A quickie for y'all on the last day of the year.

Over at Classical Values, Eric posts an interesting bit about the big neighborhood bombing last month in Saudi Arabia. I really like his analysis on various issues, so if you don't read him regularly you should give it a try.

If you're wondering about Mad Cow, please Please PLEASE go read Phillip Coons, Kevin, or Wind Rider at Silent running (great articles and links here and here). Here's the money quote folks:

"[emphasis added] Nevertheless, in the United Kingdom, the current risk of acquiring vCJD from eating beef and beef products appears to be extremely small, perhaps about one case per 10 billion servings."

And that's the same United Kingdom that destroyed whole herds of potentially infected cattle. We've had one freaking case.

All right, let's lighten up a little bit. Denita (Who Tends the Fires) talks about a new computer game that she's gotten hooked on. I'm not much of a game player, but this one sounds twisted enough to be something I could get into.

Flags. Who likes flags? We fly the American flag in front of our house each and every day of the year. This Ted (of the Red variety, who goes by the name of Edward - go figure) goes one better and flies historic flags as well. And he posted this great piece about some history of the confederate flag (with context) that's got plenty of cool information and links.

He also got the Revolutionary war era Culpeper Militia flag for Christmas. Which I think is cool because I fly rockets a couple times a year in the Culpeper area.

The Flea also posts about flags, this time a link to an index of fictional flags. Ever wonder what the House Atreides flag looked like? How about various banners from LotR? This is a pretty neat link.

Wince and Nod points out an interesting article from Crichton about science and what it entails within the fabric of society. He also links to Jerry Pournelle, who often has interesting things to say.

The comic strip Pearls Before Swine. If you ignore every other link in here, you should read this one. Thanks to Nic for pointing this one out to me.

Hey, SilverBlue makes the big time! Mookie gets a mention too (says proud papa). G'Day Mate!

Rocket Man talks about Mars and the not-so-spectacular success rate we've had exploring it (by 'we' I mean all of earth, no nationalistic bias here). On second thought, we're talking about sending probes to another planet!!! Imagine the finesse needed just to get something into orbit that far away. We'll keep trying and keep getting better at it. It's what we do.

I had this great joke all set up involving any ladies reading this and a t-shirt I found online that says "I'd love a good spanking", but the danged link won't work! On to plan B...

The Commissar has a detailed map of Munuviana posted (the big - and less interesting because we're not in it - map is here). Yours truly can be found holding fast at the southern border. Ted Sputnik, I like that.

Oh yeah, stop by and say hello to a couple of new Munuvians, Civilization Calls and Semi-Intelligent Thoughts. Also, it's not brand new, but you should check out the group blog Consent of the Governed. Good stuff there.

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If you've got the bandwidth and a high-speed connection, you could probably spend quite a while here.

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Over at JimiLove, Inc., yours truly has been nominated, nay, crowned "nicest guy on the internet".

I'm feeling pretty darned good about it. Since it was totally unexpected, I don't have any words prepared, so I'll plagiarize paraphrase some from a movie.

If this were Ted's Universe, I'd require stiffer sentencing for repeat offenders. And world peace.

Thank you.

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Nic pointed this one out. Too funny!

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Mookie borrowed a t-shirt from her best friend last weekend (they often trade clothes) which said "How Not To Get Caught". Underneath are three 'international' style pictograms, you know the ones with the little stick figures. The first says "Act dumb", next is "Deny you did it", and then finally "Blame the flying monkeys". Cute.

But I wondered what kind of hits one would get if we Googled "How Not To Get Caught".

Number 2 on the list is How not to get caught in the unethical fish trap via the BBC. From the article: "Eating seafood can be a minefield for the ethical consumer. Where, how and when a fish is caught dictates its environmental impact - and this information is seldom available on shop labels or menus."

Next up - number 6 or so - is a site titled "Grow securely - how not to get caught". Welcome to the UK Cannabis Internet Activists (UKCIA), which is some sort of marijuana advocacy organization. They have a forum listed on their main page, and ask you to tell them what you think. I'm reminded of an old 'Shoe' comic, where Skyler asks Uncle Shoe if dope is bad for you. He says "Yes. It causes your body to be thrown into jail."

This next one looks like some sort of historical link: How not to get caught making fake credit card calls. Chock full of 60's-style anti-establishment lingo and rhetoric. Amusing.

How not to get caught wanking. Crude and juvenile. Lots of pop-ups too, including one featuring a picture of Einstein. Do you think Albert wanked in the shower? The unified theory of wanking?

Moving on...

The very first thing on page 2 is How not to get caught on the World Wide Web. Since you're reading this, I'll assume it's too late.

Dark Tipper Kevin Rose On How Not To Get Caught Downloading Music, Proof Planet X Exists, Camwhore Face-Off.

Here we get tips on How not to get caught speeding (hopefully). I especially like the "(hopefully)" part. Here's a helpful tip: "Memorize the headlight patterns of the common cop cars in your area." Uh huh.

Boy Howdy! At NotInYourPants.com you can order books on how to deal with Escorts. They adveritse: "MORE F**K FOR THE BUCK! BUY NOW and you'll also get a copy of my FREE article, "How Not to Get Caught With the Girl You Bought," full of extremely valuable information on guaranteeing that your escort experience remains discreet."

Simply titled How Not To Get Caught, our next stop contains this wisdom:
"Martyrs have their place in every movement, and they can be quite effective symbols; however, substance wins over symbolism every time, and you can't do anything substantial if you are sitting behind bars. The Confederate guerrilla is, by the nature of his activities, the free-est of free men. The only way that he can maintain that freedom of action is not to get caught, and the only way not to get caught is not to be identified."

Digging a little further, this guy is waiting for the Confederacy to rise again. Literally.

There are tons and tons of links to go through. How not to get caught when shoplifting, having affairs, stealing cable TV and other assorted naughtyness.

Google is your friend.

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Not what you think, unless you know me, then you already knew it couldn't be that.

What Would Jesus Drive?

Found via EnSight, which I found through a link at Carol's Chaotic Collection of Curiosities (which, by the way, features a regular roundup of Spam-related articles and links).

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Lots going on.

300,000 Dots. Please read it and scroll down too, and remember exactly why capturing Saddam Hussein was a historic moment to the Iraqi people. Thanks to the guys at Random Nuclear Strikes for this link.

Freaking News has an excellent photoshop Saddam contest running. Thanks to Shell of Across the Atlantic for pointing it out.

Annika brings us a little history of the 4th Infantry Division, who mounted Operation Red Dawn.

Over at Blackfive, Matt requests help responding to an email he received. This comment cracked me up:

“It could also have something to do with their accents. In America, women who speak english with a french accent are considered to be sexy and men who speak english with a french accent are considered to be gay.” – digrafid AKA the grungy guide

Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Being gay I mean, not being French. (I know, you saw that coming a mile away)

Dawn posts a link to a television commercial that can only be described as ‘sweet’. And sometimes that’s just what you need.

Now over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical, Rodger mentions a History Channel program, Time Machine: Nazi Guerrillas. I saw that show too, and if you get a chance I highly recommend it.

Norbi is running several caption contests with real actual genuine prizes! He also uses the word ‘chucklehead’ which kind of pisses me off because I was planning on bringing back that oldie myself in a post later this week. So now, it becomes a tribute instead of a trendsetter.

Once again, the flea links to virtual coolness. This time, itÂ’s animated engines. I was reminded of this book and a similar one that give plans on how to craft working mechanical engines of wood. While searching for that one, I came across this book which shows how to make working wooden locks. I'm not patient enough to produce that kind of intricacy in wood, but I can appreciate the beauty of the pieces.

Filed under “WTF? Keep an eye on this…”, both Marc of The Idiot Villager (he isn’t) and someone else who’s link I’ve misplaced (and I’m embarrassed about that), look into the fact that MoveOn.Org, is going international. Yep. The Democratic party – well, not officially – are now inviting foreign citizens to donate money to MoveOn who will then distribute it ‘legally’ to Democratic candidates in order to defeat President Bush.

Update: Random Nuclear Strikes notes the same item and links to Drudge. Also, try a little bagpipe Christmas music.

FanBall. Go try it, itÂ’s addictive as hell. Thanks to Jockularocracy for the pointer.

More ‘whoa, neat!’ stuff, this time via Jimi Love. Warning, the cool link does not allow you to ‘back’ out and return.

How can you not love someone who titles a post “Kucinich, you maggot infested, disease ridden whoreson.” Thanks to Kin – who’s TDY in Italy at the moment – for the link to Gee, ya THINK!?.

Ah, feeling the love. I read The Meatriarch every day, and when I finally post a comment heÂ’s all over me like I was wearing a pork chop suit.

Mark of Not Quite Tea and Crumpets reappears. Not much new yet, but itÂ’s nice to know that everything is ok and that his fine blog wasnÂ’t abandoned.

Over at Sanity’s Edge, Paul posts two hysterically funny stories. (making a note about my ‘answering the phone’ story…)

Serenity posted an awesome link to 'The best of the Hubble'. Awesome is too lightweight a word for these pictures.

And so ends this edition. Not because I ran out of great things to link to – heck, I only got to the beginning of the S’s – but because lunch is over and it’s time to get back to work.

Happy Holidays my friends, however you may celebrate.

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Beats standing out in the freezing rain any day.

I knew something bothered me while watching the Two Towers. Thanks to Johno of The Ministry, I now know that it was the quirky editing. Here's the original, with all scenes restored as it was meant to be seen.

And since we're feeling middle-earthish, enjoy some Gollum rap. Thanks to Sekimori, via Tiger, for the pointer to this one.

LeeAnn posted this one, and I suspect that I'm the last person on the internet to have seen it, but in the interest of linking all things silly: Virtual Bubble Wrap.

Oh yeah, new tagline over on the right. And nobody even noticed. Just like a guy.

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A page dedicated to Christmas Lights.

I'm all for showing the Christmas spirit, but those people who go all out to decorate every inch of their house, inside and out, for Christmas kinda creep me out.

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1 And here I had you pegged as a Chevy Chase/National Lampoon's type of decorator.

Posted by: Dawn at December 13, 2003 09:17 PM (0zfIx)

2 Be afraid, be very afraid--of my Mom! She's one of those types whose electric bill would triple during the month of December. The only reason you can't see her house from the Space Station this year is because her antiquated breaker box can't handle the strain anymore.

She decorated our house this year instead, but luckily I managed to keep her in control. Just icicles across the eaves and lighted garland around the front door. As it is, the increased light level outside my bedroom window makes it harder to go to sleep!

--TwoDragons

Posted by: Denita TwoDragons at December 14, 2003 12:55 AM (TOPpF)

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Jockularocracy. Cursor fun.

Ghost of a flea. Visual Thesaurus. Very very cool.

Pensieri found an odd site. It's an online collection of stewardess uniforms.

Jon took a candidate quiz to see who he's most in tune with. He posted his results with comments. My favorite line:
I'd move to Chicago so I could vote against him twice.

Heather of Angelweave points out this hilarious bit of internet humor. Bandwidth alert, and drink warning too. I'm soooooo there.

Brian Noggle creates a nifty new swear word, but lost me during the explanation when he used the phrase: "That's a twofer you don't get with an unvoiced labiodental fricative." I had to look it up, because to my admittedly gutter-dwelling mind, it sounds like performing non-reciprocated oral sex while staying at her folk's place for the holidays. Thanks again to Heather, for that mental image. Ever been to a space station?

Over at Spacecraft, Chris Hall posts a picture that proves us rocket nuts people are everywhere. If you want to see something slightly twilight-zonish, visit Huntsville, Alabama. Every other business there is named Rocket-this or Astro-that.

Ben Dover, because good advice is timeless.

Learn about rocketry.

I've mentioned him before: Ray Dunakin builds rockets that take aerial photographs. He sells beautiful 8x10 prints, mounted and matted, for $15.00 + shipping. Worth considering if you're looking for something different to give as Christmas gifts.

For those who are sick of holiday music, you must Must MUST go here and listen. Actually, everyone should go, because this is falling-down-holding-your-side-it-hurts funny. Work safe, and don't forget to click the 'offended?' link at the end. Major kudos to Shell of Across the Atlantic for pointing this one out.

Terry has been visiting China, has a camera, and knows how to use it. Wow.

The Meatriarch posted a great bit about Hollywood fighting vs. Real Life fighting.

If you look up the word despair in the dictionary, you'll find that they mention being a Cleveland sports fan.

Mr. Helpful casts and scripts his version of A Christmas Carol.

Lynn points out this cheerful virtual snowglobe, and helpfully reminds you to turn the sound up so you can hear the screams as you rock their little universe.

Jail babes. Another option for that special nitwit on your list. Thanks to Say Uncle for the link.

More gift-giving goodies, courtesy of Jay at Sophont.

Gee, Ya Think?! points out this page full of Christmas Hamster-dancing.

Ho.

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Cross stitch with an attitude.

Thanks to the flea for this pointer.

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I didn't much care for the original, and I didn't watch the remake last night on the Sci-Fi channel. But a friend pointed out this page with a BG game, if you like shoot-em-ups.

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Another specialized niche in the genre of pinup art. Yipee Ki-ay!

For another obscure bit of pinup history, check out my earlier post on Art Frahm.

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More than 2200 links about telescopes, observatories, the solar system, societies, deep-sky, space agencies, space missions, rockets, space stations, astronauts, launch facilities, aerospace companies... and much more.

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I'm going to wander all over the place with this edition, including a couple few old friends, as well as some folks who I'd guess aren't already on your radar screen.

Starting off with some naughty stuff, check out Book Whores, reviewers of 'Cruel and Unusual Books'. Plenty of links to their listed favorites, and categorized into such as Bodice Rippers and Absinthe & Opium. I discovered them courtesy of Yummy Wakame, a beautifully designed site that I found via ErosBlog.

Her byline reads "Porn, Politics, and Punditry". Blogslut works in the Internet Porn industry. I'm looking forward to reading more of her insights about the industry, because so far it's pretty interesting stuff. It's not all porn related, but it's not kid-safe either.

This is just fowl, and yes I spelled it that way intentionally. Do you remember the joke about the difference between kinky and perverted? The story at the link is perverted. Hey, I laughed as I read it.

Ok, let's move away from the adult section...

Rocket Man has a great review of missions to Mars, including several that he's worked on himself. Thanks to Professor Hall for pointing this out.

You may have heard that the Japanese lost a rocket that carryied a couple of spy satellites last week when their home-built rocket failed. Rand Simberg talks about the possible shortcomings to the way the Japanese are approaching space (hint: way too NASA-like). He also talks about the Chinese and their long-term goals. Read the comments too, there's some intriguing debate going on.

And just in case you don't read Rand because you think it's all tech-related (as if that's a bad thing), check out his razor-sharp parody of Al Gore.

Congratulations to Kurt of Jockularocracy for being invited to join the Bear Flag League. These folks are smart California bloggers, and restore my faith in my home state. You probably already read some of them. California also has the coolest state flag. No arguments will be entertained. If you disagree, you're wrong.

Terry of The Coyote's Bark is travelling in Asia, and posting some amazing pictures. He also managed to catch Simon's soiree of Hong Kong bloggers.

Ten Rules of Cell Phone Etiquette. I hate the damn things. Occasionally, my wife will insist that I take hers, but I seldom turn it on and it just sits in the glove compartment. I don't have one of my own, and can barely work one. In fact, Liz is going to give me the instruction book for hers this week so I can check her voice mail since everyone will be calling to find out how she is. Link thanks to DynamoBuzz, a Jersey blogger who scores bonus points for the (intentional?) Zappa-esque reference. And just because the whole point here is linkage, check out Backstage, a charter member of the Axis of Evil Naughty Classic.

Fake Lincoln quotes being used by anti-war protesters. Thanks to Paul of Sanity's Edge for that link. By the way, he also linked my Cornucopia of Ted post and even said it was interesting. Best money I ever spent. Thanks Paul!

Alright, this site is funny. Maybe you already knew about Bunsen, but it's new to me. In fact, I'll excerpt a little bit here, but you can read the rest.

Michael Jackson Song Titles That Will Conveniently Double as His Prison Bitch Name

-- "Billie Jean" [Thriller]
-- "Dirty Diana" [Bad]
-- "Girlfriend" [Off the Wall]
-- "The Girl is Mine" [Thriller]
-- "PYT" (Pretty Young Thing) [Thriller]
-- "Liberian Girl" [Bad]
-- "Albino Man Barbie" [Dangerous B-side]
-- "Sexy Sexy Nose Hole Jackie" [Japanese Import]

Justice is Coming. And his name is not Ryan Leaf. A San Diego Chargers blog, for the masochistic among us. LeeAnn, the Chargers and Padres are the price you pay for living in paradise.

"I got my first boner in church." Finally, like the last kid picked when choosing sides, our honorary right-fielder (someone has to be it) is LasagnaFarm. Amusing stuff, even moreso since almost none of it applied to me. Except maybe that boner line. Is there a statute of limitations on sin?

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1 I know, I know... this is why I follow the New York Jets and Green Bay instead.
And as always, thank you for the link.

Posted by: LeeAnn at December 02, 2003 11:48 AM (HxCeX)

2 Thanks for the link to DynamoBuzz. Yes, you're right the name is influenced by a certain Frank Zappa tune. If you check the link on my main page "WHY DYNAMOBUZZ??" you'll see a copy of a Zappa concert ticket.

Thanks again, I'll be checking ROCKET JONES in the future.

Posted by: roberto at December 02, 2003 05:40 PM (Zsoda)

3 Thanks for your kind mention of my blog. I have added a link to your blog, Rocket Jones onto my main page.

I've also RSS-ified my little page

~slut~

Posted by: blogslut at December 12, 2003 04:59 AM (oaPaN)

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