Monday Musings - November 18, 2019

1. The month is zipping by at a rapid pace. It is already the last half of November. Thanksgiving is next week and I see signs of the Christmas season in almost every store.

2. It is hard to believe that my two week respite from the Northeast ends tomorrow. I will leave the palm trees behind and board a flight to face the worst that winter can toss at me.

Jupiter Island Beach
Jupiter, Florida
November 16, 2019

3. On Saturday, despite the cooler temperatures, Chris and I went to the beach on Jupiter Island. The sun was warm and we were treated to Caribbean Sea colors as the ocean was relatively calm and the sky was blue.

4. Family NFL Results and probability of making the playoffs:

  Ravens (97%) defeat Texans 41-7
  Cowboys (61%) defeat Lions 35-27
  Steelers (34%) lose to Browns 7-21
  Redskins (<1 17-34="" font="" jets="" lose="" to="">

Jupiter Lighthouse
Jupiter, Florida
November 16, 2019

5. The iconic Jupiter Lighthouse has been dark during the time we have been in the area due to maintenance. I was able to manage yet a slightly different image of it the other day as it was illuminated by the sun with the back from of the dark clouds. 

6. As we close up our condo, in preparation for the winter, we are leaving lot of memories and work behind. I think we have nearly made the place into our home and there are only minor projects remaining to fill our time during the next visit. I am already planning my first visit of 2020.

7. It was instructive to see how the 18 degree drop in temperature caused the true Floridians to seek heavy jackets, while those form more northern climates continues to wear shorts. I did, however, change into jeans when the temperatures dipped below 60 degrees.

8. Is there such a thing as Christmas season burnout? With the jump form Halloween to Christmas, skipping Thanksgiving, I worry that by the time Christmas actually arrives, people will be burned out.

9. Today in History. On November 18, 1978, Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their agricultural commune in a remote part of the South American nation of Guyana. Many of Jones’ followers willingly ingested a poison-laced punch while others were forced to do so at gunpoint. The final death toll at Jonestown that day was 909; a third of those who perished were children.


Headlines

Congress Expects to Pass Another Stopgap Spending Bill to Keep Agencies Open Through Dec. 20 - Government Executive

Hong Kong Protesters Trapped at Campus - The New York Times

Republicans Shift Defense of Trump While He Attacks Another Witness - The New York Times

North Korea says will not offer anything to Trump without receiving in return: KCNA - Reuters

Russia starts process of returning captured naval ships to Ukraine: TASS - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Next, the budget process is a sorry spectacle. The missing of deadlines and the nightmare of monstrous continuing resolutions packing hundreds of billions of dollars of spending into one bill must be stopped. We ask the Congress once again: Give us the same tool that 43 Governors have -- a line-item veto so we can carve out the boondoggles and pork, those items that would never survive on their own. I will send the Congress broad recommendations on the budget, but first I'd like to see yours. Let's go to work and get this done together.

Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union - January 27, 1987

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida