I half-expect to find virtual Hoffa buried deep in some forgotten directory.

Posted by: Ted at 02:50 PM | category: Square Pegs
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It was rather surreal. Ladies hockey, the arena music starts in and it's La Bamba. So I'm watching Sweden vs. Russia, playing in Italy, and a Mexican folk song sung by an American teenager gets the crowd fired up.

Later they played the Banana Boat song made famous by Belefonte (Deyyyy-oh!).

Even later, I watched the USA ladies dominate the Swiss.

Posted by: Ted at 02:37 PM | category: Square Pegs
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This bug, whatever it is, has officially kicked my ass. I've been dueling with it for more than a week, and even took last Friday off in the hopes of getting over it once and for all. No joy. I left work early yesterday, came home and napped, then slept 13 hours last night (not uninterupted, as there were two nocturnal dashes made to the loo), and still felt rotten this morning, so I called in. Bah.

Not that I'll use the "free" time to catch up on blogging, mind you. Unless you want to see the ugly and venomous side of me, 'cuz I'm not in a good mood.

Later.

Posted by: Ted at 10:47 AM | category: Square Pegs
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So, where the hell have I been? I can hear you asking, or maybe it's just the voices. It's partly complicated, and partly work-related, and partly none of your business (which I realize goes completely contrary to my blogging style, but oh well).

Work related part: If you've gotten your W2's or 1099's already, then find the person responsibile for it in your universe and hug them or buy them lunch, for they probably worked their asses off to get it done. Trust me on this one.

Complicated part: I have claimed the small bedroom upstairs as my own. It was originally my son's bedroom, and then became the sewing room when he left home. When the girls flew the coop left the next, Mom took the big bedroom as her sewing room and the small room became the guest room. Screw that. Guests can sleep on the floor.

The room has been renamed the "North Den" and I'm in the process of moving in. So far it contains an ultra-comfortable couch/hideabed, a large television with DVD and VCR, bookshelves, and my entire collection of cinematic masterpieces.

What it does not contain is a PC, although I tried this weekend to remedy that, but the *#^@&!!! wireless refuses to detect our network. One possible solution is to move the PC into a corner of the sewing room where there is a wired connection to our network. Less than optimal, but not terrible.

I've also been experiencing some wrist pain, ala early warning signs of the dreaded carpal tunnel. I've cut back on my computer time, which means surf time at home because my profession means mucho working with at the office. I have a new wrist brace, which is working well. I'm considering dying it black and adding chrome studs. Or maybe I'll just claim excessive masturbation due to a viagra addiction. Either has to be better than the truth.

None of your business part: self-explanatory, except that it has nothing to do with viagra addiction.

So I'm around, just not as much. Been really, truly, insanely busy. I had some cool movies lined up to watch and then review, but got wonderfully distracted by the Mummy Legacy Collection (watched six Mummy movies since Thursday night).

Not enough hours in a day, not enough years in a lifetime. I've got to get hold of some of those tannah leaves.

Posted by: Ted at 05:23 PM | category: Square Pegs
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For those who may be curious, here's an update on the girls.

Our oldest daughter Robyn is quietly putting the finishing touches on her college education. She's working two jobs, getting good grades, and is looking forward to graduating, after which she'll prosper. I have no doubt about that.

Rachael (Mookie), on the other hand, does nothing quietly. She made the Dean's List in her first semester and is preparing for a three week-long school trip to London this Spring. As exciting as that sounds, she may be even more hyped over a possible summer job. She's been offered a chance to be Wardrobe Mistress at an opera house near Montecello in central Virginia. Besides pay, the job comes with an apartment. A lot of it will be the typical scut work that all newbies have to endure at the start of a career, but all experience is valuable.

Proud Papa, signing off.

Posted by: Ted at 12:02 PM | category: Square Pegs
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1 Congrats, Dad, and best regards to the kids.

While it's not as spectacular an achievement as your girls, Brian has been training new people at his Starbucks and is in line for a supervisor job when he turns 18. I'm just as proud of him as I would be if he was a nuclear scientist. Besides, I get a family discount on my mood-altering beverages. What could be better?

Posted by: Doug Pratt at January 26, 2006 08:55 PM (ia2zV)

2 I know a bit about Brian's background, and it's easy to imagine him becoming a regional manager for Starbucks in Japan. He's got his act together.

Posted by: Ted at January 27, 2006 12:11 PM (blNMI)

3 Honestly, Ted, which do you prefer: Embarrasing your kids, or bragging about them? ;~)

Posted by: Victor at January 27, 2006 10:23 PM (l+W8Z)

4 Actually Dad, It's officially mine. It was agreed yesterday, so I'm all good to go with the job. I'll be working for Ash Lawn Opera as Top Hand and Costume Mistress.

Not as much scut work as you'd think, though still a lot.

Posted by: Rachael at January 28, 2006 09:59 AM (lhDGd)

5 Victor, if I really wanted to embarrass the kids, I'd have mentioned that Rachael was conceived in Luxembourg.

Posted by: Ted at January 28, 2006 10:54 AM (+OVgL)

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Recently, at my wife's work:

Lady: Those are beautiful earrings.

Wife: Thank you. They were a Christmas present from my husband.

Lady: He's either very nice or he was very naughty.

Wife: He's very nice.

Lady: Then *you* must have been very naughty.

LOL

Posted by: Ted at 09:53 AM | category: Square Pegs
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...skewered onto the pointy nose of the Concorde. It's been insanely busy and hectic around the ol' homestead lately, hence the relative quiet around Rocket Jones. Count your blessings, people.

I have been doing *some* visiting, but at the end of the day I'm usually so burnt out that I just fire up the aggregator and skim sites that way.

What Ahnold said.

Posted by: Ted at 09:46 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Our power just came back on a little bit ago. It went out early yesterday afternoon. In almost 16 years living here, that 22 hour stretch sans electricity exceeded the old record by about 16 hours.

The culprit is the wind. It's been relentless for the last couple of days, and trees and power lines are down all over the area. Throw in intermittent rain, some blowing snow and bone-chilling wind chill temps, and it's been fun fun fun.

We couldn't get an estimate on how long before power would be restored, so I took matters into my own hands and this morning headed to the grocery store for bags of ice. Not two hours later the lights flickered on. It always happens that way, you just have to use it to your advantage, eh?

In the meantime, our monthly club rocket launch was scrubbed. We can deal with rain and snow and most everything else Mother Nature can fling, but we can't launch in high winds. And of course, today is bright and sunny and the wind is still whipping ass, so no rockets for Ted this weekend.

On the plus side, it's amazing how much stuff you can get done when you're not parked in front of the computer.

Posted by: Ted at 03:47 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I talked about Freedom Park in Rosslyn, Virginia, and how one of the exhibits is an actual segment of the Berlin wall (nine complete sections) and an East German guard tower.

For the last couple of days, they've had the street blocked off so that they could remove those pieces of the wall and relocate them to the new home of the Newseum in downtown DC. Not that anyone asked me for my opinion, but I personally think those historic barriers belong in Freedom Park, not in a museum dedicated to news.

Posted by: Ted at 05:19 AM | category: Square Pegs
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My wife calls me on her way to work every morning. From the other day:

Wife: My battery's dead.

Me: How did that happen?

Wife: I don't know.

Me: Did you leave your lights on?

Wife: My cell phone battery, not my car.

Me: Oh.

Wife: You think like a guy.

To be precise, I think like a guy who doesn't own a cell phone.

Posted by: Ted at 04:36 PM | category: Square Pegs
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(in the extended entry) more...

Posted by: Ted at 06:54 PM | category: Square Pegs
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As they say, read the whole thing. more...

Posted by: Ted at 12:02 PM | category: Square Pegs
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The ball dropped before Dick Clark did.

Posted by: Ted at 08:46 AM | category: Square Pegs
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We'll be spending the afternoon cheering on the Washington Capitals as they take on the hated Philadelphia Flyers. In addition to Mrs. Rocket Ted, Mookie, and our son, we will be joined by Dawn, Nic, and Victor.

Special thanks to Nic for arranging this and getting the tickets. If we get into a brawl with those lowlife inbred Philly drunkards overly-boistrous Flyers fans, I'll make sure to post pictures.

Update: What a game!!! The Capitals won 4-3 in a shootout. Forsberg was amazing, and Ovechkin was even more so. Great company, great times. Happy New Year to everyone!

Oh, and... Yay Hats!!!

Posted by: Ted at 06:51 AM | category: Square Pegs
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I'd think it was funny if someone started "Brokeback Blogging".

Posted by: Ted at 04:51 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Actor Michael Vale, best known for his appearances on Dunkin' Donuts commericials ("it's time to make the donuts"), has died from complications of diabetes at age 83.

Posted by: Ted at 05:51 AM | category: Square Pegs
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Klingons wouldn't just like pumpkin pie.

They'd go to war over it.

Posted by: Ted at 07:52 PM | category: Square Pegs
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I have this brown spot on the back of my hand, below the base of my thumb knuckle.

Liz thinks it's an age spot, but I've had it for years, and it's the only one. I look at it, and wonder if all the caucasion skin cells on my hand didn't get together and decide that all the darker skin cells should be segregated into their own little area. If they did, and the darker skin cells ever decide to rebel, they're sitting right at the base of my thumb, where they can take over an important digit and really raise hell.

I just wish they could all get along, like on my shoulders, where the freckles have co-existed peacefully for years with the rest of me.

Posted by: Ted at 05:11 AM | category: Square Pegs
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New banner, same old attitude.

Posted by: Ted at 04:41 PM | category: Square Pegs
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So Italy issues an arrest warrant for 22 American CIA agents.

What will probably happen is that we'll ignore it, but wouldn't it be fun instead to kidnap a bunch of Italian aid relief workers in Iraq? Demand a dismissal of the charges or we'll make them sit in a cold room and listen to disco or something equally evil. Trust me, the Italian government will cave.

Posted by: Ted at 03:25 PM | category: Square Pegs
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1 Ooh! Ooh! I've got it! They can be forced to listen to Mariah Carey performs the AC/DC catalogue. Or Richard Clayderman performs a tribute to Black Sabbath!

Posted by: Silver Blue at December 24, 2005 08:40 AM (J+yO6)

2 Heh, I heard Tom Lehrer and the Clancy Brothers. If ya like (and if I ever find my microphones) I'll make a recording and post it next year!

(This comment was obviously meant for the above post with the song lyric, but I got this message:

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Odd that.)

Posted by: Tuning Spork at December 24, 2005 05:49 PM (Ae/is)

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