Monday Musings - January 5, 2026

 

1. Happy New Year again. Welcome to the first Monday of 2026. We have a whole year ahead of us along with 51 more Mondays.

Out the Hotel Window
Port Canaveral, FL
January 5, 2025

2. Today we board Utopia of the Seas for a week of fun and a visit to the Bahamas! I am awake this morning looking out on a foggy Florida morning. I was happy to be able to charge the car for free at the hotel!

3. NFL Family Football Report. The regular season is over and only one family team made the post season. Congratulations to the Steelers and the game ending missed Ravens field goal. Collectively, the teams finished a dismal 43-58-1, .426, for the season. 

Ravens (8-9) lost to Steelers (10-7), 24-26 

Dolphins (7-10) lost to Patriots (14-3), 10-38

Commanders (5-12) defeated Eagles (11-6), 24-17

Cowboys (7-9-1), lost to Giants (4-13), 17-34

Chiefs (6-11) lost to Raiders (3-14), 12-14

4. I am very conflicted this morning. I am appalled that international law and the Constitution were so blatantly ignored with the "arrest" of Maduro and his wife. I was further shocked that the Attorney General talked of the full "wrath" of American justice. I thought justice was blind and fair in a country governed by the rule of law. And I am further distressed by the Republicans talking on FoxNews (yes I watched) and not addressing the legality of the actions, but rather condemning Democrats who are concerned about the law, the state of our country, and are concerned that the veiled arrest is really a land and resource grab form a sovereign country. How is this different from what Putin did to Ukraine? And now Trump is talking about Cuba and Colombia next!

5. Today in History. On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages.

Following the Gold Rush boom that began in 1849, speculators realized the land north of San Francisco Bay would increase in value in direct proportion to its accessibility to the city. Soon, a plan was hatched to build a bridge that would span the Golden Gate, a narrow, 400-foot deep strait that serves as the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, connecting the San Francisco Peninsula with the southern end of Marin County.

Although the idea went back as far as 1869, the proposal took root in 1916. A former engineering student, James Wilkins, working as a journalist with the San Francisco Bulletin, called for a suspension bridge with a center span of 3,000 feet, nearly twice the length of any in existence. Wilkins’ idea was estimated to cost an astounding $100 million. So, San Francisco’s city engineer, Michael M. O’Shaughnessy (he’s also credited with coming up with the name Golden Gate Bridge), began asking bridge engineers whether they could do it for less.

Venezuela's Maduro due in US court, substitute leader softens stance - Reuters

Cuba says 32 of its citizens killed in Maduro extraction - Reuters

Ukraine says Russian strike on Kyiv leaves first civilians dead this year - Reuters

Popular Japanese sushi chain pays record $3.2 million for tuna in New Year auction - Reuters

Mike Johnson brags about ‘a great year.’ House Republicans are discussing his replacement - MSNow

Trump predicts Cuba is 'ready to fall' after US captures Venezuela's Maduro - FOXNews

Ravens' season ends in heartbreak as missed field goal sends Steelers to playoffs - FoxNews

U.S. plan to ‘run’ Venezuela clouded in confusion - The Washington Post

-- Bob Doan, Port Canaveral, FL

First Ride of the Year

 

First Ride of 2026
Tequesta/Jupiter, FL
January 3, 2026

I did it!

I got out on the road for my first bike ride of the year! Although about 3 mile shorter than my usual ride, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and was able to checkout and use my new safety equipment. 

It was cold!

It took me nearly 5 miles to warm up and feel comfortable, even though I wore long pants and two shirts. Riding in the 55-degree temperature with the wind chill factored in made it feel colder, reducing the “feels like” temperature to around 50 degrees! Ugh. Despite the discomfort, I managed to ride 14.58 miles.

I absolutely adored the newly installed rearward-facing radar. It alerted me to vehicles even before I could see them in my rearview mirror, allowing me to concentrate on the road ahead and fully enjoy the ride. I also appreciated my new bright orange helmet! While I didn’t utilize all the features, I believe the helmet's lights enhance the safety of my rides. I firmly believe that if they can see me, they’ll be less inclined to collide with me or veer off the road. 

I likely won't be riding again until next Saturday as Chris and I depart today for Port Canaveral. We board Utopia of the Seas tomorrow for a four-night Bahamas cruise with family!

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

This is the Golden Age?

 The news this morning is, well, distressing. 

The U.S. has become a rogue country under the thuggish leadership of Trump. 

Three Palms at Sunset 
Tequesta, FL
January 2, 2025

When the sun was setting last evening, on Day 2 of 2026, I had no idea that the year would go off the rails so quickly. 2025 was bad enough and 2026 is not off to such a great start. 

Continuing a pattern of lawlessness and ill-advised decisions that began when he negotiated a terrible deal with the Taliban during his first administration, and subsequently blamed it all on President Biden, his second crack at president is marked by worldwide combat operations and lawlessness. Here is a quick recap:

1. Large-scale strike and capture of Venezuela’s president

• On January 3, 2026, U.S. forces launched airstrikes on Caracas and other Venezuelan locations and reportedly captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife as part of a broader operation. Maduro’s government declared a state of emergency. The Guardian+2The Washington Post+2

This action is associated with an ongoing U.S. campaign designated Operation Southern Spear, involving a military buildup in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific targeting drug trafficking and regime leadership. Wikipedia

---

2. Expanded airstrike campaigns abroad (2025)

Throughout 2025, the Trump administration authorized a broad and sustained set of military strikes overseas, including:

• Somalia: U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State affiliates started early in the term and continued as part of counterterrorism campaigns. Defense News

• Iraq: U.S. and coalition forces targeted ISIS leadership in Anbar Province. Defense News

• Yemen: A U.S. air campaign against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels took place in early 2025 and concluded with a ceasefire in May. Defense News+1

• Syria: In December 2025, Operation Hawkeye Strike hit more than 70 suspected ISIS targets in central Syria after U.S. personnel were killed there. Defense News

• Nigeria: U.S. forces carried out airstrikes against ISIS-linked militants on December 25, 2025 as part of anti-extremist operations. Defense News

• Iran (Operation Midnight Hammer): A June 2025 strike used B-2 bombers against Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Defense News

• Caribbean & Eastern Pacific: Beginning September 2025, U.S. forces conducted a sustained maritime counternarcotics campaign, including strikes on vessels suspected of smuggling drugs toward the U.S. Defense News

These combined operations represent hundreds of air strikes in multiple regions and signal a significant escalation in U.S. military activity compared with recent administrations.  (Chat GPT)

At his second presidential inauguration, Trump explicitly called his hoped-for legacy a “peacemaker and unifier.” In that speech he said he would measure success not only by the wars the U.S. wins but by those it ends or avoids, casting his role as one aimed at peace. CNBC+1

And here at home, millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet due to rising prices and continued inflation, they are paying significantly more for health care, and are feeling abandoned by the administration while ICE runs rampant across the country carrying out its immigration activities.

Hey Congress! What does it take for you to answer the wake-up call? I'm not sure the administration's actions during 2025 and now 2026 meets the expectation I had when Trump promised:

“The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.” mint

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Day 2, and it begins

 I realized this morning that having Christmas and New Year's fall on a Thursday really helps people focus on the holidays and take maybe 5 holiday days off, two weeks in a row!

How cool is that?

Chris and I just hung out yesterday and enjoyed the first day of the new year. 

The temperatures are warming and South Florida will see 70s again today. That means that I should be able to get out on the streets with my new biking gear. I was gifted a new bright orange biking helmet and a radar-camera for tracking vehicles as they approach me from the rear. 

I am excited to try them both out. 

I ride a lot on the streets and while I have a rearview mirror, sometimes I get surprised--I hate surprises. 

My new helmet has lights, turn signals, and is wired for bluetooth connection to my phone. My only concern is about how many bluetooth connections my phone can support at one time. I need to try all of the gear out to see. 

I have to admit that I was very disappointed by the outcome of the Sugar Bowl game last evening. It got a bit sloppy at the end and Georgia blew a 4th quarter lead and ultimately lost. I guess there is next year. 

It is time to get 2026 started.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

New Year's Day 2026

 Happy New Year 2026

Palm Tree Across the Street
Tequesta, FL
December 31, 2025

The old year has passed and the new arrived. 

We will have to see where the new year takes us. 

It was a long day. We arrived home early yesterday morning from Baltimore and we were also able to say good-bye to the day and celebrate the new year's arrival at midnight. 

I was excited to see the palm tree outside of the front door against a blue clear sky. It reminded me that I was again in South Florida, even though the morning temperatures were in the 40s. I know it will warm up and that, unlike places further north, we will not be dealing with any snow or ice to start the new year. 

We enjoyed a New Year's Eve dinner with friends and then it was back to the house for some after dinner adult beverages. After they departed, Chris and I watched the final installment of Stranger Things Season 5. It had a bit of a tear jerker ending, officially I guess they call it an emotional. The series has been being produced since 2016, so it had been around awhile. It is hard to believe that it is over, but it needed to be complete. 

Tonight, we will be watching College Football Playoffs. 

Well, Happy New Year. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Holiday Flight Delays

Happy New Year's Eve

 And the errors piled up at nearly each stage of the flight home from Baltimore last night. 

Loading Baggage after
the Passengers are on-board
Baltimore, MD
December 30, 2025

Southwest definitely did not shine in the darkness. 

As the day got later, so did our flight. When we left for the airport our flight home was 8 minutes late. The incoming flight from Detroit was delayed. I could see that on Flight Tracker, but 8 minutes is almost nothing. 

Then the delay kept getting longer as Chris and I were enjoying a glass, or two, of wine at the bar near the gate. We went from an 8:20 PM door close to an 8:51 PM door close, to a 9:03 PM door close and then later. So we went for a long walk to keep ourselves moving. We did finally get aboard the jet and settled into our seats and then, because we were on the right side of the plane I could tell the problems began. People were still boarding as 9:20 PM passed, an hour after the original scheduled departure, but then baggage carts rolled up to load baggage. I knew we were going to be a lot later. 

The pilot and crew tried to keep us apprised of what was going on, but Chris and I had a birds-eye view of the baggage being loaded long after the announced push-back time. 

Well, once the baggage was loaded and the cargo bay secured I thought that we were good to go. So did the crew as the main cabin door was finally closed. 

Nothing happened. No engine start, no motion. 

We sat. The captain finally advised us that the tug to push the jet back from the gate wouldn't start because of the cold. 

After sitting for the better part of another hour, the jet finally moved and the engines fired up. 

In the flight tracker, it says take-off was 10:18 PM, but that was really gate push back. We taxied forever, like we were in Denver or Houston and not Baltimore. Take-off was not until about 10:37 PM. 

Once airborne the flight was smooth and the night was beautiful for sightseeing. We saw the coast of the Carolinas again out the window. At night it was highlighted by the lights. Landing at PBI was a bit different as we came in from the ocean and flew over the city. We enjoyed looking at there Christmas lights, but were anxious to get off the plane and into the car headed home. 

We arrived home a few minutes after 1 AM. Ugh. A very long day. We had welcomed the arrival of New Year's Eve. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Crashing the Party

 

Blue Sky and Sun
Odenton, MD
December 29, 2025

The biggest party night of the year is tomorrow night. Sometimes I can't tell if we are partying to cast off the year behind us or for the hope of a better year ahead. No matter, there are likely more of us out there just for the chance to party. 

Chris and I expect to be awake for the New York City ball drop tomorrow night, but we will be arriving back at our home on New Year's Eve after the flight out of Baltimore later today. So tomorrow will be a long day as we celebrate both the day's arrival and the year's end. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I booked an evening flight, but I did and I guess I have to own it. Our trusty car is waiting for us in long-term parking and if we don't check bags we should be home about 40 minutes after we land at PBI. 

I took the rather uninspiring image at the top of the item because yesterday was the first time that I needed to wear my sunglasses outside in almost a week. The overcast skies had set in and I was concerned that I might not see the sun again until New Year's Eve in South Florida. Thankfully, that will not be the case as it is supposed to be a bright, partly sunny, and cold day. At least it will be sunny, but the projected high of 33 degrees is a bit too cold for me. 

It is going to be cold in Tequesta when we arrive. The projected high for the day is only 65 degrees and it will be about 50 degrees when we arrive tonight. What happened to the 80s? I guess I will need to wear a sweater on the plane.

Travel days can be a real pain! But, party on!

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Monday Musings - December 29, 2025

 

1. The final Monday of 2025 has arrived. Christmas Day has passed and we are looking forward to the New Year with some trepidation. We will party and greet the new year, but the joyous celebration may soon evaporate as the realities of the world overcome our senses. 

2. NFL Family Football Report. As weeks go, at least the family teams were 3-3, .500, which is certainly better than they have been doing. The Steelers failed to win the AFC North Division. That loss sets up a "Win and In" game next week with the Ravens for the division crown with the loser watching the playoffs from their sofas. The winner of that game will be the only family team in the playoffs. Collectively, the teams are 41-54-1, .432, for the season. 

Ravens (8-8) overcame Packers (9-6-1), 41-24 

Dolphins (7-9) swam past Buccaneers (7-9), 21-20-17

Steelers (9-7) tackled by Browns (4-12), 6-13

Commanders (4-12) were lassoed by Cowboys (7-8-1), 23-30

Chiefs (6-10) fell to Broncos (13-3), 13-20

Lilly, Arthur and Finn Watching Football
Odenton, MD
December 28, 2025

3. Watching football is a family affair. Yesterday we managed to get four adults and three dogs onto the sofa for the games. The dogs were quite comfortable and staked out some prime real estate complete with pillows to enjoy the contests. 

4. And writing of sports teams, Arsenal, of the Premier League, continues to maintain a 2-point advantage over Man City and 3-points over Aston Villa--their opponent tomorrow. This is a very important game.

5. Whack-a-mole. The US Military is being used to play Whack-a-Mole across the globe. Whether it be sinking unarmed power boats in the Caribbean Sea or Pacific Ocean, striking ISIS positions in Syria, or for some unknown reason wasting valuable munitions to do something in Nigeria, apparently our president who claims to be committed to peace is spending our national treasure willy-nilly around the planet. Yet, he won't commit our support to Ukraine where the focused application of US weapons could actually bring a terrible war to a conclusion.

6. Today in History. On December 29, 1890, in one of the final chapters of America’s long Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.

Throughout 1890, the U.S. government worried about the increasing influence at Pine Ridge of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Native Americans had been defeated and confined to reservations because they had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs. Many Lakota believed that if they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create the world anew and destroy all non-believers, including non-Indians.

On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull, the famous Hunkpapa Lakota leader, who they mistakenly believed was a Ghost Dancer, at the Standing Rock reservation and killed him in the process.

On December 29, the U.S. Army’s 7th cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under the Lakota Chief Big Foot (a.k.a. Spotted Elk) near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons. As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it’s unclear from which side. A brutal massacre followed, in which it’s estimated almost 150 Native Americans were killed (some historians put this number at twice as high), nearly half of them women and children. The cavalry lost 25 men.

Trump-Zelenskiy talks yield no progress on Ukraine-Russia territorial issues - Reuters

China stages record drills designed to encircle Taiwan - Reuters

Syria secures mass grave revealed by Reuters and opens criminal investigation - Reuters

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversees cruise missile launches - Reuters

The small-business owners going uninsured as premiums skyrocket  - CNN

Blizzard conditions and tornadoes disrupt travel as winter brings frigid reality check back to the US - CNN

Congress is desperately failing at its main job - MS Now

Trump’s Christmas bombing of Nigeria has little to do with protecting Christians - MS Now

Iran sends conflicting signals on its missiles as Israeli concerns rise - The Washington Post

Steelers make major money decision on DK Metcalf after 2-game suspension - FoxNews

Donald Trump in his own words – the year in racism and misogyny - The Guardian

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

#MondayMusings

Christmas Village

Overview of the Snow Village Display
Glen Burnie, MD
November 30, 2025

 While visiting with Patrick, Jen, and Beck last evening, I had the opportunity to get a last look at their Snow Village display. 

Patrick does a masterful job creating the display and I learned last evening that he prefers the village pieces to the more rural settings of farmhouses and barns. They have a game they play consisting of hiding pink flamingos in the village for keen-eyed observers to find and re-hide. 

Snow Village Detail
Glen Bunie, MD
December 27, 2025

Christmas, which was just three days ago, is far from over, despite many people’s belief that it has concluded for the year. Retailers are in the midst of the after-Christmas sales, attempting to clear out their remaining stock before the 2026 models begin arriving. I’ve been eyeing an excessively priced TV that hasn’t yet gone on sale, but since it’s the 2025 version, I’m hoping the arrival of the 2026 models will provide some price relief.

I would like to say that I am enjoying the winter weather, I am not! But, I am mindful that it could be worse. My sister who resides in western New York State reported 22 inches of snow on the ground yesterday. That is 22 good reasons not to live there. The Snow Village is fun to look at and to create every year, but, thankfully, the snow is not real and the pieces actually are warm despite the wintery appearance. 

I am looking forward to returning home to warm South Florida next week for New Years and then off on a cruise to the Bahamas for a few days. But until then, we have more people to visit and things to do despite the cold.

-- Bob Doan, Odenton. MD

Afternoon at the Crab

 

Despite the cold 34 degree temperatures and a bit of sleet, we headed off to the Crooked Crab for lunch arriving there at noon just as they opened. We were trying to get the commemorative glasses they were giving out, but the supply ran out four people before I got to the counter. And that was after standing in the line, outside in the cold and sleet, for what seemed like 30 minutes. 

Chris and I, along with Mike and Nicole, enjoyed lunch as played Pokemon on our phones, participating in a number of raids and having fun. I am just getting back into the game after a two year hiatus and it has really upgraded. It is like learning the game all over again, but I did have fun participating in the raids.

All-in-all, it was a quiet day and we finished off the day with dinner at Frisco's and watching the movie Eden. It is a Ron Howard true-story movie about the first settlers on Floreana Island. The movie details the intrigue of there first three groups on the island and how there came to be one surviving family, who still live on the relatively remote island in the Galapagos which is not an Eco-tourist destination. 

I love quiet days, especially after the crush of the holidays. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD