Blogger had issues, there's no argument there, but the new version added comments and more style to several of my regular stops, so that's a good thing. Here we go on the Blogspot edition of Rocketing Around the Blogosphere...

First up is The Eternal Golden Braid, which is a great space blog. He's got comments now. Woot! I also found a link from his place to a page about StarForce, which is the space wargame and company I couldn't remember the name of here. That makes me happy too, although I'm guessing you're less than overwhelmed. May I suggest you go visit and check out his awesome Martian Pictures of the Day.

Check out Blogeline's snazzy new design. That's what I mean by new Blogger style. She was invited to be a Munuvian by notGeorge, and I think she wants to, but she's shy. Pixy, is she on the waiting list? If not, may we get her added?

The Llama Butchers are moving from Blogspot to new digs within the ever-expanding borders of Munuviana. Are they anti-Llama? Or are they Llama's who enjoy a little of the ol' ultra-violence, eh? Check 'em out, and decide for yourself. Warning though, they're definitely the thinking person's wooly mammal. Mammals. Whatever.

The Cheesemistress of Chaos (who I'm sure has noted that the term 'fairy floss' sounds like something Tinkerbell would wear at her evening job on the seedy side of town) has found a new friday funfest called Blogmaze. I followed her maze and came across CowDog, who was automatically added to the blogroll just for being an adult cowpuppy.

Somewhere and somehow I also wound up on the beach at the end of the world (not Mookie-safe, but fun nonetheless). She's Aussie, mentions breasts a lot, has pictures of submarines in her photo album (and we all know how much I love breasts submarines), and she's quite funny. Welcome to the blogroll dear. I can call her 'dear' because annika says I'm the "great elder statesman" of Munuviana, which also means I can be grouchy too, so back off ya whippersnapper.

And look what I found there on the beach, this video of a girl folding t-shirts. Go on, watch it. You know ya wanna. It's safe for work.

Publicola is another former blogspotter who's now a Munuvian. If you want to know about firearms rights and the second amendment, he's a good place to start. And if you're interested, check out Alphecca, Say Uncle, Murdoc Online, Spoons and the Shooter's Carnival for more about guns and shooting.

More recent additions to the blogroll, maybe you'll find something new and interesting to add to your lists:
Opinion8 - he's also a regular commenter at the Ministry of Minor Perfidy
Serenade - a Brit, I believe.
Republican Atheist Rocket Scientist Man - almost as descriptive as the literal Rocket Jones, eh?

That's it, I'm outta here. Dinner and a hockey game coming up.

Posted by: Ted at 04:14 PM | category: Links
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1 i got pictures of submarines on my blog too, O great elder.

Posted by: annika at May 18, 2004 07:38 PM (zAOEU)

2 thank you for blogrolling me, o wise and exalted one

oh, and i have a few more photos of submarines to come!

subs just get me hot for some reason that i can't explain...

Posted by: wegglywoo at May 21, 2004 02:34 AM (4nzIM)

3 Thanks for blogrolling Serenade!

Actually my story is a bit more complicated than simply "a Brit" - I am half Scottish, half South African, and grew up in Italy. Serenade is occasionally bilingual and focuses more than is usual on Italian events for that reason. I am living in London at the moment, though.

Politically I slant decidedly to the right, but with a few quirks. I am proud to have been called an American Born Elswehere by Sarah of Trying to Grok.

Posted by: Dominic at May 23, 2004 10:44 AM (evDgD)

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Have some fun with this site where you can create fake newspaper stories about your favorite (or not-so-favorite) people.

(work sensitive)

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Thanks to Wince and Nod for the pointer to this online shooting range. Learn how to line up various kinds of sights on pistols and rifles. Lots of fun and edjumuhcationable too!

Posted by: Ted at 02:30 PM | category: Links
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Not quite as dirty as it sounds, but still not safe for work.

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Courtesty of The Massive Whinger, who's trackbacks are blocked and won't work.

Castles of Britain.

Churches of Britain.

Military history.

Prelude to D-Day, 1944.

The Battle of Monte Cassino (WW II).

Posted by: Ted at 06:29 PM | category: Links
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Another worthy cause. Read the story and if you can, please lend a hand.

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Some representative samples from the artist (not safe for work). Even if you don't recognize the name, you may know the work. He did the cover of Cheap Thrills by Janis Joplin's Big Brother & the Holding Company.

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I've been working on this as time allowed over the last few days, so if you find some of these links are a little... old, they're not, they're nicely aged like a fine wine. Yeah, that's it.

Fellow Munuvian Linda of Auteriffic has an interesting discussion going on about porn. If youÂ’ve read Rocket Jones for any length of time, you know I peruse the naughty bits on occasion, and then cheerfully pass it along to you. ThatÂ’s not what Linda is doing, sheÂ’s looking at it from a more intellectual standpoint, and the discussion is excellent. Go check it out.

P.S. For anyone expecting to find my input there, itÂ’s not. IÂ’ve got some things to say, but havenÂ’t really had a chance to sit back and sort it out in my mind. This is a subject where itÂ’s all too easy to lose sight of your original point, and I donÂ’t want to do that. Maybe this week, if not then IÂ’m afraid itÂ’ll be too late to toss my two cents in.

Over at Say Uncle, Thibodeaux passes on a link and a joke. The excerpt from the linked story is priceless!

I’ve heard of LittleTinyLies before, but there are only so many hours I can waste at work spend surfing the ‘net, so I’d never visited.

Big mistake on my part. This guy is on a BBQ binge lately, and some of his posts are so mouth-wateringly wonderful itÂ’s damn near pornographic [another porn reference - what gives?]. Ignore some of the unholy abominations he experiments with (donut lasagne?) and stick with the 'dead beasts on fire' recipes. Yum!!!

Annika has probably already seen this (and frightened co-workers as she suddenly burst into laughter throughout the day at the mere thought of), but she seldom misses an opportunity to slam the American Skankwoman. So just in case she missed it, here's Britney Spears in her natural state, courtesy of Wizbang!

Do you love Scrappleface? Are you a regular Onion reader? Have you tried Broken Newz yet?

Thank J-Walk Blog for this link to 40 years of Astounding/Analog covers. I read Analog faithfully for years from the early 70Â’s, and was introduced to war gaming thanks to a little ad inside one of their issues. What was that company again... SSI - Strategic Simulations, Inc? I need to google that up.

He also linked to the Read Print library, with thousands of online books. This is going to be fun to go through.

Loren at Civilization Calls links to this interesting phenomena in Africa - fairy circles - that as far as anyone can tell, may actually be created by fairies.

Yet another Munuvian, Rae, talks about her Mother's Day weekend and teaching her kids life lessons about work and money. We've tried to do the same with our kids, and I think we've been successful. Mookie bought her own PC with babysitting money (she was tired of having the old hand-me-down machine), and oldest daughter Robyn bought her own first car. They've learned that saving money and working towards your goals is worthwhile, because you tend to appreciate what you have more when you earn it.

Speaking of Mookie (aka Rachael), her internet connection has been shut down for a couple of weeks. When we had new windows installed in the house, the old cable was removed and we've run two new lines into the upstairs. Unfortunately, the new cable we dropped into her bedroom isn't working, so one evening this week I've got to head back up into the attic and we'll try the second cable run and hope that one works. She's been making do with scrounging time on Mom's PC.

Short. Sweet. Absolutely true. Thanks for the laugh, John.

Bigwig at Silflay Hraka posts the latest "Not the Prudie" advice column link, and it's a keeper. My favorite bit:

A ballroom dancer who's a great listener, puts other people first, and seeks advice from his women friends. I'm not saying you're gay, but everyone else is.

Dustbury remains one of my favorite daily stops. Here he opens a discussion about President Bush's policies. I get involved. Head on over and point and laugh at your host (that would be me) being shredded intellectually (I anticipate this last bit).

Update: Maybe I'm not an idiot. People seem to be agreeing with me, which probably means they're talking about me behind my back. That's ok too, it's better for my self-esteem.

All right, if I wait much longer to post this links might start expiring. Enjoy.

Posted by: Ted at 08:14 PM | category: Links
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1 Yep, Dottie is still writing for the Weekly World News. This week she's brilliant in telling someone how to handle those women at the grocery store who wait until everything is rung up before taking their purse of their freakin' shoulder, much less have their wallet open.

Posted by: Victor at May 11, 2004 07:53 AM (L3qPK)

2 The wargaming ad was probably for SPI (Simulations Publications Inc). Jim Dunnigan was a chief contributor, and his Strategy Page is still a good resource. SPI got eaten by TSR, who got eaten by WoC, who got eaten by Hasbro...

Not to be confused with SSI, the makers of various computer wargames (since eaten by Ubisoft), or SSG, an Australian maker of various award-winning computer wargames (and whose name came first).

Another Australian computer wargame (as opposed to game) maker is Panther Games. Their new 'Highway to the Reich' game is the most revolutionary thing to happen to simulations since the hex grid. As a simulation, it's not perfect, just the best in existence. As a game - a matter of taste. But go read the reviews.

Disclaimer : I had something to do with the development of it.

Posted by: Alan E Brain at May 11, 2004 11:04 AM (HZApf)

3 Yes! SPI!!!! They used to do little quickie-games of obscure battles too, as introductory pieces. IIRC I had one of theirs which was space warfare on the strategic scale, where travelling between the systems took months... it's been a long time since I've thought about some of these. I feel another nostalgia post coming on.

Posted by: Ted at May 11, 2004 02:41 PM (blNMI)

4 Thanks for the ping. A lot of people have asked for some time with it, which is why I keep bumping it. I'm really pleased with the responses I've gotten. I wish I could have been at that forum they held in CA; which the post was based upon.

Posted by: Linda at May 11, 2004 04:39 PM (AWAw8)

5 I remember Little Tiny Lies. He had hit my cat's page a few times. I could tell he really was skeeved out by it.

Posted by: Dawn at May 11, 2004 10:34 PM (Ev/7m)

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I talked about Dairy Queen's new Flamethrower Burger commercial here. Have you seen it yet? Well, thanks to Euth, here's the link to see it online. He didn't leave contact info, so the good deed counts double.

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Paul had a little run-in with his HOA. I commiserated in his comments and asked if I'd ever told him the story of the meteor that almost crashed through my roof.

Turns out I had told that story here. Damn, I can't be running out of material already.

Posted by: Ted at 09:32 AM | category: Links
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Seen in a bathroom stall:

You can't beat good pussy.

Underneath, in different handwriting:

Sure you can, just ask Ike Turner.

For more assorted scribbles and scrawls on the restroom walls, go check out The Writing on the Stall.

Posted by: Ted at 05:37 AM | category: Links
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Rachel Lucas is making noises about coming back.

Spork, I'm speechless.

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1 This is the coolest, ain't it?! All we gotta do is yammer on about how we miss her site and she comes back sobbing happily, amazed at the revelation that she is being missed!
There's an old lesson here, I guess: Just tell 'em you love 'em -- otherwise they may never know!!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at May 06, 2004 08:54 PM (FsDiJ)

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ROFLMAO

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Patton has been a regular in the comments over at the Ministry of Minor Perfidy for quite some time, and he seems like a reasonable sort, so it's nice to find that he now has his own blog.

Welcome.

Update: While looking at the ecosystem (for the first time in a long time) I found a couple of other 'rocket' blogs, so here ya go.

Republican Atheist Rocket Scientist Man - sounds like a bio.

Ok, so this guy has been on the 'roll for a while now. Give a visit, because we all enjoy a few extra site hits: Rocketsled to Hell.

Posted by: Ted at 09:57 AM | category: Links
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... and this time, non-hockey fans will get it.

Thanks to Rodger, of Curmudgeonly & Skeptical fame, for this one.

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Not only do they concoct the most gruesome confections like the anatomically correct thorax cake, but they review my kind of movies, and give ratings from one to five severed thumbs.

Welcome to my blogroll.

Thanks to Matt for the pointer, and also for one of the funniest posts I've read in a long time.

Posted by: Ted at 06:26 AM | category: Links
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Lots of life happening right now, details coming when I know more myself. In the meantime, here's a quick tour of some of the interesting (to me) things I've seen lately in the neighborhood.

USS Clueless did a typically thorough analysis of the future of war in space. Taking the idea and running with it, Buckethead of The Ministry of Minor Perfidy posted a fascinating multi-part series on the concept as well (this link is for part three, which has links to the rest, including the Clueless posts - they're all worth reading). The comments are good reading too.

And if you don't read the original Clueless post mentioned above, then you won't understand why this from Ghost of a Flea about ancient Trireme warships ties in either.

Just because it's bloodthirsty warmongering stuff doesn't mean it can't be neato-keen. De Doc has a great post about UAV's equipped with precision-guided weapons and pattern recognition systems.

Got Wawa? They're just becoming common in our area, and they're pretty good. If you aren't familiar with them, they're a variation on the 7-11 convenience store model, and they're making a dent in 7-11's business. Kinda like WalMart whupping on KMart, who whupped on Sears, who whupped on Woolworths, and so on and so on. Anyways, Roberto of DynamoBuzz talks about Wawa and shares some interesting tidbits.

Shaggy and Scoobie Doo were stoners. Fred and Daphne were getting it on. Big surprises, eh? Although I have to admit I like the idea that Velma was a lesbian, and she wears glasses too. All that, plus more in-the-closet cartoon characters, courtesy of Dustbury.

While you're over there, check out Dustbury's thoughts on the demise of Oldsmobile. Growing up, the best family car we ever had was a '72 Olds Cutlass that would blow the doors off most 'hot rods' the teens of the day were driving. I for one am going to miss Oldsmobile.

Over at BlackFive there is an article posted called Taking Chance Home.

The following is Marine Lieutenant Colonel Strobl's account of escorting the remains of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. It's a long and beautifully written and it deserves to be read in it's entirety. It's about Valor, Honor and Respect.

Lightening up a bit. SilverBlue invites your questions. Ask away, because he says "bring it on!" and he ain't waffling about answering either.

Paul looks back at simpler times. Laugh-out-loud funny.

Another wonderfully funny post: how Moxie spent Earth Day. I especially loved the comments:

sample: You have made my day. I think I'll start up the Hummer and let it idle for earth day.

Rob of Left & Right shows off his ribbons and medals, and explains what each one means. I'll have to see about digging mine out, although I don't have the impressive combat ribbons he has.

You do read QandO, right? Jon and McQ are partisan as hell - against stupidity and dishonesty. Dems and Repubs alike get fact-checked and called out when needed.

Over at Travelling Shoes, we hear about something that makes me lower my voice to impersonate Boris Karloff doing the narrative of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (paraphrased: and he had an idea, a terrible wonderful awful idea). He's still blogspotted, so if the link doesn't work, scroll down to "Oily George". Classic.

And here's a random link I found while looking for Grinch references. Besides that, I also discovered that the singing (You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch) in the animated version was performed by Thurl Ravenscroft, who received no on-screen credit for it. You might know Mr. Ravenscroft better for his other work, as the voice of Tony the Tiger.

Nic writes one of the scariest pieces I've read in a long time. Snakeheads and Bruce Boxleitner. *shudder*

And finally, to distract you from that nightmare, Victor links to this ebay auction. Thanks guy, I needed that laugh!

Go Sharks!

Posted by: Ted at 06:57 AM | category: Links
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But I'm still going to go back this evening and check out the archives.

Human Descent, a photoshop gallery.

Thanks to Lynn for the pointer.

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"Protect your banana!" (work-safe)

Thanks to J-Walk Blog for the - ahem - pointer.

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It's located down by Rue de Dey.

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