It was so Cold

Solitary Turkey Vulture
Odenton, MD
December 5, 2024

 It was so cold yesterday that the only thing flying when I took Finnegan for a very short walk was a solitary turkey vulture. 

It was so cold that at one point the wind chill, or feels like temperature, was 18 degrees. And yes, that is Fahrenheit. 

It was a bright sunny day, and cold.

I have not ridden my bike since the month began, of course I did not bring it along on the trip because I expected it to be too cold to ride. I only managed 110 miles during November and am 92 miles from logging 5000 miles on my bike! I am hoping the weather is nice in Florida the next two weeks so that I can get a few rides accomplished and maybe cross the 5000 mile threshold. 

Chris and I have been having a wonderful time reconnecting with friends and family and we look forward to more enjoyment when return closer to Christmas. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Preparing for the Holidays

 

It was a quieter day yesterday as Chris and I continued preparing for Christmas.

We have been spending time on the computer and less time in the stores, although, we do need to head out to the brick and mortar places at some point to secure the final Christmas gifts.

Holiday preps take time!

We are heading to Florida on Monday for two weeks of warmth. But we will return for Christmas and the New Year. We will likely be in Maryland celebrating until lmid-January. 

Oh yes, travel and the holidays. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

I Forgot--and I got Stressed

Baltimore Looks Serene
Baltimore, MD
December 3, 2024

 I drove across Baltimore yesterday for an appointment. When I checked my mapping app, the drive was 42 minutes, BUT because of trouble on the beltway inner loop I was being routed through Baltimore City. 

I never like going through Baltimore City. The streets are a mess and the traffic is unpredictable. I padded my travel time because I have been through this before. 

Well, yesterday my travel time suddenly gained an extra 10 minutes due to an accident and a school program involving 10 buses. Ugh! It was then I remembered an earlier vow to never drive through Baltimore City to access I-83 and avoid beltway traffic. 

My stress level went up as at each turn it seemed I was confronted with a new unplanned traffic disaster.

I made it to my appointment later than the suggested arrival time, but still earlier than the actual appointment time.

Note to self: Driving through Baltimore is never an option.

As I was leaving my appointment about 2 PM, my mapping app again suggested driving through the middle of Baltimore. I decided instead to use the beltway and drive the long way around using the east side because thew west side was still bound up. I was much happier with this decision. The app said it was a. 2 minute longer route--but I am sure I would have lost a lot more than 2 minutes driving through the middle of Baltimore!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

It Even Looks Cold

It Looks Cold
Odenton, MD
December 2, 2024

 Chris and I walked Finnegan yesterday. We try to walk him every day to get the wiggles out and encourage him to take care of his personal business. 

It was cold. The temperature was hovering around 38 degrees. This morning it was 28 degrees. As we walked, I noted the scene looked every bit as cold as it was. 

Fortunately, we were bundled up appropriately and although we could feel the cold, we were comfortable. I checked the forecast and am looking forward to the high 70s and low 80s waiting for us upon our return home to South Florida next week. We will warm up there for two weeks before returning to the frozen north. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Monday Musings - December 2, 2024

 

1. We made it to December. This is the first Monday of the last month of 2024. There are only four Mondays remaining in the year. Three weeks from today is Christmas Eve Eve!

Finn Under the Tree
Elkridge, MD
December 1, 2024

2. We enjoyed an afternoon at Jeremy's house yesterday. It was football Sunday and Finn found a great place to get away from Jeremy's bigger dogs. He looked like a present under the tree because he was wearing his snowman sweater. He would periodically head there to get out of the way. When we took him home we discovered that he smelled like the scent added to the tree to make it smell like a real tree. His reward for being so cute under the tree was a bath!

3. Family NFL Report. Family teams went 4-2 in the multi-day game holiday game format. The Steelers won the highest scoring game of the season with 82 points posted between the two teams. The Ravens suddenly have a field-goal kicker problem. The historically most accurate kicker in the NFL left 7 points on the field which resulted in a gut wrenching loss to the Eagles.

Cowboys (5-7) made it past Giants (2-10), 27-20  

Commanders, (8-5) thumped the Titans (3-9), 42-19

Steelers (9-3) slipped by Bengals (4-8), 44-38 

Ravens (8-5) lost to Eagles (10-2), 19-24

Dolphins (5-7) were drowned by Packers (9-3), 17-30

Chiefs (11-1) made it past Raiders (2-10), 19-17

4. I am becoming cold-soaked with the Maryland daily high temperatures in the 40s. I looked at the long-range forecast for Tequesta and noted that temperatures when we return next Monday will be in the 80s. Looking forward to reviving my fading tan!

5. Programming note: I will no longer be referencing Wall Street Journal headlines in the Monday Musings News section, as I have terminated my subscription. I continue my subscriptions to The NY Times and The Washington Post.

6. Today in History. On a day like today, Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity was published, after the German physicist shook the foundations of Physics with his presentation to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin.

On December 2, 1915, after it was officially presented on November 25, Einstein's theory of gravitation was published in the minutes of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, in a four-page article entitled The equations of the gravitational field.

The Theory of General Relativity, reformulated the concept of Newtonian gravity and gave way to a deep development of cosmology, a branch of physics that studies the origin and evolution of the universe.

Biden’s pardon of his son gives Trump an opening - CNN

Syrian and Russian jets step up strikes on rebels after opposition seizes much of Aleppo - CNN

Putin approves record defense spending – a third of Russia’s budget - CNN

Exclusive: Latest US strike on China's chips hits semiconductor toolmakers - Reuters

Guinea stadium crush kills 56 people after disputed refereeing decision - Reuters

Philippines' Marcos says presence of Russian submarine 'very worrisome' - Reuters

Threatened by climate change, Panama Canal has big plans - Reuters

Potential conflicts of interest may haunt Dr. Oz’s confirmation to run Medicare, Medicaid - The Washington Post

Snow continues to bury Northeast, with more expected through Monday - The Washington Post

U.S. Dual Citizen Thought to Be Alive in Gaza Died on Oct. 7,  - The New York Times

-- Bob Doan, Odenton,MD

Snow Village 2024

 

Julienne and Chris Looking at the Snow Village Staging Area
Glen Burnie, MD
November 30, 2024

Welcome to December, the final month of a turbulent 2024.

Yesterday was Snow Village day. 

We were invited over to Patrick and Jen's to assist with the annual Snow Village set up. Sadly, Chris and I decided not to set-up our Snow Village this year because of our travel schedule and so we were excited to assist in this annual event. 

Snopw Village 2024
Glen Burnie, MD
November 30, 2024

When we arrived all of the pieces were unboxed and placed on a table as Patrick was preparing the display stand. I assisted with the final touches and then it was onto planning the village.

Planning the village is multistep process assisted by some technology. All of the buildings were placed and their relative final positions determined and then a video of them was taken as they were all removed back to the staging area while the snow blanket was added and height was also included to give the village a more realistic view. Once the contouring was finished it was time to reset the buildings and proceed to lighting. The video was used, frame by frame, to remind us of the building locations. Patrick displayed the video frames on the adjoining big screen. Following lighting it was onto the trees and accessories which bring the village from a ghost town to a thriving community. 

It was great fun to participate this year. I especially like the way the lighthouse seems to project an angel on the wall.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD 

The Annual Axis & Allies Event

Axis & Allies Europe Board at the Game Start
Odenton, MD
November 29, 2024

 Black Friday is the day the guys gather to play Axis & Allies. This year we chose to play the Axis & Allies Europe version to fill the day. This version is suited to lower number of players and it provides a satisfying 3 vs 1 format with players playing USA, UK, and Soviet Union on the Allies side and one player playing the Axis. 

I wound up defending Moscow as the Soviet Union player. I was teamed with two grandsons who played USA and UK against their Dad, the Axis player. 

The game proceeded fairly close to history with Germany laying siege to Leningrad and Stalingrad and making it to the outskirts of Moscow before the UK and USA could amass enough forces to thankfully require a major German armored army to move out of Eastern Poland and head back to liberate Berlin. I write thankfully, because the Soviet armies were exhausted and out of reserves. 

And so with a nod to history, the Allies won the game. Winning this game required one of the four capitals to be captured and held for a complete round. Berlin was captured, but before it could be held an entire round it was liberated by the aforementioned German armored army. Subsequently, with successive assaults by the UK and then USA forces, Berlin fell and the game was ended because Germany had insufficient forces remaining to mount another capital liberating counterattack.

This year, I was on the winning side.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Black Friday Antics

Merlin and Percy
Odenton, MD
November 28, 2024

 Black Friday has arrived and the annual Axis and Allies game will likely begin in an hour or so. Thanksgiving was great. The family gathered together and spent a great day together talking and enjoying each other. The NFL games became secondary events. 

I will note that two family teams played and went 1-1. The Cowboys won and the Dolphins lost. 

Part of the fun I am having revolves around two small bundles of fur and claws--Merlin and Percy. They are kittens, brothers, who can be wild and are very inquisitive. Merlin is a bit smaller but more adventurous. Percy is the classic scaredy-cat. 

They are providing lots of entertainment. 

No, I do not want or need a pair of my own!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Thanksgiving 2024

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Well it arrived all on its own. The latest date the holiday can be, but it is finally here and with it cold, wet weather; food; and football.

How could we possibly have waited for so long?

December begins on Sunday!

Until then we will have a steady diet of sports and leftovers.

Remember as you give thanks for the blessings in your life to give thanks for the first responders, military men and women and DoD civilians, and those who serve on the frontlines in our hospitals and care centers who are on duty today and every day. There are many people who do not get the day off, but who are out there making sure the rest of us are safe and can enjoy the blessings of liberty.

It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions: 

-- Opening Paragraph Proclamation 118, Abraham Lincoln, October 20, 1864

America is a Nation of promise and possibilities — and that is because, every day, ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things.  Our service members and veterans have given all, risked all, and dared all to keep our Nation free.  Our first responders, firefighters, and police officers risk their lives every day to keep the rest of us safe.  I can see the best of America in them and in our workers and union leaders, public servants and teachers, doctors and scientists, and all who give their heart and soul to ensuring people are treated with dignity and respect.  And I find hope in our Nation’s families, who sacrifice so much to achieve the American Dream and build a future worthy of our highest aspirations.
     This Thanksgiving — the last one I will declare as President — I express my gratitude to the American people.  Serving as President has been the honor of a lifetime.  America is the greatest country on Earth, and there is so much to be grateful for.  May we celebrate all that unites us — because there is nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.

-- Excerpt from A Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day 2024, Joseph R. Biden Jr, November 27, 2024

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Even the Trees Look Cold

Looking at a Late-Autumn Morning
Odenton, MD
November 26, 2024

 The body shock of going from 70 degree days to 36 degree mornings is tough. I can only barely remember opening the door to head outside and being met by a rush of frigid air. I am more used to being slammed by a hot, moist wave and then toasted under the burning sun. 

I prefer the heat. 

Even the Trees Look Cold
Odenton, MD
November 26, 2024

It was cold yesterday, in the 40s, and even colder to start today with 36 (OMG, it's cold) degrees. While the scene is pretty, the reality is not so inviting. Even the trees look cold! I keep forgetting to put shoes on when I go outside for short activities like bringing in groceries or taking out recycling or trash.

I just need to get used to it because this is where I'm going to be for the next roughly two weeks. 

I have been enjoying the live entertainment that my daughter is providing in the form of two eight-week old kittens. They are bundles of energy. Just a moment ago they made me laugh, as during their play, they crashed into something which fell and they scurried for cover. They are cute and at this point very enjoyable. Their names are Merlin and Percy and they are brothers so they have been playing together since shortly after birth. 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I hope everyone is already where they want to be for the holiday. Thankfully, Chris and I are in place for the festivities.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD