Monday Musings - July 1, 2024

 

1. Welcome to the second half of 2024. There are 26 Mondays remaining in the year and 4 remaining in July.

2. Happy Canada Day!

3. July is my favorite month of the year! I'm glad that it has arrived. Enjoy the summer!

Gopher Tortoise
Tequesta, FL
June 30, 2024

4. Despite the morning thunderstorms yesterday, Chris and I were able to get out for a short 10-mile bike ride yesterday which brought my total miles ridden for June to 305! It was my third-ever month riding over 300 miles. Along the way we spied a tortoise moving across the sidewalk. I don't usually see them on the sidewalk. It was very different riding during the afternoon. I usually ride during the morning.

5. The pathologic liar, who arguably was the fourth worst president in the history of the United States (C-Span), continued his string of false claims during the debate last week. According to CNN, Candidate Trump made more than 30 false claims during the debate--that is one every 90 seconds. Additionally, he did not provide a plan for the future other than retribution. A quick summary, from CNN follows: Trump’s repeat falsehoods included his assertions that some Democratic-led states allow babies to be executed after birth, that every legal scholar and everybody in general wanted Roe v. Wade overturned, that there were no terror attacks during his presidency, that Iran didn’t fund terror groups during his presidency, that the US has provided more aid to Ukraine than Europe has, that Biden for years referred to Black people as “super predators,” that Biden is planning to quadruple people’s taxes, that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 National Guard troops for the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, that Americans don’t pay the cost of his tariffs on China and other countries, that Europe accepts no American cars, that he is the president who got the Veterans Choice program through Congress, and that fraud marred the results of the 2020 election.

Trump also added some new false claims, such as his assertions that the US currently has its biggest budget deficit and its biggest trade deficit with China. Both records actually occurred under Trump. (CNN)

6. Have you heard the question, are you better now than you were four years ago? Remember, four years ago we were in the COVID-19 pandemic which the then sitting President denied existed until he actually was afflicted by COVID. 

7. Today in History. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful.

In 1839, Britain invaded China to crush opposition to its interference in the country’s economic, social, and political affairs. One of Britain’s first acts of the war was to occupy Hong Kong, a sparsely inhabited island off the coast of southeast China. In 1841, China ceded the island to the British with the signing of the Convention of Chuenpi, and in 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed, formally ending the First Opium War.

Officials warn Hurricane Beryl will raise water levels by as much as 6 to 9 feet above normal near where it makes landfall - CNN

Car dealerships are racking up millions in losses as CDK outage enters second week - CNN

French parties rush to build anti-far right front - Reuters

Scientists wary of bird flu pandemic 'unfolding in slow motion' - Reuters

Top Democrats rule out replacing Biden amid calls for him to quit 2024 race - Reuters

Russia attacks Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv - Reuters

17 Years, $700 Million Wasted: The Stunning Collapse of New York’s Traffic Moonshot - The Wall Street Journal

The Once-Dominant Rocket Maker Trying to Catch Up to Musk’s SpaceX - The Wall Street Journal

In Effort to Stem Quality Problems, Boeing Agrees to Buy a Longtime Supplier - The New York Times

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

#mondaymusings

20s in the 70s

70th Birthday Cake
Tequesta, FL
June 29, 2024

 Chris and I celebrated a friend's 70th birthday last evening. 

It was a big affair and was attended by many neighbors and friends. We had a great time and enjoyed the conversation and the festivities. 

But it was a 70th Birthday party. We can delude ourselves into thinking 70 is the new 50--but it is still 70.

I heard a saying the other day that describes the situation that our generation finds itself in:

In the 70s we were in our 20s, but now in the 20s we are in our 70s. 

Some people rephrase is as saying I had a lot more fun being 20 in the 70s than I am being 70 in the 20s--but you know what--for Chris and I (although we are not yet 70, but it is within spitting distance) that is just not true. We are having a lot more fun now being retired and enjoying life, our family, and friends than we did as struggling recent graduates and with a young family and new careers in the 70s. 

I guess I am thankful for where I am--right now!

Happy last day of June 2024! My favorite month of the year begins tomorrow!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Off the Beach

Ride Computer
Tequesta, FL
June 27, 2024

 The afternoon weather has been stormy the past few days. This led us to celebrating happy hour off the beach last evening. 

We went to a local restaurant and enjoyed some great conversation, wine, and apps. I was excited about oysters for $1.50/shuck. I enjoyed three as I split the half dozen we ordered. 

The clouds and thunderstorms kept us off the beach because there is nothing worse than being caught on the beach during a thunderstorm.  

Getting out during the mornings before the storms form is critical. That is when I bike. I have ridden 295 miles this month and am hopeful of getting out tomorrow to push my total over the 300 mile mark. I realize the 160 miles I rode the GAP really helped me reach the 300-mile mark, but this would not be my first month of achieving that mark. October 2022 and March 2023 are the other months that I have managed to exceed 300 logged miles. 

Goals are fun to have, especially when they are achieved. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Off to the Show!

 Instead of watching the disaster that was the presidential debate, last evening Chris and I had tickets to see Mama Mia at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. We had a great time. 

The music was, as always, stirring and the performances were exciting and energizing. 

The Kravis continues to be a great theater in which to see top notch performances. And it is so easy to get out after the show--unlike many places where I have to wait 30 or more minutes to exit the parking garage. 

After the Curtain Call Encore of Mama Mia
Kravis Center, West Palm Beach, FL?
June 27, 2024

The show was great! As I wrote the music and the acting was energizing and the song finale after the show was stirring and brought the audience to their feet and many joined in with the celebration. 

Even with the rain, it was an evening to remember and was what an evening at the theater should be: memorable entertainment! 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

One Mile at a Time

Tortoise Along the Street
Tequesta, FL
June 27, 2024

 Yesterday, during my 15-mile bike ride with Chris I crossed the 4,000 mile threshold. 

That of course is logged miles. I have ridden a few more miles that were not logged. 

My Bike in Front of Jeremy and Patrick
On the GAP Trail, Dunbar, PA
June 15, 2024

It was an easy ride yesterday. Chris is trying to get back into shape after laying off for two months. I am planning a more aggressive 17-mile ride today to maintain my training level. The ride yesterday was much more enjoyable than the golf we played a day earlier. 

After having another new cassette installed, my bike is riding very well and still seems light when I start-up given that I am no longer carrying about 40-extra pounds of gear. 

During the ride, we did spy one lone tortoise munching along the street. It was wary of our passing, but held its ground.

I need to get out earlier today as we are having a new refrigerator delivered. I am tired of troubleshooting the current one which seems beset with a myriad of problems. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

On the Course

First Hole
Jupiter Dunes, Jupiter, FL
June 25, 2024

 It had been three months since the last time that Chris and I touched our golf clubs on a course, until yesterday. The morning looked very pleasant and we realized that we are not golfing like we should be in preparation for our nephew's memorial golf tournament during August. 

Waterfowl on the Course
Jupiter Dunes, Jupiter, FL
June 25, 2024

And so, we headed off to the course yesterday. The temperature was a balmy 86 degrees as we teed off. As we walked the course, the weather grew hotter and more humid. By the time we departed, after playing the 18th Hole, which I miraculously parred, the temperature was approaching 93 degrees with stifling humidity. 

It was a good day, considering. I reacquainted myself with my clubs and resolved that I need new grips. I did not recover my distance, not that I had any, but that will come as we continue to play in the blisteringly hot conditions. 

We need to get out a bit earlier to enjoy the cooler weather.

That is the same for biking as well. I need to start riding at 7:30 rather than 9:00.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Keeping a Watchful Eye

Keeping a Watchful Eye
Tequesta, FL
June 22, 2024

 Finn is a great dog, let me just start with that. 

Yes, I used to refer to him as our auxiliary dog, meaning back-up, but he is now the primary dog and the only pet in our family. He has grown into the role well. 

Finn also is very pliable and by that I mean he travels well and he also stays behind well. He almost understands when he will be traveling and when he is expected to remain behind. Usually he is very good when waiting with the notable exception being the other morning in the hotel when we tried to get for breakfast without him. It was not happening. We had to go back to the room for him and take him with us. 

Sometimes, though, he just sets himself up and watches the activity of the house happening around him. This was the case the other day. I think we had decided to clean the kitchen after a meal and he was too lazy to join us. He was so cute just laying there, monitoring the activity. 

And that is the Finn-dawg.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Monday Musings - June 24, 2024

 

1. The last Monday of June has arrived. The year is approaching the one-half mark--it is your choice whether that is one-half gone or remaining. There are 27 Mondays remaining in the year.

Mason-Dixon Line Park
GAP Trail
June 16, 2024

2. One of the stops we made during the GAP ride was along the Mason-Dixon Line. There is a small park where the line is paved in white rock and there is a prominent marker. In the image, PA is on the left and MD is on the right side of the line.

3.  It was very good to get home after over a month of almost continuous travel. We began to feel like our home was just another temporary stop. At one point last week, I had slept in five different beds in a seven day period--and none of them were mine!

4. I continue to be amazed by the number of vehicles traveling in excess of what must be 90 mph on the highways and they weave in and out of traffic. There has to be a way to stop them as they make driving dangerous. 

5. On Thursday, Moody’s Analytics, which evaluates risk, performance, and financial modeling, compared the economic promises of President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Authors Mark Zandi, Brendan LaCerda, and Justin Begley concluded that while a second Biden presidency would see cooling inflation and continued economic growth of 2.1%, a Trump presidency would be an economic disaster. (Letters from an American)

6. Today in History. On June 24, 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to turn their attention to the skies. The town of Roswell, located near the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, became a magnet for UFO believers due to the strange events of early July 1947, when ranch foreman W.W. Brazel found a strange, shiny material scattered over some of his land. He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a “flying disk.” A local newspaper put the story on its front page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public’s UFO fascination. 

US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as Russia-North Korea defense pact deepens regional fears - CNN

Unrelenting heat wave set to shift into the South today - CNN

Blaze in South Korea battery plant kills 22 workers - Reuters

Ukraine inches closer to EU dream after decade of war - Reuters

Ukraine’s Naval Drones Turn the Tide in the Battle of the Black Sea - The Wall Street Journal

The Texas Factory About to Become a Key Ammo Supplier for the U.S., Ukraine - The Wall Street Journal

Americans Are All Over Europe This Summer. Here’s How to Outsmart the Crowds. - The Wall Street Journal

Hajj heat wave deaths underscore climate threat for most vulnerable - The Washington Post

Abortion Debate Shifts as Election Nears: ‘Now It’s About Pregnancy - The New York Times

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

#MondayMusings

Oiut the Hotel Windows: Pittsburgh and Connellsville, PA

AC Hotel
Pittsburgh, PA
June 14, 2024

 I have a twofer for today's offering. During the GAP ride, I stayed in two hotels and one hostel. As we never opened the curtain in the hostel, I did not take an image out the window of the houses and train tracks, but I did take images of the scene from windows in the hotels. 

The first is from the lobby, which interestingly enough is on the 7th floor, of the AC Hotel on the Strip in Pittsburgh, PA. What a great view! It was a Friday morning, not all that early, but yet not a lot of traffic was evident. We left the hotel and began our day on the GAP shortly after I took this image. 

Comfort Inn
Connellsville, PA
June 15, 2024

The second hotel window was in Connellsville, PA. I took this one out my room window. The hotel is right on the Youghiagheny River. I never would have believed that such a great hotel would be in a small village like Connellsville--but it is and next year when I tackle the GAP with Chris, we will spend our first night there. There is a very inviting fire pit right on the river bank. Except for the rain, it would have been a great place to enjoy the evening. 

We began our second day in Connellsville and it was a tough almost continuous uphill ride where we gained almost 1000 feet of elevation during the almost 47 mile ride. 

I got on my bike yesterday for a ride. It was my first ride after the GAP. Without all of the bags and gear, the bike felt light. Well, at least at the beginning. It was good to be back in Florida and riding although the humidity was stifling. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Friday Evening is Beach Time

Carlin Park Beach
Jupiter, FL
June 21, 2024

 Chris and I headed to the beach last evening to enjoy Happy Hour with friends. The beach was the perfect escape from the oppressive heat. We were greeted by beautiful cloud-filled skies, bright sun, a strong surf, and a pleasant wind to keep the experience comfortable. There were even surfers to provide entertainment.

The Crew
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
June 21, 2024

Sitting on the beach at the end of the week, and especially a week in which we traveled, provided a way to relax and unwind from the activity. 

The surfers always provide a show and since I can't surf, I am always fascinated at how they balance themselves upon the ever-changing waves and avoid crashing onto the shore. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL