Monday musing - May 20, 2019

1. For those of us trying to hide from the passage of time, it isn't working. Today is the third Monday of May and we are rapidly closing out the fifth month of the year. 

2. The weekend weather was fabulous. Chris and I worked hard around the house and then, in a moment of great inspiration, cooled off in the pool yesterday. It was our first foray into the pool for the year and the water was great. 

Pool Timer
May 18, 2019

3. The number of small jobs which need accomplishing seems to increase dramatically every day. This weekend I replaced the timer for the pool pump, I rebuilt the pump, I fixed a ground fault in an outlet, and I cut down a tree. 

4. Memorial Day weekend is cruising towards us! It is the first holiday since February!

5. Gas prices are finally falling a bit after rising! I bet they will jack the prices up for next weekend.

6. What are your summer plans? Vacation? Work? It seems that summer is finally upon us! My favorite month of the year is not far off. Bring on July!

7. The Orioles managed to lose 10-0 to the Indians yesterday. Nuff said!

8. It is graduation season. Congrats to all those who have completed their studies this season be it high school or college!

9. Today in History. On this day in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world’s most famous garments: blue jeans.

Headlines

Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts - The New York Times

Why Working Till Whenever Is a Risky Retirement Strategy - The New York Times

As Trump escalates China trade dispute, economic ties lose stabilizing force in matters of national security - The Washington Post

Most Americans say ‘Arabic numerals’ should not be taught in school, finds survey - Independent

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

  -- Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD