Merrin found a great dog park here on the island and — quite honestly — Oliver is in love with the place.

They have lots of toys, a garden pond, a bone-shaped splash pool, separate large dog & small dog areas, a refreshment center, and a dog wash area.

We took him there today and let him play with the big dogs (and I mean **big dogs**) and he had an absolute blast. He pretty much held his own with the big dogs.

Suffice it to say, Oliver is a *big* fan.

I guess it's time for an update. The moving truck came and went without incident this week. The team from Hilldrup Moving & Storage (United Van Lines) did a great job. They were efficient, safe, polite and *fast*. I would highly recommend them if you're considering a move in the Southeast.

Now that our stuff has made the trek, I find myself in awe (once again) of my wife. I'm amazed at just how quickly she has turned this house into our home. And it's not just arranging the furniture or unpacking the boxes, but putting the touches in place that make a place "ours".

We managed to venture out yesterday for a quick drive through town. In what is certain to become a regular occurrence, we stopped for a walk along the beach and collected more shells. It's been mentioned many, many times on my blog that I am solar powered, but I'm quite certain that my wife is hydro-powered. She loves just being near the water. I guess that's just part of what makes us so good for one another.

There's something almost magical about this place. While there's a good deal of history as The Isle of Eight Flags and as a pirate haven years ago, the town is just such a welcoming place. The people are exceptionally nice and friendly. It will take some adjusting to, but it's such a small place – population 12,000 – we don't have ten digit dialing. Since our house is so close to the ocean, we get these great, colorful sunrises each morning. At night, you can see so many stars in the sky. Perhaps it's my imagination, but I would swear – if you try hard enough – you can smell a hint of sea in the air.

Suffice to say we're adapting quite nicely to our sleepy little beach town. It's good to be "home".

After two plus years in Orlando, moving day is finally here. Next stop: a small beach town on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. CAN'T WAIT!!

This is the first video I've seen online that comes close to capturing the FSU Warchant. I'd like to dedicate this one to my father-in-law.

To any outsider, today's Florida State – Georgia Tech game is just that… a game. But after the week that the FSU community has endured, it is so much more than just a game.

This is a chance to come together – a chance to celebrate the road we have traveled… the trials and triumphs… the highs and the lows. This is our time to state unequivocally that we alone will own our future and we alone will control our destiny.

And if there was ever a time for the Seminole Nation to draw together, it is today. This is our opportunity to show the world that, once again — in victory and in defeat — we are THE UNCONQUERED.

I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, 'til we’re finished.

We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here — get the shit kicked out of us — or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell one inch at a time.

Now, I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around. I see these young faces, and I think — I mean — I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that's…part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small — I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.

The inches we need are everywhere around us.

They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin' difference between winning and losing! Between livin' and dyin'!

I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin' to fight and die for that inch. Because that’s what livin' is! The six inches in front of your face!!

Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him!

That’s a team, gentleman!

And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.

That’s football guys.

That's all it is.

Now, what are you gonna do?

– "Any Given Sunday"

Since upgrading to Snow Leopard and running the most recent, 64-bit version of Safari (Version 4.0.3 (6531.9)), I've been experiencing the most annoying error.

After several minutes using Google Reader in Safari on OSX, I receive an error message: "Oops…an error occurred. Please try again in a few seconds." Once Google Reader resumes, I can browse through content that is currently in view, but selecting any other content results in an empty reader with the error: "The feed being requested cannot be found." message for every single feed item or folder.

Once I sign back in, everything works for a few minutes and then the error returns. And it's very consistent – it happens on the Home, within my feeds (Your Stuff), People You Follow, Trends… you name it.

It's incredibly frustrating and has ruined my user experience in Google Reader. I've tried emptying the browser cache, restarting Safari and even resetting Safari. I've even tried using a secure page (https) instead of the traditional Google Reader URL. None of these have any effect. And it seems I am not alone in experiencing this error.

Google – if you're listening – help before I spork my eyes out!

If you believe what you read in the papers, we're witnessing the last chapter of the most successful era in college football history.

Legendary coach Bobby Bowden, who embraced a rival in the wake of tragedy, who built a football powerhouse from the ground up, and who oversaw the greatest college football dynasty ever, is in the twilight of his career.

Sadly, the reasoned, rational criticism that the FSU football program rightfully deserves threatens to devolve into a ugly mob scene that may rob Bowden of the respect that his body of work should garner.

I would caution my fellow Noles that tearing down a man will not accomplish our goals and – in the end – will do the university more harm than good. The closing of this chapter is a time for all of us to draw together and support the change that must come.

I'm deeply saddened that a great & honorable man must face such public backlash. He deserves to take in this sunset with great pride & admiration. I hope he will make this daunting decision with the spirit that has served him so well in his career.

GO NOLES!

I nearly forgot to post my faves from this year's Epcot Food and Wine Festival. All in all, I think the food was just slightly better in 2009 than it was in the last two years.

My top picks:

New Orleans – Crawfish Etouffee
By far the best you can get in Orlando. Same recipe as in 2008, although I do wish they would bring back the small Tabasco bottles to compliment this great etouffee. (If you ask, they do have hot sauce behind the counter, just not Tabasco brand.)

Melbourne, Australia – Grilled Lamp Chop with Red Wine Sauce and Murray River Sea Salt
The chop could have been trimmed better. It's almost as if they left the fat intact to impress you with the portion size. That said, this was a very well executed, hand-seasoned lamb chop with great balance between the wine & sea salt. Delicious!

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Grilled Pork Skewer with Farifa
No wonder the USA lost the Olympic bid to Rio. Something so simple as a pork on a stick… and it absolutely rocked. Perfectly balanced tastes.

A couple of other notables:

- The Chicken Urumqi (Grilled chicken with cumin and traditional Chinese spices) in Bejing was really tasty, especially with sriracha sauce to compliment the cumin.

- The maple glazed salmon in Montreal was good, but not nearly as tasty as last year. I thought they were a little overboard with the maple this year and the choice to serve the salmon over cold lentils wasn't nearly the presentation or taste of last year's dish. Bring back the arugula & roasted corn and this dish makes the "best" list.

- Stop by Cape Town, South Africa and order the Seared Beef Tenderloin, but don't focus too much on the meat. The star of this dish is the amazing sweet potato puree. A bite of sweet potato with the beef and mango barbecue is really tasty!

- I don't care what anyone says, the Nuernberger sausage in Munich is fantastic. Yes, the presentation sucks… but it's a sausage… on a pretzel roll! It's so simple and the the pretzel rolls were really soft this year. Just a really great snack – perfect way to sneak a beer into the mix at a "wine" festival.

- Last but not least, the sushi rolls at Tokyo. I don't understand how they can make and refrigerate rolls without them turning into mush, but they have got it down pat. The sushi rolls aren't legendary, but they are crispy and fresh!

For more on the 2009 Epcot Food & Wine Festival see the official Disney event page or this unofficial overview at WDWInfo.

Thank you all so much for your encouraging words and donations towards the American Heart Association's START! Heart Walk 5k.

Merrin & I were more than a little surprised yesterday when we showed up to find more than 4,000 walkers for yesterday's event. Of course, we also had to laugh when we passed several groups of walkers who had stopped to take a smoke break… but I digress.

I really appreciate you thinking of us for this very special event!

I don't do the personal appeals too often, so I hope you'll indulge me just a moment.

As many of you know, I suffered a heart attack in 2008 brought about by heart disease.

While my recovery has gone exceptionally well — thanks in no small part to the love and support of my wife, family, and skilled doctors — I still live ever day with the realization that I have heart disease.

What you may not know is that heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States. I've spent the past 18 months learning to live with heart disease, but now I need your help and support to do something about it.

This Saturday, October 3rd, I have chosen to participate in the Start! Heart Walk 5K benefiting the American Heart Association. I have set a personal goal to help raise funds that are needed for critical heart disease research and education.

You can help me raise funds and protect those you love by making a donation online. Click on the link below to visit my personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit/debit card donation of $25 or more.

http://greaterorlandoheartwalk.kintera.org/kevindonahue

Thank you so much for considering a donation. I know firsthand how very difficult these economic times are and I sincerely appreciate your ongoing support.