Icon

Havre de Grace lost another one of its iconic residents with the passing of Jack McLhinney Tuesday. Mr. McLhinney was 85. Best known as Jack Mac, Mr. McLhinney was a long-time member not only of the Susquehanna Hose Co., but also of the Church of St. Patrick of Havre de Grace. Friends may call Sunday from 2 to 4 and from 6 to 8 p.m. at Zellman Funeral Home at 123 S. Washington St. in Havre de Grace. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick. Mr. McLhinney will be missed around the number two firehouse, St. Patrick Church and the downtown of his community.

Tears filled my eyes as I read Kevin Cowherd 's column this morning about the illness of Charlie Zill or Zillbilly, the "country boy" usher at Camden Yards ("Cancer-stricken 'Zillbilly' usher hopes to see 1 or 2 more games," March 18). Having taken zillions of photographs of Mr. Zill over the years during the 7 t h -inning stretch, I was sure Mr. Cowherd would need one of them to highlight his tribute to Charlie. I was completely wrong. Charlie's Zillbilly character has been so admired, loved and photographed by others, including The Sun's photographers, that any pictures I had were superfluous.

It is amusing and ironic that pop singer Adam Levine should be talking about "the decay of Western civilization" (Celebrities, Dec. 4). He is himself an icon of what journalist Carl Bernstein once described as "the idiot culture. " For the first time in our history, the weird, the stupid and the coarse are becoming not just the norm but our cultural ideal. Thomas F. McDonough, Towson Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

They may have strutted on a stage instead of a runway, but members of the Supremes were well known for their fashionable style. Over two decades of climbing the charts, the singing group performed in a variety of venues - including a performance in England where they met the Queen Mother - all while decked out in the most fabulous costumes. "Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection," an exhibit featuring more than 30 of the group's glamorous and glittering gowns, is on display at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

The International Cycling Union's announcement today that it was stripping superstar athlete Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles over charges of illegal doping effectively ended one of the most celebrated sports careers in recent memory. Mr. Armstrong's name is to be removed from the Tour's official record books, and he is banned for life from future competitions. It's likely the International Olympic Committee will move soon to strip him of his 2000 Olympic bronze medal as well, and corporate sponsors may demand he return millions of dollars in now-tainted winnings.

The New York Times said in an editorial yesterday:FOR selfish reasons, we wish that Michael Jordan had stayed on. His absence denies us the pleasure of watching one of the world's great athletes and surely the most accomplished basketball player ever. His presence might have redeemed this sadly truncated season and restored some of the affection we had for the game. It will not be easy to replace a global icon.But it is hard to fault his decision to retire or its timing. He is 35 years old. He does not, by his own admission, have the physical and mental edge that he has always required of himself.

The ladies of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church got their first-hand look at the icon that supposedly has been weeping in a New York church for a month. And their verdict is . . ."I don't really know what the verdict is," said a laughing Rose Tsakalos, who saw the icon yesterday with 41 other women from St. Nicholas, in the Greektown section of Highlandtown."Without scientifically analyzing what's there, you can't be sure if the icon is crying or not, but it looked like there were tears in her eyes," Tsakalos said last night, minutes after returning home.

After a three-hour hearing last night, the City Council's land-use committee decided to delay a vote on the Icon tower proposed for Canton so that Baltimore's transportation department can have time to figure out how to handle the area's burgeoning traffic. Jamie Kendrick, the transportation department's deputy director for administration, asked the committee to take no action on the project until his agency could "develop a full plan" for the Boston Street corridor. "There are at least a dozen significant developments coming to that area over the next four to six years, and to look at any project by itself doesn't make sense," Kendrick testified.

Jon Koscher brought his coffee and muffin Tuesday morning to the statue of William Donald Schaefer at the Inner Harbor to pay his respects to the "founding father of tourism in Baltimore. " "If you ever met the man, you'll never forget it, and if you haven't met him, just look around," Koscher said of the former mayor, governor and comptroller, who died Monday at 89 after a political career that spanned decades. Koscher, the general manager of the Sheraton Inner Harbor, worked with Schaefer on commissions for the downtown convention center.

I would like to change the icon on a shortcut displayed on my desktop to a more interesting picture. It is a shortcut to an MS-DOS program. I seem to remember in Windows 3.1 that it was very easy to change icons, but I can't find a way in Windows 98. I do find instructions to right-click on the icon and go to Properties and then Change Icon, but I get stopped there. You are just one step short of cracking the code for changing the icons for shortcuts on the Windows desktop. Naturally the engineers at Microsoft went well out of their way to conceal that last step, but your humble correspondent is delighted to oblige.

Captain Kirk himself will beam into Baltimore this summer to appear at the Shore Leave science fiction convention in Hunt Valley, according to the event's website. The 35th annual convention will offer writing workshops, panel discussions, role playing games and a chance to meet authors and stars. Shatner, who has been known to turn down much bigger gigs, is a major score -- particularly for a convention founded by folks brought together by a love of "Star Trek. " He will appear Aug. 3. If fans want his autograph, or to take a picture with Shatner, they'll have to open their wallets.

Illuminations and Icons, featuring the paintings of Heidi Neff, associate professor of art and design at Harford Community College, is on display at Charmed Life Gallery & Tattoo Studio, at 4505 Harford Road in Baltimore through the end of the month. The Illuminated Manuscripts series presents headlines in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts. "Nothing seems important because everything is given equal importance," the artist said in a press release. She noted that disasters, wars and tragedies are given the same amount of attention by the media as celebrity weddings.

At Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis, where politicians' favorite meals are named for them and listed in large print signs above the counter, a diner can order a "John R. Leopold" - chicken noodle soup. But that may not be for much longer. A new menu at the downtown restaurant comes out toward the end of February, and officials who are out of office are also off the menu. Whether Leopold will be removed from his position as Anne Arundel County executive - he's currently suspended, having been found guilty Tuesday of misconduct in office - is unknown, and owner Teddy Levitt said he's thinking about what to do with the menu.

Her affinity for sleeveless frocks has caused a buying frenzy and inspired people to turn to workouts for toning their arms. She has become a highly coveted canvas for fashion designers and retailers. She steals the scene in pointed-toe flats, colored cardigans, brooches, and fit and flared dresses. First lady Michelle Obama's sense of style has captured fashion followers, and in the process made ensemble-gazing a national pastime. A regular fixture on best-dressed lists from Vogue magazine and observers such as Tim Gunn, Obama continues to make her mark.

The Prime Rib at Maryland Live Casino opened, quietly, a few weeks ago, six months after the casino's grand opening and 10 months after the surprise announcement that Buzz Beler's storied Baltimore steakhouse was joining the casino's lineup. Operated, Beler has said, as a "joint venture" with the casino's developers, the Baltimore-based Cordish Cos., the new restaurant has been designed with respect for Prime Rib icons like leopard skin carpeting, black-leather booths and Icart prints.

It is amusing and ironic that pop singer Adam Levine should be talking about "the decay of Western civilization" (Celebrities, Dec. 4). He is himself an icon of what journalist Carl Bernstein once described as "the idiot culture. " For the first time in our history, the weird, the stupid and the coarse are becoming not just the norm but our cultural ideal. Thomas F. McDonough, Towson Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

When I boot up my computer, instead of stopping at my familiar desktop, it ends up in Microsoft Works. I wonder if installing Norton Anti-Virus caused this. Almost certainly your problem set in when a shortcut icon for Microsoft Works got deposited in your Windows 98 Startup folder. Right-click on the Start icon at the bottom of your screen and choose Explore. The window that comes up includes a folder called Programs, which has a listing for just about every piece of software in your machine, as well as a subfolder called Startup, which holds icons for software that your computer will automatically execute when you boot up. Open that Startup folder and you'll find a shortcut icon for Works.

I just upgraded to Windows XP. Now my Adobe scanning software, which had a scanner icon, no longer has one. I have to do three or four steps to scan pictures. Among the collateral damage inflicted when one upgrades to XP is a somewhat stunning change in the look and feel of the computer. That new look banishes desktop icons and relies instead on a greatly expanded display when the Start button comes up. This display includes a default of six favorite programs ready for one-click use. A "customize" feature allows one to add up to 30 programs.

With Terence Jones' victory over Omar Strong in the play-in game , we're ready to begin voting for the first round of the 2012 Sweet 16. I'll keep the voting open for the next 24 hours. For a refresher on any of the 16 players, click on the Sweet 16 icon in the left rail.

When Harborplace first opened, it was hailed as one of the crown jewels of Baltimore's renaissance, and millions of visitors from across Maryland and around the country beat a path to its door. On a typical Saturday afternoon, the Light and Pratt street pavilions were beehives of activity, crowded with tourists who came to the Inner Harbor to eat, shop and gawk. More than 30 years later, Harborplace is still viable and still commercially successful, although not necessarily what it once was. There are any number of reasons for this, from competition elsewhere to the natural evolution of any attraction - but surely one big problem involved its owners and the lack of sufficient investment in the properties as ownership transferred from Rouse Co. to Chicago-based General Growth Properties, which subsequently landed in bankruptcy.