Our Humans Have Abandoned us

Florence, Makayla, Jeff, Ben, Chewie watching us eat dinner

The kids are away this evening and Chris and i are watching all of the family's canines. That made dinner a bit problematic--and so we invited them all outside while we ate inside. After being outside all day building our shed, we needed some air conditioned comfort.

There are just too many of them and some of them do not have acceptable dinner manners--they are a bit too forward in helping us eat.

So--there they are--the doggies in the window.

I was reminded of a song we used to sing when I was a kid, on the soon to be restored player piano at my great grandmother's house. It was How Much is that Doggie in the Window? and it was truly one of my favorite songs to sing along with on the player piano.

Makayla, Jeff, Ben, Chewie

The chorus went like this:

How much is that doggie in the window (arf, arf)

The one with the waggley tail

How much is that doggie in the window (arf, arf)

I do hope that doggie's for sale

These doggies are not for sale, but they are certainly cute in the windows on the deck.

We did let them in as soon as dinner was over and they were most happy.

--  Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Action and Reaction: Cars and Garages

At the end of this busy couple of weeks revolving around the traffic accident earlier in the month in northern Pennsylvania.

Well, after the crisis and finding a new vehicle now comes the next part of the process.

Storing it.

Yes--the new vehicle cannot be stored outside, it seems. And so, a storage shed in under construction in my yard--to house my tractor and the rest of the stuff from the garage that must be moved to make space.

And so, in the yard there is a new floor for the new shed already complete. The rest of the shed should go up today.

Another day, another project it seems. Room for the new vehicle requires another project.

Let's see how it looks at the end of the day.

Or maybe weekend.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Crazy Fence Climbing Cat

The cat that came back, who was once lost for a week and then restored to us has developed a nasty ability. He can climb fences! Yup. No longer content to be constrained by the fence in the backyard, he can climb over the fence to freedom.

That creates a bit of a problem for us--now we cannot allow him outside unsupervised. He loves wandering around inside the fence and pretending to be a big time hunter.

Creativity was and is his downfall.

Who knew that cats could climb fences?

--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Magic of Compounding Errors

I remember learning about the magic of compounding when I was a kid in relation to saving money. It almost seemed that a little money could magically turn into a fortune--except it never seemed to actually do that in practice.

Yesterday, I learned about the magic of compounding as it relates to errors and time. One little error can magically compound itself into a string of errors and chew up a lot of time.

I noticed the first error at fitness club as I was leaving a little early after my racquetball games. I was feeling good--right up until I reached into my pocket for my keys. Not there! Panic set in. OMG, this is gonna be bad.

I thought, they must be in the truck--but I never leave my keys in the truck. Upon reaching my truck and peering inside, I saw my keys on the passenger seat. It took me a while to realize how the keys came to be on the passenger seat. Digging through my foggy early morning memory, I remembered  that I had decided, after parking, to charge my bluetooth earpiece and I must have laid the keys on the seat and subsequently forgotten them after I hooked the charger up.

I then had locked my truck using the door lock, as I always do--and the error was made. My keys were on the wrong side of the locked door.

Ugh. At least I had my cell and I called Chris to come rescue me. I figured at this point that I was going to lose at most 15 minutes--no big deal.

And then compounding errors began to kick in.

After 10 or so minutes, Chris called me to inform me that in her haste to come to my rescue, she had forgotten to grab the truck key. Did I just want her to go back for the key or continue to me and she and could take me home and I would drive a different vehicle for the day. I told her to bring the key--having three vehicles out and about with only two drivers did not make good sense and we had a really busy day planned with no time to recover the truck later. An additional 10 to 15 minutes was to be lost in by this first compounding error.

She arrived and gave me the key--it was then that I realized that I did not have my parking pass for work--ugh, and with the time getting late there would be precious little, if any, close in open parking. And so I needed to go home to get the pass from the other car.

Whereupon, I realized that I the truck was going to need additional gas if I was going to do all of this added driving--I changed to a car when I arrived home to pick up the parking pass to save some time.

In the end, through the magic of error compounding, the 15 minute mistake wound up creating a series of misfortunes which ultimately cost over an hour delay.

I dearly wanted a do over. I should have stayed in bed!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Out the Hotel Window June 2013- Huntsville, AL

Boring. Green and not very interesting.

That is how I describe the view out of my hotel window during my recent visit to Huntsville.

There are so many interesting things to see in Huntsville--a life size Saturn V copy of the space launch vehicle which sent Apollo 11 to the moon, mountains off in the distance, and many other things except green lawn.

Did I get any of those?

No.

Just lawn.

Yawn, I have a lawn at home.

I wish there was more, but alas there is not. I was hoping for something on the exciting side of life--but not. I guess it is better than looking at a parking lot or the side of another building. But still--there are so many possibilities

--  Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Defunct Airlines -- Bringing Back the Memories

As I was flying yesterday, for some unknown reason I started trying to remember the names of all of the airlines that no longer exist-- many of whom I had the opportunity to fly on.

There is even a website devoted to defunct airlines.

Some of the great ones came to mind:

Eastern (The Wings of Man)
National
Braniff
Pan Am
TWA

Mohawk
America West
Allegheny (a/k/a Agony Air)
Continental
Northwest

Some of these airlines were pioneers of air travel--yet, as with so many industries they failed to innovate and remain competitive.

Innovation and staying relevant. That is the key.

But it is good to remember old airlines of days gone by.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Huntsville, AL

Monday Musings - June 24, 2013

1. Was the moon really brighter Saturday night, or did we just think it was brighter because they told us it was?

2. Why does a new vehicle require its own space in the garage?

3. The Orioles got swept this weekend--hopefully they have it out of their systems now and can get back to playing baseball.

4. Vacation time is rapidly approaching! Yay!

5. Help me with this equation: one new vehicle plus a two vehicle garage that can't hold two vehicles equals a new storage shed to clear space in the garage. Some assembly required. It arrives Wednesday.

6. I have noticed that I have a much bigger bubble around the new vehicle while driving than I have around my other vehicles. I wonder when it will shrink down to normal?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Funny Thing Happened Today

Two Cars in a Two Car Garage

Chris and I are trying to find a way to use a two car garage to actually house two vehicles! Imagine that. With a lot of work and some really close parking we actually got her new Highlander (Cleo) into the garage with my Jag (Cat).

To get this done, a new shed is being constructed to house some of the other things we store in the garage--like the tractor.

But, in the end, we got both vehicles into the garage just to prove that we could do it.

The shed is being delivered later this week and will be constructed next weekend. Another weekend, another project.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Summer Arrives, For Real This Time

Flower Box on the Deck

We cruised past the summer solstice the other day and now are officially in the season of summer.

I smelled it yesterday while outside. The sweet smell of fresh cut grass baking in the hot mid-day sun mixed with the damp odors of the forest next to the lawn.

I was transported back to my childhood and the hills and fields of upstate New York where I grew up. I loved summer then--and I still do.

I love the heat, the humidity, the smell of summer. The hot sun beating down on me.

The summer flowers are in bloom and I am hearing the cicadas in the trees. In the evening hours, the fireflies are lighting up the canopy of trees that surround my house. I love their twinkling, it makes the dark night trees alive with points of light.

The weather, so far this summer, has been mild. Mornings in the 60's and days topping out in the 80's. The forecast is for some 90's this coming weeks and in my usual brash way I say, "Bring it on!"

Sitting on the deck, enjoying morning coffee, reading the news on the computer--what could be better?

Oh yeah--sitting on the beach with toes in the water after just completing an early morning snorkeling expedition.

Yeah--it is summertime.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

What a Two Weeks it has Been

Cleo in the Driveway

The process that began two weeks ago on a rain drenched highway in Northern Pennsylvania is complete.

From the roadside where our Lexus was loaded onto a tow truck and taken away, now we know that we will never see it again, through the continuation of our trip for Mom's birthday and back to Maryland where the rest of the story has played out.

Fortunately, no serious injuries were sustained during the accident and the major loss was only property. Unfortunately, our property.

But through it all, the twists and turns and delays of the insurance companies and through the adjusting process--Chris and I have persevered. I was pleased that the other company called me this past mid-week to accept liability for the accident on behalf of their client. And then they promptly reminded me that he does not carry enough insurance to cover our losses.

My insurance company--though not a smooth process by any means, has performed well. I give them a solid C plus. I was a little miffed that it took eleven days for them to render a decision to call my vehicle a total loss and then told me I had seven days left on my rental car to replace my vehicle. There is something wrong there.

But at the end of it and through the incredibly hard work and research that Chris put into replacing our vehicle--we have a new vehicle in the stable. Joining Kitty, and Cat, and "the truck" is Cleo. I don't know why we name our vehicles, but then I don't know why the Navy names it ships and submarines either.

Cleo is a Toyota Highlander--which has many similarities to our now totaled Lexus. It drives similarly, but did not have the "luxury" vehicle price tag. Cleo is also postured better for our current lifestyle in terms of people hauling and versatility.

I was especially impressed by the people at Koon's Annapolis Toyota. They worked hard to make the sale and we enjoyed working with each of them. So thanks to you guys for the great work. I have to admit, when we pulled onto the lot for the first time and the vehicle was sitting in front of the show room ready to be equipped with tags and full of gas--I was impressed. JD gave us a superior overview of the vehicle and its features--trust me, even though I have driven a lot of different vehicles, I like getting a personal tour AND he helped Chris get her phone integrated into the car. All BEFORE we did the obligatory paperwork.

The two week foray into accidents and vehicle replacements is over. I can relax on a floatie in the pool and listen to the Orioles game. They lost, again.

But wow, from the accident scene through the insurance companies and finally to the replacement vehicle purchase--we have met a lot of really great people. That is one of the blessings that has grown out of this experience.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD