Posts from — January 2002

I'm shocked and I'm starting to get pissed off. If I read one more article about how "proud" a parent is because little Saddam or (now) little Wasfia has grown up to be a suicide bomber, I'm going to go ballistic!

To make matters worse, a very large contigent of folks in the Middle East are celebrating this "1st Woman Suicide Bomber" as if she's Susan B. Anthony fighting for the right to vote! Hell, the Iraqis announced they are going to build a memorial to the woman!

All these years we've been taught that women were to be held in esteem as the "soul" of our otherwise soul-less society. I am saddened and disgusted.

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The 2002 Weblog Awards were announced today. There are some really interesting winners. For that matter, there are some really uninteresting winners, also. I just think it's cool that, if you know where to go on the internet, you can join in a slice of life from millions of people. I mean, do I really care that so-and-so had a bad day at the office or the bus was overcrowded? No, but it sure is fun to read about it. And there are some really funny and talented people out there. Yeah for weblogs!

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I had just gotten used to blue ones! Now, M&M's are asking the world to help decide the next new color. Purple? Pink? Teal? I don't know how much of this I can stand! I mean, big thumbs up to M&M's for the Red, White, and Blue candies over the past few months. But, have a heart fellas! Pink? Purple? Teal?

If you want to vote for the new color, register now @ mms.com. Meanwhile, can I just vote for "None of the above"?

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If you sniff this site often, you are probably aware that I am starting to make some of the minor changes I alluded to in yesterday's post. These are little things (so the wife wouldn't kill me! ), but I like them nonetheless. For example, I changed the date/subject listings on all the posts. See it up there? Cleaner, better. I also broke off the "webcam" project - mainly because too many people were peeking in on me. It gave me the creeps! The webcam should be back in some form or another soon.

Next big change is the site is now (mostly) searchable! Up on the menu bar, you can click Search and Google search the entire KevinDonahue.com/MerrinDonahue.com empire or search our individual journals. So, you thought that post about Keith and the sheep was funny, search for "keith" or "sheep" and enjoy it all over again.

Finally, (I think) I have revamped my Links page. Not only did I add new links, but I made it easier to browse with a "New Window" option or an IE searchbar option. It's pretty cool -not hard- but cool and very functional. Let me know what you think or what I left out!

One more thing, since tax season is drawing near. Some of you may be thinking of e-filing this year. Well, good news. You might be able to e-file for free. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Even if you can't file for free, the IRS website lists a lot of alternatives to get your return processes faster. Check it out.

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Being sick at home is no fun; however, I did have an opportunity to make some observations that I never would have imagined.

For example, my neighbors cat was on their roof today. I don't know a lot about cats, except that they taste like chicken! Everyone knows I hate cats. But this little knucklehead was actually up on the roof. I guess he was checking the satellite dish or something.

Our mailman's brakes squeak. I could hear him coming down the road. Squeak. Pause. Squeak. Pause. Squeak. Ta-bom (Isn't that the sound the mailbox makes when you close it?). Drive away. Now I'll know to listen for the squeak-ta-bom sound instead of walking out to the mailbox four or five times to check the mail. Also of note, we have a mail "man". Who would have guessed?

And, finally the trash truck comes at about 8:00a. I know this because the distinctive squeak-yell-crash sound that it makes is much different from the mailman's squeak-ta-bom. Apparently the trash men have to yell to the driver as they throw the trash into the truck.

I'm just glad we don't recycle!

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Not too much, really. I had to stay home from work with a stomach virus (yuck!) and that was no fun. In my "down-time" (to say it politely), I've been delusionally searching the internet looking for new design ideas: colors, layouts, etc. I've got the notion to jazz up our website and I don't think Merrin will mind. Actually, I wouldn't matter if she did — she wouldn't know how to change it! =)

But changing the website design is easy, right? Well, yes and no. I don't know exactly what I want to accomplish which is kinda like painting your house without know what color you want to use. You splash a few strokes here, try another color there, and step out to the street to take a peep. And then it hits you: SOMEBODY RUINED MY HOUSE! So, in an effort to avoid the avant-garde, I am actually researching what I might do. Novel concept really. I've also heard rumors that electronics come with instructions, but I digress.

Only one must read link today: MAN KILLED AT BACHELOR PARTY. Although I must caution you to check the source: Weekly World News. Hey, it's got one of the largest circulations in the world so it must be true, right? All I can think is: If you gotta go out, I can think of worse ways!

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It's amazing! It's a miracle! I can read!

Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Haven't you always been able to read?" Well, yes I have, Mr. Smartypants. But that's not the point. The incredible, stupendous, hard to imagine fact of the matter is that I have read not one, but two books this year. Hell, it's only January 25th! At this rate, I'll have read 24 books this year!

So, why's reading a big deal? A) My wife runs the bookstore. She brings home these 3-d rectangles full of black ink and -once in a blue moon- actual pictures, and 2) I read a grand total of 0 books. For those of you thinking that I intended a two-digit number and just type poorly, WRONG. I didn't read a damn thing last year. Yeah, I read some magazines (I "read" the articles!) and I read 3-4 newspapers day, not to mention the hours I spend on the Internet.

This reading is addictive. Merrin actually gave me another book to start tonight! So start checking back here often and watch out - I might just even talk about one of the books I read!

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I did something great today. And, with any luck, I'll do something great tomorrow. And, God willing, I plan to do something great every day this year.

Want to do something great? Join me in supporting these two charities:

Donate Clean Water to the World's Poor

Donate Food to the World's Poor

These two websites, GiveWater.org and TheHungerSite.com, are internet charities backed by international corporations. There records of helping the poor are well documented. So go on, do something great today!

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OK, I haven't written in weeks. So take a deep breath - here we go:

Christmas was excellent. It's taken me weeks to recover! FL was beautiful and being with everyone was an incredible treat. I spent my Christmas holiday sick, but not so sick that I couldn't enjoy it. Besides, it wouldn't be Christmas if everyone wasn't sneezing, right? One of my many great gifts was a digital camera from my wife, so there are a ton of pictures in the photo album.

Merrin & I went to Epcot as planned. I don't think we expected it to be 30 degrees, but it did help keep the crowds down. We had the best time. Merrin looked beautiful that day, which was not really a surprise. (Pictures)

After being away from the dogs for a week, we couldn't wait to see them again. I love coming home after a vacation. Except when I forgot to take the trash out (for 2 weeks). YUCK!

Work has been just fantastic in 2002. I am really running myself ragged (everyone is, really) and it looks like it is finally starting to pay off. Our occupancies are up considerably and everyone around the hotel is glad to see lots of guests.

I'm closing for now, but I've got a lot more. Check back tomorrow!

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