call can be incredibly stressful. Or stupid, depending on who's making the call.

I keep telling you to go over to Random Nuclear Strikes. Do you listen to me? Now they've got froot-loop trolls entertaining them.

Stupidity of television programming? Surely you jest.

Kate warns of the dangers of rampant random altruism. Hey, it was faith-based. Does that make a difference?

She also offers up a site that will make you burn in hell if you visit. Really, don't go there. If you do, I'll save you a seat.

I saved the coolest for last. Megan points the way to a virtual apartment building, where you can design and add your own place. No excuses now for the virtually homeless, or something like that.

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Over at Coyote's Bark, Terry points out a cool little flash clock.

Which got me to wondering about what else might be out there in Google-land. Wanna see what I found?

Here's a neat variation of the digital clock we all hate in the morning.

I really really really like this one, in a manic where-is-my-ritalin sorta way.

This concept appeals to the art lover in me. (bandwidth alert) Click on the ‘clock’ icon at the top, then ‘set’ your time, the clock updates once a minute.

I'm not a chrono-snob, here's something for those who must measure elapsed time.

Now here are a couple of overlapping collections of wallpaper clocks, the flash ones are kinda interesting. This one is my favorite of the bunch.

Once again, just to prove that you can find damn near anything on the internet, here's an interesting little collection of BBC clocks and flash cards.

Right, that last one wasn't quite on-topic. Oh well.

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1 "Does anybody really know what time it is?" by Chicago.

Now, how do I insert it as the title of your post?

Posted by: Susie at September 25, 2003 01:19 PM (0+cMc)

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Good morning everyone! Let's jump right into it, eh?

IÂ’ve been misspelling KelleyÂ’s name now for a while, and sheÂ’s been kind enough not to have someone come by and break my kneecaps. Visit her at Suburban Blight, because sheÂ’s nice and her Cul-de-sac rocks.

Meanwhile, Kevin at Wizbang! survived Isabel while posting away despite losing power. That's dedication. In addition to that, he's always available to help people like me with technical problems. Check out the new in-line trackback ping-o-rama bling-bling at the end of my posts (those are my words, I'm sure Kevin would know the technical terms). Thanks Susie and Jen for pointing me at this.

Kevin also points to the story of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Honorable men like this are why we are free.

Post-Isabel pictures from Victor and Nic.

What do Wesley Clark and the Magic 8-ball have in common? Rattle their liquid-filled domes, and a random answer pops out. Read all about it at Jockularocracy.

Daniel expands upon the concept of moral relativism, and gets my vote for his entry in the New Blog Showcase. According to that concept, just because the other entrants exist, doesn't mean they're worth a crap, or something like that. I just skimmed the article, because it's full of big words.

Not Quite Tea and Crumpets shows another example of political correctness gone wild. No wonder our education system is all NÂ’d up.

Rocket Man talks about ‘A Formidable Military Force’. Take his little quiz. You’ll learn something. I guarantee it. In case I'm not clear about this, I think this is a must-read. Why must I hint?

This guy is snotty and vicious, which is everything I like in recreational reading.

Megan, meet Tim. Tim, Megan. Two very good bloggers who happen to be devout Christians. Which reminds me of a t-shirt I saw once that said: "Be a Christian. Take a lion to lunch." Hey, I laughed.

Glenn over at Hi. IÂ’m Black! is considering selling t-shirts. Pretty funny stuff, and make sure you read the comments. Unfortunately, when I tried to order one, he said I could never be considered an honorary black. That's why I used 'bling-bling' up above, I'm trying to build my street cred.

Harvey comes awful close to causing me to become curt with him by using a picture of my dog in his war of lies and propaganda. Note that my dog is an innocent bystander. Also note that it takes some doing to make me get curt. Unless you’re Mookie, in which case I can go from zero to “you’re grounded” in seconds.

SanityÂ’s Edge pointed out this endearing little screed. Thanks Paul! The last line is a classic. "...there's a reason why there are hundreds of statues of Charles Darwin and none of River Phoenix."

I forgot to thank Pixy Misa for his technical expertise. He keeps things running smoothly around Munuviana.

Finally, a quick tour of the weird. Mookie presents us with viking kitties. That's right, she wants to take us to a Gay Bar. This cracks me up every time.

Over at The Cheese Stands Alone, LeeAnn always seems to find the sublime. From the mildly odd to the entertainingly depressed, you owe it to your analyst to go visit.

Stevie, I reminded Mookie to get with you about your PC sounds. If she hasnÂ’t contacted you yet, get ornery with her. I recommend grounding her, it does wonders for her cooperation and attitude.

Speaking of. FREE MOOKIE! Like Susie says, consistancy is for wimps.

Wow. I just realized that I used the following in a single post: moral relativism, Darwin, magic 8-ball, devout Christian, bling-bling, formidable military force, and street cred. Google is gonna turn up some interesting hits in the weeks to come.

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I've told you before, and I'll tell you again: Go read the flea!

An Oxford museum has paid 240,000 pounds for a Renaissance plate which shows a male head made up entirely of phalluses.

The head is framed by a garland carrying the inscription: "Ogni homo me guarda come fosse una testa de cazi" (Every man looks at me as if I were a dickhead).

Archeology means intelligent ladies in khaki and glasses. Mmmmmmm. And no, I'm not talking about Lara Croft. Try the History or Discovery channels once in a while.

Meanwhile, over at Bad State of Gruntledness, Matt points the way to my new number 1 on the Christmas List. Hockey Lego!!! Matt and Victor, I'm in a (free) Fantasy Hockey League and last time I checked they need more teams... interested?

More later. Gotta go get ready for the dentist. Boy, that's a phrase I never thought I'd say so cheerfully.

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I had mentioned over at Serenity's that she needed a Spider Frame. It's really a neat little idea, and a perfect point of interest in the garden. Easy to make too.

While you're at it, try some of these other variations for your garden residents. A butterfly house can be very cool. There are simple plans here to build your own.

And if you really want to keep the mosquitos down, how about one of these? The bathouse shown at the link looks to be more elaborate than is really necessary, but the extras look functional.

Just to be conventional, here's a simple birdhouse plan. The key to a successful birdhouse is the size of the opening and the interior space. Ours followed this basic plan, with just a few variations.

First, our lid was solid instead of hinged, and provided an overhang on both sides as well as the front. Under the eaves were small ventilation holes.

Second, on our house, the bottom was screwed on with small drywall screws. They're self-tapping, and removing the bottom allows you to clean out the old nest during the late winter or early spring. It's a good idea to cut a couple of drainage holes in the bottom too.

Third, and this was the most fun for us, was we cut two windows in the sides of the birdhouse. What I mean is, most of the two opposite sides were made of clear plexiglass, so that you could see what was going on inside the house. The birds don't mind. You can get scrap plexiglass cheap at the hardware store.

Here's another simple birdhouse plan. You can use plain pine board, not redwood or cedar, but stain the outside to protect it. Never use pressure treated wood.

Our birdhouse lasted five or six years, and all we really did was clean it out every spring and hit the outside with a coat of redwood stain every few years. We had birds every year.

In the springtime, if we give the dogs a haircut, we'll take the trimmings out back and put them on the ground. The local birds will find the hair and incorporate it into their nests as padding. Little scraps of cloth and yarn work well too.

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I can't talk much, but I can type.

Over at Ambient Irony, Pixy Misa talks about his nephewÂ’s second birthday and how kids today soak up technology without even trying. He has some interesting insights.

Susie discovers yet another odd characteristic she shares with Instapundit. As much as she tries to hide it, I think thereÂ’s an attraction there. Worst kept secret in the world there, Susie.

Jennifer treats everyone to a historical briefing on herself. I can relate to the whole spider thing, but sheÂ’s, well... you know, from Wisconsin. DoesnÂ’t that mean you have to wear frozen wedges of cheese on your head and sit in snowstorms to watch football? That goes beyond eccentric and into the scary.

Tuning Spork of Blather Review has a bit of a keyboard problem, which he manages to relate in the modern version of pidgin english. Meanwhile, Stevie seems to be having other-than-keyboard troubles.

“Life is tough. It’s tougher if you’re stupid.” Cherry relates several funny stories about people having a stupid tough time.

Victor and his girlfriend went to see the stage production of one of his favorite movies. He also makes it clear that heÂ’s not a Steve Spurrier fan. He also had several rat birthdays this month. Our cup runneth over.

Mookie is doing a poll to select her new header graphic. She’s a nut for the Geico gecko (I have no idea why), and one of her fashion statements is a pair of these huge nuts – as in ‘nuts and bolts’ that she wears on a chain around her neck. She is so much her own person.

It’s ‘sit by the phone day’ over at Chez Cheese.

The little one is getting ready for hurricane Isabel. So are we. For some reason, this one is beginning to scare me. Might have something to do with it being my first hurricane. My wife went through Agnes back in the 70Â’s (she was a little kid), but IÂ’m a west coast boy and I grew up with earthquakes that last a few minutes, not storms the size of Colorado.

Fellow Munuvian Daniel had a good weekend for his fantasy football team. He’s also featured in this weeks New Blog Showcase over on The Truth Laid Bear. Link to his entry, because he makes some great points in his article. Or link to him because, like myself, people will say “Wow, Ted must be smart to read such intelligent stuff”. Just make sure you hide the comic books when they’re around.

Mr. Green has a life.

Alphecca is one blog that I try to read every day. Jeff has interesting things to say, and heÂ’s a helluva writer. HeÂ’s also part of a group of firearm enthusiasts whoÂ’ve started the Shooters Carnival. If you donÂ’t already, you should stop by Alphecca and catch up with Jeff. Also, check out the Carnival, regardless of your personal position regarding guns. Without educating yourself about the subject, how can you have an informed opinion, eh?

Wanna get controversial? Dean Esmay, Average White Guy and Tasberry all take a look at aspects of racism, each in their own style.

Starhawk over at Freedom Lives has done a redesign of his site. I like it a lot!

A is a hockey fan. Enjoy Owen Nolan, heÂ’s fun to have on your team.

I’ve mentioned this before, when grieving families decide to go for the bucks. Publicola shows the perfect example, where the family admits that they’d get nothing from the killers – who are in prison – so they go after the gun store where the guns were stolen from and two burglar alarm companies.

Paul is having staff problems. Is there a fact-checker in the house? Experience preferred. I'd suggest introducing yourself to his wife at the earliest opportunity to avoid embarrassment in case anyone is miked.

Serenity has completed her trek to Houston. Safe and sound. Read her trip report, it reminds me of a few cross-country drives I made when I was young and foolish.

The guys at Silent Running talk about a danger that we can’t detect and can’t defend against, coming at us from the stars themselves. A cosmic fart of the ‘silent but deadly’ variety.

John has summed up this summer nicely with this cartoon. My backyard has stayed wet enough to grow moss on the stepping stones.

IÂ’ve seen references to this (thanks Kelly among others), and havenÂ’t paid it much mind. But with Isabel looming large, itÂ’s beginning to seem like a damn fine time to cut loose and get a little silly before we have to get very serious. IÂ’ll be on the widows-walk with me spyglass. Aye, there the beastie be!

Tiger redecorated. I know that everyone sees these pages a little differently depending on browser version and stuff, so take this for what itÂ’s worth (absolutely nothing). I donÂ’t like the new format, and apparently I'm alone in that opinion. On my machine, itÂ’s just hard to read. IÂ’ll give it a try at work over lunch, that might make all the difference in the world.

Al reminds us that itÂ’s National POW/MIA Awareness Week. For more information, IÂ’d suggest contacting your local American Legion or VFW post.

Oh yeah, I changed the name of my “Links Roster” category to “All the cool people and places”. Mainly because that way it’s almost at the top of my category list, and easier to find. Since I use that list more than my blogroll to get around, I’ll point you to a few blogs that I’ve been enjoying recently:

Terra Taco makes me think. Always a good thing. Rocketman also makes me think. Still a good thing. And heÂ’s moved too (note to self: update his link). And these guys make me hungry. Never a bad thing. Enjoy.

Posted by: Ted at 10:57 AM | category: Links
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