Monday Musings on Tuesday

OK--totally missed last week and I'm late this week--but life does that sometimes.

1. I love baseball, especially when the Orioles beat up on the Yankees, 10-5 yesterday. I need to enjoy it while I can because there are another 161 games to play and reality will set in soon enough.

2. Opening Day should be a national holiday--it is simultaneously the beginning of both Spring and Summer.

3. The Orioles are the only sports team that all of us agree about being our favorite team.

4. I actually have two favorite teams: the Orioles and whoever is beating the Yankees.

5. I worked all weekend and had a lot of new experiences--who says an old dawg can't learn new tricks?

6. As the weather grows warmer--I love begin able to go outside without having to bundle up like Nanook of the North.

7. Makayla is growing like a weed. I can't believe how small she was just over three months ago.

8. Despite my belief to the contrary--I look forward to Spring Break. I decided to take the rest of the week off.

9. I wish we had planned a trip this year to somewhere for Spring Break. Key Largo comes to mind.

And God said "play ball"

I love baseball.

And when the game is going good it is really good.

Especially against the Yankees wjen the O's are winning and I'm at the park watching.

Bob Doan
Elkridge, MD
Sent from my Blackberry

Opening Day

I'm at Camden Yards for opening day with the Orioles. Baseball is back and I'm thrilled.

And I'm thrilled to be at the game with my three sons.

Wow.

Spring really is here.

Let's rock.

Bob Doan
Elkridge, MD
Sent from My Blackberry

Birthday Dinner for Patrick

The whole clan together in one place--minus Jax. It was really cool as we all got together and went to dinner to a place we had never been and for a style of dinner we had never done either--Japanese.

It was a blast and we all had fun. The food was good and the family was all having fun together.

Patrick decided to do something different and it was--like being on a cooking show with the chef right in front of us.

And catching a piece of chicken in my mouth was only one of the highlights. Ethan was was to catch one too.

And the after dinner photo is one to be remembered for a long time.

BTW--opening day is a week away.

A nice Sunday dinner followed by dessert at Patrick and Tina's--and a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.

Basketball, Beer, Burgers and Dogs

It has been over a week now since the first day of March Madness and the memory of watching the games over at Jeremy's with him and Mike and the dogs: Ben and Makayla is a good one.

A complete guy kinda day.

Made better because Maryland won--that day. And of course the company.

I love watching Makayla learn how to be a dog from Ben. And while this particular picture isn't from that day, it does show the kind of relationship the two of them have. I especially like the paw on the neck. Be still you Tasmanian Devil Dawg.

It seems that after every time they are together--Makayla comes home just that much more of a real dog and not a wild puppy. But she is growing up so quickly.

But back to the three B's.

A great day, good fun, hard played Tournament Basketball and a bit of comic relief playing Rock Band. Frankly, in the overall scheme of life--unless I'm diving a reef somewhere in the world in a blue ocean on a calm day, it don't get no better than this.

Thanks Jer and Mike. Opening Day is just over a week away--and when we add Patrick to the mix, it is going to be a great day!

Is Anyone Else Concerned?

Every day it seems I read that the government is amassing more and more power.

The headline in the Business Section of The Washington Post for March 25th read: "The Pitch for Expanded Powers." And the tag line was: "Geithner, Bernake Seek the Authority to Seize Failing Firms Other Than Banks."

Frankly, I'm worried.

Our government should not be seizing firms. What is next?

I thought our whole business structure was built on the basis of the good succeed and the bad fail. If the government intervenes to save companies that should fail--what will that do to the entrepreneurs of the future? The great idea people like those behind Apple when it started and IBM and Xerox back when they began?

Will the bad business practices continue--with the safety net of a government bail out to save them from their own excesses and poor decision making?

How will the marketplace and industry evolve if the government is in control?

Isn't this all a violation of the Constitution somewhere?

AIG needed to fail.

GM needs to fail. So someone better and brighter can succeed it.

Big industries and corporations have been buying up and destroying competition for years to preserve their now obvious faults. And our government is condoning this behavior by buying them, seizing them and keeping them afloat. What's wrong with this picture? Since when did our government become the model way for running businesses?

I'm not sure I want to pay for all of this.

I'm not sure the world economy is in a position to finance the debt until our grandchildren can pay for it.

I'm worried that we have taken a leap into socialism--where the government controls everything and we are taxed at an unbelievably high rate to pay for it.

Nothing is free!

I'm worried about what's next?

Then when the Lamb opened the third seal I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” So I looked, and here came a black horse! The one who rode it had a balance scale in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice from among the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat will cost a day’s pay and three quarts of barley will cost a day’s pay. But do not damage the olive oil and the wine!” Rev 6:5-7 NET Bible


Does this foretell of runaway inflation from a failed bailout plan? And of the incredible world-wide depression which results? I hope not.

So, is anyone else concerned? I think we need to pray harder.

Friday Night Lights and Glass Wall

I ran into my own kind of glass wall last Friday night.

I played in the league championship for racquetball at the club and learned a lot about desire and just plain getting beat.

It was tough. I was playing a friend for the championship of the division in the end of league tournament. He was the number 1 seed, and I was number 2 based upon our performance during league play against the others in the league.

During league play we met--with the match going into the tiebreaker, which he won 11-10. It was hard fought. But fun. We play each other about twice per week outside of the league.

So I thought I was ready. I had a plan. I felt I could win, and I thought I was ready. He was "readier" it was soon apparent.

So I was reminded why I really play racquetball. Because I love it--even in getting beat fairly handily, I love the sport. the quickness, the thinking, and the hard work. Some fitness guru estimates that a racquetball match is equivalent to running two miles. I hate running for the sake of running. But put me in a court with a racquetball and I'll chase it like a dog!

Well, it's O.K. The league begins again next week. And we can do it all over again.

Bonuses and Bailouts: Perspective

Wow--my email box is full of get rich schemes and take advantage of the bail-out money schemes. Everyone seems to have an angle these days to get rich quick. Well, they definitely are behind the corporate executives who profited from the bail-out.

I am amazed that people have so much time to sit and figure out out to profit form other's agony. It is a crime. Almost like executives accepting huge bonuses while others in the company and near them are losing their jobs.

What has happened?

Where has the idea that hard work is reward enough? I cannot fathom a $1,000,000.00 (just so you could see it more clearly) BONUS! What did they accomplish? Drove the company into bankruptcy and requiring a federal bail out. Good job. What kind of bonus do they expect when they actually are successful?

I don't get bonuses!

But I get satisfaction from what I do. I'm still "jazzed" about going to work every day. I believe what I do is important.

My view:

The problem with corporate America today is mercenaries. The leaders of the companies don't care about the long-term health and competitive advantage of the company--just this year's bonus. They move from company to company with no intention of sticking around to see if their wild ideas actually work. Our companies are not reinvesting in infrastructure to keep them competitive. They are sucking off the reinvestment monies to pay bonuses to executives so they can live in a lifestyle that is reminiscent of feudal lords.

When did this problem really begin to materialize? When loyalty to the workers went away. That's when corporate leadership became totally mercenary because suddenly the companies were faceless.

People--we've lost it as a society. We are missing the point.

Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't live comfortable. I love living comfortable and I thank God for the blessings he has given me. But people there is a point where loving the money and material is going to cause the entire system to crumble. Maybe it has!

How do we turn it around? Curb our appetite for greediness and excess. Force corporate executives to realize they are a big part of the problem.

If the President of the United States can live on $400,000.00 per year--who needs more?

Monday Musings - March 23, 2009

OK-- I remembered this week and I'm not traveling, so here goes:

1. Sundays when the temperature is over 60 degrees means that the outdoors is alive again and a great place to be.

2. Who knew that you could get a tick on the first day after a freeze? I'm thinking about the Brad Paisley song Ticks when he sings: "And I'd like to check you for ticks?"

3. A chain saw in your hands while cleaning up the mess of fallen trees is therapeutic.

4. I feel much better when the sun is bright and the temperature is warm. I can see leaves beginning to grow on the trees. The crocus and daffodils are beginning to bloom. The grass really greened up this weekend. And, the garage is a mess! Must be Spring!

5. March Madness is. And sharing it with your sons is, too.

6. Losing the league racquetball championship Friday night still stings, but knowing that I was just outplayed makes me want to work that much harder and the new season begins next week.

7. Mortgage refinancing in the current climate makes my head spin.

8. Puppies can be a bit too enthusiastic at the wrong times, like thinking Jax was a new playmate when he was crawling towards her on the floor. The ensuing collision was not a pretty sight.

9. Opening Day is two weeks away, and hope springs eternal as the O's take the field. I finally received my free t-shirts from the O's for being a season ticket plan holder--so now I fee like a true fan!

10. When you turn the heat off because the doors and windows are open during the day, remember to turn it back on before going to bed or else it will be 59 degrees in the house when you get up. Frost on the coffee pot is a bad thing.

11. My list of "to-do's" exceeds my time available.

Weddings Can Be Fun

What a great weekend I had last weekend.

To begin with it turned into a four-day weekend and travel to Houston. Who is going to complain about a four-day weekend? The air travel--well it's air travel. I learned that Continental really likes to fly full airplanes!

But the most fun was getting together with my family--my brother, sisters, Mom and Dad and spouses and children (except for mine!) and celebrating the beginning of a new life together--a wedding.

What a great event.

It was good to get away and reconnect and hopefully stay in touch, thin time, with the family. It is so easy to become disconnected from.

We sometime become so entrenched on our own lives and our own "must-do's" that staying connected becomes difficult.

So from weddings we learn about connectedness and the value of family. That's why we all gather to celebrate together--because we are each important.