October 22, 2003
Man does not live by blood and gore alone
Criss Angel, magician extraordinaire, will have a special on the SciFi Channel at 9pm Halloween.
Posted by: Ted at 09:47 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Someone loves me very very much
I had to take half a day off with my wife today to deal with some things, and afterwards we did some shopping. I wound up with the following DVD's:
Killer Klowns from Outer SpaceThe Last House on the Left
Return of the Living Dead
WWII movie 3-pack including A Walk in the Sun, Gung Ho!, and Go For Broke!
Excalibur Best Buy* has a sale going on, three for $20.00. The first three titles were from that deal. Other available titles were Amityville Horror, Burnt Offerings, Species and Child's Play, among others. Fun stuff for those who like their horror a little cheesy. The WWII movies are the kinds of flicks I watch on AMC and TMT sometimes, starring folks like Van Johnson, Robert Mitchum and Dana Andrews. Sorry Victor, no Joe Don Baker. Excalibur was a freak find at the Wal-Mart bargain bin. Classic. * I hate Best Buy with a passion because they sell those crappy extended waranties and then weasle out of honoring them even though it breaks the heart of the little girl trying to get the service they promised. But sometimes you go where the deal is, and as long as you know that the bastards will screw you over given half a chance, well, forewarned is forearmed. Ya know?
Posted by: Ted at 08:27 PM | Comments (43) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Whole lotta shakin' (up) going on
Colorado left wing Paul Kariya will be out indefinitely with a sprained right wrist, so the Avalanche acquired left wing Steve Konowalchuk in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Something has to be done with the listless Caps. I just didn't expect it to be Kono. Wow. So when is Jagr going to the Rangers?Posted by: Ted at 08:09 PM | Comments (46) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Ice cold vs. cool
My beloved San Jose Sharks are ice cold, but this site explaining some of the science behind hockey is pretty cool.
In (not very) related news, I'm in 6th place (out of 20 teams) in my fantasy hockey league. And no, I still have no clue what I'm doing. Also, it looks like the Sharks have some connection to the San Jose Stealth, a brand new professional lacrosse team starting up in a fledgling western league. For those of you not from the northeast U.S., lacrosse is a wicked cool sport that's kind of a cross between hockey and soccer and rugby. It was taught to early settlers by the native indians, who almost certainly didn't have a team called the 'Stealth'. This link takes you to a virtual tour of the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame.Posted by: Ted at 08:58 AM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinaaaaah!
These might be the favorite cookies in our house. They certainly don't last long when I bake them. If you like your cookies soft and chewy, then you'll love these.
Snickerdoodles Ingredients½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
1½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract 2¾ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt 2 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, 1½ cups sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Mix the 2 Tbsp white sugar and ground cinnamon together in a small dish.
4. Shape the dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Roll balls of dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets to cool completely. Makes 4 dozen.
Posted by: Ted at 08:29 AM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Baseball History 5
The Chicago Cubs put together a legendary double-play combination in the early 1900's. "Tinker to Evers to Chance" were immortalized in a poem by Franklin P. Adams. They were elected to the Hall of Fame together in 1946.
They weren't the only team to have a legendary defense in that era though. The Philidelphia Athletics boasted their "$100,000 Infield" (photo here - the guy second from the left was a teammate but not a member of the infield). They earned that nickname when Owner/manager Connie Mack claimed that even that amount of money could not get him to break up his stellar infield. Comprised of first baseman John "Stuffy" McInnis, second baseman Eddie Collins, shortstop John "Jack" Barry, and third baseman Frank "Home Run" Baker, the four did eventually move on to other teams but continued to have a major impact on baseball. Combined, the four members of the $100,000 Infield appeared in 12 of the 16 World Series played from 1910 to 1925 - on the winning side eight times.Posted by: Ted at 05:08 AM | Comments (42) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
October 21, 2003
Excuse me, I have to scream now
I'm watching the World Series and Pudge Rodriguez comes to bat, and the graphic along with his name tells me that his favorite movie is Scarface and his favorite musical artist is Yanni.
WHO GIVES A SHIT!!!!! Freaking World Series brought to you by the XFL. Tell me how much money he makes, what his batting average is against left handed dyslexic kleptomaniacs, or that he doesn't change his underwear during winning streaks, but for Pete's sake don't tell me non-baseball related stupidity. I get enough of that elsewhere. UPDATE: Yanni is in the stands. So is Mike Tyson. I say put 'em together and Mike gets a meal, and gets put away for good. With leniency for doing in freakin' Yanni.Posted by: Ted at 09:27 PM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Laugh and the pain goes away
On the little opening sequence of The World According To Jim, Jim Belushi's wife and her brother are talking about how long 'he' has to stay with them. The answer is "could be until the Cubs win the World Series".
Jim Belushi comes down the stairs with the Third Base Guy!* He's in hiding, but dressed just like he was at the game (headphones, jacket, etc). Jim tells him that his new name is "Ed... Ed Gameblower. No, sorry, that was mean. How about Ed Dreamwrecker." Then the wife goes to throw Jim his car keys, and you can guess what happens. Funny as hell. * I don't know if it was the actual guy, but the resemblance was there.Posted by: Ted at 09:10 PM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinaaaaaaah!
Pixy's classic Ranchovie post, and subsequent comments by LeeAnn and Susie, have inspired me to share this recipe.
Mock Octopus Chowder 1 can mushroom soup1 cup pencil erasers Combine. Heat and serve.
Posted by: Ted at 12:49 PM | Comments (50) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Rocketing Around the Blogosphere
Short but intense. Busy busy week.
The guys at Random Nuclear Strikes keep posting quality stuff. As I scrolled through their blog, I couldn’t decide whether to link to the bit about rebels without a clue, or the one about the legacy of Ronald Reagan, or Noah. Until I found their new effort, the Bellicose Woman’s Brigade, and its primary topic – the right of self defense. Personal note to oldest daughter and Mookie: go read this, and think about it. While I’m on that subject, go check out the Shooter’s Carnival too. Lots of good stuff for beginners, in a group blog format. Entries by Publicola, Alphecca, and Say Uncle. There’s a nice little debate going on over at Across the Atlantic about the most beautiful airplane ever, prompted by the soon-to-be-retired Concorde. This guy always has something thought-provoking to read. You should stop by, and while you’re there ask him why I’m not on his blogroll. There’s always a party going on at Madfish Willie’s Cyber Saloon. Mr. Helpful is going to be posting chapters of his novel online (there are a lot of bloggers writing novels, which I suppose isn’t all that surprising). Megan is also writing a new story for the Second Spherewide Short Story Symposium. With an owie, no less. That is a dedicated wordsmith. Kin's back, and he's picked up right where he left off. Nic talks of charity walks and poor pumpkin crops. Blame Canada! TwoDragons is having problems with our comment routines not remembering her. We discussed the problem and unofficially decided that it’s the ‘system’ keeping you down. New peeps. Say hello. Alright, lunch is over. Later.Posted by: Ted at 12:14 PM | Comments (49) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Musical tastes
Oldest daughter forgot one of her CD's when she went away to college. I threw it in my case so it didn't get scratched up, and it's been sitting there for a couple of months now. Today at work I popped it into my little boom box.
Robyn, I mean this in the most loving way possible: you have rotten taste in music.Posted by: Ted at 08:06 AM | Comments (50) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
I needed this
Grand-Mu Pixy Misa over at Ambient Irony has posted the funniest thing I've read in a long long time. Make sure you click the links.
Posted by: Ted at 07:56 AM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Baseball History 4
Ballplayers, like every other American citizen, understand the importance of giving one's self for their country. Hall of Famer Morgan Bulkeley served in the Civil War. Twenty-five Hall of Fame members served in World War I. Thirty-five Hall of Fame members and more than 500 major league players served in World War II. 95 percent of the players who were major leaguers in 1941 eventually served in World War II in some capacity. Five Hall of Famers served America during the Korean War. A few examples: Ted Williams flew for the US Marines during World War II and the Korean War, losing nearly six years of his career to military service. He was almost killed when he crash-landed his plane in Korea in 1953. Warren Spahn missed the entire 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons to war service and appeared in only four games in 1942. He won his 100th career game after his 30th birthday, but still won an amazing 363 games in his career. No left-hander has ever won as many. Detroit slugger Hank Greenberg was in the Army prior to Pearl Harbor and was discharged on December 5, 1941. After Pearl Harbor he voluntarily enlisted again as an officer candidate in the Air Corps. Pitcher Christy Mathewson was gassed while in the US Army in World War I and died several years later still suffering from the effects. Cleveland Indians hurler Bob Feller (from Iowa!) enlisted in 1942 and earned eight battle stars in combat during World War II. He missed four seasons while in the service. Here's a memorial and list of those ballplayers who gave their lives in service to their country.Posted by: Ted at 05:32 AM | Comments (44) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
October 20, 2003
Beating the rap
A US judge gave her ruling in rap when she dismissed a case by a former schoolmate of Eminem who was suing him for defamation.
"Mr Bailey complains that his (Eminem's) rap is trash, so he's seeking compensation in the form of cash," she wrote. "Bailey thinks he's entitled to some monetary gain, because Eminem used his name in vain. "The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact, they're an exaggeration of a childish act. "It is therefore this court's ultimate position, that Eminem is entitled to summary disposition," she concluded. Word.Posted by: Ted at 02:53 PM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Baseball History 3
The two greatest hitters you never heard of.
Josh Gibson was a catcher in the old negro leagues and one of the greatest sluggers the game has ever seen.* He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1972. Sadaharu Oh is the greatest slugger in Japanese baseball history**. He finished his career with more homers than Hank Aaron, and led the Japanese league in home runs for 13 straight seasons, averaging 45 homers a year. Upon his retirement, he became the manager for his team, the Yomiuri Giants. * Take most stats from the negro leagues with a grain of salt because accurate records were not always kept and the newspapers of the day often did not cover the games with any consistency. Historians usually try to determine the actual numbers by cross-checking multiple sources, some of dubious reliability. The numbers might not be correct, but there's no doubt that Josh Gibson was a monster at the plate. ** There is some dispute over whether Josh Gibson hit more homers in his career (see note above).Posted by: Ted at 05:49 AM | Comments (54) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Model Rocket Q & A for Beginners
Several years ago I put together a web site devoted strictly to model rocketry. One of the most popular pages was an introduction set up in question and answer format. Looking back on it, I can see that we've come a long way since those early days. I've copied that page into the extended entry, and added links where I could.
Posted by: Ted at 05:18 AM | Comments (47) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
October 19, 2003
Tour de Munuviana
When I do Rocketing Around the Blogosphere, I tend to link non-Munuvians. Thanks to Victor (again!) for the inspiration, I'll start doing an occasional post like this that is mainly, but not necessarily exclusively, Munuvian.
First things first, but not necessarily in that order. We've got trolls! Mr. Green had the first run-in with one JadeGold and soon many Munuvians were involved. Rather than try to make sense of the running battle, I'll just link to a few and let you sort it out for yourself. Lots of non-Munuvians on the link list at Heathers place too. They've also set up the Gold Enclave of Privileged Capitalists, complete with graphics supplied by Jennifer and Cherry. Woot! (can a privileged capitalist say that?) Later, Mookie got her own troll. I know the gentleman (notice I didn't say 'boy') in question, and I am not happy. In other MookieNews, there are recent reports of not just one, butPosted by: Ted at 06:01 PM | Comments (50) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Baseball History 2
Before 'the hated one' in Chicago, even before Buckner, there was a goof so outrageous that the others pale in comparison.
Merkle's Boner It happened in September of 1908, in NY City. The Cubs were facing the Giants with the pennant on the line. Each and every game was a must-win situation. The score was tied 1-1, in the bottom of the 9th, the Giants had runners on the corners with two outs. Fred Merkle, a 19 year-old rookie, was the runner on first. The next batter lined a single. The runner at third came home. It appeared to be a Giants victory, they had taken the lead for the pennant, the cheering fans swarmed the field. Merkle looked toward home plate and saw his teammate cross the plate. Merkle, startled as the crowd swarmed out of the bleachers onto the field, stopped. Thinking the game was over, Merkle sprinted off the field. But, he had forgotten an important rule of baseball, he did not go touch second. The Cubs retrieved the ball, went and touched second. The game was declared at tie because order could not be restored because the fans could not be removed from the field. The two teams went on to finish the season in a dead tie for the pennant. They had to play a one-game playoff. The Cubs won and went to the World Series. One loss, the loss, that day knocked the Giants out. Merkle was never forgiven by the NY fans for that blunder. He went on to have a solid career of 14 years and a lifetime average of 273. However, everywhere he went he always was reminded by fans of his terrible mistake on that day of his rookie season. A mistake that will always be called Merkle's Boner. Didjaknow: The ball that Bill Buckner muffed was hit by Mets batter Mookie Wilson. Our Mookie was indirectly named for him.Posted by: Ted at 08:53 AM | Comments (50) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
Positive ID
You guys are awesome! Victor commented about being called ‘sir’ the very first time, at the Bull and Finch in Boston (the television show ‘Cheers’ was based on this bar, but it really didn’t look anything like it). Truly inspirational, and it reminds me of another story. Like the druid tale, it meanders a bit, so once again I ask your indulgence...
In 1978, the legal drinking age in North Dakota was 18. The legal drinking age in Minnesota was 21. This wasn’t a problem as long as I stayed on my side of the state line. It became a problem because the best bars were on the Minnesota side of the line. In Grand Forks, North Dakota you had the Mr. Spud disco and that was about it. In East Grand Forks, Minnesota there were several nicer non-disco places to drink and meet girls. ‘Nicer’ is a relative term here, because it's not the cultural center of the universe. The NoDaks weren’t too fond of us basers either. I was an Air Force Security Policeman, and as the old military saying goes, “young, dumb, and full of cum”. Definite emphasis on ‘dumb’, although the others certainly applied. Knowing that I’d get carded across the river, I needed some form of identification that would pass muster. I don’t remember exactly when I got the idea, but less than a minute’s work with an x-acto knife, and the date of birth on my California drivers license changed from 1959 to 1956. Score! I used my altered license as ID for almost four years without problem, even having to hand it over to a Canadian policeman once when pulled over for speeding in Manitoba. One night my best friend and I went to buy beer, and out of habit I used my drivers license when carded. Things quickly went to hell when the world’s most observant 7-11 clerk detected my handiwork and called the cops. The true bitch of it was that I was 22 by this time and didn’t even think about the license anymore. Finally the policeman arrived, checked out the license, and invited me to get into his car. He asked me if I worked at the base (as if the haircut didn’t give it away). “Yeah,” I replied. “What do you do at the base?” Head hanging low, “I’m a cop.” “Do you know Sgt. Thomas?” I was a little puzzled by this question, but I admitted that yes, I knew Sgt. Thomas. “So what do you think he’d say about this?” Huh? Why would Sgt. Thomas care at all... and it dawned on me that his Sgt. Thomas isn’t the same Sgt. Thomas I knew. Something like one in three people at the base were cops of one type or another, and Thomas isn’t an uncommon name. My answer was obvious. “He would be very disappointed, officer.” So I got a stern talking to, and he confiscated my drivers license. That wasn’t a major problem, because I was of legal age and my military ID sufficed. In other words, I didn’t bother to get another license for about 6 months. Then I got orders to report to Mississippi for computer school. Driving across country (in the short direction) without a license wouldn’t do, so I went down and applied for a new North Dakota license. They got a kick out of California boy missing every ‘winter’ question on the test, but I did well enough to pass. Piece of paper in hand, the new license would be coming in the mail in a week or so. Except it didn’t. I was ok for the trip because of my DMV paper, and I figured that the license was in the mail somewhere catching up to my change of address. One day I got a notice telling me that I could stop by the DMV to get my picture taken, but the appointment was for about a week previous. I wrote back and explained that I was in Mississippi and couldn’t come in for a picture. They sent back a nice letter apologizing for the short notice last time and scheduled me for another picture appointment, this time about a month ahead. It was comical. Once again I wrote back and informed them that I wasn’t going to return to North Dakota. Since I’d already paid for my license, I asked them to refund my money and I’d go ahead and get a Mississippi license. Two weeks later I got my North Dakota license, and man it was a beauty! Heavily laminated (tamper-proof), there was big bold lettering on the front where the picture would normally be that said ‘VALID WITHOUT PHOTO OR SIGNATURE”. The back had a big banner stating “90 Day Temporary License”, which wasn’t entirely accurate. North Dakota law says that military personnel can use a temporary license until they return to the state to get their permanent version. I used my 90-day temporary license (without photo or signature) for nine years as valid ID. Most people would do a double-take, but accept it, and very occasionally I would be asked for a second ID, which is when I would produce my military ID card. It took a while to get my new Maryland license when I got out of the military because I no longer had a military ID, and the only things I could show was my North Dakota license and my European drivers license, neither of which had photo or signature. Both valid and perfectly good while managing to be utterly worthless as positive ID. Back to the Bull and Finch. We were in Boston for a week of training, and we wanted to do some sightseeing, including the ‘Cheers’ bar. When we tried to get in, the bouncer wouldn’t let me enter because I didn’t have a picture on my license, and he wouldn’t accept our Military ID’s as valid. He wanted to see drivers licenses and that was all he’d take (time to make the donuts). We finally raised so much hell at the entrance that nobody could get in or out and they threatened to call the cops. I wanted that too, until the manager came out and pulled the bouncer’s head out of his ass. The bar was a huge letdown. Sgt. Thomas would have been very disappointed.Posted by: Ted at 08:46 AM | Comments (46) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
October 18, 2003
Baseball History 1
In honor of the World Series, I'm going to do a post a day about Baseball History. First up is the story of one of the greatest pitching displays in Series history.
1905 - New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Athletics. Game 1: Giants: 3, A's: 0, Christie Mathewson (W)Game 2: A's: 3, Giants: 0, 'Chief' Bender (W)
Game 3: Giants: 9, A's: 0, Christie Mathewson (W)
Game 4: Giants: 1, A's: 0, 'Iron Joe' McGinnity (W)
Game 5: Giants: 2, A's: 0, Christie Mathewson (W)
Each game was a shutout, with Christie Mathewson winning three times. In the last game he outdueled 'Chief' Bender (nicknamed because he was a member of the Chippewa tribe) who had pitched the shutout victory in Game 2 for the A's. Christie Mathewson was one of the original five players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner. Didjaknow: Chief Bender is also in the Hall of Fame, and is credited with inventing the slider.
Posted by: Ted at 05:29 PM | Comments (45) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (Suck)
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