A Bob's Life: Monday Musings

Monday, October 4, 2021

Monday Musings - October 4, 2021

1. October has arrived and today is the first Monday of the month. There are three Mondays remain in October and 12 Mondays remaining in the year.

2. NFL Family Results:

Ravens (3-1) defeat Broncos (3-1), 23-7

Cowboys (3-1) defeat Panthers (3-1), 36-28

Washington (2-2) defeat Falcons (1-3), 34-30

Steelers (1-3) lose to Packers (3-1), 27-17

Tournament Image - Jax at the Bat
Pasadena, MD
October 2, 2021

3. The baseball tournament played by the Severn Seminoles 14U ended in an unsatisfactory manner with a sour loss yesterday morning 11-8. Based upon how the three games win the tournament were umpired, I wonder if there is an unconscious bias by umpires against teams with plain uniforms. Just wondering because it seemed every questionable call went against out boys and the others teams were wearing modern and unique uniforms. And some bad calls were not questionable--like giving an opposing batter a 4th strike, confirmed by video after the game, which resulted in a two run single rather than an out.

4. It was a sports filled weekend: three baseball games and I watched 2 and a half NFL football games. In addition I repaired the pull cord on my gas powered blower. It is amazing how simple instructions can be difficult to understand. Maybe I'm getting older or maybe some additional words needed to be added. Fortunately YouTube came to the rescue!

5. The past week was some of the best weather the region has experienced in a long time. Warm, but not hot and humid afternoons with cool evenings. One evening Chris and I even sat around the fire pit for the first time this season.

6. Today in History. October 4, 1957. The Soviet Union inaugurates the “Space Age” with its launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for “satellite,” was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic.

Sputnik had a diameter of 22 inches and weighed 184 pounds and circled Earth once every hour and 36 minutes. Traveling at 18,000 miles an hour, its elliptical orbit had an apogee (farthest point from Earth) of 584 miles and a perigee (nearest point) of 143 miles. Visible with binoculars before sunrise or after sunset, Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth strong enough to be picked up by amateur radio operators. Those in the United States with access to such equipment tuned in and listened in awe as the beeping Soviet spacecraft passed over America several times a day. In January 1958, Sputnik’s orbit deteriorated, as expected, and the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere.