One of the requirements of my job is to travel to different client sites to install our server software. Almost of all of these trips involve spending a couple days at the client site, with almost no contact with the outside world. Since I am not allowed to install most of the software I like to use on a daily basis on the client’s systems, I learned long ago that I could install most of my favorite applications on USB Flash drives. Now I am a confessed USB Flash drive addict. I have several of them in all shapes and sizes.

My favorite, however, is the Kingston 2GB Data Traveler USB Flash Drive. With 2GB of data in my pocket I can go just about anywhere and do just about anything I need to do. I found out about the Kingston Flash Drive while I was looking for a replacement for a drive I lost on my most recent trip to Baltimore.

The drive I lost contained an encrypted backup of all my current projects, emails, and several applications I run throughout the day. I needed a replacement right away, and Buy.com had a great deal on them at the time. With their low price and free shipping, I knew I was getting a great deal, but the fact they offered 2nd day express shipping at such a low cost made the deal even better. I had the new flash drive before I even left Baltimore and the bonus was the retractable cap. I can’t even tell you how many flash drive caps I have lost over the last year. The fact that I can’t lose the cap is a huge plus.

I’m not sure what I would do if I didn’t have the Buy.com weekly deals to rely on. They offer such a range of products there is always something on their list that I want (and sometimes need).

Two weeks after I returned home from that trip, I got a call from someone at BWI airport. They found my flash drive and sent it back to me. How cool is that? With the return of that drive, my collection of drives sits at 9. I’m sure it won’t be long before I welcome #10 into the family.

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11 Alive reported today that U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) won’t be running for Governor in 2010. Or was it 2008? Now I am confused.

Oh well, they fixed it before I could post this. I sure am glad I captured it when I saw it. Johnny’s looking a little weather-worn if you ask me.

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Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like “Make the World Go Away” made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

Arnold died at a care facility near Nashville, said Don Cusic, a professor at Belmont University and author of the biography “Eddy Arnold: I’ll Hold You in My Heart.” His wife of 66 years, Sally, had died in March, and in the same month, Arnold fell outside his home, injuring his hip.

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Arnold lived in Brentwood, a Nashville suburb. Survivors include a son, Richard Edward Arnold Jr., and daughter, Jo Ann Pollard, both of Brentwood.

Rest In Peace, Eddy.

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It’s been a little over three years since we fenced in our backyard. Fencing in 1/2 acre is no easy task, let me tell you. Ever since the fence went in I have been meaning to get a sign to let people know there are dogs in the backyard.

You never know when someone from the pest control company, the power company, or some other utlity will need access to our backyard. I feel it’s only appropriate to let them know there is a dog in the yard, especially now that Flash is gone and Stitches could be just about anywhere back there. There’s no telling how he would react if someone just suddenly appeared in his yard.

I was pleased to find out that I had the opportunity to post about my opinion of The Original Pet Postings beware of dog signs available from AVM Publishing. Ordering the sign couldn’t have been easier. They had three colors to choose from. I really wanted the cobalt blue, but my wife thought the green would look better on the chain link fence, so we went with the green. She is the interior and fashion designer of the family you know.

The sign came with the cable ties for attaching it to the fence. It took me a while to figure out how to attach it (because I didn’t notice the easy to follow instructions until after I was done putting it up), but it was still super simple to do.

We received the sign just two days after ordering it, and the company has a “good Karma policy”. I had never heard of it before. They don’t accept credit cards, and they ship the product before you pay! Once you receive the product quickly, they expect you to send your check quickly as well. You won’t find many companies on the internet with that policy.

I have nothing but good things to say about this company. Dealing with them was one of the most pleasant experiences I have had on the internet, and I highly recommend them if you are looking for this type of sign for your fenced yard.

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While I blog a lot of celebrity deaths, rarely do any of them have a direct impact on my life. Tonight, however, I am saddened to learn about the death of Beverlee McKinsey.

Beverlee McKinsey, an actress best known for roles she played on the daytime soap operas “Another World” in the 1970s and “Guiding Light” in the 1980s, has died. She was 72.

McKinsey died May 2 at Olympic Medical Center in Los Angeles. The cause of death was complications from a kidney transplant, her son, Scott McKinsey, said.

In an acting career of more than 30 years, McKinsey began in New York theater. She was an understudy for the Neil Simon play, “Barefoot in The Park,” performing the female lead, Corrie, a number of times in the 1960s. Robert Redford played the love interest.

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She married Mark McKinsey in 1956. They divorced three years later.

McKinsey was married three times. Her last husband, actor Berkeley Harris, died in 1984.

Along with her son, McKinsey is survived by her grandson, Marley.

I first watched “Another World” with my grandmother during one summer when I spent the days at her house. She got me hooked on a few soaps and I have been watching them, well, the ones that are still on the air anyway, ever since.

Beverlee McKinsey was an excellent actress and no matter what role she was playing, when she appeared on the screen it was always the bright spot of my day. Back in the 80’s I always hoped that Alexandra Spaulding from “Guiding Light” would hook up with Stefano DiMera on “Days of Our Lives”. Ahh, the dreams of a young impressionable kid.

Rest In Peace, Beverlee.

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Irvine Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins whose penchant for creating unusual ice-cream flavors helped push post-World War II America far beyond its chocolate-vanilla-strawberry tastes, has died. He was 90.

Robbins, who opened his first ice-cream shop in 1945 in Glendale, died Monday of complications related to old age at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, said his daughter, Marsha Veit.

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With his wife, Irma, whom he married in 1942, he raised three children. As an adult, his son John rejected the family business and wrote “Diet for a New America,” a 1987 book critical of the meat and dairy industries.

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In addition to his wife and daughter Marsha Veit of Mount Kisco, N.Y., Robbins is survived by two other children, John Robbins of Soquel, Calif., and Erin Robbins of Grass Valley, Calif.; sisters Shirley Familian and Elka Weiner of Los Angeles; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Rest In Peace, Irvine.

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Cartoonist Ted Key, whose comic strip “Hazel” about a bossy maid went from magazine page to TV screen, has died. He was 95.

He died Saturday at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Tredyffrin Township after a 1 1/2-year battle with cancer, his son Peter Key said Monday.

“Hazel” was a popular feature in The Saturday Evening Post from the time it debuted in 1943. It evolved into a prime-time series in 1961 that starred Shirley Booth and ran for four years on NBC and one year on CBS.

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Key was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006 and suffered a stroke in September.

He is survived by his second wife, Bonnie, three sons and three grandchildren. His first wife, Anne, died in 1984.

Rest In Peace, Ted.

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Did you hear about this?

Former President Bill Clinton is cracking wise about his ability to make people faint, telling voters in North Carolina he didn’t think he still had it in him.

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“Somebody faints at nearly every one of these things now. At my age, I didn’t think I could make anybody faint anymore.”

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Emergency workers brought the elderly man in Lenoir water and ice and used campaign signs to fan him.

I’m not so sure I would be bragging if I was him. I’m just glad the elderly man is going to be okay.

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