MLB All Star Game 2015 Reflections

I am convinced that Major League Baseball is the only professional sport that really knows how to stage an All Star event. Last night's version was nothing less that spectacular.

I did not watch all of the game, nor did I watch all of the coverage prior to the introduction of the teams earlier in the evening, but I have to admit as the individual all stars were being introduced their smiles at being selected an All Star were clearly evident. 

I was proud of the Orioles that represented Baltimore in the game and even more excited that Adam Jones was selected to start the game. Manny Machado and Zach Britton did their parts and displayed the Orioles Way before a national crowd. Darren O'Day did not get into the game, but represented the team and the city.

I attended the 1994 MLB All Star Game when it was hosted in Pittsburgh and it was an experience to remember. It was one of the few, if not the last, All Star games to go into extra innings. I look back on the roster of player that night and am simply amazed at some of the talent that I watched play together.

Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays
(from left to right)

Turning to last evening, however, one of the greatest moments of the game was the ceremonial opening pitch. Four baseball living legends were introduced and walked out onto the mound: Hank Aaron (last game October 1976), Johnny Bench (last game: September 1983), Sandy Koufax (last game October 1966), and Willie Mays (last game September 1973); seeing these four great players together made me remember so many great moments in baseball history. And then, to top it off, Sandy Koufax threw the opening pitch to Johnny Bench--a truly spectacular moment. 

Good job MLB. Oh, did I mention that the game was fun to watch as well? It lived up to the hype and was a great collection of All Stars gathered together to have fun and enjoy the game. And as an added benefit, should it be necessary, the American League team will get to host game 7 of the World Series--and that could be in Baltimore!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Visit to Pluto

A space probe called New Horizons will make the closest ever fly-by of the former planet Pluto today. The estimated time of the closest point of approach is 7:49 AM EDT at which time the space craft will be 7,750 miles above the surface of Pluto. To put that into perspective, it is about the same distance that Seattle, Washington, is from Sydney, Australia, (7,744 miles); or New York is from Mumbai, India, (7,786 miles). 

It took a lot of planning to get a New Horizons to Pluto. In this case it took 9 years for it to fly the 3 billion miles. Most of us forgot that it was making its way through the solar system during that time. But here it is--fulfilling the purpose of its mission--to help us understand more about the solar system and ultimately even ourselves as we look outward from our own home.

Whenever a new space-related discovery is made or one of our craft crosses a new frontier my imagination becomes energized. The coverage of this mission has really hyped up during the past few weeks as the images have come streaming in from the far reaches of the solar system. I like the title of the article in Wired, Pluto will send Earth a Love Letter Tomorrow. 

NASA has developed an app to help people watch the flyby in computer animated style. It is called NASA's Eyes, and I installed it and have found it to be very rich in information.

Take some time today to follow the mission and let your mind consider the possibilities! We have come a long way from the days of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. We do not have to imagine what "outer space" is like. We are there!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 13, 2015

1. July is screaming by--it is almost half over!

Pluto, A Planet Again?

2. The New Horizons spacecraft makes it closest approach to Pluto tomorrow! It only took 9 years to get there. 

3. Tomorrow is Bastille Day, a celebration of the French Revolution and a huge jail break. It is also my second favorite foreign holiday. Vive la France!

4. While those of us living in the eastern part of the country are experiencing incredible rains, the west is extremely dry. I wish it would all even out. We experienced a dryer weekend and it was goo to get outside.

5. When staying on vacation, have you been charged a "resort fee?" Maybe the fee wasn't fully disclosed.

6. It is tough to head back to work on Mondays!

7. It is quiet in the house this morning, the extra animals and children have returned to their own home. Maybe it is too quiet.

8. I have to make one golf comment, I played 18 holes in less than three hours yesterday and shot under 100 for the second time! I was looking forward to shooting under 100, but now have set my sights on sub-90!

9. I just figured out that somehow my twitter feed is automatically posting on my Facebook--sorry for the double posting last week. Who knew how that happened?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Animals in the Yard

It doesn't seem to matter where in the yard I look, animals abound. Some are enjoyable to watch, others are nuisances. 

Squirrel on the finch feeder

Boogie Boarding Toad

Out front, on the finch feeder, there was a unique bird the other day--I call it the "squirrel bird." This bird is flightless, but loves bird food and can often be seen at feeders in the area. It is ubiquitous, and can often be a pest by chewing through the feeders. They are nimble and it seems nothing thwarts their efforts to obtain food.

In the back, specifically the pool, we are besieged by toads and frogs. The daily count continues to be in the teens, but one enterprising toad found refuge form the chlorinated water by climbing upon a brightly colored boogie board that was left in the pool. It was rescued and released into the long grasses around the pool, hopefully not to return.

I wish there was a way to frog-proof the pool, but I'm not sure that it possible.

I haven't even begun to address the damage the rabbits are doing to the hostas. But that is a story for another day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Juxtapositioned Events

Yesterday saw two very different memorable events happen within hours of each other and caused me to reflect on the strange times in which we live and how unity can be achieved both by the raising and the lowering of a flag.

The first event, which began promptly at 10:00 AM EDT with an incredible amount of ceremony and professionalism occurred in Columbia, South Carolina, when the Confederate Battle Flag was lowered, permanently, from its post flying over the State Capitol where is had by flying since 1961. I watched the CNN coverage of the event live and was fascinated by the numbers of people who turned out for the event. Perhaps the Civil War is finally ending and America is entering a new era of unity and equality.

The second event, a few short hours later, signified the rebirth of unity in our country not by taking a flag down, but by raising the American flag high in celebration. The celebration for the FIFA Women's World Cup Soccer Champions--the USA Team! A ticker tape parade through New York City was attended by thousands and viewed by millions. It was a fantastic celebration of patriotism and the display of the American spirit was everywhere.

America is diverse. Celebrating unity cements the fundamental beliefs expressed by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. These beliefs assure us that we can be and are, inherently, a diverse people with the rights to live as we choose. Raising the American flag high above our celebrations is a symbol our unity that protects our diversity!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Where's Louie?

It is true, I forgot one animal in the manager that I am watching while other members of my family enjoy a much needed sojourn to the beach.

Louis with Florence and Arthur behind

Louis--the white Ragdoll cat. 

He is here doing his usual thing--tying not to be seen, but when he is visible he is generally unperturbed by the activity.

Louis takes full advantage of the sanctuary areas we afford the cats--areas of the house that are off limits to canines who desire to eat cat foot or roll in the cat boxes. Truly, dogs have some disgusting habits that need to be monitored and controlled. 

Louis always seems to have things under control. For instance, this morning I heard Arthur, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, barking incessantly. At 5 AM that can be especially annoying. Louis was on the table looking down at the dog who dearly wanted to play with the cat. I think Arthur thought Louis was a stuffed animal. Louis was unperturbed and looked at me with his big blue eyes as if to say, "when are they leaving so that I can have the house back?"

That is the essence of Louis. He is around only when he wants to be around, but when he is around--it better be just him.

Pets, especially dogs and cats, living together, can be a lot of fun! I wonder how much fun a bird would add to the mix?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Going to the Dogs

Among my tasks for the next couple of days is watching and caring for the dogs.

Makayla

Literally, I am going to the dogs. I could have been at the beach, but I got the dogs!

It is in interesting trio. There is Makayla--who is the unquestioned monarch of the family and the domicile. She is also trying to make the best of the situation by having to share walks with two additional dogs.

Florence

First, is Florence, an Italian Greyhound, with a cute, but demanding personality. She is a cuddle and prefers to sleep next to anything warm--like me. She is the Energizer Bunny on steroids and ins a bit too intelligent for her own good. She can figure out how to acquire any object of her desire--usually some kind of food, from almost anywhere.

Arthur

Next is Arthur, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is rapidly becoming the brains of the operation because his incredibly cute looks and personality can get him almost anything he desires. He is also very cuddly and prefers to lay on my lap when I am working on my blog. 

It is an interesting combination, especially at meal time because they each eat different foods and must be fed separately to ensure there are no dietary crossovers! 

Riordin

I guess table food doesn't count and neither do the "cookies" they get for doing their business outside and expediently.

Actually, I enjoy having them around. The one who is not amused is Riordin! He is relaxed about the additional dogs, but they get in his way. He would prefer to have my lap for himself--but with one or two dogs vying for it, he gets a bit left out. And the space on the bed for sleeping is limited as well. He will get over it!

And to think, I could have gone to the beach and missed all of this.

Nah! I'm good!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Raindrops of Life

The rain continues to thwart an otherwise laudable attempt at kickstarting summer. 

While large portions of our country are facing severe drought conditions, in this area we are seeing enough rain to make me believe that we have moved into a rainforest climate. It is so wet that thing seems to dry out. 

As I look into the forecast for the next 10 days, significant rain is forecast for 8 of the days--and almost always in the afternoon after I get home from work. 

While it has been nice not to water the gardens or fill the pool, it gets a bit tough trying to squeeze in mowing the lawn between passing rain showers. 

Yesterday I played golf and the course was extremely wet from the overnight storms--standing water on most of the holes and in the bunkers. The back nine holes were too wet to play and while I had fun replaying many of the holes on the front nine, I really like the back nine at this course. The good news was that they credited me for half of my fees and I still managed to play at least 18 holes of golf--muddy, soggy golf.

At one point, as I was driving the cart on the path I had to wait for a turtle to swim past. The water was at least 6 inches deep. Did I take a picture? No--but I should have.

I just need to be thankful that this region is not experiencing a drought and find a way to appreciate the raindrops that so many other people would rejoice at seeing fall from the sky.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clouding the Issue

I guess I am amazed that the country has become galvanized around the issue of Confederate flags and banners while ignoring the real mental health issues that contribute to people committing heinous atrocities.

The more, it seems, that we focus on trying to end the Civil War the farther from the news those with extreme views are able to hide from the American public.

We have lost sight of the real issue and are focused upon a symptom.

Why did an imbalanced young adult walk into a church and murder people? We may never know, but I am pretty sure that a Confederate flag did not tell him to commit the crime.

It is clear that he was exposed to extreme and anti-social dogmas that will survive whether the flags are removed or not. And will we be further limiting our rights to free speech and expression if flags and banners are outlawed?

The flag did not commit the crime!

A misguided and potentially mentally ill person did. Let's focus on the action and the person and stop hiding behind the wrapping paper.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 6, 2015

1. It is back to the grind after the holiday weekend!

2. The Orioles have been playing less than spectacular baseball, but with the signature win yesterday they are only one game out of first place. Ready to make a run.

U.S. Womens Soccer Team
FIFA World Cup Champions

3. Congrats to the U.S. Women's Soccer Team for bringing home the World Cup!

4. It is July and vacation time--I wish I was headed off on vacation today.

Callaway Razr XF Hybrids and Irons

5. My new golf iron set arrived three days early--they still haven't been broken in yet. The Callway Razr XF's are ready to take to the links. Someone remarked, "Oh that's too bad, they're backwards." Maybe that's why I got such a good deal on them. 

6. How about the Greeks--they are going to send the entire world economy into a tailspin!

7. In response to the furor over the Confederate Flag, it was reported that Bubba Watson, a two time golf Master's winner will paint over the flag on the General Lee--one of the original cars for the Dukes of Hazard TV series. 

8. Have a great first full week of July! I wish I was in Florida.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD