Presidential Olympics

Unbelievably, it is underway already. That would be the Presidential Olympics--as I call it. It happens every four years, like the olympics, but the ramp up begins earlier.

I am astounded that familiar families are already being talked about: Clinton, Bush, Romney to name a few.


Hasn't anyone figured out that we need some new ideas and different leadership? 

I downloaded the image of George Washington--I can almost believe he does not look happy about how the process to become President of the United States has evolved. Washington grudgingly accepted the office that now others spend millions of dollars to hold. It is too bad that the best person for the office of president may not be the richest or most supported person in the campaign. 

We need a president with a holistic approach who can lead our country in a bipartisan manner focused upon the needs of the country both domestic and foreign.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Can you spell C-O-L-D?

It was 7 degrees yesterday morning when I woke up. I warmed during the day and when I came home last evening it was all of 16.2 degrees. That was at 5:52 PM, I'm told the high crested at about 19 degrees.

Still below freezing.

Way below freezing. 

The ice in the driveway is still there. We bought salt finally last evening to help the ice disappear so we could be assured of not running through the garage door because the cars could not stop properly on the ice.

The forecast for the next 10 days shows the high to be 38 degrees--but not until Saturday, January 17th.

Amazingly, the temperatures climbed overnight to a balmy 23 degrees this morning! Perhaps the forecast is changing? At least the high for today is now supposed to be above freezing!

Come on. Let's have some warm weather back.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Civilization vs the Dark Ages

I was going to write about the single digit cold temperatures which have gripped the mid-Atlantic region of the country, but the executions and assassinations of 12 reporters and police which occurred in Paris, France, yesterday is more important than the weather. 

The attack on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo is an attack on civilization and freedom of expression. A New York Times Editorial piece titled The Charlie Hebdo Massacre in Paris, describes views views of the attack. In the editorial it was reported that, President François Hollande, speaking from outside the magazine’s office a couple of hours after the murder of 12 people, was crystal clear: This was an assault, he said, on “the expression of freedom” that is the “spirit of the republic.”

I saw the video of the cold blooded murder of a police officer on the Paris street. He had his hands in the air apparently asking for mercy as he was hopelessly outgunned. He was brutally killed. An article in this morning's New York Times titled ‘Dangerous Moment’ for Europe, as Fear and Resentment Grow, contains links to the video, should you desire to see it. 

The same forces of chaos and anarchy which brought the Western World the Dark Ages are at work again across the globe trying to isolate societies by attacking the very foundations of of civilization and creating fear among peace loving people everywhere. These forces were fully recognized on 9/11, and despite a declared War on Terror, they remain strong and continue to lash out.

The editorial writes, Just days after the 9/11 attacks, an editorial in the newspaper Le Monde declared: “We are all Americans.” In France, “Je suis Charlie” — “I am Charlie” — has gone viral as the words to show solidarity with the victims at Charlie Hebdo. This attack was an assault on freedom everywhere.

Je suis Charlie!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Icy Road Physics

My Yard at 5:10 PM on January 6, 2015

I am amazed at the lack of respect many drivers have for the weather and the resulting conditions on the roads. 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to drive slowly to work in a huge traffic nightmare caused by snow and slippery conditions. The drivers who respected the lack of traction on the road caused by the snow did fine. Many, however, with 4-wheel drive SUVs did not fare so well. They, it seems, do not understand the physics of ice and roads. 

The physics of icy roads is simple: drive too fast and the ditch will catch you.

That is likely a better outcome than careening across a four lane highway to to end up in tangling with the oncoming traffic.

Weather Forecast Starting 7 January

Four-wheel drive vehicles stop and handle much the same as non-four-wheel drive vehicles--maybe a bit worse at times because they tend to be heavier. At slower speeds the all wheel drive vehicles have an advantage, but at higher speeds they are just heavier projectiles careening down the highway.

The scene in my yard when I arrived home was equally disturbing--snow and cold. I have been enjoying my still green lawn, but that now seems to have disappeared under the blanket of white. 

As I write this, the forecast is for the 20 degree reading on my thermometer to be the high for the day heading down near single digits overnight. The highest expected temperature during the next 10 days is expected to be 37 degrees--next Wednesday.

I don't think I'm going to be golfing anytime soon.

Drive safe out there.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Winter Arrives in Maryland, Finally

Overnight winter arrived.

Elkridge, MD Gas Prices
January 5, 2015

The temperatures nosedived into the low 20's overnight and wintery precipitation is expected to start falling from the sky very soon. Three consecutive days of below freezing temperatures seem to be in the forecast. It is going to be cold. I'm not sure I'm ready for the freezing temperatures and snow.

On a brighter note, I filled up with gas last evening and was happy to pay $2.219 for gas. Wow! I never would have believed that a year ago. At least the arrival of cold weather has brought lower gas prices.

I know that much of the rest of the country has been suffering the freezing temperatures, but I had hoped the Baltimore region would be spared. 

It is not to be, the first real winter weather event of the year is here.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 5, 2015

Where one of my gold shots ended
On the ice

1. 2015 has been crazy. I played golf on Friday and yesterday the temperature rose to almost 60 degrees. The cold is coming, however.

2. Surprisingly, the Ravens won their playoff game. On to New England for the next round on Saturday. Congrats to the Cowboys, too who managed to succeed in the face of overwhelming adversity.

3. Chris and I visited two Maryland wineries on Saturday. Another great way to start the year--sampling wine and writing reviews.

4. Going back to work today after being on vacation for the past almost two weeks is going to be hard.

January Burgers on the BarBee

5. The weather was so warm yesterday that dinner was cooked on the grill. It was only burgers, but grilling in January and not having to wear a parka was the best part. 

6. I thought there were 12 days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Day! Seems not, because we have removed all of the Christmas decorations from our house. Perhaps the rainy but warm weather contributed to the decision to remove the holiday decorations.

7. I was shocked that during the television coverage of the New York City New Year's Eve celebration that I never really saw the ball drop. Was it just me, or did they forget to show it?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Unbroken - Movie Review

I had the opportunity to see the movie Unbroken. I found the movie to be an almost religious experience, however, in the spirit of full disclosure, my wife was bored and likened the movie to The Life of Pi which she felt was too long because the movie spent too much time in a boat.

Unbroken is an excellent movie, but perhaps a lot was lost on the audience which had not read the book. Unbroken is not for the younger audience as it deals with harsh and difficult themes with are as difficult then as they are now with some of the recent revelations of torture by our own government.

Angelina Jolie directed the movie, which is based upon the bestselling book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand and recounts a portion of the life of Louis Zamperini, at least though the period immediately after World War II. Louis Zamperini died during July 2014, before the movie was released, but he was able to view and approve a rough cut if the movie it is reported.

If it were not a true story, no one would believe the details which are depicted in the movie. 

Jack O'Connell plays Louis who was an Olympic Runner for the United States in the 1936 Games in Berlin. He began running during his teen-age years to find an outlet for his enthusiastic approach to life which nearly caused him to be sent to reform school--he was a troublemaker and exasperated his parents and everyone who loved him. As a note--he was a great runner and widely expected to be one of the first to break the 4 minute mile. He joined the Army Air Corps and became a bombardier on B-24's in the Pacific Theater. On a reconnaissance mission to find the crew of a lost B-24, his aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean and he found himself, along with his pilot, adrift for 47 days only to be "rescued" by the Japanese and subjected to incredible mental and physical torture during the remainder of the war. But the story does not end there! Louis not only survived to the end of the war, but after dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome (although undiagnosed) found it in his heart to forgive his prison camp tormentors and traveled to personally convey his forgiveness to everyone of them--except one, nicknamed The Bird.

Takamasa Ishihara gives a superior performance portraying the sadistic prison camp guard, Mutsushiro Watanabe (a/k/a The Bird). The movie toned down the extreme sadism he showed to the prisoners under his control. The attempt at reconciliation between The Bird and Louis is a footnote at the end of the movie, but the magnitude of the gesture is far greater. Zamperini attempted to meet with Watanabe to convey his forgiveness, but was rebuffed. 

The movie has long periods where there is little action. How else can 47 days adrift in a raft be filmed? How much excitement really occurs except for an occasional shark attack and getting strafed by a Japanese fighter. The movie is gritty, dirty, real, and often difficult to watch.

RECOMMENDATION: See this movie! The book and the movie help me to understand why so many people of the Greatest Generation could not do what Louis Zamperini did and forgive the Japanese people for the travesties committed during World War II. The movie short changes the story a bit by not completing Louis Zamperini's tale about how he came a motivational speaker--but that is for additional research. This movie is NOT suitable for the pre-teen crowd.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Image of the Year

5th Place (Tie) Going to the Game with E-Dawg

At the end of every year, I like to review the images (pictures) that were taken to both remember the events and to select the image of the year. 

5th Place (Tie)
Taking Pictures of Poppies in Oregon

There were over 1300 images in the running this year and I narrowed them to 17. I was surprised that 11 of the images were collected during the July trip to Oregon. Well, Oregon is a stunning place and the forests, wineries, and waterfalls are truly sights that must be visited and enjoyed.

5th Place (Tie)
Sasquatch Hunting in Oregon

Every image has a story behind it--and that is truly the interesting part. It is not the artistic value of the images, but rather the memories they recall that make them truly special to me. 

I wanted to show the top 5, but it turns out that there was a three-way tie for 5th place and so there are 7 images. 

Even culling them down, 5 images from Oregon made the top 5 (or is that 7) for the year. 

4th Place
Chris on Her Morning Walk through the Willamette Valley Vineyards vineyard

Chris and I thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the vineyard every morning during our stay at the Willamette Valley Vineyards. There is something just relaxing and idyllic about starting the morning walking through the grapes on the vines. Every morning was different and enjoyable.

3rd Place
Sunset Across the Willamette Valley

Watching the stunning sunsets across the valley in the evenings was  the perfect way to end the day. Of course, sipping on a glass of wine on the veranda of the guest house is a great addition to the view.

Runner-up
Standing Above the Pacific Ocean on the Trail

After hiking a short mile or so to get to the overlook, the reward was a fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean from a spot, which potentially, Lewis and Clark stood to get a view of the ocean. Stunning, awesome, and expansive are the words that come to mind.

Image of 2014
Looking Over Cayuga Lake

This image was captured during June on a beautiful summer afternoon. This is one of those images that just calls to me through the water and the empty adirondack chairs that just say--come and sit for a while. The scent of the summer was hanging in the air and the lake called to the primal instinct to come down and play in the water.

There they are--my top five (OK--7) images of 2014 and the memories they recall.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Kitty Leaves the Nest

Kitty Departs

It finally happened. On the last day of 2014, Kitty, my Jaguar, left the nest and was donated to the National Kidney Foundation. 

There is a huge space in my driveway where it was parked, and a hole in my heart. Kitty was, after all, my first Jaguar. I had tried selling the car for the past almost eight months--but there were no serious buyers. In the end, it just made better sense to donate Kitty to a foundation that works to make lives better for people.

As I was going through the paperwork, I realized that I had owned the car for just over seven years and in that entire time put only about 6,000 miles on it. 

So, good bye to Kitty--I begin the new year with one less vehicle.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

2015 Begins

A page turned and completed another chapter in the book of the years last night when 2014 became 2015.

The final period on the year occurred as we shouted 3..2..1 just before we said

First Dawn of 2015

Happy New Year!

I find it interesting that the years arrive and depart under the cover of darkness. In some places, the darkness is short as opposed to the Northern Hemisphere where the hours of light seem brief. For instance, Sydney, Australia had about 14 hours and 22 minutes of daylight to celebrate the first day of the new year. Here in Elkridge, we are expecting a mere 9 hours and 28 minutes of sunlight.

The new year dawned clear and cold in Elkridge. I awoke to 17 degrees, a clear sky, and a subdued sunrise due to the lack of moisture in the air.

But, it is the new year and it is full of hope and promise.

Happy New Year to all! May the blessings and happiness of the new year not be overlooked amidst the dirt and disappointment of life. Let's plan to meet back here in 365 days to celebrate again the changing of the year and the promise of the new one.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD