December Arrives

It is with some trepidation that I acknowledge the arrival of December. 

2015 has entered the final act of the 12 month performance. The cold weather has effectively arrived across the country and the darkness is creeping and becoming more prevalent.

I struggle against the darkness. Today will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of daylight filtered by the clouds. It will be gray and gloomy, but thankfully no snow here.

Yes, it is the Christmas season and the bright colored lights do fight against the darkness in the same way that I do.

And by the end of the month we will have turned the corner on the darkness and will just have to make it through the frigid weather.

Warm weather is coming, I only wish that I had a Caribbean vacation planned for late-January or February.

158 days, approximately, until pool opening day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - November 30, 2015

1. It is the last day of November. December begins tomorrow. 2016 is one short month away!

Axis and Allies in Progress

2. The annual family Axis and Allies tournament was a huge success. I wish that we could have changed history and that the Axis powers had won since I was playing Italy and Germany--but, it was not to be.

3. I have been enjoying my four day weekend. Why can't every weekend be four days long?

4. The NFL must work on its product--the referees are killing the game.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Dessert

5. It is weird that Thanksgiving is over. It was a feast and I still remember it. I am going to pay heavily for my eating this morning on the racquetball court.


6. While shopping last week, we discovered hummus from Ithaca for sale in our local Wegman's. Turns out it is really made in Groton, but it carries Ithaca on its label.

7. Is anyone seriously supporting Donald Trump? He is an uninformed, opinionated, thug. I do not like the personal attacks he makes on people.

8. Why do cats like to eat the tinsel off Christmas trees?

9. I remember that when I was a kid, December was the longest month of the year.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Decorating Day--Done!

Christmas 2015 Decoration

It is mostly complete. A day long event dedicated to transforming the house from Thanksgiving into Christmas.

It took most all of the day. Two Christmas trees were erected, decorated, and even redecorated. We did have remove the icicles because the cats thought they were candy--and that is a bad thing.

Snow Village Wonderland Under Construction

During the day, Chris and I listened to Christmas music, watched a campy Santa Claus movie and consumed a bottle of wine. We kept the pace slow and the mess, associated with redecorating

Mountain Snow Village
Nearing Completion

As we were preparing to do dinner and nestle down together for the evening,  we got a call from Patrick and Tina to come visit with them and lend assistance in creating their Snow Village wonderland. That was a lot of fun. They were in the middle of a mountain scene that took an incredible amount of planning and construction. That, and it also has a voice activated computer controlled light system. Pretty cool!

It was a full decorating day! The Christmas season is in full swing and the best part was, with the exception of running out to a pharmacy to pick up a prescription, I didn't grace a store or shopping mall. A nearly perfect day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Most Wonderful Time?

Outdoor Decorations are Installed

I'm sitting here listening to Andy Williams sing about "the most wonderful time of the year" as the season of the turkey gives way to four weeks of 24/7 Christmas.

It can be stifling. 

I do admit, the weather outside is fantastic and the sunrise is stunning. I'd rather be golfing, but today is decorating day. The transformation of our home into a winter wonderland. The word I use for it is, Christmasfication. 

It can be stressful, if I let it get that way.

There are 10 boxes, or more, of decorations in the attic waiting to be hauled down and installed. It is a process.

And the lists and the shopping? We have already begun the shopping process--which is a good thing. Unfortunately, no matter how early shopping begins it never seems to end. And then there are the returns.

It is still November! I cannot believe how quickly 2015 is drawing to a close.

Brace yourselves--the New Year is in sight!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Black Friday: A Worldwide Event

Black Friday, the first official shopping day of the Christmas season AND the day after Thanksgiving has moved across the Atlantic into Britain!

Who knew? And they don't even celebrate Thanksgiving. There are also reports of Black Friday occurring in India, Mexico, Canada, Romania, and France! The international flavor of commerce and especially eCommerce is bringing the blight of the American shopping season to a country near you!

One of the funniest articles that I have read in a long while was in this morning's New York Times titled, Britain Adopts Black Friday With an All-American Frenzy. 

In the article, I learned a new word, contained in the follow excerpted paragraph:

The explanation for how Britons came to embrace Black Friday seems to reside in a mix of canny unbridled capitalist opportunism, the fetishizing of things American, the explosion of online shopping and two giant retailers called Walmart and Amazon.

Do not misunderstand, although the article is humorous, it is a serious examination of how a uniquely American phenomenon has spread across an ocean and is having negative impacts on other nations and cultures.

My family is dialing back the Black Friday madness this year. No one went shopping at midnight and the shoppers in the crowd are heading out at a reasonable 9AM to risk life and limb for the remaining sale items.

In truth, Black Friday has expanded this year--I have been getting Black Friday special buys from retailers for almost two weeks now. November, it seems, is becoming a month-long series of Black Fridays.

The final paragraphs of the article provide an interesting view of Black Friday. 

Valerie Faulkner, 41, an assistant producer at an events company who was walking through the store, said she initially had no idea that Black Friday was an American tradition until she searched for it on Google.

“I don’t think most people realize it’s an American custom,” she said. “I just assumed it was some marketing ploy by shops to get rid of lousy, unwanted items before Christmas.”
Sadly, her opinion is more truth than we may suspect. I saw a news show that warned "buyer beware" on some of the deeply discounted specials as they may be of inferior quality and consist of items special built for the Black Friday frenzy.

Happy Black Friday. May all of your shopping be online!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

I plan to enjoy the holiday. Mixed in with the food, family, and football I will take a few moments to give thanks for the blessings that I experience every day.

Thanksgiving also rejoices and gives thanks for the blessings in the lives of others! It is good to be thankful for friends and their successes and blessings.

We live in and as part of a community, when we get together to give thanks--as in celebrating a special dinner together, we can appreciate each other better and their contributions.

The words of the classic Thanksgiving hymn ring even truer this Thanksgiving as the world is facing the fear of terrorist threats and security is on everyone's mind. We must not be paralyzed by fear, but draw our faith from God, the provider of all good things.



We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

-Adrianus Valerius

-Theodore Baker (translator)

Happy Thanksgiving. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Not Home for the Holiday

Where are you traveling to for the holiday?

The New York Times did some analysis of where Thanksgiving travelers are headed--and it apparently is not home!

Nope, many of the 3.6 million Americans who will be flying this holiday are heading south to enjoy sunshine and the warmth. According to the article titled, Pumpkin Pie in Miami: Thanksgiving Flight Patterns, people are traveling from the North to the south and to Vegas and Honolulu!

Turkey on a Beach

I would love to eat a fried turkey on a warm, sunny beach somewhere. 

What a dream, spend a morning golfing somewhere I will sweat instead of having to fend off frostbite while I am playing, and then change into a swimming suit and head to the beach to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner and all of the fixings.

Apparently, I am not the only crazy with that thought.

The article also points out two very different types of Thanksgiving travelers. Those who able to take the entire week off and those who charge out on Wednesday or even Thanksgiving day. I found it fascinating that the busiest time to fly was Thanksgiving Day at noon!  Tough on dinner.


Driving won't be a good alternate travel plan if you are not already at your destination. From about Noon today until 7 PM the roads will be nearly impassable around the big East Coast cities according to INRIX Driving Intelligence. I hope to be off the highways early. The evening rush hour could be dramatic!

Thanksgiving is family, food, football! Adding in a warm beach in the south (or Caribbean) would just be a bonus!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Canine Cops

For whatever reason, Chris and I watched a few police dog shows on Animal Planet over the weekend. I found them fascinating. The story of Diesel, the police dog killed in Paris also heightened my interesting police dogs.

I have always been impressed with the interaction between humans and canine in working dog situations and the shows that I watched this weekend served to cement my respect for the teams.

Yes, I wondered irrationally, why does the dog have to go in first? The answer is obvious, canine cops save human lives at their own expense.

And then, yesterday, I ran across an article in the Washington Post titled, The surprising reason more police dogs are dying in the line of duty. I was appalled at the answer. 

During 2015, 11 of 26 police dog fatalities have been due to heat exhaustion--particularly being left in a hot squad car! That is unacceptable to me. These dogs are trained to take a bullet for their handlers, they deserve a lot more respect.

My take: the use of animals in work roles means the handlers need to be more aware of their needs. Be they dogs or horses or oxen, the humans need to ensure that the health of the animals are considered at al times. Sure, some jobs are inherently dangerous, like Diesel running into a room filled with suicidal terrorists; but for an animal to die because they were left in a hot car is--criminal!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - November 23, 2015

1. Paranoia is rampant. The White House shut down Pennsylvania Avenue because of an apple core on Saturday. 

2. Another weird NFL weekend. The referees continually get it wrong and injuries are so commonplace now it seems that the teams are going to have to expand their rosters to 100.

3. It was cold yesterday!

4. How can a 3-7 NFL team have a shot to make the playoffs? Look at the NFC East Cowboys, they are only two games out of first place in the division. Check out the NY Times simulator and see how your team does. 

5. I spent last evening Christmas shopping on the computer. I can't believe it.

6. The presidential candidates seem intent on out doing each other with the more outlandish ideas.

7. It is the week of Thanksgiving. I cannot comprehend all of the way that I am blessed. 

8. The Ravens are done. The loss of Flacco and Forsett ended any hopes the Ravens had of winning even another game. Hopefully they can get through the remainder of the season with any other potentially career ending injuries.

9. When do pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training? Surely it is not soon enough.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday Golf and Cows

Golf Clubs Waiting the for the Next Round

This is now the second consecutive Sunday that I have not headed out to the golf course for an early morning round. The weather report made it seem like the prevailing cold would to be too numbing to attempt golf without risking the integrity of my hands and ears.

That is unfortunate, but it is a fact of the season.

My clubs are sitting patiently in the garage looking forward to their next outing. I did sneak in 12 holes on Wednesday when the temperature approached 70 degrees. I enjoyed being the only person on the course and therefore able to play at my own, relatively quick pace. The group ahead of me had teed off an hour before me. I caught up with them on the 10th hole.

Large Holstein Print

So the weather, and the season, means that I will be homebound more. 

That usually means shopping. 

Yesterday while out sampling the retailers wares, I came upon a large print suitable for hanging in someone's house. I'm not sure exactly whose house it would be suitable for. 

Would I want a cow in my living room? No, but perhaps whomever buys it (note the price $179) has never enjoyed a close up and personal experience with a holstein?

I'm pretty sure, no I'm definitely sure, I rather be golfing.

Still, that cow certainly is staring at me for some reason.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD