Sunday, October 3, 2021

Day 2 of the Tournament

 

Early Morning on the Diamond
Pasadena, MD
October 2, 2021

Well, the seeding part of the tournament did not end as well as it could. The Severn Seminoles 14U lost the second game 10-1, although the game was much closer. The bats just never got hot and we had a couple really difficult plays which killed our offensive spark. 

Batter interference is a show stopper. A double play on the bases is also a killer--and we had two of those. 

Today will be better. We can still win the championship--we just have to do it the old fashioned way: one game at a time.

Show time is 7:30 am again! Full sun and chilly weather. We get a do over--playing one of the teams we should have beaten yesterday. Not looking ahead--but here's hoping the bats show up.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Early Baseball

 Baseball tournaments start early and eat the whole day. This morning the Severn Seminoles 14U baseball team had its first game at 8:30 am with a 7:30 am show time. 

In the Batting Cage Between Games
Pasadena, MD
October 2, 2021 
The grass was wet and the temperature was in the low 50s as we warmed up and it was clear that the boys were up too early. Lethargy was the word of the morning. I do love baseball and being on the field just after dawn was a great start to the day. 

The first game was a loss, 7-3, although it was because of two disastrous innings: the first and second. For the remainder of the game we outscored them 2-0. 

Waiting now for game 2. We have a two hour plus break. 

More fun to come. 


— Bob Doan, Pasadena, MD

Friday, October 1, 2021

Rolling into the Weekend

 Happy Friday!

There, I am being more positive. I was informed that my end of September post was a bit depressing.

I am encouraged that the government shutdown did not occur. They kicked the can down the road again, until December 3, but at least cooler heads prevailed and solid bipartisan action prevented a disastrous government shutdown.

I dearly hope that the Congress can get their act together and move forward--the people want a function government not a dysfunctional one.

This weekend the Severn Seminoles 14U will participate in its first tournament of the Fall Season. The first game is tomorrow at 0830--and it should be cold. That is what Fall Ball is all about--playing baseball despite the onset of cold weather. We believe that we will compete very well.

And then there is the end of the MLB regular season and the plans for the playoffs coupled NFL Football. 

Wow--it is gonna be busy!

Monday will be back again before I can even begin to think about it.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, September 30, 2021

September's End

Wasn't Labor Day weekend just yesterday?

It seems as if September rocketed by like a supersonic jet aircraft. It was only just beginning; then it was gone. 

September was a busy month and its passing makes me a bit sad because with October's arrival we are now officially entering the dark season. I had to get the Halloween decorations out of the attic last evening. Chris and I have an agreement--no Halloween until the 1st of October. I need to enjoy the last vestiges of the Summer which has passed before focusing upon the multiple holidays and celebrations ahead. 

I did survive my birthday--thank you to all who sent me greetings. I appreciated each of them. 

Football season ihas arrived, baseball, thankfully, is ending and hockey and basketball will soon return. The progression continues. I have a dream that I could find the perfect day of the year and just live there. It would be in July, that much I know. 

I will enjoy this last day of September and relish the memories of the month and the summer which have passed. 

carpe diem

-- Bob Doan, ELkridge, MD

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Vaccines and COVID-19

CAUTION: Potentially harsh words follow.

According to the CDC, unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

I don't get it! Why subject oneself to those kinds of numbers?  The data is out it, is verified and the reasons not to get vaccinated are pretty thin.

I find it strange that people are unwilling to get vaccinated citing all sorts of unfounded reasons including that the vaccine was not properly tests and yet, when they get COVID they race for the monoclonal antibody treatment--even more untested. 

Vaccine cost: $24

Monoclonal treatment: $2100

Do you wonder who is paying for that difference? We are! Nothing is free; all of this is going to come out in our taxes. 

What are the medical reasons for net getting vaccinated? There really aren't any according to a Forbes report titled:

What Are The Medical Exemptions For Not Getting A Covid-19 Vaccine?


The report states the following, as an answer to the question:

There are no known medical conditions which absolutely prevent a person from getting a Covid-19 vaccine.

Enough said--get the shot! Save a life, save your life. Beat the virus and let's stop dancing around. 

As for it being your right not to get vaccinated--not so! The Supreme Court has already upheld that mandatory vaccine laws are Constitutional in Jacobsen vs Massachusetts in 1905

So--if you lose your job because you don't want to get vaccinated--suffer in silence. You made the decision and you don't want to do your part to beat the virus, protect other people, and protect yourself. That's just selfish.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Tuesday, September 28, 2021

6 More

There are but six games remaining in the disastrous Orioles season. The Orioles are tied for the worst recored in all of Major League Baseball at 50-106. If this were the Premier League, they would be facing relegation--and deservedly so--they have been the worst team in baseball for too long.

This is supposed to be a rebuilding period, but it seems to be a "no" building period. The worst team in Orioles history, and the last one with veterans to take the blame were the 2018 Orioles who finished at 47-115. AN embarrassment. Upon entering the official team rebuilding or retooling, it has not become much better. 

Since then:

2019: 54-108

2020: 25-35

Not a team that is getting any better. 

It is very difficult to want to go to the games to see a team that is so poorly performing. 

Well, there is always next season. But, is there, really?

I will visit Sarasota during the Spring and see the team at least once. It is an over 3 hour drive, so there may be an overnight in there somewhere as well. Maybe, just maybe next season the real Orioles will emerge and we can stop calling them the baby-Birds.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, September 27, 2021

Monday Musings - September 27, 2021

 



1. It is all but over--September, that is. This is the last Monday of the month and October is in the wings ready to take the stage. Scary thought--there are but 13 Mondays remaining in the year. 

2. Family NFL results

   Ravens (2-1) defeat Lions (0-3), 19-17

   Steelers (1-2) lose to Bengals (2-1), 10-24

   Washington (1-2) lose to Bills (2-1), 21-43

   Cowboys (1-1) play Eagles (1-1) Monday night

3. Has anyone else noticed how fast and aggressive some drivers are on the highways?

Statue of Liberty and Manhattan Skyline
New York Harbor
September 25, 2021
4. The Statue of Liberty and the skyline of Southern Manhattan. I thought it made a great image. We were on the ferry circling around to dock and disembark during the mid-morning hours of a beautiful Autumn day.

5. During our visit to NYC, we discovered people in Times Square and on 5th and 6th Avenues--but elsewhere things were very sparse.

6. How does my dog seem to know what time it is? Every morning at the same time she lets me know she is hungry and has needs to be done outside. And my dog cannot read a clock.

7. I love it when the house is quiet. Sometimes I can even hear the water filling the ice machine in the refrigerator.

8. Today in History. On September 27, 1779, the Continental Congress appoints John Adams to travel to France as minister plenipotentiary in charge of negotiating treaties of peace and commerce with Great Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Adams had traveled to Paris in 1778 to negotiate an alliance with France, but had been unceremoniously dismissed when Congress chose Benjamin Franklin as sole commissioner. Soon after returning to Massachusetts in mid-1779, Adams was elected as a delegate to the state convention to draw up a new constitution; he was involved in these duties when he learned of his new diplomatic commission. Accompanied by his young sons John Quincy and Charles, Adams sailed for Europe that November aboard the French ship Sensible, which sprang a leak early in the voyage and missed its original destination (Brest), instead landing at El Ferrol, in northwestern Spain. After an arduous journey by mule train across the Pyrenees and into France, Adams and his group reached Paris in early February 1780.




Fed Could Be Forced to Revisit Emergency Playbook - The Wall Street Journal

Killings of Islamic State Militants Highlight Power Struggle With Taliban - The Wall Street Journal

A Changed Germany Sees the End of an Era as Merkel Nears the ExitA Changed Germany Sees the End of an Era as Merkel Nears the Exit - The New York Times

This Lab Charges $380 for a Covid Test. Is That What Congress Had in Mind?This Lab Charges $380 for a Covid Test. Is That What Congress Had in Mind? - The New York Times

Companies are hoarding personal data about you. Here’s how to get them to delete it. - The Washington Post

Thousands flee raging California Fawn fire as woman arrested with lighter in her pocket - The Washington Post

Iran fails to fully honour agreement on monitoring equipment, IAEA says - Reuters

Evergrande's EV unit terminates plans to issue RMB shares - Reuters



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, September 26, 2021

NYC and Back in 18 Hours

Looking South
 102 Floor Observation Deck
Empire State Building, New York
September 25, 2021

Lucas with Shuttle Enterprise
intrepid Air and Space Museum
New York City, NY
September 25, 2021
Amazingly, hit took just 18 hours. From home to NYC to home with a lot of fun activity in between the day flowed continuously.
 

But we were exhausted when I finally pulled the car into the drive at 11:30 pm after a day in the city. 


The itinerary was pretty straight forward: Statue of Liberty, Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and the Lego Store, and close the day at sunset atop the Empire State Building. 

The significant deviation was a stop in Rockefeller Center at City Winery for a Happy Hour Cabernet Sauvignon. Luke had a Sprite. And there was the obligatory street vendor hot dog which we squeezed in for lunch. 

Things got off to a later than scheduled start, but Chris and I made a pact that we were not in a hurry and so we would not dwell upon the small things. Traffic to NYC was light and we made great time, right up until we were changing roads to go to the New Jersey site for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. But, we made the 9:30 ferry, so all was good. We skipped the Ellis Island stop, opting for just visiting the Stature of Liberty and we able to spent a lot of time wandering around the Statue and visiting the museum. We stopped for some drinks and then it was back to the car for the trip into NYC.

Statue of Liberty with Autumn Leaves
Liberty Island
September, 25, 2021
Can I just say that driving in NYC is not for the timid? We were mired in difficult traffic from the moment we exited the Holland Tunnel. But, Chris and I teamed to navigate the car through the traffic and successfully made our second stop at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. I had scoped out parking and was about to park just across the street from the museum--where we left the car for the remainder of the day. Parking in New York is not much more expensive than parking in downtown Baltimore, BTW. And the price is far more expensive than it should be.

Luke and Chris Fighting King Kong
Empire State Building
NYC, NY
September 25, 2021
The Intrepid Museum is one of my favorite places. I never seem to be able to spend enough time there and the exhibits are continually updated. It is simple amazing to stand on and inside of this warship which helped to defeat the Japanese and took significant damage during Kamikaze attacks. The Growler submarine is also a very interesting and well preserved exhibit from the Cold War and must not be missed. There is a definite difference in the use of weapons from the Cold War to now. The Growler served from 1958-1964 when it was retired. By contrast, B-52s built during the early 1960's are still flying. 

After the museum it was time to transition into the city than never sleeps. We walked five blocks to Time Square. Lucas was amazed and we walked through the middle of the Hell's Kitchen eating area and then past part of the theater district. Time Square, unlike the museum area, was alive and full of people. We subsequently walked to Rockefeller Center and visited the Lego Store and enjoyed some wine before heading to the Empire State Building.

Because we did not spend the night in the city, I decided that we needed to visit the 102nd Floor Observation Deck. Frankly, it is really expensive--I could have rented a hotel room for the cost to get three people up to that point--but do you know why it is so expensive? Well, because it is worth it. It had been decades since I last visited the high point on the Empire State Building and to say the view is breathtaking is an understatement. The Observation Deck is build so that there is nothing between the observer and the world outside the deck except for a piece of glass. It is breathtaking, really!

As sunset descended, it was time to begin the journey home. We were exhausted and a cab ride from the Empire State Building to the car was a must. It was also a thrill ride! Our taxi driver knew to the millimeter where his fender was in relation to other vehicles. As I tipped the driver we laughed about the excitement of the ride. I am glad that I was in the backseat.

The drive home was mostly uneventful. The New Jersey Turnpike might better be renamed the New Jersey Racetrack--but it was all good and we made it home; ending the adventure.

Memories were made.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Stunning Day

 


Standing on Liberty Island on a fantastic late-September day. The view is spectacular and the weather idyllic. 

It is hard to believe we finally made it. We originally planned to visit during late-August, but there was this hurricane. And then we tried for a Saturday in early-September--but it was the 20th Anniversary of 9/11--so we wisely took a pass. But today, we are here! Enjoying light crowds and the most beautiful Autumn Saturday that could be imagined. 

A day full of fun and showing the city to Lucas lies ahead. 


— Bob Doan, Liberty Island, NY Harbor

Friday, September 24, 2021

Another September Budget Crisis


 Well, it is late-September and our Congress is demonstrating clearly that it matters not which party is in the seat, they cannot or will not do their constitutionally appointed task of funding the government with a budget.

It has become an annual rite: the budget crisis and of course it is almost always tied to raising the debt ceiling. 

What is sad is that the Republicans seem to have amnesia that when they held the reigns, the deficit increased over $7 trillion! Yup, it's true. And now they are quibbling and threatening to shut the government down. And of course the Democrats are no better--they can't even find consensus among themselves.

The problem for "we the people" is that our retirement accounts are based upon the good faith and credit of the United States and when Congress plays politics they threaten our livelihood and future. It has become an important game for small-minded people to try an grind their individual axes.

Just pass a budget and get on with it.

We cannot move forward if we keep looking back.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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