Nic has been posting hockey memorabilia - cards and autographs and such - and telling the stories that go along with them. These aren't mundane "I stood around for an hour until he came out of the locker room" stories either. These are cool stories.

There's more than I linked to. Go here, scroll down and read 'em all.

Posted by: Ted at 09:33 AM | category: Links
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Via McCovey Chronicles:

"... you've got to have some serious talent to have 53,000 people saying you suck."

Go Barry Bonds. Heh.

Posted by: Ted at 09:28 AM | category: Links
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Thanks to everyone who's stopped by, and special thanks to all who contributed recipes for this Carnival. I went from zero to overwhelmed in seconds. If you've never visited Rocket Jones before, feel free to look around and I hope you come back to visit on a regular basis. Now, strap yourselves in and hang on...

(in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 05:33 AM | category: Links
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1 Nice layout! Thanks for hosting it.

Posted by: vw bug at February 25, 2005 08:27 AM (xRFyn)

2 I've got a bad link (I submitted the email link) to see Canton Beef and Vegtable Soup visit http://azpnj.blogspot.com/2005/02/creating-recipe-blogger-style-canton.html

BTW, the Carnival looks great!

Posted by: Dave at February 25, 2005 09:08 AM (/zEUo)

3 Dave, I updated your entry. The recipe is there, you just have to scroll down the page a little bit. Dunno why it's doing that... let's blame Blogspot!

Posted by: Ted at February 25, 2005 09:21 AM (blNMI)

4 Sorry! Changed the link on you:

http://bebere.blogspot.com/2005/02/my-new-department-head-recently-asked.html

Could I order about a dozen copies of "Self-fulfilling prophecies for Dummies," too? Thanks!

:-)

Posted by: bev at February 25, 2005 09:39 AM (fikC7)

5 A stellar display--sorry to have missed you on the 1st orbit. If you pardon my vacuity, I'll shuttle something tasty over for the next.

Posted by: HelenW at February 25, 2005 10:06 AM (piQVD)

6 Oh, so nicely done!

Thank you!

Posted by: Christina at February 25, 2005 10:07 AM (zJsUT)

7 Bev, link changed.

Posted by: Ted at February 25, 2005 10:27 AM (blNMI)

8 This edition is out of this world. Great job.

Posted by: Punctilious at February 25, 2005 10:43 AM (s2hti)

9 Great job, Ted.

And I didn't even know this was the meatloaf eddition!

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at February 25, 2005 10:44 AM (UquFN)

10 Are the entire Carnivals (1-27) available archived anywhere?

Posted by: Andy at February 25, 2005 11:00 AM (zKaAj)

11 Nicely done, Ted. And for your answer to the Heinlein trivia question...wasn't it Mr. Stone in The Rolling Stones?

Posted by: Victor and his seventeen pet rats at February 25, 2005 12:31 PM (L3qPK)

12 Great job putting this all together! I found all the space pics at NASA's site; they have a new one posted every day. Would love to 'meander' through the stars someday!

Posted by: Michele at February 25, 2005 02:30 PM (4s+3F)

13 Ted, did they make those space food sticks in chocolate? I remember eating these things as a kid...they were about the size of a Slim-Jim, a chocolate flavor, a bit softer than a Tootsie Roll...but I can't for the life of me remember what they were called.

Excellent job on the Carnival, too!

Posted by: nic at February 25, 2005 04:37 PM (etHvD)

14 Fantastique! I am very impressed with all the work you put into this smorgasboard. Bravo!

Posted by: Dawn at February 25, 2005 08:09 PM (Dh1V0)

15 My sincerest apologies for the downed server. Murphy's law wins out yet again. Thank you to all the visitors. I will be up and running with photos and videos by Tues. March 1st.

Posted by: michuli at February 26, 2005 09:01 AM (fuiZO)

16 Andy, check here:

http://www.thedonovan.com/beth/archives/cat_recipe_carnival.html

Nic, there sure were chocolate Space Food Sticks. They're still available, but they're packaged differently and for some stupid reason there's a BMX biker pictured on the box. Ignore the bike and pretend the leathers and helmet are a spacesuit I guess.

Victor, I was thinking about "Job: A Comedy of Justice". Alexander is working as a dishwasher in a New Mexico diner and talks about rating cooks by how good their meatloaf is.

Posted by: Ted at February 26, 2005 09:43 AM (ZjSa7)

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That's the address to email your favorite recipes for this week's Carnival of the Recipes, and it's staying at the top of the page today, so scroll down for new posts.

Helen, something vegetarian please?

Paul, after reading about your molten-lava nuggets, I know you've got something to share.

Oorgo? Shank? You must have something involving blow torches and charred flesh of some sort.

Dortch, I know you've got to have a kick-ass brownie recipe.

I expect something cloyingly sweet from my pal Bitterman, because it's the yin to his yang, if you know what I mean.

Dawn, stick it with a freaking toothpick and send it over. I'm counting on you.

C'mon dammit. It's late, I've got to get up early in the morning, and y'all are just waiting until the last moment. All of you. I know you are.

Posted by: Ted at 11:17 PM | category: Links
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1 Ted, I can't boil water.

I've tried and tried, but cooking is just not in my genes.

Posted by: Paul at February 23, 2005 11:01 AM (vbP6L)

2 Y'all are coming through for me. Way to go!

Paul, I understand completely. Mookie can cook well enough to survive, but I tell her she's got a bright future in the Army Food Services.

Posted by: Ted at February 23, 2005 12:45 PM (blNMI)

3 Do'h! How much time is left? I can tell ya how to make a pizza without a stone if that helps!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at February 24, 2005 01:06 AM (CmmFP)

4 "Stick it with a freaking toothpick"

I have about 14 different responses to that one.

Posted by: dawn at February 25, 2005 08:13 PM (Dh1V0)

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Over at annika's.

Posted by: Ted at 01:02 PM | category: Links
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I've said it before and I'll say it again: The sexiest thing in the world is a lady wearing glasses.

Unfortunately, American cartoons never really understood that (except for Velma on Scoobie Doo). Lucky for us then, that Japanese anime stepped in and filled a need by populating their weird toon universes with plenty of bespectecled lasses. And just to prove that some people have way too much time on their hands, this site has an indexed list of female anime characters who wear glasses.

Thanks to Chizumatic for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 07:18 AM | category: Links
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Q&O has posted their take on Drug Companies and the way they're treated in today's world. I agree with their views 100%, and I'll tell you why.

This week... the Food and Drug Administration holds very public hearings on potential health risks of popular prescription pain medications called Cox-2 inhibitors.

They've recently taken two of the newer meds off the market, Vioxx and another I can't remember at the moment. This leaves one Cox-2 inhibitor available, Celebrex.

My wife takes Celebrex, and has for six and a half years. It's one of the drugs she takes daily to manage her severe Fibromyalgia. We've discussed this with her doctor, and there is no good substitute for Celebrex that's available today.

So what would happen to Liz if she were forced to discontinue her use of Celebrex? Within a week she would begin to feel muscular weakness and increased fine-motor impairment. Within two weeks she probably wouldn't be able to walk without a cane. Within a month she'd no longer be able to drive, which means she could no longer work. At that point she would probably also have to return to her wheelchair.

Thirty days to be reduced to near total dependence on others.

Like anything else, there are risks involved in life. The trick is evaluating the risks vs benefits. It's not always so clear cut as in my wife's case, but given the choice between seeing my wife lead a near-normal life or protecting the small number of people who might drop dead from taking the drug, well, I'll be selfish and still sleep just fine at night.

Protect us from dangerous drugs, yes. Play nanny and never allow anything that might possibly hurt a single person, no.

I'm writing my Senators and Congressmen about this.

Update: Nic left some great information in the comments (thanks!). Also, today I read an interview where the head of Merck (who pulled Vioxx earlier this year) (I had incorrectly identified the company as Phizer, who make Celebrex and Bextra - RJ) says that you have to weigh risks and benefits (where have we heard that before?) and that Vioxx may be brought back to the market with stronger and more comprehensive warnings.

Best of all:

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration concluded Friday the popular painkiller Celebrex poses an increased risk for heart problems but should remain on the market because the benefits outweighs the dangers.

It's not a done deal, but we're breathing easier.

Posted by: Ted at 12:03 PM | category: Links
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The Hockey Whoopass Jamboree, that is.

Too bad my Cleveland Barons got thumped by the Rochester Americans.

So in accordance with the rules, GEBIV's logo appears here. They play again tonight, so look for either a repeat of this tomorrow (boo), or a pointer to his place to admire the place of prominence the shark will enjoy on his page (yay).

Posted by: Ted at 06:10 AM | category: Links
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Numero twenty-seven-o is being hosted this week at Inside Allan's Mind (the "at" almost seems redundant, doesn't it?). Good stuff going on over there.

Rocket Jones will be bringing you the Carnival in the very near future.

Posted by: Ted at 06:02 AM | category: Recipes
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The title is one of those "disclaimers" they'd use for schlock horror gore-fests in the 60's and 70's, trying to convince patrons that the movie wasn't the usual cheesy crap (it always was).

I'm using it here because of Kofi Girls, a page full of the UN's ScamMeister Meister Scammer Kofi Annan, all photoshopped out into "average hot babe".

I'll admit it. I screamed and I cried, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. And I laughed. I laughed so hard I think something tore loose inside my skull because now if I shake my head just so I can feel everything sloshing around inside there and I see a pretty little light show out of the corner of one eye.

Also, at the bottom of the page is the best bit:

UN Flag Burning Kits

Coming Soon!

Show your lack of support for the Kyoto Protocol by releasing a small amount of blue flag pollutant into the air. United Nations flag burring kits come with matches flammable accelerant and of course a powder blue United Nations flag.

Thanks to Spoons for pointing this one out (well, it was an ad on his site, which proves ads work I guess).

As an added bonus, now when people ask me if I'm all right because of my odd head shaking, I just smile and say "pretty lights".

Posted by: Ted at 09:26 AM | category: Links
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What I mean by that is, if you've got an axe to grind, a stand to take, or a problem to solve, then automatically blame the US WalMart and dream up some way to make them pay your way.

The great state of Montana, where men are men and sheep are nervous, is the latest in a long list of whiney little bitches when it comes to WalMart.

As an incentive for these "big box stores'' to pay a living wage to their workers, Sen. Ken Toole's Senate Bill 272 would impose a gross proceeds tax on these companies. They would be exempt from the tax if they paid their employees an entry level wage of at least $22,000 a year, counting both pay and benefits and if less than half of their workers were part-time.

Follow that link and read the whole sordid scam.

My standard question to WalMart haters is this: at what point does a company become so successful that they've become evil?

WalMart has been kicking the retail world's ass for a while now, like K-Mart before them, and Sears before them, and Macy's before them, and on and on. Some day, some chain will come up with a better way for the times and WalMart will become another former top-dog.

And for every gripe there is about them, the answer is the same: they're doing exactly what they need to do to compete. You don't become dominant (or even successful) by not being "right". The number of people who shop there, the amount of sales they generate and the mind-boggling number of people they employ all mean one thing. THEY ARE DOING IT RIGHT. Don't like 'em? No problem, go shop somewhere else. That's the beauty of the free market. Of course, you'll pay more, but sometimes taking a stand involves more than announcing your principles. And while you're in that Mom & Pop store, ask 'em how many folks they employ, how much they pay, and what kind of benefits they offer their hired help.

WalMart (and MicroSoft for that matter), aren't evil, just very successful.

I hope that Montana passes their stupid tax, and I hope WalMart says screw it and shuts down every last store in the state. Then, just like in Canada, you'll hear the whiney little bitches bleating about how unfair it is. And they'll be missing the point that I saw someone make recently (sorry, can't remember where), if WalMart is bad, then if they leave it's a good thing. Right?

Thanks to DynamoBuzz for the pointer, although I oughta smack him for making my blood pressure rise like that.

Posted by: Ted at 08:41 PM | category: Links
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1 and if less than half of their workers were part-time.

...and put half of their employees out of work.

Ted! Haven't seen you riled up like this in a while. That's some damn good posting!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at February 17, 2005 02:26 AM (rwn/7)

2 I've always hated Wally World, but not for their corporate policy - for their clientele. If I see another mullet in my life, it'll be too soon.

Posted by: shank at February 17, 2005 08:48 AM (+H1yK)

3 The minimum wage in Montana is $5.15/hr. If you worked 40 hours a week that amounts to only $10,712 annually. WalMart is actually paying $3,000 over the minimum wage for a 32 hr week!

If $5.15/hr isn't enough to live on in Montana, WalMart isn't the problem!

Posted by: RC at February 17, 2005 12:16 PM (5mz24)

4 I don't care what anyone says I love Wal-Mart both as an ex-contractor who used to work for them and as a customer.They have always been super towards me.Most people I know have enjoyed working for them.If you don't wanna work there then just don't.It's not like you don't have plenty of other choices.If you don't have other choices then it's probably not the fault of anyone but your local government or perhaps yourself.
I would also like to commend Wal-Mart for helping to put the union menace in it's place.

Posted by: Russ at February 17, 2005 10:31 PM (Y9aSc)

5 Don't know if you ever saw it on the news or not but we in FR have had our own drawn out Wal-Mart fight.It wasn't that nobody(well almost) wanted them but they just didn't want them in that spot.That I have to agree with.I sure wouldn't build there.
The last county/town elections saw the ousting of everyone who supported Wal-Mart.They where all replaced with morons who displayed no other credentials than being able to say "No Wal-Mart!"I hope like hell it comes back to kick them all right in the nads.

Posted by: Russ at February 17, 2005 10:40 PM (Y9aSc)

6 Some of us Montanans vehemently oppose this legislation. Idiots. Like others, I rarely shop at Wal-Mart, but I completely support W-M policies, hiring, management, and existence.

And the sheep are doing fine, by the way.

Posted by: david at February 19, 2005 03:21 PM (ZVhuO)

7 Hey David, glad to hear about the sheep. Hell, as a native Californian (from the Bay Area, no less!) you can imagine the ribbing I put up with.

We had a minor WalMart uproar in this area. Plans were announced that a store would be built and "citizen action groups" instantly sprang into action to prevent it. Their main objection was that having a WalMart that close to their gated communities would lower their property values. Only one problem - WalMart owned the land long before the developers started their construction. The judge threw it all out because the hoity-toity residents should've been ticked at the developer for not telling them the whole story, not WalMart.

You can imagine how much I enjoyed that.

Posted by: Ted at February 19, 2005 04:52 PM (ZjSa7)

8 I don't understand any good reason to defend Walmart on philosophical grounds. Maybe if you own the hacienda you have the free time to think of bogus arguments to defend your villainy. Then one day the workers find other uses for the tools.

Posted by: zombielogic at August 30, 2005 03:44 AM (+KTZf)

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When a blogger first starts out, one of the hardest things to do is getting noticed (except for me of course. I sprang from Blogger's loins fully formed and wrapped in a tamale husk, at least that's my story this week and I'm sticking to it).

Sorry for the sidetrack... As I was saying, it's difficult to get that jump start on traffic (spelling is hard too, especially words like vacuum, which I always misspell vacume for some stupid reason).

Oops, there I go again (although Monty Python did this same basic gag much better in the opening credits of Holy Grail, don't you think?).

Ahem. Find someone less tiresome to read at the New Blog Showcase. Your sanity will thank you.

Posted by: Ted at 06:04 AM | category: Links
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I mentioned the new artwork in New York's Central Park, and also noted that Cindy had promised pictures. See for yourself here (pre) and here (complete).

Munu's Michele has more pictures and her take on Gates as well.

Posted by: Ted at 11:46 AM | category: Links
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That's the name one of my old Air Force buddies claimed he was going to hang on a daughter.

So besides being a fairly good chunk of Google bait, it makes a dandy lead to this wicked cool online toy: The Baby Name Wizard. Go play with it and be impressed.

Thanks to Rodger (the 300th most popular boys name in the 1940's) via Spoons (which is inexplicably missing from the database) for pointing this one out. The drawing link is worth seeing too.

Posted by: Ted at 05:36 AM | category: Links
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That title is *not* being sarcastic. For all the trials and tribulations and unexpected crises that come about with little ones, it all fades to insignificance with one smile. And when a child smiles, they smile with everything they've got.

Robert has been kiddie-blogging recently (gee, I wonder why?).

Rich has too.

All links worth reading, because kids are natural-born Monty Python skit generating machines.

Posted by: Ted at 05:13 AM | category: Links
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Somehow along the line, one of the occasionally recurring themes on Rocket Jones has become bondage related posts. I'll admit that I haven't tried very hard to change that (translation: I've run with it).

So in keeping with that hereby-declared fine tradition, I proudly present The Comic Book Bondage Cover of the Day.

Posted by: Ted at 04:34 AM | category: Links
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Scenes of Election Day in Iraq, set to the Fanfare for the Common Man.

Thanks to Silflay Hraka for the pointer.

Posted by: Ted at 11:46 AM | category: Links
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This site let's you enter your name and it will translate it to Japanese katakana characters of various type styles. For instance, here's the caligraphy form of "Ted".

And the explanation as given by the site:

It is pronounced "TEDDO". (Consonants are pronounced more or less the same way as in English. "E" sounds like e in met. "O" sounds like o in old.)

That last line should read "O" as in elder statesman.

Posted by: Ted at 04:22 AM | category: Links
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Courtesy of Munuviana's very own Everyday Stranger.

"Oh God, I'm going to come, 10-4!"

Gotcha covered there, good buddy.

Posted by: Ted at 06:08 AM | category: Links
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Over at Sanity's Edge, Paul is hosting The Cavalcade of Blogs.

What is the Cavalcade?

ItÂ’s an opinion poll based on your reading habits and it requires your participation. IÂ’d like you to answer a few questions and IÂ’ll tally up the results and post some links.

In other words, he's got nothing.

Except that's not quite true, because right after that he starts a new meme. Something new and exciting and never-before-done anywhere except maybe on masochistic webrings. That's right, Paul cracks his head open for your entertainment. Now the meme bit is kinda my idea, about making it one of those since-you-did-it-I'll-do-it-too things that make their rounds on the blogs. I mean, what's funnier than personal injury, eh?

Coming soon to Rocket Jones, a story about a rickety wooden stool, a soldering iron, and a set of clackers I put together one drunken weekend out of two old bowling balls and some bungee cord. So, who's next?

Posted by: Ted at 11:53 AM | category: Links
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