Welcoming Rain

It rained overnight. 

The Crepe Myrtle
August 3, 2019

That in itself is not a monumental occurrence, however, it has been a few weeks since we had measurable rain and things are getting very dry. It is hard to say if we received measurable rain, but at least there was evidence of rain this morning. 

The crepe myrtle at the corner of the pool near the covered porch is in full bloom adding its splash of color to the scene. This is the time of year that crepe myrtles take over the landscape and provide color to the scene. The crepe myrtles are everywhere along the streets and the yards. 

This first Sunday of August continues the heat of the summer and that is what I love. 

Enjoy the day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Patterns in the Night

Light on the Table
August 2, 2019

Last evening was Friday--and that meant happy hour with friends. Although it rained earlier in the day, the evening was clear and dry. I was very Ince to sit on the deck of one friend to talk, enjoy some fine wine, and eat a fantastic meal highlighted by ribs. 

The conversation, as usual, was lively and wide ranging. As the evening deepened into darkness we lit candles around the table to continue talking. One of the candles provided an especially interesting pattern of light. I decided to capture the candle lighting the darkness. With the lighting of the candles, though, the evening together began to end and it was all too soon time to leave.

Another great evening with friends came to an end as the candle burned, but the memories continue.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

August Arrives

Well, it has arrived. The last full month of summer has dawned and portends the rapid darkening of the days and loss of daylight. 

I am hard pressed to find much good about August. 

For instance, after posting their first non-losing month since August 2017, the Orioles got thumped by the Toronto Bluejays 11-2 last evening. 

The Sycamore trees near my pool think that it is September and are dropping their leaves. Into my pool!

The lawn is getting that brown summer look to it. I still have to mow, but I create. huge cloud of dust because we actually need rain!

The first Friday in August has arrived and with it the first weekend. At least we will be able to enjoy the weather and the pool. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Orioles Update - July

What an amazing month! 

Did I just say that about the Orioles? Perhaps. It was the first non-losing month since 2017. The Orioles finished July with a 12-12 record. Notice I carefully did not say a winning month, but they at least stopped the string of losing months. 


The Orioles, as of this morning, stand at 36-71 .336. An amazing turn around. They are no longer the worst team in baseball. At this rate, the Orioles could end the season at 55-107 .339.  A great improvement and back to near the 105 losses that I predicted at the beginning of the season. Of course the bottom could drop out of the season. 

Since the All Star Break the Orioles have managed to win or split four of six series!

This is not the Orioles team that began the season. They are beginning to play interesting baseball. On Tuesday, for instance, they managed to come from behind, scoring 5 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to win the game. 

Maybe they could salvage a winning month during August!

As they say in baseball, there is always next year.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tying the High

How hot was it yesterday in Baltimore? Record tying !

The official high temperature for July 30 in Baltimore was 98 degrees. It remains 98 degrees, but the high yesterday tied that record! It was incredibly hot. When I departed work to return home at the end of the workday, the thermometer in my car indicated between 99 and 100 degrees all the way home. The added degrees were likely due to the reflection of the heat off the road. I was very happy to have my truck and not be exposed to the sun and the heat in my convertible.

It was hot! 

But, the good news is that when it is hot, the pool feels even better and Chris and I were able to go swimming and enjoy the cooling effect of the evaporating water. It is very nice to have a pool right in the back yard! 

Today, however, is one of those sad days of the year. It is the last day of July and with it comes the end of my favorite month of the year. 

Well, August is coming. And the pool remains open. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Setting the Tone for Decency

It has been my experience that the President sets the tone for decency and inclusion in the United States. 

Well, people, the train carrying decency and inclusion has been derailed.

I touched upon it in yesterday's Monday Musings. 

What has been happening in the news the past few weeks represents a total break down in decency and inclusion. The insults being thrown about and the heavily slanted news being shown and created represents the greatest threat to democracy that we have faced in decades. 



Trump ramps up war of words with Elijah Cummings, calls congressman 'racist'


Gov. Larry Hogan Calls Trump Tweets On Baltimore, Rep Cummings ‘Outrageous And Inappropriate’

An article in the Korean Times states it best: Every Republican presidential candidate claims to be the heir to Ronald Reagan’s legacy. For years, Republican partisans have carried Reagan’s memory before them as the ancient Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant. Just invoking his name proved your ideological purity, and would smite the dreaded RINO (Republican in name only).

Problem is, those who most fervently claim to adhere to Ronald Reagan’s principles don’t seem to understand Reagan’s greatest principle: decency.

We need a return to Presidential decency!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 29, 2019

1. It is the last Monday of July. The month is fading and beginning the transition into August.

2. Busy weekends pass too fast. Why can't weekends be longer to accommodate everything that needs to be accomplished?

3. Monday Musings is back after a week off. 

4. There were some really scary articles in the Sunday New York Times yesterday. I highlighted two below.

5. In an essay on Ronald Reagan, by Peggy Noonan titled, Character Above All, the author makes the following comment about the Presidency. In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn't brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. White Houses are always full of quick-witted people with ready advice on how to flip a senator or implement a strategy. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks.

But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. If he does, they will give meaning and animation to the great practical requirement of the presidency: He must know why he's there and what he wants to do. He has to have thought it through. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nontheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. This is a function of thinking, of the mind, the brain.

6. I spent the weekend alone working on numerous projects. It was nice to have full control of the weekend, but that written I did not manage to get a trip to the golf course included in the planned and unplanned activities. 

7. On a hot Sunday afternoon during July there is no better place to gather and enjoy the day than a pool!

8. Jeopardy finally is on a break for the summer. The last episode for the 2018-2019 season aired on Friday, July 26th. According to the best information that I can find right now, no tapings are yet scheduled for the 2019-2020 season. 

9. Today in History. On this day in 1958, the U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space. NASA has since sponsored space expeditions, both human and mechanical, that have yielded vital information about the solar system and universe. It has also launched numerous earth-orbiting satellites that have been instrumental in everything from weather forecasting to navigation to global communications. NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s October 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I. The 183-pound, basketball-sized satellite orbited the earth in 98 minutes. The Sputnik launch caught Americans by surprise and sparked fears that the Soviets might also be capable of sending missiles with nuclear weapons from Europe to America. The United States prided itself on being at the forefront of technology, and, embarrassed, immediately began developing a response, signaling the start of the U.S.-Soviet space race.



Headlines

Under Brazil’s Far Right Leader, Amazon Protections Slashed and Forests Fall - The New York Times

The Roots of Boeing’s 737 Max Crisis: A Regulator Relaxes Its OversightThe Roots of Boeing’s 737 Max Crisis: A Regulator Relaxes Its Oversight - The New York Times

Ratcliffe tapped to replace Coats as spy chief - Reuters

Suspected Islamists kill at least 65 in northeast Nigeria: state TV - Reuters


Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream -- the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order --or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. 


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Updates on Sunday

The tire repair worked fine, the second time! I have driven over 20 miles since the repair and it is not losing any air! Yay!

Finn and Louis in a Sunbeam
Elkridge, MD
July 28, 2019

I love it when repairs go well, even if it is the second attempt. It had been a while since I plugged a nail hole in a tire and it took me some time to remember the tricks. And there are tricks. 

Today is a lazy Sunday. I have been sitting by the pool while the animals are basking in a sunbeam. I think that they are cute. 

I have projects to get started today and with it quiet, I will likely get them done. Today is very different from last Sunday when I was on a golf course in Trumansburg playing in a golf tournament. Chris and I had a lot of fun last week. And we finished only four shots out of third place!

It is the last Sunday of my favorite month of the year. I guess I will begin the countdown for next year soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Repair Fail

Repaired Nail Hole

Sometimes in my best effort to save a time or money, I repair things and they don't work out--at least the first time.

Tire monitoring Center on my Ram
Definite Problem with Left Rear

Case in point was last night and the tire on my truck.

The tire had a nail in it and Chris was kind enough to drive to the garage to have it repaired during the week, however there was a two-and-a-half hour wait. TOO long!

So, I bought a kit and tried to do it myself. Last evening I worked on the tire for some time and repaired it, or so I thought. Later during the evening I took the truck for a test drive. Very soon it was apparent that the repair had not done its job. I was lucky to get back home with 29 pounds of the 39 pounds of air that I started with. I parked the truck for the night and determined to work on it again in the morning. 

Flat tire
July 27, 2019

This morning the tire was flat. I mean really flat. Too flat. When I had to roll the truck forward to get the hole on top, the truck gauge indicated that I had 3 pounds of air in the tire. That, friends, is the definition of flat. So I pulled out the repair kit and tried it again about two hour ago. I repaired the hole and put 39 pounds of air in the tire in the hopes that the repair would hold. 

After sitting for two hours, I just checked the pressure and it is holding at 39 pounds. I am almost afraid to take it for a test drive. But I will take it out in a bit. 

I hate having to do things twice, but given the cost and time required to get the tire repaired at a tire shop, hopefully, this experience pays for itself. Not to fear, however, Cat, my Jaguar, is ready to serve as my transportation for the day should I need it. 

Maybe I'll go play golf.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

July's Salute

Crepe Myrtle in July Against a Clear Blue Sky
Elkridge, MD
July 25, 2019

My favorite month of the year is slipping by at what seems to be an ever increasing pace. There are only five days remaining in July and 

The pool is beginning to show the signs of the lengthening summer, but the water is fantastic. The days this week have been idyllic with cooler temperatures and lower humidity. The Crepe Myrtle are in full bloom and dropping their petals into the pool at an alarming rate and require frequent removal. They are pretty gracing the surface of the pool, however. We have two colors of Crepe Myrtle around the pool, violet and red. When the petals mix in the pool it makes it look as if someone has covered the surface with confetti. I was not particularly smart in planting the Crepe Myrtle so close to the pool, but they were very small those few short years ago when I planted them. They are not towering over the pool and providing much needed afternoon shade, and color. 

July is the month when the Crepe Myrtle begin to bloom and unlike the Lilacs of springtime, their flowers and color will last for the remainder of the season well into September. 

As July slips by and August arrives next week my favorite month of the year will have passed, but the memories will remain.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD