Posts from — May 2004

As the final few hours of my thirtieth year draw to a close, I'm totally psyched about the great week that lies ahead. I'm working today, but it's not too bad as the office feels like elementary school on the last day of the year - lots of free ice cream sandwiches to be had. (MMM…ice cream sandwiches!)

We're packing up dogs, gear, & sunscreen and shipping out today. Tonight is a birthday dinner with the in-laws. Merrin's birthday is Saturday & mine is Sunday, so we get to celebrate together! I think Jack is grilling, so it should be a great time. We're bunking down at Merrin's Mom's - so there should be plenty of Coor's Light to be had. Saturday morning is golf with Jack & b-i-l Keith at Shady Oaks CC. OUTSTANDING!

Sometime after golf, it's get a haircut and drink plenty of water before we all load up for the Buffett/Strait/Jackson concert at Texas Stadium. I still can't believe we get to go! It's a great birthday present for both of us. If we can still stand upright, we're flying out Sunday for a big birthday surprise in Florida.

Monday, we meet up with my brother and his family for a quick flight to the Abaco Islands, a ferry to Guana Cay and a week in paradise. "Sun, Rum & Fun" is the official theme for Guana 2004, so maybe I'll get some shirts printed for everyone.

Folks, it's going to be a much needed, much anticipated, long, long week. This could be the last you hear for me for a while. I'll definitely be missing you, but if all goes as planned there will be no phones, no internet, and no shoes where we're headed. With any luck, I'll be completely incommunicado. In the words of St. Jimmy, if the phone doesn't ring, it's me.

I'll catch you all on the flip side of my 31st year, so love & luck to y'all.

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If your computer is infected with some of the most rampant virus strains out there (and some of yours are because we keep getting the emails!), there is a free virus removal tool that can do the job. Download VCleaner.exe from Grisoft and run it in Safe Mode.

Full instructions:

Download the remover vcleaner.exe. Restart your computer in Safe mode and run the remover on the infected computer.

Note: Some viruses can stop the action during the removing process. In this case rename the vcleaner.exe to some different exe file (e.g. something.exe). Restart your computer in Safe mode (recommended) and run the remover on the infected computer

Virus Removal for: I-Worm/Bagle.A-Z, AA-AC, I-Worm/Bugbear.C-D, I-Worm/Netsky.A-Z, AA-AC, I-Worm/Sasser.A-F, PSW.Bispy.A-C

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In getting dressed this morning, I went with a brown/olive stripe suit with a white shirt. I never realized just how very sunburned I am until I put on that white dress shirt. I thought it might be bad last night when Merrin mentioned it, but I was already hopped up on Tylenol and Benadryl. Even my lips are sunburnt!

Wow. I'm a lobster. I'm Hooters' wing sauce. I think I'm glowing. I'm almost magenta.

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It's pretty easy to take your cell phone number from one carrier to the next, but a lot of people don't. Why? Generally you have to buy a new phone from your new carrier, right? Wrong. Popular Science has an article online on how to unlock your cellphone and reprogram it to your new carriers ID. Pretty common overseas, but unheard of in the States. Using this same principle, you could buy a muy fancy Euro/Asian phone and program it to work in the US. Cool!

via Boing Boing

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Remember this? Well, if all goes as planned I will start and finish the project by noon tomorrow. And — like all my projects — we have the ambulance on speed dial, just in case.

Update: I'm finished. Well, 99.3% finished. I've been out sitting in the new found shade with a favorite beverage. I'd say that I wrapped up for the day around 4p. I still need to get a couple extra trim pieces. Once we're back from the Bahamas, I'll add some flower boxes around the posts to give Merrin some additional garden space and landscape the perimeter. I think it looks pretty good (image).

100 thank you's to Josh. He came over and was a hero. I spent a couple hours trying to do a 2 man job myself this morning. I wouldn't have finished that project without Josh's help. He knows the ins & outs of how to do a project right. I know the shortcuts. Together, we make a pretty decent team. Thank you, sir. You're a really great friend. I owe you one.

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I'm digging the free, pre-alpha FeedBurner service. It's an RSS optimizer than can cut the waste out of your XML, create a version of your feed that's compatible with all newsreaders, and let's you track your XML pageviews. RSS tracking? Free? I'm in. It will also integrate your Amazon links to include your affiliate ID, if that's up your alley. There's also a handy-dandy FeedBurner blog. Uber-cool.

UPDATE: OK, I'm trying this sucker out. If you use an RSS version of this site, please redirect to http://feeds.feedburner.com/kevindonahue. Thanks!

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For those OS X users that made note of the security holes discussed earlier this week, there are now two security patches for you to download. More (hopefully) to follow over at Jay's site.

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Without any doubt whatsoever, Pizza Hut's Buffalo Chicken Pizza is the best pizza ever. When Josh was over for Halo Thursday night, he had a couple pieces and agreed. So last night we happen by the Coopers and what do I find there? Buffalo Chicken Pizza. So Josh is officially a convert and Pizza Hut's Buffalo Chicken Pizza is the best pizza ever.

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A very quick but heartfelt thank you to my blog friend who hooked me up with Gmail.

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One of the uber-cool, under-documented features in Windows XP is a tool called Wireless Zero Configuration Service (WZCSVC). Wireless Zero Configuration Service is available on Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro. In a nutshell, the service allows users to easily alternate between wireless connections. It dynamically selects the preferred wireless network based on your user preferences. This is ideal for XP wireless users who visit several offices and would otherwise have to reconfigure their network settings.
[Read more →]

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YallBlog has a new 'Blog of the Week' feature. I wanna win!

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So there is a chance that Chez and I might get to play Halo tonight. He might be free after the wife unit returns and I might get a reprieve from harvesting the hay that I learned is growing in my front yard. Seriously, at this point, one day ain't gonna make a difference. Besides, Merrin is going to an eye appointment tomorrow for new specs & lenses, so she won't even be able to see the grass once they drop up her eyes, right? Right?!

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Y'all remember me asking for Gmail? Well, I still am. I'm not this desperate yet, but I'm considering it. If you're wondering how to invite me to Gmail, here's the lowdown.

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Mac users need to take immediate notice: A newly disclosed hole in Mac OS X allows attackers to run scripts simply by loading a web page - regardless of your browser (Safari, IE, Firefox, etc). According to Jay Allen someone can delete every file you have permissions to delete. Jay is following it pretty closely, so Mac users check his site and read the comments for updates.

The easiest fix posted so far is for Mac users to:

1. Uncheck ("Open "safe" files after download") in "Safari -> Preferences -> General" or disable automatic launch of downloads in your browser of choice.
2. Do not surf the Internet as a privileged user.
3. Download MoreInternet from MonekyFood and change your help: protocol.

If Jay says you have to do it now, you have to do it now, people. Do it.

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OK, so Queer Eye is coming to Dallas. I'm totally nominating you, Rooster.

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