Posts from — June 2002

june test

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It's not easy growing up in a small town. The name doesn't ring a bell with anyone. It's almost as if your little dot on the map is inconsequential compared to the thousands of other larger spots. But it's not the same when a superstar is from your hometown. Someone who is instantly recognized around the world - especially when that person never forgot that little hometown. Such is the case with Maysville, KY and the legendary Rosemary Clooney.

Rosemary Clooney died yesterday after a long and difficult battle with lung cancer. Her career in music and movies lasted more than 70 years. While many will remember her music and films (including Big Kev favorite 'White Christmas'), I will remember her for what she did for my hometown. She made it possible to say, "I'm from Maysville - Rosemary Clooney's hometown." And if someone didn't know who that was - it was a reflection on them, never on us. She won a lifetime Grammy just a while back, but from my perspective she will always be remembered as Maysville's own superstar.

God bless you, Rosemary. As the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers said, you are "an American musical treasure and one of the best friends a song ever had." Thanks for the memories and for always looking out for us.

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Here's all you need to make your own "Telezapper" for free (more or less). First, download this tone (right-click and select "Save Target As…") or hold your answering machine up to your speakers and click here. Then simply record your standard answering machine message. The trick to making it effective is to allow your answering machine to screen your incoming calls for approximately 2 weeks.

For those not familiar with the Telezapper, click here or go spend $50 at your neighborhood Radio Shack.

Enjoy.

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I've never had the opportunity to stand before the "real" Vietnam Memorial in D.C. I've seen the moving wall exhibits that are scale replicas, but never the real thing. In what may be one of the most intense "labors of love" ever produced for the internet, a site called View the Wall is now available online. It is a perfect, quicktime powered scan of the entire Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scroll the entire wall, search for names. Simply remarkable. I'm sure it's a drop in the hat compared to the real wall, but it speaks volumes about the dedication we feel to our servicemen and women. (Also see The Virtual Wall.)

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Ever have someone in your house wake up late for work? You know how they blame you all day for it? That's what I've got today.

Merrin woke up a half hour late today (5:40a instead of 5:10a). And maybe I do deserve some of the blame. The alarm clock is on my side of the bed. When it goes off, I smack it and her (not literally and not always in that order) and tell her to get moving. She usually insists on "snoozing" for another 9 minutes.

{{Sidenote: Mere words can not begin to express what a beating is to know that you could be sleeping, but instead - you have to wake up an hour early again because your wife wants to "snooze". So nine minutes pass and then BEEP, BEEP, BEEP….}}

I mean, clearly a family cannot own two alarm clocks! Right?! So, Merrin gets up in a panic - cussing me, the dogs, the clock, and every animate and inanimate object in the house. Somehow she manages to "catch up" and leaves a mere 10 minutes late.

So what does she say to me when I come home tonight? "Hey, baby. I love you. Why didn't you get me up?" Count 'em. Five words into the conversation and the spirits of long dead Spaniards have invaded my wife's body and begun their Inquisition anew. SHEESH!

I'm telling ya - you can't win either way. She's either grumpy because you woke her up or she's grumpy because you didn't wake her up. Oh well, ya win some - ya lose some.

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A 'Dirty Dancing' sequel is moving forward to be called 'Havana Nights'. Some names metioned for the cast include Mr. La Vida Loca and the great Natalie Portman. God help us all if this sucker ever gets made!

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I'm not exactly sure how far down the ladder soccer ranks in the US, but it would appear that it is slightly below another national pastime: archery.

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After two and a half years, we are almost completely finished with all the little updates, renovations and decorating of the house. I am truly amazed at how some of the rooms have been transformed. Merrin has done such an incredible job in selecting colors and finding the perfect little touches. Each room is completely it's own and completely unique, yet every room is tied together with little hints of color from the others. Really, really cool.

Of course, I've been the plow horse/donkey/hired help throughout the process: running errands, painting, building/breaking things, moving furniture, hanging pictures, swapping fixtures — you name it, I've pretty much done it. But, to see it all come together into a finished product - a home that we have made together - it's really amazing.

That's what you get when you're married to the perfect woman!

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OK. I know that people all over the world love soccer. I mean really love soccer.

But, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that dousing yourself in kerosene and lighting yourself on fire to have your spirit help your team win — that might just be a little overboard.

Ah, what the hell do I know? I'm just a dumb American.

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Amazon.com: The M*A*S*H Series

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OK. So do I panic because nuclear waste will be transported within 0.5 miles of my house (and .75 miles of work), or do I accept that fact that - heck, even if there's never an accident - I still live within 35 miles of a nuclear reactor?

As it turns out, I'm not alone in the neighborly game of "that truck is glowing"!

For a website that shows the transportation routes –albeit in a rather alarmist, left-wing, earthy-crunchy, tree-hugging Democratic fashion– click here. Or, you're probably better off not clicking. What's the saying? "Ignorance is bliss."

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That's right. I know it's been long awaited, but it's here! (OK, so no one wanted this except me. Humor me, people!)

That's right: Now you can have your daily dose of KevinDonahue.com delivered (completely free!) right to your Palm or PocketPC via the AvantGo service. For those of you have not used AvantGo before, you will need to register and download the application to your Palm. For more info on the greatness of AvantGo, see their website or my Palm info page.

If you have already signed up for AvantGo service and would like to receive this page on your PDA, please click here to add KevinDonahue.com to AvantGo.

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Thank you all very much for your kind words and support over the past week.

As some of you know, Merrin has been in and out of the doctor's offices this week with an increased heart rate. She has always had a condition referred to as SVT, but this is the first time that she has ever had to undergo a lot of testing and to treat it with medication.

Needless to say this has been a very stressful time for both of us. Merrin will be fine once they work out her medication and she does not have heart disease or anything like that. It is, to put it simply, an electrical (or "wiring") problem in her heart that causes her to have periods of a very high heart rate.

Her next trip to the doctor will be on Monday and we'll know more then. Again, thank you for keeping us in your thoughts. We appreciate it!

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A new virus is out that can infect photos and picture files. While this particular virus may not spread like wildfire, it is a dangerous sign as it marks a new type of file that can become infected. Previously, movie files, pictures, and text files were considered "safe". Now more than ever, you need to make sure that you know who sent you an email, that the text of the message seems to be from the person who sent it to you, and that the attachment is safe.

If you're looking for a good, free virus scanner, I recommend AVG from Grisoft. It is compatible with Outlook/Outlook Express and can be set to certify your incoming messages as "virus free". Definitely a good thing. Also, AVG will update itself over the internet as you direct or, by default, every 15 days or so. Also a good thing.

Two last tips: 1) Do not open attachments from strangers. This is somewhat akin to not taking candy from strangers, and 2) Update your virus scanner regularly. If you haven't updated your McAfee or whatever you might have, open the scanner and follow the options to update the "dat" (data) files. Updates are free for almost every program.

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