Blue Sky Day

Receding Snow in My Yard

In a stunning change to the cold and oppressive weather pattern of the past few weeks, yesterday was glorious! Absolutely glorious.

Blue sky and warmer temperatures which actually flirted with and then made exactly 60 degrees about 4 PM made for a fantastic day. The snow of the past few weeks is melting, the yard is soggy--too soggy to walk on it, but the day was a memorable one because I didn't waste it. I enjoyed it from start to finish and I know I stood for moments at a time enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face and marveling at the depth of the blue sky.

I can believe that Spring is close! I dearly want Spring to arrive and rescue my heating bill from Winter's grip. I think we set a new record last month! Ugh! I don't like records like that.

Even my new Fitbit enjoyed the day, logging over 14,000 steps as I fully enjoyed the great day that had been provided for my activities. Yes, there was a long walk, but I also the last basketball game of the season for Ethan and Jax. It was kind of sad, but the ending means that baseball and lacrosse are close at hand and the transition from inside to outside sports is about to begin. Yay. 

Today is dawning bright, too. Maybe I will enjoy two days in a row of great February, unseasonably warm weather! The forecast is for a week is cold weather as the polar vortex returns, however, maybe, just maybe it will be Winter's last gasp!

Here's hoping.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Did You Notice the Sodium in that?

I have a new Fitbit, given to me by my loving wife so that I could participate in the family fitness activity. It was a great idea and I am having a lot of fun with it, although, even by playing racquetball daily I am not competing very well because I cannot wear my Fitbit while I am at work.  and therefore lose credit for 8 or more hours of activity, albeit it mild, everyday.

I have been fascinated with the whole idea of tracking steps and working to improve general health and fitness for a while now, but I hadn't taken the leap to actually acquire a tracker of my own. Some insurance companies provide money back for meeting step thresholds and doing other healthy things. Mine doesn't and the place where I work needs to improve its commitment to employee fitness, but that is a thought for another time. 

The most interesting part of my five day experience has been in tracking my food intake and understanding not only what I eat, but what is in what I eat.

Seriously. On my first day of logging my food and trying to understand what is in what I eat, I varied from my usual lunch fare of chili--and for those who know me, they know that that in and of itself was a monumental occasion. I decided to eat a healthy looking Cuban Pannini sandwich offered by the cafeteria. Mmm, it tasted good. And then I looked at the nutritional information regarding this sandwich as prepared by the company which has the food contract at work. 

Cuban Pannini sandwich:
Calories: 643
Fat: 24.1 g
Sodium: 1996 mg
Carbohydrates: 66.3 g
Protein: 39.2 g
Fiber: 0.7 g

Ugh! I got my entire daily allowance of sodium in just that sandwich! And while I thought I was getting some fiber, I would have done better having chili. And then I went and added mayonnaise to the sandwich, which skewed a few other items, but the bottom line was healthy looking is not healthy. 

Did you notice the sodium? My total sodium intake for that day was about 3400 mg.  I did much better by eating chili the next day ending up with a total sodium intake of only 2200 mg for the day. 

I've been looking at sodium in food since then and am appalled at how much is added--it is everywhere except in one of my favorite beverages! There is no sodium in wine.

I'll just have to drink more wine to offset the sodium in what I eat.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Frustrating Drivers

Anyone who has had the experience of riding with me in a vehicle lately knows that I believe there are frustrating drivers with whom I share the road. Frustrating because despite what is happening around them, they apparently cling to the belief that they are the center of the world and their actions are therefore justified despite the angst they cause for those around them.

It can be extremely frustrating.

Don't get me started on turn signal etiquette, or lack of etiquette. I just believe that failure to signal turns and lane changes represents a fundamental disrespect for the other drivers on the road. But there are other frustrating drivers out there, too!

Yesterday morning, for instance, there was a driver in downtown Baltimore who clearly wanted into my lane on a tight street using no turn signal. I was trapped with a bus very close on the passenger side and this driver crowding over the lane on the driver side. Even Chris mentioned that we seemed seconds from an imminent accident. Turns our, the driver was just making a wide, for some unknown reason, left hand turn and wanted a piece of my lane before executing the no signal turn.


I have found frustrating drivers in other places as well. Driving 55 MPH on I-95 where the speed limit is 65 MPH and traffic travels above 70 MPH. Or there is a road, Telegraph Road, where the speed limit is 50 MPH and for some strange reason some drivers want to travel at 40 MPH. While traveling at lower speeds certainly is their right and the can do it, failing to estimate the impact on the drivers around them is clearly dangerous.

I an equally frustrated, and scare, by the speed demons as well who believe that other cars on the highway are merely obstacles, like in a video game, to maneuver around at high speeds. I am convinced that they are going to cause a terrible accident should one of the drivers they are maneuvering around panic and hit their brakes. 

I believe that driving habits represent a person's view of interaction with society and their interaction with or respect of other people. Self-centered people may be frustrating drivers. I don't know, but I would like to test the hypothesis some day. 

Just do me a favor, consider the traffic around you as people and not just cars on the highway. Recognize the potential impact from your actions and be a considerate and not a frustrating driver.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Light Lingers

Amazingly, I noticed it Tuesday and confirmed it yesterday.

It is light longer!  Yes, it is bright by 7AM and I can still see remnants of the dusk until after 6PM.

Yay. 

In fact for yesterday, sunrise was at 6:51 AM and sunset was at 5:46 PM. That totals 10 hours and 55 minutes of sunlight--if only the colds would move along and let the Earth warm. 

The snow remains almost everywhere, but I do see signs that the glacial cold is receding.

I suppose there isn't much I can do about that because nature will eventually replace the snow with brown dormant grass and mud; followed by green grass and flowers!

I think I should charge up the battery on the tractor to prepare for the mowing season which should begin next month! Yup, next month. It is only about 10 days away.

I even went for a walk last evening to enjoy the 50 degree temperatures and sunlight. Well, and to get a few more steps on my new Fitbit. IT already knows too much about me and my lazy, unhealthy habits. I even found out that a glass of wine, a bit glass, contains 125 calories. So I am trading cookies for wine.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Fabricated Drama

Some people have a knack for creating drama where there needn't be any. I see it and experience it time and time again. I wish there was some other way in which they could find happiness rather than creating tense, dramatic situations during periods of time which otherwise would be calm and peaceful. 

Drama happens enough on its own. For instance, the other day a couple helped me with a big project for most of the afternoon. Life was great and we went shopping and later enjoyed a bottle of wine after the work was over. Then, without warning, the couple was advised of a serious family emergency requiring a no notice six hour drive leaving at 8PM. My point? There is enough drama in life without creating additional opportunities.

What is needless drama? Picking a fight with a friend or a spouse over a long thought settled issue. That constitutes fabricated drama.  Another example might be being a "poop" in the middle of the mall because the group is moving too quickly or too slowly. I admit to being this kind of drama queen on at least one on occasion. 

People who preach doom and gloom on an otherwise sunny day? Fabricated drama queens!

Another form of fabricated drama is setting unreasonable expectations for others and then being disappointed and holding it against them after they make an admirable effort to comply. 

Drama queens as they are called are just dying to make themselves the center of the occasion or situation. It is a self centered approach that commandeers a situation at the expense of others. We've all seen it happen. The recognition gained for introducing fabricated drama is generally negative. 

Get over it and help others to enjoy the day rather than focusing on needless drama. The drama in life will come about all on its own, no assistance is required.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

When Cultures Collide

Grocers in Seville Eating Lunch

Some of my family recently returned from a week in Spain--well actually it was Barcelona, which it seems if you ask the residents in not really Spain but Catalonia. 

As they were telling the tales of their travel, including a sobering view of the Spanish Civil War, not well taught in U.S. schools, one of the customs they noted was the long afternoon siesta time and the late dinners (except on Mondays). It sounds like the perfect place to live. I love afternoon naps and we usually do not eat dinner until later--sometimes after 8PM.

Now for the weird part. This morning's New York Times has an article about how business forces in Europe are causing the Spanish to reevaluate their fundamental approach to life--the afternoon nap and dinners that begin while much of the rest of Europe is thinking about going to bed. 

Interestingly, as I read the article, there is a great deal of resistance to the idea of change, but the truly fascinating part is that some of the changes the Spanish are resisting were instituted by the not well loved dictator Francisco Franco. I would have thought that the people would have been anxious to reverse anything that Franco implemented during his almost four decades of iron-fisted dictatorship. 

On the other hand, I also feel bad, because I am sure that it is the American global business model of 9 to 5 workdays which is colliding with the slower Spanish lifestyle. We continue to force this model onto the world and local lifestyle and traditions are lost in the quest for finance and productivity.

I also find it interesting, just a short week ago I would not have read the article in the Times, nor would I have had any background in the culture, but now after hearing stories of the region from first-hand travelers, I have both an interest and a perspective.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 17, 2014

1. Spring begins on March 20th--just 31 days away. Coincidentally, I head off for Orioles Spring Training in Sarasota on that day. Let the celebration begin!

2. Orioles Opening Day is March 31st, which is just 42 days away 

3. Pool opening day is 75 days away now scheduled for May 3rd!

4. I watched the thrilling USA-Russia hockey game on Saturday morning. I saw the Russian President, Putin, in the stands cheering on the Russians on their home soil--but I really missed hearing the  chant that usually accompanies US teams at home or on the road-- USA, USA, USA.

5. I feel like the snowman in the picture.

6. The Olympics seems longer this year.

7. Happy President's Day. We've had some great ones! And, I get a day off to celebrate them.

8. We are not the only ones with snow. An article in this mornings New York Times reports: Japanese car makers including Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co suspended operations at some of its plants in central and eastern Japan after heavy snow disrupted their supply chains and prevented workers from commuting.

9. I'm not one to want to hurry time along, but February can end anytime it wants and the sooner the better. 

10. I feel the wolf in the image was justified.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Time Lapse Storm

Thursday Morning
February 13, 2014

While reviewing the aftermath of the great Valentines Day storms, I realized that I had taken a time-lapse imagery session of my driveway and the street in the aftermath of the storm.

I am still amazed how quickly the 46 degree day on Friday helped to get the snow and ice off critical driving surfaces. I am also amazed that I was shoveling snow and ice until late in the afternoon. I never finished clearing everything until about 4:30 pm on Friday and was braced for up to five more inches of snow which thankfully never materialized. 

Friday Morning
February 14, 2014

It took time to get the snow removed. But most of all, it took sunshine. And that was the amazing part. For all of the work it took to remove the snow, shovel by shovel, the snow melted it and made the biggest difference.

Friday Afternoon
February 14, 2014

My biggest shock was how quickly the street cleaned up after the plow finally came. The street went from snow packed and icy to wet and very passable is a few short hours. All due to the sun.

And so, another storm has passed and by the end of this week, the temperatures will be in the 50's and maybe we can say good-bye to the snow for the rest of the season.

Next year I'm going to pay off the ground hog so he doesn't see his shadow!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Toby's Dinner Theater Spamalot -- A Review

Chris and I enjoyed Valentines Day dinner at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, Maryland, watching their production of Monty Python's Spamalot, which is a theater adaptation of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We enjoyed the show with a number of our closest friends and had a great evening of dinner and theater.

I am going to state, right up front--I do not enjoy the Monty Python humor as do many other people. But, despite that, I felt that the production last evening at Toby's was a first class production. 

View from My Seat at Toby's

Toby's provides an intimate setting to watch a theatrical event. Being close to the action and the actors increases the enjoyment of being part of the show. However, the seating is tight and uncomfortable similar to a real Broadway show and the buffet style food is just that--standard fare buffet style food.

Toby's Dinner Theater production of Spamalot was excellent. The actors were extremely talented and the musical production was big very well executed. I found that Toby's unique stage area made for a very involving and engaging production. Two actors stood out as worthy of additional mention. Lawrence B. Munsey, playing King Arthur was clearly the star of the show and carried the production.  David James also turned in a spectacular performance playing the Historian, Not Dead Fred, the Nun, a French Guard, Minstrel, and Prince Herbert. There were no weak performances and each of the multiple roles played by most of the actors was enjoyably and professionally executed.

Recommendation: It was an enjoyable evening of theater and friends. If you enjoy Monty Python humor--go see this production.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Two Storms Down, Another in the Way!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just when I thought the storms were over--and I could begin digging out for good with the promise of springtime weather coming soon, another "Clipper" is on the way with 1-5 inches, tonight.

Ugh!

I'm sitting here watching the continuous weather reports, like I could make them change. I wish I could make them change. 

My Street at 7 AM on Valentine's Day

Our street remains unplowed as of 7AM and my driveway is currently more akin to an ice skating rink than a driving surface. The deep ruts in the street make driving nearly impossible. 

Makayla Enjoying the Crusty Snow

What is good about all of this? 

Not much. 

My sidewalk is iced over--and now with the temperatures warming it has a layer of water on top on it. 

It is cold! I think I need a palm tree fix. 

Soon.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD