Tuesday Travel

 Chris and I are at the end of our Thanksgiving visit to Maryland. 

It is sad to be leaving family and friends, but more moderate temperatures await us in Florida. And we will be there for three warmer weeks until returning for the final push to Christmas. 

I had planned this trip to occur just before and just after the traditional travel dates for the holiday so hopefully the airport will not be a disaster. 

We are supposed to fly when we return, but I am beginning to think about driving since we will need to rent a car when we return. I would not attempt a straight through event, but even adding in hotels I think it will be less expensive for us to drive. It is definitely a point of discussion. 

Well, here is for good flying from Southwest!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Monday Musings - November 27, 2023

 

1. And it has arrived--the last Monday of November leaving just four Mondays remaining in the year. Christmas is exactly four weeks away!

Nicole's Christmas Tree Arriving
Odenton, MD
November 26, 2023

2. Family NFL Report. The family teams did as good as possible during the long series of games beginning on Thursday. They went 3-1, but two of the teams were playing each other.

Cowboys (8-3) shot-up Commanders (4-8), 45-10

Steelers (7-4) outlasted Bengals (5-6), 16-10

Ravens (9-3) held-off Chargers (4-7), 20-10

Dolphins (8-3) swam past Jets (4-7), 34-13

3. Christmas trees are abounding. Yesterday, Nicole's Christmas tree arrived and was decorated. It was a family event and nearly everyone participated. The Christmas season is off and running. 

4. It is amazing how time flies at the holidays. Fast! Tomorrow is a travel day back to Florida for three weeks of warmth and then we return for Christmas and New Years! Wow!

5. Today in History. On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II makes perhaps the most influential speech of the Middle Ages, giving rise to the Crusades by calling all Christians in Europe to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of “Deus vult!” or “God wills it!”

Born Odo of Lagery, Urban was a protege of the great reformer Pope Gregory VII. Like Gregory, he made internal reform his main focus, railing against simony (the selling of church offices) and other clerical abuses prevalent during the Middle Ages. Urban showed himself to be an adept and powerful cleric, and when he was elected pope in 1088, he applied his statecraft to weakening support for his rivals, notably Clement III.

A US Navy ship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker. Then ballistic missiles were fired toward it - CNN

15-year-old Pennsylvania boy faces first-degree murder charge in shooting of a homeless man - CNN

4-year-old Israeli American released from captivity as an orphan - CNN

Human Rights Watch says rocket misfire likely cause of deadly Gaza hospital blast - Reuters

March against antisemitism draws 50,000 in London - Reuters

Three dead as storm hits Crimea and Russia's Black Sea coast - Reuters

Negotiators Work to Extend Israel-Hamas Truce - The Wall Street Journal

Investors See Interest-Rate Cuts Coming Soon - The Wall Street Journal

Her last puppy died in the D.C. day care flood. Her new one just got stolen. - The Washington Post

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

That's What Saturdays are for

 

I did nothing of value yesterday. 

Amazing. I only left the house once and that was to take Chris to the store to get carrots for the fantastic turkey soup she made. 

What did I do?

I watched college football games. Yes, I was happy that Michigan won. It was one of the best played games that I h ave watched this season. Two very good teams in a pitched battle against each other. That game was always hanging in the balance.

And after that, I enjoyed a couple campy Christmas movies. 

It was a lazy day. I'm guessing that everyone needs a lazy day on occasion, especially at the start of the Christmas crush!

Today will be much busier, of that I am sure. 

Here's hoping that you get to enjoy a lazy day, soon!

--  Bob Doan. Odenton, MD

Black Friday Tales

 I apparently have survived Black Friday. 

Axis and Allies as the game begins
Odenton, MD
November 24, 2023

First, from the Axis and Allies front, you should begin learning either German of Japanese. My partner and I failed to save the world. We played the allies. It was a difficult day for us as Russia fell quickly and the UK and USA could not coordinate their activities. At one point the Japanese briefly held San Francisco--and if you know anything about the game there is no way that should happen. Thank goodness it was but a game and not reality.

The leftovers were great! Especially the Apple pie, which I did not get a chance to sample on Thanksgiving.

Happy Hour at or son's house was fun. We watched the last quarter of the NFL Black Friday game where the Dolphins crushed the Jets and then sang along to an impromptu Garth Brooks concert that was live from his new bar in Nashville. We are huge Garth fans.

I confess, I did not purchase anything either online or from a brick and mortar store yesterday. Does that put me in the minority of Americans?

And now the weekend is upon us. I am feeling like Christmas decorations will soon be retrieved from the storage room.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Black Friday 2023

 

Shoppers, start your computers or engines. The time has arrived to break open the piggy bank and hit the stores, be they online or brick and mortar. 

Today is also the day we gather to play Axis and Allies. It is a day when most of the leftovers are consumed along with some adult beverages. Today's field of players is smaller than in past years, but it should be a lot of fun. The women will shop and the guys will play games. That seems to be exactly how it is supposed to be. 

It is great that we have traditions associated with the holiday. I know that many of us look forward to the game, although we rarely finish the contest because it takes over an hour per turn. But it is fun!

I hope that whatever your holiday traditions may be that you enjoy them and are with friends and family.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Thanksgiving 2023

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wherever you may be, take a moment to reflect upon the blessings you have received this year. I know, it may be hard in the face of tragedy and loss, but there are blessings to remember. 

I hope that you can gather with family and friends to celebrate and reflect. 

Here are my football predictions for the day:

Lions over Packers by 7

Cowboys over Commanders by 10

Seahawks over 49ers by 2

If my record holds, I will be 0-3

Happy Thanksgiving!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Holiday in the Rain

Ready for Christmas
Turf Valley Town Square, MD
November 21, 2023

 I experienced the rain yesterday. It arrived right on schedule and remained through the entire day making driving a lot of fun, especially last night coming back from Ellicott City. 

Chris and I enjoyed Happy Hour with friends and outside the restaurant was their Christmas fireplace and chairs. The only problem was that they were wet. Very wet. A nostalgic scene drowned by the rain. This morning seems nicer, no rain but cold.

Thanksgiving is upon us. 

I wish you and your family the joys of being together and giving thanks for blessings. I know many of us carry hurt and pain, but focus on the living and those we are with while remembering those who have gone on ahead of us and be thankful for the time they were with us.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Preparing for the Rain

Weather Radar 7:35 AM
November 21, 2023
Accuweather

 Apparently, the region is going to received a drought-ending rain soaking during the next two days. I admit I was amazed at the low water level in the storm water collection pond. I remember earlier in the year watching families of Canada Geese in the water, and the water level was much higher.

The rain has not yet arrived, but it is clear from the current weather radar that it will arrive soon. And be everywhere.

I really did not realize the this area was experiencing dry and near drought conditions. Being so close to the Chesapeake I wonder how that could happen. Upon further reading however, I discovered that the smoke from the Canadian fires, which are still not extinguished, affected the rain quantities. Some of the fires are expected to burn through the winter and continue to be a problem next year. 

Well, as for today, I guess I will be confined mostly inside. 

That is not a bad thing, it just is.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Monday Musings - November 20, 2023

1. Welcome to the third Monday of November. There are just five Mondays remaining in 2023! That is truly a scary thought. I am definitely not ready for Christmas, or Thanksgiving for that matter.

2. Family NFL Report. It was another mixed results week with the family teams going 2-2 again.

Commanders (4-7) lost to Giants (3-8), 19-31

Cowboys (7-3) handled Giants (1-9), 33-10

Steelers (6-4) came up short against Browns (7-3), 10-13

Ravens (8-3) smoked Bengals (5-5), 34-20

Dolphins (7-3) got past Raiders (5-6), 20-13

Out the Back Window
Tanyard Shores, Glen Burnie, MD
November 20, 2023

3. This morning I woke up in Glen Burnie after a day of football and celebrating with family. We had a great time. I looked out the back window just as the sun was rising on the construction of the over-55 homes. It was an interesting scene against the colorful sky. 

4. Spin management. I think that the spin management SpaceX is doing over their recent rocket failure is amazing. I don't think they actually have admitted it failed--it just came up a bit short on the flight's objectives, but we still learned a lot. Yup, about how to fail and not admit it.

5. This is news, why? One headline (copied below) from the The Wall Street Journal this morning is about Travis and Taylor. This headline appeared top be above the fold. Why?

6. Today in History. Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II beginning on November 20, 1945.

The Nuremberg trials were conducted by an international tribunal made up of representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, France and Great Britain. It was the first trial of its kind in history, and the defendants faced charges ranging from crimes against peace, to crimes of war, to crimes against humanity. Lord Justice Geoffrey Lawrence, the British member, presided over the proceedings, which lasted 10 months and consisted of 216 court sessions.

On October 1, 1946, 12 architects of Nazi policy were sentenced to death. Seven others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 years to life, and three were acquitted. Of the original 24 defendants, one, Robert Ley, committed suicide while in prison, and another, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was deemed mentally and physically incompetent to stand trial. Among those condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Heinrich Himmler, leader of the Gestapo; Alfred Jodl, head of the German armed forces staff; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior.

On October 16, 1946, 10 of the architects of Nazi policy were hanged. Goering, who at sentencing was called the “leading war aggressor and creator of the oppressive program against the Jews,” committed suicide by poison on the eve of his scheduled execution. Nazi Party leader Martin Bormann was condemned to death in absentia (but is now believed to have died in May 1945). Trials of lesser German and Axis war criminals continued in Germany into the 1950s and resulted in the conviction of 5,025 other defendants and the execution of 806.

IDF takes CNN to tunnel shaft near Gaza hospital. Here’s what we saw - CNN

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has died - CNN

SpaceX loses megarocket in second test flight - CNN

Nasdaq leads Wall St higher as Microsoft hits record high - Reuters

Trump gag order appeal faces skeptical reception in US court - Reuters

US defense chief Austin visits Kyiv as questions swirl over aid to Ukraine - Reuters

Travis Kelce Opens Up About Taylor Swift and What Comes Next - The Wall Street Journal

The Era of Total U.S. Submarine Dominance Over China Is Ending - The Wall Street Journal
 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Walk in the Leaves

Old Roadbed
Odenton, MD
November 18, 2023

 We do it almost daily, walk the dogs. Well, in Florida we only have one dog now--but Finn gets walked every day and sometimes multiple times per day. While we are visiting, we have the added fun of walking Lily, one of Nicole's dog. That means that we each get to walk a dog!

Trees along the walk
Odenton, MD
November 18, 2023

We generally walk the same route. The dogs know the route and so they also enjoy walking. Yesterday, however, the route was very different than when we last walked it during June. Autumn happened. And while peak is well behind us, Chris and I still marveled at the colors of the leaves having just arrived from nearly perpetual green Florida. It was also chilly. No, it was cold! I had two shirts and a coat on and was still cold. I am not fully prepared for a cold wind to slap my face, I am more used to hot and humid breezes.

We enjoyed the walk and the bright autumnal scenery. It was a change from Florida and added some spice to our lives. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD