Out the Cabin Window - Over the Mid-West

There is was last evening spread out before me to enjoy from my window seat on a moderately comfortable United 757 headed from Baltimore to Denver.

Out the Cabin Window at 38,000 Feet

It was the horizon and the sunset. I do not normally sit in window seats, so when on those rare occasions that I have to, I try to make the most of the experience. The sunset made the almost four hour flight crammed into a space too small to survive almost worth the adventure.

I don't often get to see the full, unobstructed horizon at sunset. Trees and buildings and even hills and mountains often steal part of the scene.

I had been watching the sunset develop, rather than taking my usual mid-flight nap. As it became deeper and deeper, I just knew I had to try an image to hold the scene in my mind. I know why painters paint--because deep in their souls they see something that needs to be captured and remembered.

Before it had become too dark to make out the details, I had been watching the towns and cities pass beneath the jet. I watched the lights come on as dusk gathered and finally began to notice the patterns of the street lights on the ground trying to stave off the darkness.

All too soon, it was dark and I was reminded that darkness is not the opposite of light, but rather the absence of light.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Denver, CO

Living in a Right-Handed World

I am proud to be a member of the most oppressed minority in the world--left-handed people.

I continue to be amazed at how insensitive manufacturers are to those of us who are "in our right minds."

Right-handed Coffee Package

My most recent experience with the frustration of living in a right-handed world came last week while I was in Tampa. It involved coffee packages, of all things.

The hotel I was staying in was nice enough to provide complimentary coffee--which I always drink because the first thing I need when I get up in the morning is

  COFFEE!!!

The other morning I was standing in front of the coffee pot, it had been charged with water and the only thing lacking was to get the coffee out of the bag and into the pot to begin the brewing process. Naturally, I was holding the bag with the front up--I tore at the container to free the coffee--to no avail. Notice the small tear on the left side of the bag, just to the left of the "R."

The bag was not meant to be opened there, and it would not tear open! When I turned the bag over--back side up and tore at the bag, with almost no effort it opened to release the coffee within.  The bag was a right-handed bag!

Ugh!

There is nothing more frustrating than having a manufacturer throw a curve ball at me when I am barely awake.

Why not make the bag be ambidextrous?  The next bag opened exactly the same. As did all of the others I drank during my stay. None of them opened in a manner considerate of left-handed people.

I wonder if there is a discrimination suit in here somewhere?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 3, 2012

1. I know why won't Congress let us fall off the fiscal cliff? They have too much at stake--personally.

2. I don't know why can't I sleep in anymore on weekends? I was up by 6AM on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

3. Galileo invented the telescope on this day in 1621. How do they know that? Go check out Jupiter, I hear it is close.

4. I have learned a lot recently about how innocent by standers wind up in the middle of the action. It happens pretty quickly.

5. I am amazed by the new leader in Egypt--he apparently decided the deposed dictator had it right. So much for revolution and freedom.

6. To celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar, I have some friends getting married on December 21st. They are not really celebrating the end of the world, but rather the love and respect they have for each other. It just happens to coincide with the Mayan's calendar. Two new beginnings.

7. I read a report that Singapore is the least emotional country in the world and the Philippines are the most emotional country in the world. The U.S. and Canada are among the 15 most emotional countries in the world. I'm not too sure what this means.

8. I placed my old iPhone for sale on Craigslist yesterday and received zero inquiries! So much for additional Christmas money!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Disconnect: Fully Cooked Sushi

Walking around MacDill AFB, Florida the other day, I spied a sign that just didn't make sense to me.

Cooked Sushi?

Does that really make sense?

Wikipedia defines Sushi as Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice (shari) combined with other ingredients (neta), usually raw fish or other seafood. Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is vinegared rice called sushi-meshi.

Note in the definition the words, "raw fish!"  Not cooked!

So, what gives with Fully Cooked Sushi?

Who came up with that idea anyway? Is it still sushi if it is fully cooked? Doesn't that make it a spring roll or something?

I avoided that place.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Things left to do during 2012

I was scrolling through some images this morning and ran across one of the things I had wanted to do during 2012, but haven't got around to doing yet.

What do you think? Diving with a Great White in Mexico!

Donations appreciated!

--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

December Dawns

Yes, amazingly enough it is the first of December 2012.

Deviled Eggs at Thanksgiving

A whole year has nearly escaped and I am hard pressed to recall how it has passed so quickly.

Like the deviled eggs from the Thanksgiving feast of just over a week ago, the end of the line for 2012 is in view and it seems I have more to do than there are days left to do them.

And I don't just mean Christmas shopping. I have hardly started that, ugh! But, I had planned on traveling to new and far away places this year--didn't happen.

On a more mundane front I still haven't even cut the grasses around the pool. Maybe this afternoon I will get to that project. After doing the leaves for hopefully the last time in 2012!

But the Christmas decorations are up!  Mostly.

The good news is that there are still days remaining in December to knock out some of the hanging projects.

December is a month beginnings and endings. There are endings--like the year, Autumn. But there are beginnings too, like Winter, burr and the renewing of friendships during the Holiday season.

This year there are additional things to consider on the national front, like the fiscal cliff. When December ends will our economy fall off it? The New Years Eve celebrations could be very subdued if our elected leaders don't figure something out.

Given all of that I definitely don't want to rush the end of the year. There are 31 days left, I am making a personal commitment to enjoy each one and find something special in it.

-- Bob Doan, back home in Elkridge, MD

Christmas for the Hotel Lobby

The lobby is decorated for the season at the hotel where I am residing. It is fun, I guess, to see the decorations placed about the lobby bringing their version of good cheer to the entrance.

I especially enjoyed the tree and the poinsettias strategically positioned to brighten up the lobby.

It seems I need to work a bit with my iPhone camera to take better images of lighted Christmas trees. This one seems a bit blurry--but maybe it adds to the ambiance of the scene.

I notes that the tree is very traditional, complete with a star on the top. The lights are white, and there are pretend presents around the base of the tree.

It is the season of preparation and shopping and so these decorations make the scene complete.

I can almost feel the hustle and bustle catching up with me.

-- Bob Doan, Writing from Tampa, FL

KB-50 Aerial Refueling Aircraft

Is it a prop plane or is it a jet? Nope, it's a hybrid.

KB-50 Aerial Refueling Aircraft at MacDill AFB, FL

I saw this hulking aircraft on display across the field from the building where I have been working this week. As I looked at it, I at first thought it was a venerable B-29--but then I looked closer and saw the outboard jet engines on each wing and added fuel tanks.

I considered for a moment what this aircraft might be. B-50? No, they never put jets on the B-50's, I thought. A modified RB-50? Yes, as I crossed the parking lots and busy four lane road of MacDill AFB, Florida, that is exactly what I expected to see. It made sense--Cuban Missile Crisis, reconnaissance, Florida. Although the jet engines still bothered me because I didn't think the RB-50 ever had jets.

KB-50 Side View Showing the Outboard Jet Engine

People who know me, know that I am reasonably good at identifying aircraft--especially aircraft that were in service with the greatest command in history--Strategic Air Command (SAC). So when I arrived at the site and saw the aircraft was a KB-50, imagine my surprise--I had never seen a KB-50 before.

The last of these venerable aircraft were retired during 1965--what a great run.

I enjoyed researching the history of the aircraft and finding out how they were used. I think it was one of those really successful repurposing of old, but useful aircraft. Just a short walk away, and flying overhead I saw the current aerial refueling aircraft in the Air Force fleet--the KC-135R. It is good to get away to an operational Air Force Base every so often.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Tampa, FL

Red Dawn - Review

I was looking forward to a campy, remake of the 1984 cult classic.

I didn't get it.

This remake of Red Dawn lacks imagination. plot, creativity, and the feel good ending that the original movie had.  Mind you, the original wasn't that good, but at least it left you feeling good!

This version is just bad. It has no socially redeeming value and is not even worth the time to watch it when it comes out on Netflix.

The acting is bad. The character development is practically nonexistent. The rest of the movie is trite and superficial. From a technical perspective, the bad guys are using US equipment for their military forces. The plot is poor and unbelievable--another secret weapon, not further specified, has crippled the US military and left the entire country defenseless and open to assault by North Korea. The landing is done by aircraft--how were they refueled in getting from North Korea to the US and without flying over Japan? The geography just doesn't work nor does the apparent logistics to support an army large enough to capture most of the US.

Come on, the US is not South Korea--whom the North Koreans hate more than us.

And that is just the beginning of the movie. The inevitable inclusion of the Russians and the bumbling North Korean officer who is in charge of the occupation are just more bad movie ploys. Given that the movie had a $65 million budget, I wonder why they couldn't have done better?

Another reviewer wrote:

Red Dawn really doesn't offer too much more in the movie department. The fact that a technologically strong country like North Korea doesn't have better armor for their troops is complete fiction and makes the threat of the enemy a little less intimidating. Throw in the fact that the kids can shoot better than the troops, and well you get a classic American cowboy film that further pumps up someone's ego. Aside from American pride, this movie also has a vague ending just like its 80's precursor that sets the stage for both ending and opens up for another movie. Whether or not this sways your vote I can't tell, but I'm just warning you that there is no definite closure to this film. 

I concur with all of the above.

RECOMMENDATION: Must miss!

-- Bob Doan, writing from Tampa, FL

Out the Hotel Window - Tampa, November 2012

Autumn's grip on the Northeast is slipping and I am in Tampa enjoying 70 degree days that Baltimore may not see again until March or April.

Looking West from Westshore Drive, Tampa

Out my hotel window in the distance is Tampa Bay just before sunset on November 27th.

The still warm sun is hidden behind the clouds as it slips towards the horizon.

Yay for warmth and sun. I left behind gray, rainy, cold skies in Baltimore.

While the water seems inviting, it is a distance away and I have not had the opportunity to put my toes into its salty warmth.

The weather is definitely different here, I ate dinner outside at a local restaurant last evening! And it was enjoyable.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Tampa, FL