Phase 3 of my "Secret Plan to Increase Our Emergency Food Supply" is now complete.

Just kidding. We've officially adopted Ozzie the rabbit as our own. This points out the major flaw in the "Foster Care for Homeless Rabbits" idea, which is that we wind up falling in love with 'em and don't want to give them up.

Posted by: Ted at 06:00 AM | category: Square Pegs
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I turned on the Vs. network this afternoon, looking for the hockey game, but instead they were showing professional Bull Riding. These guys are wearing helmets and face masks instead of cowboy hats. What the hell?

Posted by: Ted at 10:38 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I rediscovered Madfish Willie's excellent banner rotation script yesterday, and remembered that I had modified it to display banners of differing sizes (like, oh, here!), but never implemented it on Rocket Jones.

Until now. I've installed the script, and have begun the process to add all the banners to the mix. So far, it's just eight of the early ones, and I'll add more as time allows this weekend. All told, there have been 45 banners flying over this site!

Hit refresh and you'll probably see a new banner. If not, try it again because you probably reloaded the same one again (random will do that sometimes).

Enjoy!

Posted by: Ted at 10:14 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I'm sure there's an innocent explanation...

...but where's the fun in that?

"Ooooh yeah, Bossy... harder, harder... Tenderize that flank-steak!"

Posted by: Ted at 11:48 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Snippet:

I'm not the King of Stupid, but I am on the ten-dollar bill.

Posted by: Ted at 05:24 AM | category: Square Pegs
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The newest fad at the supermarket is "All Angus Beef". That's right, if you eat those inferior breeds of cow, you aren't getting "All Angus Beef", and that is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable in some vague way.

But what about those other poor inferior breeds of cow? Who's looking out for their feelings? What about their self-esteem? My God, you insensitive bastards, you could be permanently damaging their self-image! It's not their fault that they're born other than "All Angus Beef"! Who are you to judge that cow? Thanks to you, who knows what horror that poor bullied and picked upon cow could inflict upon an unsuspecting herd when he goes *Mad Cow*?!?!?!?!?!

See how fucking stupid that sounds?

Posted by: Ted at 04:02 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Weather-wise, it was nice enough to (almost) make up for the lousy weekends we've had lately. Bright blue skies, gentle breezes, temps in the 70's... absolutely beautiful.

Saturday morning was spent sleeping in, which is something I almost never do. Once I dragged myself out of bed, we went to work in the front yard. Staking new trellises, planting things, fertilizing and readying the beds for the arrival of the new flowers. It was very pleasant and great therapy to help me relax after the stress of the work week (and it was a total bitch of a week at work).

On Saturday evening Liz and I went to see the Potomac Nationals take on the Frederick Keys. It was a pretty good game, and the handicap seating at the stadium is almost at field level, right behind third base. Not too shabby. I also realized that I wasn't shocked at the concession prices, mainly because for stadium prices, they weren't outrageous. My biggest problem at sporting events is that I forget that as soon as you buy that ticket, all prices are calculated in Italian lira but paid in American dollars.

The after-game fireworks show was glorious, and even better than last year. There were a lot of folks down from Maryland for the game - the Keys are a Baltimore Orioles farm club - and they were amazed at the show, and even more amazed that the fireworks are done every Saturday during the season.

On Sunday I took Liz up to Baltimore. Her and her sister are flying down to Florida (in the air as I type) for their parent's 50th anniversary. Brother-in-law just put his boat in the water on Saturday, so we spent a lazy afternoon cruising the Cheasapeake bay on their 32-footer. Three years after Hurricane Isabel put a hurt on the area, there are still many homes being repaired. A lot of hideous "McMansions" are going up too, as folks with money buy property from old-timers who couldn't afford to rebuild after the storm wiped out their retirement dreams. Danny has been boating in the area his whole life, and I loved his little bits of history and background story he dropped into the conversation. "Back in the 50's, that island had a small amusement park on it. Those pilings are all that's left of the railroad bridge that used to connect to the mainland." "Those houses are all less than five years old, and that bar has been there for at least thirty years. Live bands every weekend since forever. And now the new homeowners are raising hell about the noise."

Got home last night refreshed and recharged, but still not ready to go back to work. It's even harder when you know that it's just as nice out today as it was all weekend.

Posted by: Ted at 10:56 AM | category: Square Pegs
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After spending most of a year swearing that I was going to plant boxwoods in the front of the house, eliminating the need for anything but an annual trimming and mulching, I ordered flowers for the front yard last week.

Not a shrub in the lot. What can I say? I'm a flower guy.

Two new clematis to share a new trellis, one pink and one white, hopefully their bloom season will be different enough to extend the color. I love clematis, and already have one growing in another bed.

In the bed along the front walk will be blue asters, white dragonflowers (variety of snapdragon and a Virginia native, according to the catalog), and pink "pincushion" flowers (a much nicer name than the scientific scabiosa.

The front bed is getting a hedge of lavender. Should smell wonderful, attract butterflies and maybe hummingbirds, and tons of bees too, to keep the (bleepin') neighborhood kids away so they'll quit teasing the dogs.

Not a simplification in the garden plan... not by a long shot. But, they're all perennials. I'll take my small victories when I find them. And the flowers this year should be gorgeous.

Posted by: Ted at 06:29 AM | category: Square Pegs
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As I was finishing lunch at my desk, it dawned on me that I haven't had any meat since Wednesday.

Posted by: Ted at 11:14 AM | category: Square Pegs
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When granny drives, all you can see through the back window is her hair and hands on the wheel as she peers over the dash.

When homey drives, all you can see through the back window is his do-rag and one hand on the wheel as he peers over the dash.

Either granny is hot shizzle, or homeboy looks like a silly fool. I know which way I'm leaning.

Posted by: Ted at 08:10 PM | category: Square Pegs
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Hey there, friends and family! It's time for our 42nd Annual* Blogger Meet at the ballpark!!!

Invitations are going out to DC metro area friends and bloggers for the first blogmeet game of the year which will be Saturday, May 5th at 7:05pm as the Potomac Nationals take on the Wilmington Blue Rocks. After the game they have a pretty good fireworks show and you might even see Buckethead's son whack me in the jewels with a bat. Again.

No invitation? No problem! Just email me and I'll add you to the list. We've always managed to get a block of seats together ($9.00 a ticket), but that's not garaunteed (never can spell that word).

The P-Nats (I cringe every time I hear the team nickname) play in Woodbridge, Virginia, in Prince William County (directions here).

Liz and I will be going to the game this Saturday, May April 21st, if anyone is interested in meeting up. We're going to check out the wheelchair access seating and see what it's like.

Also, if anyone would like to set up something similar with another local minor league team, let's do it!

*42nd Annual? Yep. If 42 is the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, then baseball is the answer to why we bother.

Posted by: Ted at 07:16 PM | category: Square Pegs
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1 uh, this saturday is april 21st not may.

Posted by: michele at April 18, 2007 12:27 PM (0cwiO)

2 Obviously I was thinking in dog-months.

You're right, it's April 21st.

Posted by: Ted at April 18, 2007 07:32 PM (+OVgL)

3 We still on for this? I'm trying to persuade someone to make the drive with me (i.e., may or may not need a last-second ticket). In any case, I'm looking forward to it!

Posted by: dawn at April 29, 2007 05:30 PM (jm3xl)

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I updated some links in the sidebar for folks who've moved and pruned away a few dead branches.

I'm also (still) playing over at my Minx beta site.

Posted by: Ted at 05:20 AM | category: Square Pegs
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I felt like crap all weekend and spent most of it sleeping and laying around.

The recently added "recently viewed" box over on the sidebar is longer than normal now, because I watched more movies than I usually get a chance to see. There will be at least one new movie review coming up too.

Posted by: Ted at 05:51 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Dark chocolate-covered blueberries!

Posted by: Ted at 08:16 AM | category: Square Pegs
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It's going to be ugly this year for the Washington Nationals baseball team. Fielding a team mostly comprised of cast-offs, wannabe's and never-were's, a lot of preseason pundits proclaim them the worst of the league this season. So far, they're playing like it.

I don't hate them, but I have no love for them either. For all the talk about how much baseball means to DC, the fact remains that on opening day they drew 40,000 in a 56,000 seat stadium. It's not going to get better, and they need a miracle of biblical proportions - ala the Amazin' Mets - just to reach up to the level of lousy. Opening day may well have been their high point for the next couple of seasons. So much depends on this new ownership.

...Last in the American National League.

Here's hoping for a Washington/Baltimore World Series in the very near future.

Posted by: Ted at 06:15 AM | category: Square Pegs
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The forecast called for a little snow, more towards our end of the area. I woke up this morning to about an inch of the fluffy white stuff. It's already mostly gone now, but the return of cold weather means I get major snuggles all night. And when the dog moves, I can cuddle my wife.

Posted by: Ted at 11:10 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Over on the sidebar I've added a blip that lists the last few movies that I've watched. Where possible, I'll include links to IMDB or other reviews.

For the complete collection of reviews, articles and posts about those crappy movies that I love so much, check out the Rocket Jones Cult Flick Archives.

Posted by: Ted at 05:15 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Remember the tick? As of today I'm taking antibiotics for Lyme Disease.

Posted by: Ted at 02:15 PM | category: Square Pegs
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A lot of people say they don't hate Wal-Mart, per se, it's the Wal-Mart customers that they can't stand. We went last night and that was an apt description.

My wife brought up that in our experience, compared to suburban Wal-Mart's, the small town Wal-Marts are friendlier and less likely to be overrun by the freak show. In her words, "less teeth, more genuine smiles". That too is an apt description.

Smalltown, USA might have the occasional oddball or two, but suburbia has more of them packed into a given area and they all want to shop at Wal-Mart. At that level of concentration, we don't call them 'eccentric', we call them assholes.

True story: Checkout lines were very long and slow, and I'm standing behind some guy and his wife. Among the items in their cart was a package of some sort of Easter candy, you know, six or eight individually wrapped chocolate whatevers. After a while, he opens the package, unwraps a candy and eats it. Several minutes later he eats another, and then another. They finally get to the checkout, and he was disappointed that the scanner charged him full price for the half-empty package of candy.

His wife proudly crowed, "see? Told'ja!"

Judging by the amount of Easter candy in their cart, I think it's too late to prevent them from breeding.

Posted by: Ted at 05:58 AM | category: Square Pegs
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There's a screech owl that lives in the woods behind our house. I don't know if it's an actual screech owl, but if I were naming owls then this one would definitely get that name. It sounds like a man in abject terror, and the throat-ripping scream is cut off mid-sound as if he were suddenly decapitated.

Eerie and disturbing. Frequent too. I've kinda grown to love it.

Posted by: Ted at 05:32 AM | category: Square Pegs
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