Out the Hotel Window - Hummelstown, PA

Out the Hotel Window
Hummelstown, PA
October 26, 2019

It is not a very beautiful sight. Looking out onto the parking lot and the semi-industrial area beyond. The window is dirty and clouds the scene. The awning for the hotel blocks much of the view. I suppose that this should be considered a restricted view room. But then, the view isn't much to look at.

Chris and I are here with the GORC 12U Cooperstown Team for a baseball tournament. It is the next to last weekend of the season and, sadly, the weather is supposed to be rainy. We were hoping to enjoy Hershey Park this evening, but it is likely that the weather will be wet and cold and make an evening at the park something to avoid rather than to embrace.

Sadly, the view out the hotel window does not make it any better.

Well, at least there will be baseball, if the rains hold off.

— Bob Doan, writing from Hummelstown, PA

Getting Ready for the Winter

Winter is coming, of that I am sure. 

Firewood for the Winter
Stacked Lovingly by Chris
October 24, 2019

Last evening our neighbor reminded Chris and I that Thanksgiving is only about four weeks away. In reality it is five weeks until Thanksgiving, but the message was clearly received. During the time between now and then the leaves will completely fall from the trees, darkness will arrive earlier and earlier, the temperatures will plummet, and we will have a killing frost, or more. 

Not a very pleasant period to anticipate.

We are getting ready for the dark and cold days. We ordered our firewood for the season. Split and ready for stacking. Chris took it upon herself to stack the entire half-cord herself rather than waiting for me to come home from work. She did a great job and while I am very thankful that she did it, I would have preferred to help her. But it is done and a big thanks to Chris for her hard work. 

While we do not burn wood as our primary heat source during the winter, we use it in the fireplace to heat the family room and kitchen up to toasty warm temperatures. There is something nostalgic about a roaring fire on a cold and snowy day. 

Did I actually write that word? Well, as least we are ready, because we all know that it is coming.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

World Series Update

As the MLB season draws to a conclusion, I can state that it has been an exciting World Series, thus far. 

While I picked the Astros to win the series in six games, and they technically could still do that, it certainly does not look as if they brought their "A" game last night during their 12-3 loss. The Astros are now two games down in the best of seven series. 


Remember--it is Baseball! There are still five games possible and anything can happen!

Here are some World Series fun facts from CBS Sports. 


The Nationals have outscored the Astros 17-7.

Road teams who take a 2-0 series lead have won the Series 77 percent of the time.

The last 11 MLB teams to take a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the title, including the 2018 Red Sox.

A total of 17 runs from the Nats are the most by road team in the first two games of the World Series since the 1960 Yankees (20 runs vs. Pirates).

Just three of the previous 25 teams to lose the first two games at home under the current 2-3-2 format have come back to win the World Series. It hasn't been accomplished since the 1996 New York Yankees came back against the Atlanta Braves.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Rains Arrived

The news reported that we have received more rain in the past week than we had received since the beginning of August. 

That was an astounding revelation. That is how dry that it has been. 

The Team After Practice
GORC Park
October 12, 2019

But, today is supposed to be a beautiful day. And it is working out well because we have baseball practice tonight. The team is preparing for a big tournament in Hershey this weekend. We are guaranteed three games and hopefully will play more. We have a double header on Saturday beginning at 12:30--hopefully the weather will be kind to us. Right now it looks like Saturday evening showers and Sunday rain--we might not get to play on Sunday. But, the weather can always change. 

Hopefully, it will. But, then, we need the rain. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Changed Forecast

It is hard to get used to the changed weather forecast. 

The region has been in a period where the forecast has been for dry, clear, sunny days. 

Not so anymore. I looked at the forecast for the coming 10 days and was stunned to see a lot of rain in the forecast. It is something that while the year began with too much rain, I had become accustomed to bright clear days and no rain, even though we were too dry. 

Weather Forecast for Baltimore
October 21, 2019

The weather forecast looks downright depressing. I even note that Thursday night next week it appears that we may have our first frost of the season and that it is going to be cold for Halloween. How coincidental that the first frost may occur on the last day of October just days before the end of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, November 3rd.

And so the dark season begins. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - October 21. 2019

1. Welcome to the third Monday of October. It is the middle of the month. We are headed into November in 10 short days. There are 71 days remaining in 2019.

2. It rained all day yesterday. That was good, except it took me over two hours to cross the Bay Bridge on my way home from a winery. 

3. Family NFL Report:

    Redskins lose to 49ers 0-9
    Ravens defeat Seahawks 30-16
    Cowboys defeat Eagles 37-10
    Steelers did not play

Great Shoals Cellars Tasting Room
St Michaels, MD
October 20, 2019

4. Chris and I did a day trip to the Eastern Shore yesterday to visit two wineries, Great Shoals Cellars and St Michaels Winery. We enjoyed our day; however, that almost two hours we were in traffic to cross back over the Bay Bridge were a bit excessive. Maryland really needs to do something about the bridge. 

Around the Fire Pit
Elkridge, MD
October 19, 2019

5. It rained all day yesterday. We need the rain, but is did put a damper on outdoors activity. We received a lot of rain--much needed rain. Saturday evening, however, Chris and I were able to enjoy a nice fire and some wine in advance of the onset of the storms. 

6. The GORC 12U Cooperstown team had a good practice on Saturday. We were fortunate not to have a game scheduled for Sunday--it would have been rained out. The team is off to Hershey, PA, for a tournament on Saturday. We are guaranteed three games. Two on Saturday and one on Sunday. We continue to play games as long as we win on Sunday. 

7. Today in History. On October 21, 1959, on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, thousands of people line up outside a bizarrely shaped white concrete building that resembled a giant upside-down cupcake. It was opening day at the new Guggenheim Museum, home to one of the world’s top collections of contemporary art. Mining tycoon Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting art seriously when he retired in the 1930s. With the help of Hilla Rebay, a German baroness and artist, Guggenheim displayed his purchases for the first time in 1939 in a former car showroom in New York. Within a few years, the collection—including works by Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Marc Chagall—had outgrown the small space. In 1943, Rebay contacted architect Frank Lloyd Wright and asked him to take on the work of designing not just a museum, but a “temple of spirit,” where people would learn to see art in a new way.



Headlines

As U.S. Leaves Allies in Syria, Kurdish Commander Struggles With FalloutAs U.S. Leaves Allies in Syria,  - The New York Times

Despite Failures, Boris Johnson Is in Striking Distance of Brexit SuccessDespite Failures, - The New York Times

 Qantas tests world's longest commercial flight from New York to Sydney - Reuters

North Korea says U.S., South Korea must present new solutions for conflict - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Some Americans think that Europeans are too little concerned for their own security. Some would unilaterally reduce the number of American troops deployed in Europe. And in Europe itself, we hear the idea that the American presence, rather than contributing to peace, either has no deterrent value or actually increases the risk that our Allies may be attacked.

These arguments ignore both the history and the reality of the transatlantic coalition. Let me assure you that the American commitment to Europe remains steady and strong. Europe's shores are our shores. Europe's borders are our borders. And we will stand with you in defense of our heritage of liberty and dignity.

The American people recognize Europe's substantial contributions to our joint security. Nowhere is that contribution more evident than here in the Federal Republic. German citizens host the forces of six nations. German soliders and reservists provide the backbone of NATO's conventional deterrent in the heartland of Europe. Your Bundeswehr is a model for the integration of defense needs with a democratic way of life, and you have not shrunk from the heavy responsibility of accepting the nuclear forces necessary for deterrence.

  -- Address Before the Bundestag in Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany, June 9, 1982 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

NFL: Are the Referees Deciding the Game

It is Sunday. That means that I get my weekly dose of the NFL. I am not sure whether the product being offered by the NFL is football anymore.

I am beginning to think that NFL stands for No Football League. 

Last week during one game, there were no less than six plays in a row on which flags were thrown. It was towards the end of the game and the flags thrown definitely affected the outcome.


How bad is it? Flags have been thrown on 10.25 percent of the 16,526 plays run in the NFL this season. That is an increase of 28.9 percent over 2009 when there were flags thrown on 7.95 percent of the 46,523 plays run by teams in the league. 

Now it is important that I am using the Flags Thrown statistic--which means a penalty was enforced, declined, or offsetting. I'm not sure if they track when the flag is picked up with no penalty. I ran across a pretty nifty website called NFL Penalties which has the stats back to 2009. 

So doing the math--that is about a 29 percent increase in penalties over a 10 year period.

And the worst part is that even with video review--they still get the calls wrong! But, that is a rant for another time. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Halloween Do-Over

Halloween House
Elkridge, MD
October 17, 2019

So I did a do-over for the photo of the Halloween house.

This is what it looks like without the streaks the lights running across the frame.

It is fairly scary. And complete. I wonder how many young children will avoid the place because of the decorations?

But it really is special. The current residents are the second couple who really get into Halloween--maybe it is something about the house, but it has been a Halloween spectacular for many years.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

15 Minutes to Install

I believe that most homeowners who attempt their own repair projects have been faced with the following phrase or one similar to it included in the instructions: 

Installation Time: 15 minutes

What does that phrase mean? 

Jeremy and I gained an understanding of the rich and full meaning of these instructions the other afternoon/evening as we determined to repair a malfunctioning toilet. 

The Bolt Connection the Tank to the Toilet
Finding a Place to Saw
October 16, 2019

In all fairness, the instructions were absolutely true! It only took 15 minutes to install the complete toilet innards replacement kit. It, however,  took two and a half hours, including three trips back to my house for additional tools, to get the toilet prepared for the installation. That is the missing part of the instructions--how long will it take to get the project ready for the installation. 

In the case of the toilet in question, the installation was the easy part because the bolts holding the tank to the bowl were badly corroded and could not be loosened. They had to be hacksawed. By hand. And even though there were only two bolts, the way that they were installed required three cuts to fully remove the bolts. The final cut had to be done with just the blade, removed from the saw because of the tolerances and the concern about damaging or breaking the porcelain tank. It was a slow and tortuous project as at times we were both crammed into a very small bathroom working together to remove the tank from the bowl to facilitate installation of the complete new tank system.

But we were victorious! The toilet finally was defeated and the installation went smoothly.

It is just strange that an expected 15 minute project took almost three hours. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Halloween

The season is upon us--that is the season of Halloween. The date is just two weeks from today.

Halloween Decorated House
Elkridge, MD
October 15, 2019

Some of the houses in my neighborhood have decorated extensively for the Halloween. I went out the other night to take an image of one of the houses. I thought that I had taken a nice image, but when I reviewed it, it seemed filled with a bit more of the Halloween eeriness than I had planned. I have no idea how I managed to get this weird image, but I did. 

The Halloween season has arrived and the leaves are falling from the trees. Yesterday's rains will ensure my lawn remains green for another couple weeks. It was good to have rain, finally, yesterday. And it was a nice soaking rain.

Maybe I will get a better picture of the decorations in the neighborhood this evening. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD