Football and COVID

 

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) of college football is a mess with COVID positive tests right now. Games are being postponed and coaches and players are returning positive test results. Sadly, it had to happen. Football is an up-close and personal sport. 

The latest headline is:

Alabama Coach Saban Tests Positive as Virus Disrupts SEC - The Wall Street Journal

There have been problems in the NFL as well.

With the infection rates across the country steadily rising, that we are having a football season is fantastic. but we need to recognize that football players have close personal contact with their teammates and opponents--it is part of the game, unless we go to a no blocking, flag-football approach.

The players are taking risks to play the game for our enjoyment and their financial reward--we need to remember that. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

 

The Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are proceeding and are at times fascinating to watch as Senators make surprisingly old arguments seem even older.

My observations:

I am not sure I could sit there for hours on end, as the Judge is doing, and listen to the same things over again.

The Judge is being very polite when a Senator asks a question that is merely only a shade away from one that was asked earlier and to which she did not respond. 

The Judge seems very judge-like.

I was fascinated with one senator's detailed conspiracy theory about dark money.

It is a process and whether we believe the timing to be correct or not, she will become the next Supreme Court Justice and the vote in the Senate to confirm will likely be 52-48. She will likely be seated before November 10th. 

We can discuss the Constitutionality of the process--although there is not much to discuss and we can discuss whether there is precedent for seating a justice so far into an election process--there seems to be a very healthy discussion about Abraham Lincoln's intent--but regardless, he did not nominate a replacement justice until after the election and his speaking and writings do not definitively support either side in the argument, in my opinion.

Bottom Line is that this is our Congress at work! If we are not happy, there is an election underway and the power of change is in our hands.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Cold--Where is the Warmth?

 

The Last Palm Tree Image
Jupiter Island, Florida
October 10, 2020

Thirty degrees really makes a difference, especially when the difference is in the daily high. Saturday, Chris, Ethan, and I were on a Jupiter Island beach and the temperature was in the high 80's. We were warm and enjoyed the humidity associated with the daily rains that we were experiencing.

Yesterday, in Elkridge, the high temperature never got past 58 degrees at my house. It rained all day, and it was cold. I actually had to put long pants on to stay warm. It was a shock to my system. 

The last evening we spent in Florida we made our usual trip to the ocean to say good-bye. I have already written about the 360 degree sunset and the image of the palm tree was taken looking west into the sunset behind the clouds. It was a truly special evening and a special memory. Most importantly, it was warm. 

I am looking forward to this afternoon in Elkridge as the temperature is supposed to creep into the upper 70's. Hopefully the lawn will dry enough for me to mow. The falling leaves and the two-week uncut grass make for a messy looking yard. And of course, after they dry it is time to cut the ornamental grasses around the pool. Welcome back to all of the work required to maintain a home. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - October 12, 2020

 

1. Today is the second Monday of October and it is Columbus Day, a federal holiday. 

2. I experienced a 360 degree sunset my last evening in Florida. The setting sun was reflected off the clouds all around from the west, north and south. It was a sight to enjoy and a great send-off.

Kite Surfer
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
October 10, 2020

3. Kite surfing looks to be an exciting aport. There certainly were enough surfers in the water on Saturday enjoying the sun, surf, and ample wind.

Saying Good-bye
Blowing Rocks, Jupiter Island, Florida
October 10, 2020

4. Saying good-bye to the ocean is always a difficult thing for Chris and I to do. Saturday evening, standing on Blowing Rocks with the 360 degree sunset was a special night. The clouds reflecting the setting sun behind us in the image are in the East and part of the spectacle we witnessed. We reveled in the 85 degree temperatures realizing that we might not experience such warmth until we again visit our Florida Home.

5. Chris and I were amazed at how quickly the autumn colors are arriving. We saw the trees beginning to turn as far south as South Carolina on our drive home yesterday. Along Route 301 in Virginia, the colors were actually very evident and beautiful--even in the driving rain.

6. Family NFL Report.

    Ravens (4-1) defeat Bengals (1-3-1) 27-3
    Steelers (4-0) defeat Eagles (1-3-1) 38-29
    Cowboys (2-3) defeat Giants (0-5) 37-34
    Football Team (1-4) loses to Rams (4-1) 10-30

7. The election is drawing closer! There are just 22 days until Election Day. Many places are already voting--be sure you vote!

8. Today in History. After sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sights a Bahamian island, believing he has reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. Little is known of his early life, but he worked as a seaman and then a maritime entrepreneur. He became obsessed with the possibility of pioneering a western sea route to Cathay (China), India, and the gold and spice islands of Asia. At the time, Europeans knew no direct sea route to southern Asia, and the route via Egypt and the Red Sea was closed to Europeans by the Ottoman Empire, as were many land routes. Contrary to popular legend, educated Europeans of Columbus’ day did believe that the world was round, as argued by St. Isidore in the seventh century. However, Columbus, and most others, underestimated the world’s size, calculating that East Asia must lie approximately where North America sits on the globe (they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed). 

Politics Dominates as Barrett’s Confirmation Hearings Begin in Senate - The Wall Street Journal

With New ICBM, Kim Jong Un Returns to an Old Tactic - The Wall Street Journal

Trump’s Virus Treatment Revives Questions About Nuclear Authority - The New York Times

Fauci Says a Trump Campaign Ad Misrepresented His Comments - The New York Times

White House pivots again on stimulus negotiations after bipartisan backlash - The Washington Post

Another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic: Trust in science - The Washington Post

Bag Santa and the elves? A holiday hiring slump takes shape - Reuters

Pandemic can be overcome quickly with right tools: WHO - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

With hard work and imagination, there is no limit to what, working together, our nations can achieve. Gaining a peaceful resolution of these conflicts will open whole new vistas of peace and progress -- the discovery that the promise of the future lies not in measures of military defense or the control of weapons, but in the expansion of individual freedom and human rights. Only when the human spirit can worship, create, and build, only when people are given a personal stake in determining their own destiny and benefiting from their own risks, do societies become prosperous, progressive, dynamic, and free.

 Address to the 40th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, October 25, 1985

---

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, Maryland

Dawn South Carolina

The trip to return to Maryland is underway. Dawn finds us cruising I-95 about 20 miles into South Carolina. We know that the remnants of Hurricane Delta are waiting for us further north, but we are making our way home to Elkridge.

Departing was very sad. We finally lived in our condo for it to feel like home. A very comfortable home. I completed a number of small projects while we were there, but for the first time projects were not the reason for the trip.

We need to get our minds ready for autumn. There is a lot of work to do around our primary residence.

I will enjoy the memories of my first and only vacation of 2020.

— Bob Doan, somewhere on I-95 in South Carolina

Sunset over Tequesta

 

Sunset over Tequesta
October 8, 2020

Sunsets and sunrises can be spectacular. I especially enjoy sunsets when there is water involved, even if from a place that I have enjoyed many times, for instance the Intracoastal Waterway looking at Tequesta from Jupiter Island.

Ethan Watching the Sunset
Jupiter Island, Florida
October 8, 2020

I have enjoyed many sunsets there and they are never boring. I enjoy the colors and the reflection on the surface of the water.

Sometimes I have a subject in the foreground to play with, as I did the other night when Ethan was snorkeling. It makes the scene different yet again and reminds me of the beauty that is so easily taken for granted. The sunset the other night was especially enjoyable because we had suffered through almost a week of overcast skies which blotted the sun from our view. 

Sunrise off my Condo Patio
Tequesta, Florida
October 10, 2020

As I begin the last day of my escape in Florida, I am reflecting on the over two weeks of time away from Maryland and finally living in my Florida condo. The condo has begun to feel like home because I have spent multiple weeks in a row here. In fact since late August, Chris and I have been at the condo more time than we have been in Maryland. Right now I am enjoying my 3rd Saturday in a row here, although we will be leaving early tomorrow morning to make the drive back to Maryland.

The image of the sunset and this morning's sunrise will help me to help remember this place because it will be too many months until I can return. I am like a reverse snowbird--I seem to go north for the winter.  

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

To the Everglades

 

Three Intrepid Airboat Sailors
Everglades Safari Park
October 7, 2020

It is October in Florida and there is no better time than now to go for an airboat ride in the Everglades. The warm 85 degree weather made for a perfect afternoon ride through the world's slowest river.

Chris and I took our grandson, Ethan for a ride on a real airboat--there was good physical distancing on the airboat, although I wore my mask the entire time.

It was about a 2 hour drive to Everglades Safari Park where we embarked upon the airboat. We had enjoyed air boating through the Everglades a number of years ago from the Everglades Safari Park, and decided to return. The COVID-19 pandemic has not been kind to the park as it is clearly in a state of disrepair, but the alligator show after the airboat ride was interesting and Ethan did get a nice photo with a real baby gator. 

Ethan with a Gator
Everglades Safari 
Park
October 7, 2020

The ride was pleasant and speedy. We cruised over the grasses and had a great time. Sadly, we did not find any gators or other significant wildlife out in the 'glades. There was one white egret--but that was the extent of the wildlife--even the birds were scarce.

It was a great day even considering the long ride. It was fun to get out and enjoy the natural beauty, almost unspoiled, of the Everglades. 

We realized that the Everglades National Park  at 2357 square miles, is larger than Rhode Island and just a few square miles smaller than Delaware. There are reportedly 200,000 alligators living within the Everglades. The entire Everglades region is about 7,800 square miles which makes it larger than Connecticut as well as Delaware and Rhode Island. It is big and sometimes we lose sight of how vast the region is and how it needs to be protected from encroachment by civilization.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida

VP Debate Night

It was touted as Debate Night in America. The two Vice Presidential candidates facing off in a cage match for 90 minutes.

OK, maybe it wasn't exactly a cage match, there were rules and they both came out alive, lol.

This debate was more like a debate than last week's first presidential debate, however, I was concerned and dismayed over what was not said by the candidates--please notice the plural!

Up front, I wonder if the Vice President has a problem with women. He did not respect his agreed time limits and talked over both the challenger and the moderator on multiple occasions.

Unanswered questions:

Will there be a peaceful transfer of power if Trump-Pence is not re-elected? (Pence)

Will the democrats stack the Supreme Court? (Harris)

Note: I found it interesting that Pence made a big point that Harris did not answer this question when he himself left so many questions unanswered

If Roe v Wade is struck down, what would the candidates like to see their home states do with respect to women's rights? (Both)

How will the President protect pre-existing conditions if the Affordable Care Act is struck down. (Pence)

Trump taxes, debts, and medical transparency (Pence)

Those are just a few of the salient unanswered questions. I noted that the Vice President tended to bring up more ancient history which is not currently important to this campaign, like the FBI and spying on the Trump campaign. That has been dealt with, get over it and talk about current issues. 

I was struck by the misleading statements and untruths that mostly the Vice President used in his arguments and responses. The New York Times has assessed the major ones in their article Fact-Checking the Vice-Presidential Debate.

Who won?

It was a draw. There were no knock-out answers and most of the time the candidates were dancing around the issues. 

There are 26 days remaining until the election. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sand, Beaches, and Dogs

  

The thing about going to the beach is the sand. It gets everywhere. I am not sure how it migrates into the places that it does, but it finds its way into the smallest crevices and requires thorough cleaning to remove when we return home. My truck is becoming morel ike a sandy beach than a truck. We bring the sand in on our feet and our bodies even though we try to wash it off. The sand clings to the chairs, the umbrella and the bags we carry on and off the beach.

Ethan and Finnegan
Jupiter Island Beach, Florida
October 6, 2020

I brought Makayla, my Keeshond, with us on this trip with the intention of introducing her to the ocean, but I have not wanted to deal with the amount of sand her curly fur will collect. Yet as the vacation winds down, sadly already I am more focused upon the vacation's ending than the activity of the day, I need to introduce the old dog to the ocean and the beach. And I need to be prepared to handle the sand that she will accumulate during her visit to the ocean.

Dogs have a special way of enjoying the beach. And I enjoy watching the dog enjoying the beach from my chair with my camera rolling. I find it especially humorous when Finnegan is startled by something and jumps straight up with all four feet.  

Ethan and Finnegan did get to play on the beach last evening as we celebrated Happy Hour. It was fun to watch the two of them run and play on the beach.

Another day.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida 

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

 

Lefty Throwing the Football
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
October 5, 2020

As I have written before, I do not know what to do with or how to characterize Tuesday. It is the day caught between the beginning and the middle of the week.

I was sitting on the beach last evening actually thinking about today and how my vacation would be over next Tuesday and I would be back at work. What a depressing thought. As I enter the last week of fun in the sun, my mind is already beginning to prepare for my return to the North and work and the grind of my daily life. 

Ethan Receiving the Football
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
October 5, 2020

Yesterday was a great day for the beach. I got to play catch with my grandson who is visiting and we also splashed in the waves for a bit. The yellow flag was up and the waves were rough. There was a strong current and potential for undertow, so we were cautious. 

It was fun to be on the beach in the afternoon as the rain had cleared and the day brightened. Ethan was in school until 3 PM, so we didn't get to the beach until about 3:30 PM. But, it was fun nonetheless. Being able to be in school from anywhere in the world is a definite plus, if only the world were actually open. I saw a drone flying the beach and I realized that I have my drone and for some reason have not flown it so far on this trip. Perhaps today.

And so for Tuesday, I am hoping that it is a wash, rinse, repeat kind of day. The days remaining of my Florida escape are becoming numbered and we are already beginning to think too much about leaving.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL