Thanks to a comment by Dogette and the reinforcement by Buckethead, I'm seriously considering the revival of a regular feature of the early days of Rocket Jones. Renamed slightly, of course.

The Rocket Jones Great Random Google, Google, Google Junket.

What say you?

Posted by: Ted at 08:19 PM | category: Google Junket
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1 YAY!

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at June 08, 2006 06:00 AM (DdRjH)

2 Sounds good to me!

Posted by: Tuning Spork at June 08, 2006 08:15 PM (jayhm)

3 What? What'd I do?

Posted by: dogette at June 09, 2006 08:23 AM (wN2Jx)

4 This time, can I have snorkle?

Posted by: triticale at June 11, 2006 12:03 AM (0WmrJ)

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That's when you take something and squeeze it until it ain't fun anymore. That's as good a description as any for a majority of the memes floatin' around out there.

But it has been awhile since I've played the meme game, so all I can say is, Susie can tap me anytime.

Here we go.

5 things in my fridge:
* yogurt
* reduced-cholesterol eggs
* regular eggs (for baking)
* reduced-cholesterol margarine
* butter (for baking)

5 things in my closet:
* large box full of unbuilt rocket kits
* assorted prom dresses from the girls
* "junk shelf" containing, among other things, spare AA batteries for my cordless mouse and keyboard
* Rachael's video camera (our old one)
* clothes of all kinds (I don't have a dresser)

5 things in my briefcase:
* foldable bluetooth keyboard for my PDA
* chapstick
* computer textbook that I'm working my way through
* mini-mag light
* Leatherman

5 things in my car:
* sunglasses
* bag o' bungee cords
* tarp
* umbrella
* ice scraper/window squeegee

5 people I want to torture with this meme:
* Link back here or leave a comment if you run with it

Posted by: Ted at 06:45 PM | category: Links
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I heard one of the most blatant outright lies today on a radio ad about the proposed repeal of the estate tax.

You think it's fair that the mega-rich get a mega-tax break? That money is coming out of somebody's pockets, and it's not the heirs and heiresses.

Furthermore, *not* taxing the deceased isn't taking money out of anybody's pocket, it's *not* your freaking money to begin with. It's theirs! They stop breathing and immediately these assholes lay claim to the bucks, because, you know, they're just evil rich and all.

I don't trust the government. I don't trust a socialist. I don't trust a Democrat. I don't trust a religious zealot.

All of you, stay the hell out of my life. Stay the hell out of my death too.

Update: Duncan left a reasonable comment about this, directing me towards this WaPo article in an effort to clarify their position. In return, I'd ask that you consider this rebuttal to the same article. While you're there at QandO, check out the comments too, as there is lively and (mostly) rational debate of the issue.

Posted by: Ted at 04:36 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I kept hearing about this and was wondering what the heck the fuss was about. I thought they'd moved election day up from November or something. The rhetoric was strikingly similar.

Posted by: Ted at 06:13 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Blow a three goal lead? Yep.

Lose your goalie to a season-ending knee injury? Check.

Backup goalie badly flubs a play that allows the winning goal to score? Uh huh.

Edmonton, buh-bye.

Posted by: Ted at 05:03 AM | category: Balls and Ice
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Mapgirl is hosting this week's Carnival of Personal Finance. Go, visit and usk djc nm87##2i----------

Posted by: Ted at 11:33 AM | category: Links
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I mean, I wouldn't have his babies or anything, but Pixy Misa, benevolent host and master of Mu.Nu, has done it again. Our MovableType search functions was sloooooooooooooow because of the sheer number of blogs and posts hosted. So Pixy decided to rewrite the seach function to go zooooooooooom instead.

They do indeed, indeed they do. Give it a try, you'll be amazed.

Posted by: Ted at 09:51 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Released this week, the John Wayne/John Ford Film Collection.

Posted by: Ted at 05:37 AM | category: Cult Flicks
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Hockey finals start tonight. The Carolina Hurricanes take on the Edmonton Oilers.

The grid up top will be updated sometime today.

Posted by: Ted at 05:14 AM | category: Balls and Ice
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Today was supposed to be a nice day, darn it! It was ok, nothing more than that, but the worst thing was that it was windy all day long. We launch rockets in the rain, we'll launch in the snow and cold, but wind stops us every time. The safety rules say that 20mph is the cutoff point. That's reasonable, because 20mph is a heckuva blow.

Today there were gusts to 17mph (that I heard of), and there were few lulls.

I had several things going on today at the rocket launch. First up, I'd volunteered to help with a CanSat competition. Eight college teams from around the country were making flights with identical high-power rockets, and at apogee their experimental payloads were ejected under parachute. These payloads were GPS units that sent telemetry back to the ground, where it was picked up by a YAGI antenna (I think that's what it's called) and fed into a laptop for recording and analysis.

Eight successful flights, but big... no, huge... HUGE, drift because of the wind. One team recovered their cansat almost three miles downwind.

I helped to prep a couple of the rockets, and later did a shift at the high-power pads doing launch control duties.

I finished that up just in time to grab a quick bite (PBJ, food of the gods) before a coworker of mine arrived with her nieces and nephews. Sammy and William each prepped a rocket with me, while Miranda decided she'd rather not. She claimed not to like loud, noisy things, which is understandable with two brothers, eh?

So we three got rockets ready to fly, pictures were taken, and we went to the launch area. Once the rockets were on the pads, one by one they were launched, after the Launch Control Officer read the important information over the PA system, including the fact that this was Sammy's first launch with NOVAAR and William's first rocket ever.

The flights went well, and afterwards the kids and I went out to the field to recover them (darn wind!). I gave Sammy and William their rockets to keep, which might seem like a nice thing to do, but it's really very selfish of me. See, by giving away two rockets, I'll have to build two more in order to keep my display rack full.

Hopefully they'll be back at another launch soon.

Other than that, not much happened all day. I broke one rocket (my Odin's Spear) when the wind blew it off the table and I didn't see it. Stepped backwards right onto it. I also had a stabilizer snap off of an Edmonds rocket glider, but that's already on the workbench, glue drying from the repair.

Mandatory stats stuff for my records:

1. BolAeroZ - B6-4 - this Shrox plan features an asymetrical fin planform and today there was just too much wind for it. It was only marginally stable, but was high enough not to be dangerous. I suggested that if Sammy and his dad cut the forwardmost fins off, then the rocket would fly much better.

2. Air Guitar - B6-4 - William liked this rocket for the paint job (so did the the LCO), which was patterned after Eddie Van Halen's guitar, hence the name. A very nice flight, recovered safely on a streamer.

3. Groove Tube - B6-4 - This flight was mine, and it was it's usual beautiful boost. Tube fins tend to not be as affected by the wind, at least on the way up. She drifted quite a bit farther than the other two rockets because she went much higher.

And that was it for me for the day. One actual flight made. Darn wind. I still had big fun, because rockets and kids go together like PBJ.

Posted by: Ted at 07:59 PM | category: Rocketry
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Daughter Mookie, my wife and I went to the eye doctor last night for exams.
Rachael and I both got dilated and checked out, but Liz got there late after work so she didn't want the dilation. I mean, she *really* didn't want the dilation. I helpfully volunteered to bring her in one evening after work so that she could get dilated and I could drive her home safely. Ooooo, she wasn't happy with me.

I owed her, and payback is a bitch. See, Liz went to the doctor last week for her regular visit, and while she was there she set up an appointment for my annual physical (of which the last one was two years ago and 15 years before that). For some reason - Liz claims that it's love and concern for my health, I call bullshit - she pointed out to the doctor that I'm overdue for a colonoscopy. In fact, I've never had one. It's freakin' duly noted in my records now.

Dilation vs. colonoscopy. I still think she's getting the better of the deal. Being the lemon/lemonaid kinda guy that I am, I was looking for the silver lining here and I think that, just maybe, if you ask nicely I might live-blog the colonoscopy. Won't that be fun?

Posted by: Ted at 05:50 AM | category: Boring Stories
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Pimp My Cubicle. We're doomed I tell ya. Freakin' doomed.

Posted by: Ted at 05:06 AM | category: Links
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The title is one of those eternal questions, asked in a purely spiritual sense.

I've been very naughty because I haven't written about this sooner, but it should be alright because "salvation is negotiable". At least, so says Father Nookie of the Church of Chaos.

No, my meds are fine, thanks.

See, it's like this... a while back I got this package in the mail. It was small, but packed full of concentrated coolness. As I pulled item after item out of the box, I was amazed at the generousity of Blue. What this guy did was to send me a care package full of music and poker goodies.

If you've been to Blue's place, you know that besides his day gig as a 'puter drone, that he's a blogger and podcaster. He's also a musician with a studio in his basement, and several self-produced CD's in his catalog. And that's what was in that little box.

Not long ago he finished up the soundtrack to a television documentary, and he included a copy of that. It's perfect for the Friday afternoon commute, when I need to stay calm. As an added bonus, being mostly instrumental, I can make up my own lyrics to serenade the idiot-du-jour in traffic.

This morning (and what reminded me to finally write something about this), I listened again to Church of Chaos: Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins. Blue describes this as "industrial dance", and it's chock full of memorable wordplay set to catchy, hook-filled music. Great stuff, if you like the style. I do, it's excellent cranked up during my early morning drive to work.

Like I said, there were several CD's in the box, and I'll talk about the others real soon now. In the meantime, I really do recommend Blue's music, because everything I've heard has been good times.

This week Blue is in the studio, working on his latest Booze Monkey offering. Sometime this summer (I think), he'll be playing a live gig in Winchester, Virginia. I'm planning on going, and I think that it would make an excellent blogmeet as well. Stay tuned and I'll keep y'all up to date on future plans.

According to Miss Sin, the average length, erect, is 5 1/4 inches. So there's a physical answer to that metaphysical question.

Posted by: Ted at 05:15 AM | category: Links
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I like this.

A win win win situation. Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border, use the dirt to raise the levies in New Orleans and put the Florida alligators into the moat. Any other problems you would like me to solve?

Hmmm... spam? While we're digging the moat and filling it with gators...

Posted by: Ted at 05:54 AM | category: Square Pegs
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And that's a very good thing.

Over at RocketForge, we see:

Masten Space Systems started taking payload orders today! $199 CanSats at an introductory price of $99! Full 1kilogram custom payloads for $250! Sign up now!

I've briefly mentioned CanSat before here and here. There are a couple of good follow-on links there, and I really recommend visiting Pratt Hobbies, where you can find plenty of useful kits to get your inner-rocket scientist jump started.

On a related note, this weekend I'll be supervising several teams of students as they assemble high power rockets to loft CanSat payloads. Altitudes will be less than 4,500 feet vs. the several tens of thousands of feet that Mastens is working towards, but the concepts are the same. Rocket science is rocket science.

Posted by: Ted at 08:58 PM | category: Space Program
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Remember, Google is Satan your friend.

Among the results returned for "Candy Baby Jesus":

Amazon sells a Nativity Chocolate Candy Mold set. Oops, "not available". Dang, 'cause that was just about perfect for when the Pope drops in and you want to offer him a little something sweet. I'm unclear on the etiquette here, would you nibble the savior feet first or head first? I think it would be funny to make one of these and gnaw the heads off of all the figures. Oh, and use white chocolate... hey, I just played the race card!!! Go, me!

Mapgirl, I'll save you a seat. Look for me near the boiling lake of blood.

Posted by: Ted at 07:02 PM | category: Links
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My thanks go out today to every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform.

My grandfather served in WWI.

My great uncle served in WWII. This is the citation from his Medal of Honor:

NEPPEL, RALPH G.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company M, 329th Infantry, 83d Infantry Division. Place and date: Birgel, Germany, 14 December 1944. Entered service at: Glidden, Iowa. Birth: Willey, Iowa. G.O. No.: 77, 10 September 1945. Citation: He was leader of a machinegun squad defending an approach to the village of Birgel, Germany, on 14 December 1944, when an enemy tank, supported by 20 infantrymen, counterattacked. He held his fire until the Germans were within 100 yards and then raked the foot soldiers beside the tank killing several of them. The enemy armor continued to press forward and, at the pointblank range of 30 yards, fired a high-velocity shell into the American emplacement, wounding the entire squad. Sgt. Neppel, blown 10 yards from his gun, had 1 leg severed below the knee and suffered other wounds. Despite his injuries and the danger from the onrushing tank and infantry, he dragged himself back to his position on his elbows, remounted his gun and killed the remaining enemy riflemen. Stripped of its infantry protection, the tank was forced to withdraw. By his superb courage and indomitable fighting spirit, Sgt. Neppel inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy and broke a determined counterattack.

He passed away in 1987. He was named "Handicapped Iowan of the Year" in 1970, and in 1989 the VA honored him by naming a wing of the Iowa City VA Hospital for him. A VFW post in Carroll, Iowa continues to award to scholarships each year in his name to the children of veterans.

My Dad was in the Air Force during the Korean conflict. He wasn't in-theater, and was medically retired after a devastating illness.

On my wife's side of the family, I know that Liz's Dad was a Marine, and at least two of her uncles served in Vietnam and made the Air Force their career.

Our son served a tour in the US Navy on the submarine USS Philadelphia. That boat is specially equipped to deliver special forces, and although he can't and won't say, I believe that they were directly involved in the initial stages of the Iraq invasion.

Finally, I'll include Shaun. Shaun has served two tours in Iraq with the US Army, and is the son of a friend that I served with during my Air Force days in Germany.

Thank you all.

Previous memorial posts on Rocket Jones can be found here and here.

Posted by: Ted at 12:05 PM | category: Links
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To those who snickered when I mentioned that I program in COBOL on a mainframe computer, I offer up the following:

main.frame ( 'mAn-"frAm noun): An obsolete device still used by thousands of obsolete companies and government entities, serving billions of obsolete customers and obsolete constituents, making huge obsolete profits for obsolete shareholders, and this year's obsolete models run twice as fast as last year's.

Posted by: Ted at 11:20 AM | category: SciTech
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Pixy Misa pointed out this nifty Java applet that graphs your website. Check out Rocket Jones in the extended entry. more...

Posted by: Ted at 09:19 AM | category: Links
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I should have mentioned yesterday that both Dick Stafford's Rocket Dungeon and Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge have been added to the blogroll. Of course, if I would've done that, then I wouldn't have had a post today.

Posted by: Ted at 08:10 PM | category: Links
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