Starting Off August

Well, it is August after all. 

I note that the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are cooler. I am seeing some lows in the 60s in the forecast--which is a sign that Autumn is lingering on the horizon. 

Periodically Funny Chemist

A friend sent me the link to the above image. I thought it might be nice to begin August with a bit of humor. 

Lights Reflecting in the Pool
Elkridge, MD
August 3, 2020

Last evening as I was preparing for my second encounter with Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaias, the first being my condo in Florida, I looked out at my pool and found the reflection of the lights in the rain to be interesting.  

We have colored lights on the pool house and white lights on the fence. I found the reflection in the water interesting, at least for a few seconds. 

The colored lights are a good way to celebrate, well at least note, that yesterday the U.S. had the smallest daily rise in coronavirus cases in weeks. Perhaps, as a country we are beginning to turn the corner. That would certainly be good news! And we definitely need some good news. 

Maybe August will be the turning point?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 3, 2020

1. It is the first Monday of August. Wow! Where is the year going?

2. How about the Orioles? They currently have the third best record in the American League! I never saw that coming! Maybe there is hope for the rebuild.

3. Did you note the the two astronauts deorbited yesterday and landed in the Gulf of Mexico completing the first water landing for U.S. astronauts since 1975!

4. The hurricane passed over our condo in Florida with relatively little damage. Our recently installed new hurricane shutters were successfully used for the first time. Now, the rain and winds are headed our way!

Dawn over the Beach
Ocean City, MD
July 30, 2020

5. I enjoyed a sunrise on the beach last week while visiting Ocean City, MD. There is something that excites me about looking out at the dawning day and thinking of the possibilities. Of course, on that day I went to play golf, but the golf course played me. 

6. Although the summer continues for another 50 days, I have already begun to notice that the sun is rising later and setting earlier. 

7. I enjoyed a five hour drive yesterday and my take-away is that a discrete subset of drivers are determined to ignore safety and speed as fast as they can. I am not a slow driver and at time I felt as if a Formula 1 car was passing me on the racetrack.

8. Today in History. On August 3, 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplishes the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole. The world’s first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world. It then steamed on to Iceland, pioneering a new and shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.

Birx Warns That U.S. Epidemic Is in a ‘New Phase’Birx Warns That U.S. Epidemic Is in a ‘New Phase’ - The New York Times

‘Thanks for Flying SpaceX’: NASA Astronauts Safely Splash Down - The New York Times

Microsoft Aims for a Deal to Buy TikTok’s U.S. Business - The Wall Street Journal

Luxury Department Store Lord & Taylor Files for Bankruptcy - The Wall Street Journal

Changes Coming to Baseball’s Health Protocols After Outbreaks - The Wall Street Journal

Isaias scrapes Florida, set to unleash heavy rain along East Coast - The Washington Post

The Lincoln Project’s plan to save the union: Drive Trump out of office by driving him nuts - The Washington Post

Singapore to make travellers wear electronic tags to enforce quarantine - Reuters

Divisive Trump nominee gets new Pentagon post, despite snub by Congress - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

The choices this year are not just between two different personalities or between two political parties. They're between two different visions of the future, two fundamentally different ways of governing -- their government of pessimism, fear, and limits, or ours of hope, confidence, and growth.

Their government sees people only as members of groups; ours serves all the people of America as individuals. Theirs lives in the past, seeking to apply the old and failed policies to an era that has passed them by. Ours learns from the past and strives to change by boldly charting a new course for the future. Theirs lives by promises, the bigger, the better. We offer proven, workable answers. 

Remarks Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, August 23, 1984

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

August?

It happened so quickly it. Overnight it seems. 

July is gone! My favorite month of the year has passed and the race to end 2020 is at hand. 

Of course, most of us will be more than happy to see 2020 in the rearview. 

Sadly, August is starting much the same as July ended. There were 1207 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. yesterday continuing the tragedy which has become the governmental response to the pandemic. 

I have canceled 5 weeks of planned vacations already this year. Three were planned last year and two weeks were replanned from canceled vacations this year. 

Hopefully, things will turn around soon.

August has arrived with so much promise--let's hope it is the beginning of the salvation of the remainder of 2020!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

This is Strategic, How?

I guess I am missing the bigger picture.

How did banning TikTok become an issue of strategic importance in the middle of an uncontrolled pandemic with a hurricane bearing down on the U.S. and with the economy in the toilet?

Yesterday, the president, according to The Wall Street Journal, made the following statement:

“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Mr. Trump said. “Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that,” he said referring to emergency economic powers. (Microsoft Is in Talks to Acquire TikTok, as U.S. Considers Banning the App)

The daily COVID-19 death toll is over 1,000 Americans per day, it has been reported that Americans are dying at the rate of one per minute. 

And the president still attempts to deflect the seriousness of the situation by claiming that we are doing more testing, that is why we have more cases recorded.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

·

8h

We have more Cases because we do more Testing. It’s Lamestream Media Gold!

35.4K

25K

119.5K

Yet, he has not yet addressed the rising death toll on Americans. That surely is not the result of increased testing, but rather a lack of action and believing what the testing is indicating. I don't really care about the positive tests as much as the human suffering and toll the results are causing.

And he is concerned about a trade war and a Cold War with China! How does that help the Americans that are suffering and dying?

What is TikTok anyway?

Wikipedia reports: TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. It is used to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos. ByteDance first launched Douyin for the Chinese market in September 2016. 

So somehow banning a social app is strategically important during a pandemic that is tolling over 1,000 American lives per day? And that trend is, sadly, upward.

This is strategic, how?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Is it November, Yet?

It is Friday and I cannot believe what transpired yesterday while I was enjoying a day of golf and the beach. 

In yet another display of constitutional ignorance, its appears that the president is unaware of who sets the date for elections. 

Article II, Section 1, Clause 4:

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

Now it is possible that he could recommend to the congress to change the date for this election, but the president, of his own accord, does not have the authority to change the date of the election. I would have though he would have had someone check that small, but important fact before he made such a sweeping statement. I also find it interesting that he pushed this hot button issue in an obvious attempt to reorient the news media away from remembering the accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis. 

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

8:46 AM · Jul 30, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

If he had stated that he was going to ask the Congress to delay the election, that would have been the proper thing to do.

Whether mail-in voting leads to fraudulent elections is a topic of discussion that has largely been disproven.

But, the BBC has an interesting take on yesterday's developments:

Mr Trump appears to be doing everything in his power to undermine the credibility of November's vote, in which a record number of Americans are predicted to rely on mail-in voting to avoid the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. He's repeatedly made false and misleading claims about the reliability of the mail balloting and suggested broad conspiracy theories. Critics warn that he could be laying the groundwork for contesting the results - although the purpose may be simply to give him a scapegoat if he loses.

The BBC article concludes:

Critics of postal voting argue that people could vote more than once via absentee ballots and in person. Mr Trump has in the past said there was a risk of "thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebody's living room, signing ballots all over the place".

However, there is no evidence of widespread fraud, according to numerous nationwide and state-level studies over the years.

I suggest watching a Lincoln Project video called Wake Up. 

Final thoughts. How can it be OK to send kids to school but too dangerous to hold the election? And I thought coronavirus was a democratic hoax?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

To the Beach

Ethan, Chris, Jax on the Beach
Ocean City, MD
July 29, 2020

We made it, finally, to the beach.

It is not Florida, but it is the beach in Ocean City, Maryland.

We went for a quick overnight since we could not make it to Florida, at least right now. 

We practiced good physical distancing and did not venture onto the Boardwalk or any of the usual locations where large crowds gather. But, as a family, we had fun on the beach enjoying the sun, sand, and surf. A lot of the surf. The water was warmer than usual and so we actually did some wave jumping and body surfing. Mind you, it was not the 84 degree water of Florida, but it was very enjoyable.

Be responsible and practice physical distancing and wear a mask when off the beach!

-- Bob Doan, writing from Ocean City, MD

Wildlife on Display

Another hot summer day has passed. And it was hot!

Praying Mantis
Elkridge, MD
July 28, 2020

I managed to enjoy some quality time in the pool during the heat of the day, but I also enjoyed a walk during the morning hours and noticed some interesting wildlife. One industrious bug positioned itself right outside my door--that would be the praying mantis. 

It was a bit shocking to walk out the door and see a fairly large praying mantis hanging out on the wall. I was happy to see the bug because they eat the other bugs which are much more bothersome.

Bee Leaving a Bloom
Columbia, MD
July 28, 2020

While out on the walk, I managed to enjoy watching the bees that were busy collecting pollen from a patch of morning glorys. 

There were quite a few bees and they were very busy buzzing from bloom to bloom. 

It was still relatively pleasant during the morning hours as I walked and it was enjoyable to see the bugs out doing their jobs. 

Just another day as I enjoyed the summer and the last few days of July. I can hardly believe that the month is almost over and thoughts are turning to autumn and school starting and when I will finally be able to make a trip to Florida.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Rats, Why Did it have to be Rats?

I read a The Wall Street Journal article this morning about rats in New York City.

New York Rats Emboldened by Lockdowns Have a New Enemy: Sundrop

I never thought about the coronavirus impact on animals other than humans, but it seems that the effects of the virus are driving rats to venture further afield to find food since the normal places around restaurants and food operations are producing less garbage. 

But, there are the rat hunters and their dogs that attempt to help reduce the population and maintain a more healthy environment.

One comment in the article caused me pause:

“It’s normally crawling with rats,” he said. “You uncover the top of the trash can and there are like 20 of them in there, looking at you like snakes in a pit.”

I guess the dirty underbelly of the city is something that fortunately usually only comes out at night, although I have read stories of how the rats are becoming more bold. 

I am happy to read that there are people and their dogs trying to control the rodent population, but it seems that the city should be doing more to reduce the rat population. 

Rats have been a problem in cities for centuries. Bubonic plague was spread by rats and was responsible for the Black Death of the Middle Ages which was recorded the deadliest pandemic in human history responsible for the deaths of 75-200 million people. It took 200 hears for the population of Europe to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Rats, why does it have to be rats?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 27, 2020

1. Sadly, it is the last Monday of July--my favorite month of the year ends this week. It has been awesome.

2. Check out the Orioles! They are tied for first in their division after one series AND tied for the best record in baseball at 2-1! O's fans need to cheer about every positive thing that happens to the team. I think it is a bit strange that no team went 3-0 or 0-3 during the opening series of this MLB season.

3. July has been a great month in that I have been in my pool nearly every day. The weather has been perfect for pool enjoyment for most of the month.

4. Chris and I watched a squirrel build a nest in a tree. We had not seen a squirrel do that before. The squirrel was very industrious and made multiple trips across a branch from one tree to another. I took a short video of the activity. Sadly, as we were walking the yard yesterday assessing the storm damage we saw a destroyed squirrel nest in a tree and on the ground were two dead new born squirrels. It was a sad sight and we buried the remains. 

Chris and Lily in GORC Park
Odenton, MD
July 26, 2020

5. Yesterday, Chris and I took one of our grand puppies, Lily, for a walk. It was an enjoyable walk in the heat of the morning. Finnegan went with us, but he got tired and had to be carried for the last part of the adventure.

6. The Dog Days are definitely upon us. The high temperature is expected to be 98 degrees in Elkridge, today. In Jupiter, Florida, the high temperature is forecast for 88 degrees.

7. Today in History. On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommends that America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate.

Russian Oil Grab in Libya Fuels U.S.-Kremlin Tensions - The Wall Street Journal

Fed Outlook Turns Gloomier as Virus Spreads - The Wall Street Journal

Cities in Bind as Turmoil Spreads Far Beyond Portland - The New York Times

Birx Urges Bar Closures and Limits on Gatherings as Infection Rates Climb - The New York Times

America’s global standing is at a low point. The pandemic made it worse. - The Washington Post

As public schools go all virtual, parents eye private schools that plan to open their campuses - The Washington Post

Gold soars to all-time high as dollar dive adds fuel to record run - Fox News

100 Days Out: Trump looks for game change as Biden makes gains - Fox News

China seizes U.S. consulate in Chengdu as tensions rise - Reuters

Iran moves mock-up U.S. carrier to mouth of Gulf: satellite images - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

I spoke of the difference between our two countries. I try to follow the humor of the Russian people. We don't hear much about the Russian people. We hear about the Russian leaders. But you can learn a lot, because they do have a sense of humor, and you can learn from the jokes they're telling. And one of the most recent jokes I found kind of, well, personally interesting. Maybe you might -- tell you something about your country.

The joke they tell is that an American and a Russian were arguing about the differences between our two countries. And the American said, ``Look, in my country I can walk into the Oval Office; I can hit the desk with my fist and say, `President Reagan, I don't like the way you're governing the United States.''' And the Russian said, ``I can do that.'' The American said, ``What?'' He says, ``I can walk into the Kremlin, into Brezhnev's office. I can pound Brezhnev's desk, and I can say, `Mr. President, I don't like the way Ronald Reagan is governing the United States.''' [Laughter]

-- Address at Commencement Exercises at Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois, May 9, 1982


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD