How Cold is it? New Coldest Temperature Recorded

With the coldest temperatures of the season so far facing us later today consisting of an overnight low in the teens, I was intrigued by the report about the lowest ever reported temperature on the planet. 

Just so that you know, all of the temperatures discussed are in Fahrenheit (not celsius, or kelvin or any other unit of measuring heat)

Yes, it seems a record shattering, bone chilling 135.8 degrees below zero was recorded, or more accurately postulated, by space surveillance satellites for the great frozen wasteland of Antarctica. This discussion of the relative coldness of this temperature is in the USAToday article Antarctica records unofficial coldest temperature ever.

How cold is it? 

The coldest temperature ever officially recorded in the US is minus 80 degrees in some too cold place named Prospect Creek, Alaska during 1971. 

Something I find even more interesting is that carbon dioxide melts at minus 108.4 degrees and boils at minus 70.6 degrees. I bet pennies really squeal in Antarctica.

Ugh. I knew I had something better to do than visit these places. On the positive side, for those people who signed up to be the first colonists on Mars, the new unofficial cold is similar to a the temperatures of a balmy summer day there. I probable need to make sure that my name is not on that list.

It was 217 degrees warmer in Key West, Florida,  yesterday, coming in at a high of 82 degrees. 

Coldest place on the planet? Key West? You make the call.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

As the Storm Continues

The falling snow has begun to subside leaving the trees and structures covered with the pure white cold stuff. 

It is cold and wet. We had a snowman in the yard, but Lucas returned it to its original state.

The snow is now covering almost everything.

I really could use some blue sky.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Scary Snowman Down the Street

On a street in my neighborhood there is a very disturbing and scary two story tall snowman. It is supposed to be a Christmas decoration. The snowman is something out of a Tim Burton nightmare movie. Pictures do not do justice to this fear instilling snowman. It's big, it is mean, and it is definitely not a happy Christmas decoration.


I really don't know why this thing is lighted.

December 10, 2013 As the Snow Falls

Meanwhile, I'm sitting here watching another storm blow into the region. The good news is that I don't have to go to work today because of the weather. The bad news is that I will have to do all of today's work tomorrow. But, at least I don't have to risk life and limb on the highways. 

The storm is just beginning and already the snow is sticking to the trees which just shook off the weekend snow. 

A respite from the holiday frenzy.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 9, 2013

Heavenly Bamboo Berries in the Snow

1. 15 Shopping days remain until Christmas.

2. The first real snow of the season fell yesterday. I'd like to say it was pretty, but it wasn't. It was cold, wet and I had to shovel the drive.

3. Football can be an incredibly exciting game. Five touchdowns during the final two minutes and five seconds of the Ravens game yesterday is proof positive. Wow! What a ride. I almost fell off.

4. The school closings are happening today due to the weather. While it is frustrating, it is also good that the schools are committed to safety.

5. Riordin seems to have a routine where he runs around the house. I guess it is his morning workout.

6. The fire in the fireplace all day yesterday was a very nice touch. It made the living room a toasty place to relax and watch the stressful football games. 

7. The most dangerous part of driving in bad weather is the other driver.

8. And for my family in Texas--on this date in 1835, the Texan Army captured San Antonio. 

9. Maryland is taxing rain! The Rain Tax showed up in my December tax bill. It is real!

10. Spring is close. My Orioles Partial Plan Season Ticket renewal came in the mail over the weekend!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

In the Path of the Storm

The first significant storm of the young wintery season is taking aim at Maryland. It is the worst and most dangerous kind of storm--some snow and lots of ice are anticipated. 

Already by 8AM this morning the cancelations are rolling in and the region is bracing for the worst winter weather. Stay off the roads is the plea of the officials--yet there is a major Ravens football game today. 

Covered Firewood Ready for the Impending Storm

We are ready. Our load of firewood was delivered yesterday so we are ready for a toasty warm living room looking out onto the frigid scene outside. Some of the wood still needs to be stacked, but most of it is already in its resting place until releasing it warmth in our fireplace. 

It is going to be one of those days. Watching the snow and freezing rain. Worrying about getting to work and school tomorrow. And enjoying being inside with no where that I need to go.

So--let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Difference of a Day

Thirty degrees colder from yesterday morning until this morning. Skies today are bright and cold compared to gray and overcast of yesterday.

The rains have passed, but the snow is coming the weatherman threatens. I wonder if there will be school on Monday.

What wonderful things will happen today. 

Time will tell. 

Perhaps the half cord of wood will be delivered soon and I can spend the rest of the day stacking that. And then we can begin to burn it to ward off the icy hands of the winter which seems to be arriving just a bit too soon.

Of course, winter's arrival is always too soon.

Brrrr. It will be cold as I stack the wood. 39 degrees at 11:30 AM.  Up a whole 6 degrees from the dawn.

Even Makayla wasn't too keen on heading out this morning.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

'Twas the Day Before St Nicholas Day

Unbelievable!

The weather yesterday evening can be described by that one word.

Yes it was overcast and cloudy, but with temperatures in the mid-60's, Chris and I did something that neither of us could remember doing ever before. Eating outside on the back deck under the Christmas lights in December!

Alright, we did light the fire pit for  bit of additional warmth, but we enjoyed a dinner reminiscent of our summer evenings to watch the end of the day darkness fall. Sadly, it was already dark when we dined, but still, the idea of eating outside in Maryland during December was an appealing way to hang on to the dying vestiges of autumn.

It was a quick respite from the hectic holidays right in our own backyard. 

I believe the memory of this dinner will help me through the dark and cold days yet to come. And it happened on the Eve of St Nicholas Day, a holiday not widely celebrated in the U.S., but a big event in many other countries of the world.

Did you remember to put your boots outside the door last evening?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Unintended Torture Device: Automatic Cat Feeder

Gus and the Automatic Feeder

I'm sure the title has your interest at least this far. It really isn't all that nefarious. I almost thought it funny. 

I was introduced to a really cool invention, designed to help our feline friends (in some cases they are more children than friends) who tend towards obesity living in our plush and opulent surroundings lose weight. It is an automatic feeder with metered and timed food delivery. 

Gus is one of my son's cats and he tends towards the heavy side. This really cool feeder was designed to help him find his inner and thinner cat. I was near the device one evening as it was about to meter out Gus's portion. His antics were hilarious as he waited for his portion to drop. Nothing in the world, I am convinced, could separate Gus from the feeder at feeding time. 

Why it is a torture device? Well, the device has no feelings, obviously, and so poor Gus in his enthusiasm does everything he can to get the food to drop earlier--to no avail. Gus is truly tortured while waiting for the food to arrive. He knows the food is in there, but he cannot get to it.

But the automatic feeder is good for Gus as he strives to become the leaner cat of his youth.

Great idea, unintended consequences.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Kennedy Krieger Institute Festival of Trees Review

At the Festival of Trees

Sunday, we bundled up and headed off to the annual Kennedy Kreiger Institute Festival of Trees. It had been over ten years since we went to the festival and I was amazed at how it has grown from a Christmas Tree focused event into a major commercial undertaking where viewing the trees is almost secondary to the sales and activities. I was not fully prepared for the blatant commercialization that confronted me after paying my $13 admission charge to enter the event, now held in the Cow Palace at the State Fair Grounds. 

The Gambler's Christmas Tree

Yes there were Christmas trees--and perhaps there were a lot of them clustered around the gigantic Cow Palace for me to enjoy. And I did. There were come very unique trees that delighted my imagination and the imaginations of my grandsons who accompanied me. But, the event is huge and almost unruly and out of control. 

Oriole Ornament made from Crab Shell

There were numerous vendors selling every variety of item imaginable and it seemed that they were the real reason for the season. The Christmas trees were clumped into manageable sections, but their glitter and creativity was overshadowed by the glitz and activity surrounding them.

Accompanying Decoration

As it was the third day of the event, most of the trees were sold, not that I would buy one. I found most of the trees on display to be sparsely decorated and lacking depth. There were a few outstanding one, but only a very few. 

The City of Baltimore Tree

I found the accompanying decorations around one tree to be very interesting. I was taken away to my personal beach by it. However, the thought of going to Tijuana for Christmas is not appealing in any way. 

The highlight of the event for me was the model railroad display which was huge. I could have sat and watched the trains for hours even though they just go around on the track. They were fun to watch and took me back to my childhood.

RECOMMENDATION: Sadly, I cannot recommend this event in the future. It has lost focus, becoming another overly commercialized Christmas-themed venture by a well meaning not-for-profit institute. The $13 adult admission and $7 child admission seems high. There is a lot to do once inside and many places and ways to spend money, but to call it a Festival of Trees is really stretching the point--a lot.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Where are You From?

Why is this a hard question?

Well, sometimes it is. 

While hanging out tailgating in the parking lots outside M&T Bank Stadium where the Ravens played on Thursday night with my oldest son, I heard that question about origins more than I have heard it spoken in a long time.


And it turns out I had a problem with the question. Sometimes the question is not clear. Really!

Did the questioner mean to ask about what community I am living in right now? Or where I drove into the game from?

Did the person want to know where I was born? Or grew up? Or where I call home? Or some other place that I may have an attachment to? Did they mean country? Or state? Or county?

For some people, I realized,  the answer is relatively easy--they are form the same place where they have lived their entire lives. Not so in my case.

I really started to think deeper about the question when my son answered it with a place name for a town where I had never lived and I realized that the question had potentially many twists and turns in the answers. 

In my mind, he was from everywhere. That is how his childhood was characterized, following me career around the world and moving every two to three years and therefore never really becoming deep in a community. 

I chose to answer the question more simply by indicating the place where I have lived for the past almost 13 years. But, I could have chosen to name another small town in upstate NY as the place where I was from--but the question seemed to be looking for a more local answer. 

There is a need to be FROM somewhere, I realized. 

The correct answer to the question may be "that depends" but that would be a definite conversation killer.

Where am I from? I am from a lot of places with a lot of experiences, but the easiest answer is that I am from Elkridge.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD