Projects Continue, Spring Teases

Patrick and Corey at Work
(errr Play)

Patrick and Corey Consulting with
The Project Director -- Chris

The Springtime project is the primary activity around the house with the flooring project being the centerpiece of evening activities for three nights now.  The first of two rooms, also the largest, is about 3/4 complete thanks to the continued help of Patrick and Corey. 

Last evening we laid 14 rows of flooring and added to the 7 rows that Chris and I laid the night before, there are now 31 of an estimated 40 rows of flooring installed in the room. It is a large room, 11' X 18' and therefore takes a lot of time. Jeremy even provided some assistance last evening helping to get some of the rows installed. 

The weekend is coming and I am hopeful completing  the project, including moving onto the last room which is significantly smaller coming in at 10' X 13'. And it is smaller than that since the closet, which I included in the total width, does not run the length of the room.

Springtime Flowers in the Garden

Springtime toys with my affections while I labor on the flooring. Yesterday the afternoon sun and warmth called to me, but I was dedicated to the project and did not even hit a golf ball to continue getting my swing ready for my first sojourn to the golf course. I am a bit depressed because the forecast for the arrival of Spring looks more like a mid-Winter festival. The temperature will not crawl back to 50 degrees until next Saturday! Who came up with that plan? 

Well, I guess it gives me a chance to finish the indoor projects before beginning on the outdoor living projects. Any thought I had of opening the pool early have clearly vanished into the forecast for cold, rain, and some snow and ice!

Winter's last gasp, hopefully.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wishing for February

Thus far into the month, March has been a bust. I am wishing for February's return and its 70 degree days.

10 Day Weather Forecast for Elkridge, MD

March has been sporting weather too much like the season and my hopes for an early Spring have turned into thoughts of just getting to Spring.

Program Note: Spring begins on Monday, March 20th at 6:29 AM EDT when the sun crosses the equator arriving back over the Northern Hemisphere.

I have a sense that there are more below freezing mornings forecast for the next 10 days than we experienced during all of February. And then there is the major snow weather event on the forecast for Tuesday! Who dreams this stuff up? Should it materialize with 1-3" on snow, it would be the biggest storm of the season and arrive the week before Spring officially graces the calendar.

Today's expected high temperature of 66 degrees will not be repeated or exceeded during the next 10 days if the forecast is correct! That is a depressing thought.

Weather!

Well at least the following quote made me smile.

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.

Kin Hubbard

It gives me something to blog about.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

New Floors

Flooring in the Ready

For some reason, Chris and I have inaugurated a major flooring project at the house. The upstairs is in complete disarray as the remaining two carpeted rooms transition to hardwood flooring. 

This is a DIY project and I am feeling the impact of the first night's effort this morning. The first room to be transitioned was stripped of its carpet over the weekend and the flooring was retrieved from Lowe's on Monday evening.

Patrick and Corey Laying the Floor

Thankfully, Patrick and Corey were available to help get the flooring started. It took a long time to get the first line right--but the first lime is the most important. Because the flooring transitions in from the hallway, that added a great deal of complexity to getting everything set up correctly. Patrick also bought over a really nice compressor with two outlet ports, which meant that the flooring nailer and the finish nailer could stay attached and at the ready all of the time. 

End of Evening One - 10 Rows

I just realized that at the end of this project, I will have no need for my flooring nailer because there are no other floors which need transitioning from carpet to wood flooring.

The garage has a table saw and a finish saw both set up and ready. There were a lot of cuts to get the first row laid since it was not a complete board width in length. That was because it had to integrate across the threshold from the hallway.

By the end of the evening, and after a great meal fixed by Chris, 10 rows of flooring had been laid and everything was beginning to get into a good rhythm. According to my calculations, the room will be 40 rows wide and therefore, the room is 25 percent complete. It doesn't look it.

It will be awesome when the project is completed. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Travel Ban Redux

The New York Times labels it Travel Ban 2.0. 

Old Ban vs New Ban
Countries

Whatever it is called, the travel ban is back via Executive Order! It has been changed and may even, mostly, comply with the law.

The measure limits the numbers of immigrants and will be phased in over the next couple of weeks. 

While I am not a huge fan of the order, at least this one is being done in a way that allows the enforcement to commence in a rational manner.

The Washington Post in its article titled What Trump Changed in the New Travel Ban, provides a nice side-by-side comparison. 

I wonder what will the be the next Executive Order of the day?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - March 6, 2017

1. March has dawned and it has been really cold. I am looking forward to a warm-up this week.

2. The Orioles are 5-5-1 in Spring Training games through Sunday. Yes, there are ties during Spring Training.

3. I tried to start my tractor and do some Spring lawn work. It wouldn't start. Ugh. It is going to need some more work.

4. When is reality fake news and when are false claims reality? Is real even real anymore? I'm so confused.

5. Why did the mammoth's die out? Lack of genetic diversity may be one reason according to a New York Times article the Woolly Mammoth's Last Stand. 

6. One bedroom is fully demo-ed waiting for the wood floor installation that promises to be my existence for the next two weeks.

Headlines

A woman in Seoul walks past a television broadcasting
 a news report on North Korea firing ballistic missiles.
Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

7. Factions fight for two Libyan oil terminals - Aljazeera

8. North Korea fires four ballistic missiles into sea near Japan: Abe - Reuters

9. Trump Expected to Issue New Travel Ban Excluding Iraq on Monday - New York Times

10. Trump’s ‘evidence’ for Obama wiretap claims relies on sketchy, anonymously sourced reports - The Washington Post

Quote of the Week

Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid - Ronald Reagan

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

False Claims - Fake News

I have a hard time determining the difference between fake news and false claims.

Fake News

I guess, if stated emphatically and often enough false claims become true, or believable. 

Both fake news and false claims contribute to the circus which is becoming the legacy of the 45th President--the blurring of reality with fiction.


The latest false claim about the previous President wire-tapping telephones. It is a mess. 

I found an interesting website that tracks the falsehoods. It is sponsored by the Washington Post and is titled 100 Days of Trump Falsehoods. Of course, the website is probably fake news.

We have always had fake news and some of it makes for humorous reading. 

False claims are more disconcerting because they are presented under the guise of being true to intentionally distort the truth.

Both fake news and false claims are concerning, but when the leader of the free world persists on distorting reality, I become concerned.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Out the Windshield - Snowy Morning

Snow Kissed Trees
March 3, 2017

The Baltimore region has been spared the worst ravages of Winter this season. Even Friday morning when snow actually fell, it was a light dusting. 

There was only a trace of snow at my house when I departed, but as I drove south towards work the trace turned into about a half-inch which presented a view along the road that I just had to capture. 

The snow kissed trees against the blue sky of dawn created an image of Winter's passing. Hopefully, this will be the last snowfall of Winter and I can turn my attention to Springtime and outdoor activities.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Breaking the Deadlock

I like the words and the thought behind "Get America Moving Again!" They apparently date back to the Kennedy-Nixon era, and were coined in a speech given by then Senator Kennedy just before the election of 1960. The words are in the last line of the speech. I believe the words are true today. The phrase was later used during the Carter election campaign. 

Washington seems to be deadlocked in right now. 


I saw it yesterday as the minority leader of the House and the Speaker squared off with differing visions to the present and the future.

The minority party appears bent on obstructionism--not allowing anything to happen without dragging it out as long a possible.

The majority party cannot seem to get out of its own way and get programs and budgets moving to get programs implemented. With every new turn, another call for an investigation slows the process of getting America moving down to a glacial crawl. 

Sadly, the election of 2018 begins in just a few short months! We will have to go through the dysfunctional process yet again and precious little will get accomplished by our representatives.

Contributing to the deadlock may be that the administration has not filled nearly 2,000 jobs! This was reported last week by CNN in Trump still has to fill nearly 2,000 vacancies. It could be a major jobs program!

I found a link to apply for a position in the administration. Apply here. 

I'm not keen of commuting into D.C., and I enjoy my current employment--so I am not planning to apply, but there seem to be many jobs available!

My Take: Maybe if the jobs get filled, with competent people, America will get moving again and then, maybe, America will be great again.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunset before the Storms

Sunset from the Columbia, MD Lowe's Parking Lot
March 1, 2017

After topping out at 75 degrees yesterday, the temperature is forecast to bottom out over the next four days with the high on Saturday reaching a balmy 38 degrees! Brrrr!

Ugh! Winter had to return, but I wish it wouldn't. I probably upset the winter by wearing an Aloha Shirt to work last Friday.

My Pussy Willow Bush

Last evening while the temperature was still near 70, I walked out of our local Lowe's after buying the supplies for my next project and the sky was ablaze! It was stunning and I just had to capture the scene.

The dark clouds above me and the red sunset in the distance. Even knowing what was coming, I had to admit it was a beautiful scene.

I am hoping that the buds and flowers survive the lows in the low 20's which are forecast for the next couple of nights.

I probably won't be playing any golf this weekend.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The President Speaks

President Trump flanked by Vice President Pence and
Speaker of the House Ryan
February 28, 2017

The President made his first address to a combined session of Congress and the government last evening. A transcript of the speech can be found on the New York Times site. 

And what a speech it was.

-- Fascinating because he stayed on script. 

-- Fascinating because of the continued use of inaccuracies, as reported in The Washington Post, to describe not only his actions but the situation in the country and business. 

-- Fascinating because he sounded Presidential! 

-- Fascinating because he reached, or attempted to reach across the aisle to the opposition party to assist in getting America moving again. 

-- Fascinating because he modified some of his most "in your face" points.

I was again appalled at the obstructionist response of the opposition party. I was, however, encouraged that some of the members broke with the leadership and stood or applauded at specific items mentioned in the address. Good on them!

Am I on-board with everything that he is doing? No. I continue to disagree with some of the policies and enforcement actions that he had implemented. I see them as ill-advised and reactionary designed to bolster his political based at the expense of real people working and contributing to this country.

But, I want to make the point again: We need our President to be successful! The last thing any of us wants, or needs, is to be led by an unsuccessful President. The impacts of anything less than success are too far reaching. As has already been demonstrated, the design of our government will contain the extreme idealism.

In reviewing the speech, which I did watch live on television, I was encouraged especially towards the end as the President began to lay out his vision for the future. 

He said: Think of the marvels we could achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people. Cures to the illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope. American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream. (New York Times Transcript)

I can envision that broad release of American ingenuity having a positive impact for all of mankind.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD