Dreary Days

Apparently the punishment for two glorious and beautiful days of weather this past week is gloom.

The past couple of days have been gray and damp. At least it has not been snowing and the temperatures have remained above freezing, but still the weather has precluded outdoors activity.

Gold Medal USA Curling Team

I have been awed at how gray the weather has been. A cool mist hanging over the land while it rains or drizzles, or not.

It stifles the desire to get outside and do something.

At least the Olympics are providing some comic relief and the U.S. Team is doing a bit better during the second week of the Olympics.

And as I tire of Olympics, there is golf to watch as Tiger continues his comeback tour.

The Orioles also began playing Spring Training games yesterday with an expected 6-3 loss to Tampa. Baseball is back! Hopefully the fortunes of the team will improve as the Spring Training games continue.

But the gloomy skies continue this morning.

Ugh!

Can Spring arrive soon?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

News from Camp - Starting Rotation

In two short weeks I will be in Sarasota watching the Orioles in Spring Training for myself. I hope to have a solid evaluation of the team before then so that I can look for some specific thing to look for in the team as it develops. 

I am excited that I will likely get to see a number of players who likely will make the roster by the end of the season. 

And of course, I am interested in the pitching! The Orioles finally have a starting rotation! That is something. The way I see it the rotation is Bundy, Gausman, Cashner, Tillman. The problem is that after those four pitchers, there is precious little major league starter experience and the probability that all four starters will make it through the season without injury is near zero. So right off, the Orioles still need starting pitching. 

So that is where the Orioles are. They have four probable starters and no depth. I believe they must still be in the market for at least two part-time starters to be ready for the fifth day and the likely injuries. 

Time will tell.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

It Was Awesome

Around the Fire Table

The temperature reportedly hit a high of 83 degrees yesterday under bright and sunny skies. I have to admit, it did not seem that warm--but it felt great!


I have missed the 80's. I hope there are many more days like yesterday in the forecast. There are none yet, but there are no temperatures forecast below 32 for the next 10 days. 

What do you do with a day like that? 


Sit around the fireable and enjoy the evening as it falls! It was still 75 degrees at 6:34 pm. It was a beautiful late Spring day. Wait, it is still winter

Gesture Image from Radio Flyer Following Me

I was also able to get Radio Flyer out for more work with gestures and it did much better. A very successful flight where the drone finally did enter following mode and snap a few images. 

A beautiful day and an awesome ending.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Flying with Gestures

Radio Flyer in Flight

Me from my Drone

Radio Flyer, my DJI Spark drone, can be launched and flown just by using hand gestures. The cameras can also be activated--both video and snap shot. 

Yesterday, I finally began to unlock the secrets of gesture flight--I was not very elegant and I frankly didn't fully understand when I had the video camera on and why I wasn't taking snapshots.


Learning the gesture mode is a bit more difficult than the on-line videos make it seem. But then, when isn't that the truth?

It was fun to manage the flight profile of the drone with just my hand signals. I am a bit anxious to try it out on the golf course, but I probably won't do that.

I am continuing to learn and unlock the secrets of my drone. I still need to work on the following mode, Radio Flyer didn't follow me very well.

By the way, notice that Cat, my Jaguar, is in the driveway with the top down. It was that nice of a day. A top-down driving day in February! And today is supposed to be nicer!

Seventy degree days area rarity during February. I am enjoying them.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

After the Three-day

I often make a joke about Monday being on Tuesday as the workweek begins after a three-day holiday weekend.

Teddy

It is true. No matter how we try to avoid it, the first of the workweek is a Monday. There are just things that happen on Monday that can only happen on  M Monday--like saying something simple like, "How was your weekend?"

Despite the rain yesterday and the snowed on Saturday, my weekend was interesting and overall enjoyable. 


I sojourned to Frederick, MD and beyond to enjoy two wineries and a breweries with Patrick and Tina and then subsequently visited a newly opened brewery in Odenton with Mike and Nicole. 

Radio Flyer flew above 200 feet altitude for the first time and hopefully I am ready to move into gesture control now that I believe that I have trouble shot the problems that I was having. It helps to actually enable the gesture control feature.

I also enjoyed basketball games where both Jackson and Ethan each scored and played shutdown defense.  

And did mention Teddy--Jeremy's newly arrived Keeshond?

It was a three-day weekend to remember and the last holiday weekend until Memorial Day.

Presidents' Day Quote

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. - President George Washington

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 19, 2018

1. Happy Presidents' Day! Which president is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite?

2. CBS News ranked the Presidents from 1 to 45. Review the ratings and see if you agree. Number 45 may surprise you. Numbers 1 and 2 have birthdays this month. I thought Ronald Reagan was asked too low, personally.

Teddy

3. It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own. President Herbert Hoover.

Finnegan and Teddy with Jeremy

4. There is a new dog in the family. Welcome Teddy, Jeremy and Lucas's new keeshond. The family has a pair of kees again!

5. Both Ethan and Jax's basketball teams won their first round playoff games yesterday. Basketball continues for one more week.

6. After Saturday's snow, the temperatures and the weather seem to be improving.

7. The aftermath of Valentine's Day has a beautiful bouquet of tulips and irises sitting on the table. They are a splash of color in the dreary season.

Headlines

What to Do With a Day Off - The New York Times

How Unwitting Americans Encountered Russian Operatives Online - The New York Times

Team USA's biggest Winter Olympic team nabs few medals (so far) - CNN

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

"You understand that freedom is not a luxury, but a necessity; not a privilege, but the source of our life's bread. In science, just as in our economy, our object must be to maximize freedom, to open up new avenues of inquiry and new areas of experimentation." Remarks at a White House Luncheon for the New Pioneers, February 12, 1985

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Evening at the Winery

Big Cork Ice Sculpture
February 17, 201 8

Last evening we braved the snow with Patrick and Tina and attend a a wine club event at Big Cork Vineyards. 

Snowstorm as We Arrive at Bog Cork

But wait, there was snow! Lots of snow along the way. The roads roads because progressively worse as we drove westward to Rohrsville for the event. A fast moving snow storm cruised through the area as were were making our way to the event. 

Of course, this was not just a one-stop afternoon. We visited Black Ankle Vineyard on our way and made a stop at Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD.

We sampled a number of wines and beers during the day, but the wine club event at Big Cork was the highlight. 

Big Cork Wine Club events are special. There is food and last evening there was music. We had the chance to interact with the wine maker and enjoy some revelry during the dark days February. As an added benefit, we enjoyed some fruit of the vine!

It was a fun afternoon and the snow wasn't really all that bad. 

Mid-winter fun! It makes Spring seem a little bit closer.

Presidential Quote for the Day:

"Human kindness never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough." President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Presidents' Day Weekend

Last evening while enjoying Happy Hour at a local pasta restaurant, I was introduced to an advertisement from the pages of The Washington Post published in advance of President's Day. 


Usually I would be underwhelmed at the idea of looking at a newspaper ad, however, this one contained numerous statements made by great Americans about our country and justice.

The ad was titled, "Mr President, In anticipation of Presidents' Day consider the following words of counsel and caution."  Author Tom Blair took out the ad. 

One very telling quote was from Steven Hawking: "People who boast about their I.Q. are losers." I have seen this quote also written "People who boast about their IQ are idiots."

And this from President John F. Kennedy:
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

There are 59 quotes in total and as I researched for the blog this morning I was unable to find all of the them reprinted, although they should be. The best that I could do was a .pdf file of the February 14, 2018 edition of The Washington Post.

Happy Presidents' Day--may America be stronger through the trials of today!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Awesome Thursday

Happy Hour Around the Fire Pit
February 15, 2018

It is Friday again! The end of the work week has arrived and this Friday I do not have to deal with a government shutdown.

Looking at our house from up the street
February 15, 2018

While Friday is fantastic in its own right, yesterday was special in a couple of ways.

The weather provided a foretaste of the springtime that I seek with temperatures approaching 70 degrees. Chris and I were able to enjoy happy hour outside around a fire pit and watch the evening fall while discussing Spring Break plans, retirement, and summertime house projects. 

A Letter about Ms. Doan

I was amazed at the warm afternoon weather. I was even able to get Radio Flyer up into the sky for some flying time. I took my drone to a nearby collection pond to get some experience flying in a different area. The 12 minute flight set personal records as my new highest altitude and longest distance. I was able to get an image of our house from up the street, I am sure that once the leaves finally return that this same shot will not be possible. 

Rounding out the day, Chris received confirmation that she has reached the pinnacle of her career as an educator and that she can retire knowing that she has made a positive difference in the lives of many children. One of her students generated a letter about the great assistant that she truly is and Chris was able to take a picture of the letter. The final sentence in the letter is especially touching, "She helps me like Jesus helped the kids that are depressed become happy." Truly, when someone is compared to Jesus they have reached the pinnacle of their career and can retire knowing that they were a positive influence in the lives of others.

What a Thursday it was!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day Delivery

The way we celebrate Valentine's Day has changed over the years. 

Louis enjoying Pre-Dinner Happy Hour

We used to head off to an over-crowded restaurant and drop down an excessive amount of money for an overpriced meal to celebrate the day. 

Now, we plan a special dinner at home with a very nice bottle of wine and time alone together to reflect.

Last evening was another special Valentine's Day in the series. The wine of choice was a 2006 Chateau St Jean Reserve Merlot. I remember that we purchased the wine at the winery when we visited Napa and Sonoma a few years ago. The dinner was steak from the grill with oven-baked potato and salad. For dessert we enjoyed Key Lime Pie! I hesitate to think what that dinner would cost in a restaurant. The wine alone might be as much as a small car payment. 

Valentine's Steak on the Grill

Maybe we are just getting old, wanting to enjoy a special time out, but I suspect not. Too many people cramming themselves into restaurants to celebrate a meal for one night just doesn't seem fun. Making the meal special at home--now that is where it is all at!

I look forward to being at home and enjoying a special meal with my Valentine is the best kind of celebration.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD