Monday Musings - April 20, 2020

1. Welcome to the last third of April. After a warm start, the weather has turned cold. Too cold. The winemakers of Maryland and Virginia suffered through harvest killing frosts over the weekend.

Eastern Redbud Tree
the Usual View
Elkridge, MD
April 19, 2020

2. Coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, is still raging and most small businesses remain shuttered. As of this morning there are 759,786 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. which have resulted in 40,683 deaths. Get the current numbers at COVID-19 Map.

Eastern Redbud Tree from Above
Radio Flyer in Action
Elkridge, MD
April 19, 2020

3. I had this really cool idea about flying my drone to get a view of our redbud tree from above. I thought the perspective would be interesting. And, indeed it was an interesting image. I took an image from the side of the tree, the usual view, and one from above--sadly, even though it is the same tree, the color saturation is different. But the effect is interesting. It was fun navigating Radio Flyer, my drone, among the branches of the other trees that tower above the redbud tree in a light wind. 

4. It truly is frustrating that gasoline prices are so low, but I have no where that I need to drive. 

5. The cold weather has made working outside difficult, until yesterday. With temperatures in the 60's it was fun to be outside. I finally completed the brake job on my truck! New pads and rotors for the front. Good for another 55,000 miles!

6. On my daily walk I discovered . . . Walking basically the same route every day, I have begin to really notice the changes of the season and the activity happening in the neighborhood. I recently, over the course of three days, watch a new deck be built on one house. 

7. It is supposed to be in the 60s again today! Yay!

8. Finnegan likes to bark at squirrels! They ignore him, which of course makes him bark more.

9. Today in History. On April 20, 1999, two teenage gunmen kill 13 people in a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, south of Denver. At approximately 11:19 a.m., Dylan Klebold, 18, and Eric Harris, 17, dressed in trench coats, began shooting students outside the school before moving inside to continue their rampage. By 11:35 a.m., Klebold and Harris had killed 12 fellow students and a teacher and wounded another 23 people. Shortly after noon, the two teens turned their guns on themselves and committed suicide.


Headlines

Hong Kong Arrests Spark Anger From Movement That Has Left the Streets - The Wall Street Journal

Protests Against Stay-at-Home Orders Grow, Encouraged by Trump - The New York Times

In Pandemic, a Remote Russian Region Orders a Lockdown on Information - The New York Times

South Koreans return to work, crowd parks, malls as social distancing rules ease - Reuters

Deserted Thai beaches lure rare turtles to build most nests in 20 years - Reuters

Top Navy admiral to decide fate of ousted Captain Crozier - OANN

At least 16 people, including gunman, dead in Nova Scotia shooting — Canada’s deadliest in history - The Washington Post



Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD