1. Valentines Day, tomorrow? Ugh. I may have forgotten something.
2. I proved a corollary to Murphy's Law this morning. My toast fell off my plate and landed jelly side down.
3. Is there something wrong when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says that she would not look to the U.S. Constitution if she were drafting a constitution in the year 2012? Maybe she is in the wrong line of work?
4. I saw some of the Grammy Awards last evening. Fortunately, it was the part with the Beach Boys--both the new band and the originals. I remember that I saw them in concert in Hollywood, Florida, on Easter Sunday 1975. We were all a lot younger then.
5. Opening Day for Orioles Baseball is on Good Friday this year. Who thought that one up?
6. I had an especially good flying weekend--all of my flights were on time and we even made our connection in Nashville yesterday with ease.
7. It is cold outside this morning at 21 degrees. I am ready for Spring, let's forget about the prediction of the rodent in Punxsutawney and have some warm weather.
8. I was looking at my weather forecaster and the ow for today is supposed to be 30 degrees, yet we are at 21 degrees. How does that work exactly?
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Chilling in the Spa
Sometimes we adults need to take our cues from the kids. Yesterday, as the emotions and craziness of the wedding day were consuming the adults, Ethan and Jax found respite in the spa.
In thinking about it, what better way to pass the time until the main event and to miss all of the preparation. OK, I admit, I enjoyed being the life guard for their mid morning activity.
Funny though, I was sitting outside with a coat on to stay warm.
It was a sunny day, but there was a definite chill in the air.
Inside--there was way too much estrogen--I lost count of how many women were there preparing for the main event of the day--the wedding.
In the end, it was a beautiful day, just a bit cool, and a beautiful wedding. Jax shone as the ring bearer, probably because he chilled out in spa.
A good lesson to remember.
-- Bob Doan, Fulshear, TX
In thinking about it, what better way to pass the time until the main event and to miss all of the preparation. OK, I admit, I enjoyed being the life guard for their mid morning activity.
Funny though, I was sitting outside with a coat on to stay warm.
It was a sunny day, but there was a definite chill in the air.
Inside--there was way too much estrogen--I lost count of how many women were there preparing for the main event of the day--the wedding.
In the end, it was a beautiful day, just a bit cool, and a beautiful wedding. Jax shone as the ring bearer, probably because he chilled out in spa.
A good lesson to remember.
-- Bob Doan, Fulshear, TX
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Quiet on the Outside--Colleen and Patrick's Wedding Day
Wedding days are full of activity and hustle and bustle. Although the outside the house appears calm--inside it is a beehive of activity with people cycling through bathrooms and the bride and her attendants getting their hair prepared for the main event. Last minute instructions being given and people dispatched to ensure everything comes together.
Weddings are fun to attend, they are fun to be in, but they are a lot of work for many people to bring together this big party together. It is after all the celebration of two people pledging their lives to each other for the rest of their lives.
Two individuals becoming one new creation--stronger, better, more able to face the challenges of the world.
I am enjoying the opportunity to visit with family that I rarely see.
it is sad that it will be all too soon over, but the key is to focus on the joy of the moment and not the sadness of the parting.
Although the house appears quiet to those outside, inside the activity is everywhere bringing together the pieces and people to ensure a fun, joyful celebration.
Happy Wedding Day--Colleen and Patrick
-- Bob Doan, Fulshear, TX
Weddings are fun to attend, they are fun to be in, but they are a lot of work for many people to bring together this big party together. It is after all the celebration of two people pledging their lives to each other for the rest of their lives.
Two individuals becoming one new creation--stronger, better, more able to face the challenges of the world.
I am enjoying the opportunity to visit with family that I rarely see.
it is sad that it will be all too soon over, but the key is to focus on the joy of the moment and not the sadness of the parting.
Although the house appears quiet to those outside, inside the activity is everywhere bringing together the pieces and people to ensure a fun, joyful celebration.
Happy Wedding Day--Colleen and Patrick
-- Bob Doan, Fulshear, TX
Friday, February 10, 2012
Betrayed
She danced excitedly at the door aware that the car was being loaded for a trip. She loves trips and traveling. The driver side backseat is her spot. The place she always rests unless the front seat is open.
As each successive piece of luggage went out the door, her excitement grew. Her hope that the coming trip would be fun.
The moment came. It was time for her to join the rest of the family in the car for the trip.
But wait. The front door was closing and she was not going to the car.
As I closed the door and told her that we would be back soon, I could see the betrayal in Makayla's deep brown eyes.
She wasn't going on the trip. She had to stay behind, again.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Frustration of Excessive Packaging
Consider the plight of a parent who tries to free a new toy from packaging without a complete tool box of cutters and screwdrivers. Now consider that the child is in the back seat of the car in the lot where the toy was just purchased and wants to play with the item. How is that going to end?
Or have you tried to open a package of light bulbs lately? I wonder what would have happened had I actually been in the dark?
Why do I need a college degree in difficult packaging to obtain access to the products I purchased?
How much money and how many resources could we save by eliminating excessive packaging?
Just think of the ease of cardboard over polystyrene.
I bought some new razors the other day and found out that they were more secure than all of the gold in Fort Knox.
Wow.
Check it out--too much packaging equals a lot of frustration. And the really sad part is that it all just goes into the recycling bin to help do it all over again.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Or have you tried to open a package of light bulbs lately? I wonder what would have happened had I actually been in the dark?
Why do I need a college degree in difficult packaging to obtain access to the products I purchased?
How much money and how many resources could we save by eliminating excessive packaging?
Just think of the ease of cardboard over polystyrene.
I bought some new razors the other day and found out that they were more secure than all of the gold in Fort Knox.
Wow.
Check it out--too much packaging equals a lot of frustration. And the really sad part is that it all just goes into the recycling bin to help do it all over again.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Pinning the Budget Deficit Rose on the Wrong People
For 2012, the US will spend $53 Billion to provide foreign aid to countries around the world, some of those countries are not our friends. See foreign aid escapes budget cuts.
For 2012 and 2013 together, the US will save a total of $26 Billion by freezing Federal Worker pay. See pay freeze.
The federal deficit for 2012 (see page 23) is still estimated to be $1.1 trillion.
What is wrong with this picture. The people of the country demand quality services from government, yet the government is unwilling to pay for them. And then wonder why people are complaining that the government is bureaucratically fat.
Many federal workers give up constitutional rights to be employed by the government (see the Hatch Act) and they are working for less money than they could get working for a contractor. Plus, they are subjected very stringent guidelines and very invasive income and investment reporting requirements.
I think it is like going to the tire store for set of new tires and only putting three tires on the car. It is not the fault of the tire store that the car doesn't drive right, yet they ultimately get the blame.
Congress and the DoD are also evaluating ways to reduce benefits to the military, active duty and retirees. That certainly does not send the right message to the veterans in our country.
So here is my rub--the government is willing to provide billions of dollars in stimulus aid to corporations and banks, but is unwilling to fairly compensate the people who are part of the engine of the recovery. It doesn't make good economic sense to me. Every fee and every tax that is levied on a company is ultimately paid by whom?
The consumer.
Think about it.
Taking money out of the pockets of consumers will cause the recovery to fail. Federal workers are consumers. And, unlike people receiving benefits in this country for doing nothing, federal workers contribute to the greater good and expect fair compensation for their work.
I believe that federal workers are being unfairly singled out by Congress as the cause of our economic distress. The relative pittance saved by not ensuring the continued prosperity of the civilian workforce is nothing more that a politically misguided effort to shift blame for our current economic woes away from those really responsible.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
For 2012 and 2013 together, the US will save a total of $26 Billion by freezing Federal Worker pay. See pay freeze.
The federal deficit for 2012 (see page 23) is still estimated to be $1.1 trillion.
What is wrong with this picture. The people of the country demand quality services from government, yet the government is unwilling to pay for them. And then wonder why people are complaining that the government is bureaucratically fat.
Many federal workers give up constitutional rights to be employed by the government (see the Hatch Act) and they are working for less money than they could get working for a contractor. Plus, they are subjected very stringent guidelines and very invasive income and investment reporting requirements.
I think it is like going to the tire store for set of new tires and only putting three tires on the car. It is not the fault of the tire store that the car doesn't drive right, yet they ultimately get the blame.
Congress and the DoD are also evaluating ways to reduce benefits to the military, active duty and retirees. That certainly does not send the right message to the veterans in our country.
So here is my rub--the government is willing to provide billions of dollars in stimulus aid to corporations and banks, but is unwilling to fairly compensate the people who are part of the engine of the recovery. It doesn't make good economic sense to me. Every fee and every tax that is levied on a company is ultimately paid by whom?
The consumer.
Think about it.
Taking money out of the pockets of consumers will cause the recovery to fail. Federal workers are consumers. And, unlike people receiving benefits in this country for doing nothing, federal workers contribute to the greater good and expect fair compensation for their work.
I believe that federal workers are being unfairly singled out by Congress as the cause of our economic distress. The relative pittance saved by not ensuring the continued prosperity of the civilian workforce is nothing more that a politically misguided effort to shift blame for our current economic woes away from those really responsible.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Dark Side of the Super Bowl
Aside from all of the hoopla and the game, which really wasn't too bad, I noticed that there was a dark side to the commercials. I got thinking about it today after I read an editorial and realized that as a society we are becoming a bit dark and depraved.
In reflecting about the commercials I saw, I was reminded that there was a dog covering up the murder of the family cat for some chips, a boy peeing in a swimming pool and then smiling when his sister jumped in, and there was the half time show which was a poster ad for talent past its prime and sex.
David Zurwick in his article titled Super Bowl TV: Good Game, Nasty Ads, Pathetic Halftime Show makes a lot of good points.
Here is what he wrote, and I have to agree with him: "The ads are a barometer of our culture. And what they said to me is that we have become a truly dumbed-down, crass, trashy and even cruel society -- and somehow proud of it."
Here is how he viewed the commercials:
A dog having killed a cat and trying to cover it up was supposed to be funny in a Doritos ad. A little kid urinating in a swimming pool and laughing when his sister jumps in was the punch line for an online tax service. The joke in a brain-dead, apocalyptic Chevy Silverado ad featuring a group of survivors is that one of the group died because he drove a Ford. Is this where the Obama bailout money went?
But I think the ad that best summarizes how debased our excessive commercialism has made us is the Go Daddy commercial that features two women using another woman's body as a billboard on which to write and draw the Go Daddy brand. There is something especially calculating about having two women do it to another woman -- when you know the intended appeal of the ad is male voyeurism.
I have to agree with him.
And I'm not going to bore you with his review of the halftime show, suffice it to write, he was unimpressed.
These ads are about the worst in us and appeal to our dark desires and sick sense of humor.
I believe we need to spend some time listening to Clint Eastwood in his piece, It's Halftime in America.
America--we need to change our direction or pretty soon we are going to be building coliseums and watching the gladiators for Sunday afternoon excitement.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
In reflecting about the commercials I saw, I was reminded that there was a dog covering up the murder of the family cat for some chips, a boy peeing in a swimming pool and then smiling when his sister jumped in, and there was the half time show which was a poster ad for talent past its prime and sex.
David Zurwick in his article titled Super Bowl TV: Good Game, Nasty Ads, Pathetic Halftime Show makes a lot of good points.
Here is what he wrote, and I have to agree with him: "The ads are a barometer of our culture. And what they said to me is that we have become a truly dumbed-down, crass, trashy and even cruel society -- and somehow proud of it."
Here is how he viewed the commercials:
A dog having killed a cat and trying to cover it up was supposed to be funny in a Doritos ad. A little kid urinating in a swimming pool and laughing when his sister jumps in was the punch line for an online tax service. The joke in a brain-dead, apocalyptic Chevy Silverado ad featuring a group of survivors is that one of the group died because he drove a Ford. Is this where the Obama bailout money went?
But I think the ad that best summarizes how debased our excessive commercialism has made us is the Go Daddy commercial that features two women using another woman's body as a billboard on which to write and draw the Go Daddy brand. There is something especially calculating about having two women do it to another woman -- when you know the intended appeal of the ad is male voyeurism.
I have to agree with him.
And I'm not going to bore you with his review of the halftime show, suffice it to write, he was unimpressed.
These ads are about the worst in us and appeal to our dark desires and sick sense of humor.
I believe we need to spend some time listening to Clint Eastwood in his piece, It's Halftime in America.
America--we need to change our direction or pretty soon we are going to be building coliseums and watching the gladiators for Sunday afternoon excitement.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Monday, February 6, 2012
Monday Musings - February 6, 2012
1. Today really is the morning after the night before.
2. The Super Bowl was a great game. I watched all of it and was impressed with the level of play. Congrats to the Giants for knocking off the Patriots.
3. It is hard to understand some decisions and late-changed plans--but in the end, they often make sense.
4. Super Bowl commercials did not disappoint this year. I enjoyed the Volkswagen dog with the Star Wars ending and the Matthew Broderick Honda commercials, but Clint Eastwood's "It's Halftime in America" was probably the best.
5. I'm still kind of upset at the groundhog for imagining to see his shadow last week.
6. It is less than two weeks to the start of baseball season. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota on February 18th.
7. Check your tax bill--I have heard it said the the governor of Maryland never met a tax he didn't like.
8. I can't begin to express my frustration at another year of Federal Worker pay freeze, if only my costs to live were not continuing to rise. My idea to start balancing the budget--stop giving away money to foreign countries.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
2. The Super Bowl was a great game. I watched all of it and was impressed with the level of play. Congrats to the Giants for knocking off the Patriots.
3. It is hard to understand some decisions and late-changed plans--but in the end, they often make sense.
4. Super Bowl commercials did not disappoint this year. I enjoyed the Volkswagen dog with the Star Wars ending and the Matthew Broderick Honda commercials, but Clint Eastwood's "It's Halftime in America" was probably the best.
5. I'm still kind of upset at the groundhog for imagining to see his shadow last week.
6. It is less than two weeks to the start of baseball season. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota on February 18th.
7. Check your tax bill--I have heard it said the the governor of Maryland never met a tax he didn't like.
8. I can't begin to express my frustration at another year of Federal Worker pay freeze, if only my costs to live were not continuing to rise. My idea to start balancing the budget--stop giving away money to foreign countries.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Making a Difference
An article in the New York Times on Saturday really touched me. It was about life in Maine during the winter living on a restricted income and unable to afford fuel oil to heat a home. The article titled, In Fuel Oil Country, Cold that Cuts to the Heart brought home the hard decisions that must be made by business owners when faced with needy and destitute people.
Although the article is about the hard decisions that the owners of a fuel oil delivery company has to make to keep his business solvent, it is also about how those hard decisions take a toll on him and those who work for him.
The real heartening part of the story though, is the last part where an anonymous donator has a standing agreement to provide 50 gallons of fuel oil for an emergency case.
I have heard of this before--a local auto repair shop told me of the generosity of one of my neighbors who anonymously pays much of the repairs for other more needy neighbors. This is the true nature of paying it forward. But it meets real needs far better than buying someone's dinner at the Fast Food window.
We really can make a difference.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Although the article is about the hard decisions that the owners of a fuel oil delivery company has to make to keep his business solvent, it is also about how those hard decisions take a toll on him and those who work for him.
The real heartening part of the story though, is the last part where an anonymous donator has a standing agreement to provide 50 gallons of fuel oil for an emergency case.
I have heard of this before--a local auto repair shop told me of the generosity of one of my neighbors who anonymously pays much of the repairs for other more needy neighbors. This is the true nature of paying it forward. But it meets real needs far better than buying someone's dinner at the Fast Food window.
We really can make a difference.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Secret of Life
I do not often use the stuff from the countless chain emails I receive, but the other day a story was sent to me which at the same time made me cry--because I've been there; while also making me realize--yeah, that is so right! And so here is that story from my email--
A Dog's Purpose?(from a 6-year-old).
Being
a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish
Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their
little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping
for a miracle.
I examined Belker
and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do
anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for
the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa
told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe
the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat
as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the
old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was
going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The
little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty
or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death,
wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than
human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''
Startled,
we all turned to him.
What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more
comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He
said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
-- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The
Six-year-old continued,
''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''
I love my dog--everyone knows that and now, I know why. She is an example for me to emulate.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
A Dog's Purpose?(from a 6-year-old).
Being
a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish
Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their
little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping
for a miracle.
I examined Belker
and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do
anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for
the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa
told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe
the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat
as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the
old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was
going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.
The
little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty
or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death,
wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than
human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''
Startled,
we all turned to him.
What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more
comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.
He
said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
-- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?'' The
Six-year-old continued,
''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''
I love my dog--everyone knows that and now, I know why. She is an example for me to emulate.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
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