Monday Musings - August 31, 2020

1. Today is the last Monday and the last day of August 2020. Say good-bye to the Summer of COVID! I was up early yesterday and saw the constellation Orion rising in the east. Another sure sign that summer is ending.

2. Mantis update. Pete, our guard mantis, has departed. We miss having him there in the fern protecting the front door from bugs.

Moon from Behind a Cloud
Elkridge, MD
August 29, 2020

3. I took an image of the moon that made it look like the sun coming from behind a cloud the other night. It was in reality very dark. 

4. Autumn begins on September 22nd. 

Ikea Line
College Park, MD
August 30, 2020

5. Chris and I went to Ikea yesterday morning. We were amazed at the line to get in. Wow. We cycled through for over 20 minutes to get one item. Everyone was masked and practicing good physical distancing! Of course, we came out with more than we went for, but we had to make the entrance delay worth the wait.

6.  The Orioles have slipped significantly in the standings. They are now 14-19,  .424.  I am disappointed that they have fallen so far. They have not been playing very well as of late. Well, it is almost September and time for the season ending spiral into the bottom position of the division.

7. Next Monday is Labor Day. 

8. The political name calling has to stop, it clouds the the issues. Wait, that is what is wanted because the actual numbers and facts are pretty depressing.

9. Today in History. Shortly after midnight on August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales—affectionately known as "the People’s Princess"—dies in a car crash in Paris. She was 36. Her boyfriend, the Egyptian-born socialite Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car, Henri Paul, died as well. Princess Diana was one of the most popular public figures in the world. Her death was met with a massive outpouring of grief. Mourners began visiting Kensington Palace immediately, leaving bouquets at the home where the princess, also known as Lady Di, would never return. Piles of flowers reached some 30 feet from the palace's gate.

United Airlines Ends Change Fees for Most Domestic Flights - The Wall Street Journal

Iran Scales Back Religious Festival, but Some Rush to Holiday Destinations - The Wall Street Journal

Breonna Taylor’s Life Was Changing. Then the Police Came to Her Door - The New York Times

Big Oil Is in Trouble. Its Plan: Flood Africa With Plastic. - The New York Times

As confrontations between armed groups and protesters turn deadly, police face complaints of tolerating vigilantes - The Washington Post

Senior officials won’t brief Congress in person on election threats - The Washington Post

U.S. coronavirus cases top six million as Midwest, schools face outbreaks - Reuters

Protesters crowd Minsk as Belarus leader gets birthday call from Putin - Reuters

U.S. Records Smallest Daily Increase in Coronavirus Cases in a Week - The Wall Street Journal

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week. 

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD