Propaganda vs News

I have been reading a lot of reporting of late. I am trying to read reporting from liberal, conservative, foreign, and moderate sources to gain perspective on the the issues. 

In reading the different sources, I am discovering trends that help me identify factual reporting versus slanted reporting (propaganda) playing on emotions or designed to incite a portion of the population.

An example from recent reporting:

If there is a reference to another news organization as "the fake news . . . " or "a reporter from the fake news . . . " I am probably reading heavily slanted reporting or propaganda. I offer an example from the reporting about the CNN Reporter that was arrested in Minneapolis. One sentence that stuck with me: Fake news CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez was broadcasting from the riots in Minneapolis . . . You can find the story at this link. Why is this clearly slanted reporting? Because the story was not about the particular news outlet, it was about a First Amendment Right being abridged in the arrest of a reported doing his job. 

Factual reporting is just that--facts without the inflammatory verbiage. When inciting language is contained in the articles, then there is likely a propaganda intent behind the reporting. 

Labeling everyone protesting as a terrorist is another tactic that I noted. During the past few days when there has been little violence, it has become clear that the peaceful demonstrators are citizens exercising their right to protest issues to the government. Yes, there were examples of looting early on, but they were not necessarily terrorists, they were criminals. Adding the terrorist designation without supporting evidence is an example of propaganda reporting designed to inflame a segment of the population. Tear-gassing and shooting demonstrators exercising their first amendment protected rights and following the directions of law enforcement is wrong--unless of course you decide that they are terrorists. 

Beware what you read--there are forces out there trying to shape what you believe.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - June 8, 2020

1. Here it is, the second Monday of June 2020. The year of everything crazy. The year is almost half complete and we still do not have our feet beneath us. 

2. Summertime weather arrived. Thankfully, the pool is open and ready to cool and refresh. I have been enjoying it almost daily.

Looking out from Big Cork Vineyards
Rohrersville, MD
June 7, 2020

3. Yesterday, Chris and I made our longest trip from home since mid-March. We visited Big Cork Vineyards for a wine club pick-up party. It was good to see the vines and people. We were outside and well separated following the state mandated coronavirus rules. I was amazed at how many people visited the winery, which has ample outside seating to escape their homes and begin to find a new normal.


4. I found an instructive article for people having a difficult time understanding "Black Lives Matter." It is titled The Black Lives Matter Movement Explained. I highly recommend reading the article.

5. The nearly perfect weather of the past few days has significantly increased my outside fun. Although I did not enjoy my pool yesterday, because I was enjoying wine at a vineyard, it was a magnificent day to be outside and enjoy the clear sky dotted with puffy clouds.

6. While at Big Cork, I inquired about the status of the grapes and whether they had suffered loss with the late season frosts the the region experienced. I am happy to report that because of the near constant winds the vineyards locations near the tops of the rolling hills, they did not suffer loss. I took some pictures of the vies and can report that I saw healthy grape clusters hiding beneath the leaves. There will be a harvest later this year. 

7. Today in History.  James Earl Ray, an escaped American convict, is arrested in London, England, and charged with the assassination of African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

On April 4, 1968, in Memphis, King was fatally wounded by a sniper’s bullet while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Motel Lorraine. That evening, a Remington .30-06 hunting rifle was found on the sidewalk beside a rooming house one block from the Lorraine Motel. During the next several weeks, the rifle, eyewitness reports, and fingerprints on the weapon all implicated a single suspect: escaped convict James Earl Ray. A two-bit criminal, Ray escaped a Missouri prison in April 1967 while serving a sentence for a holdup. In May 1968, a massive manhunt for Ray began. The FBI eventually determined that he had obtained a Canadian passport under a false identity, which at the time was relatively easy.

Headlines

Trump Orders Troops to Leave D.C. as Former Military Leaders Sound Warning - The New York Times

Tropical Storm Cristobal Makes Landfall in Louisiana - The New York Times

New York City Begins Reopening After 3 Months of Outbreak and Hardship - The New York Times

Protests Fuel Moves to Shift Funding From Police - The Wall Street Journal

Apologies, Protests and Rebellion: Inside the NFL’s 72-Hour Awakening - The Wall Street Journal

Countries around the world join in anti-police brutality demonstrations - OANN

Saying Trump 'drifted away' from Constitution, Colin Powell picks Biden - Reuters

Tens of thousands join Black Lives Matter protest in London - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Black Lives Matter

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Is that Dog Broken?

Finnegan being Carried
Another "crippled" Dog
Elkridge, MD
June 3, 2020

At dinner the other evening with friends a remark was made, "Oh, another crippled dog." I looked around for they injured animal, but did not see one. I did notice a small dog being carried by a woman. And then it occurred to me, that must be the crippled dog about which the comment was made. It was too injured to walk. Of course the dog was not injured at all, its owner was just carrying it.

We saw more dogs during the evening which were being carried and there the comment about a crippled dog was always made. 

Apparently Finnegan, although he was not present at dinner, discovered that he, too, could feign an injury be carried. It happened the other day during our morning walk as the temperatures were approaching 90 degrees. 

Finnegan stopped walking and sat down. He would not move. As we were a good distance from home and with the temperature rising, I shared the burden with Chris and carried him. Finnegan became the crippled dog! 

As it turned out I was not walking the dog, the dog was walking me!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Flag Respect vs Real Issues

Respect for the flag is back in the news and is supplanting reporting about coronavirus (no, it has not gone away) and social injustice. Although the discussion which generated the respect for the flag conflict was social injustice, it seems that conveniently this underlying issue has been dropped.

I learned a new word this morning, vexillologist: a person who studies flags. 

Drew Brees

 The subject of respect for the flag is back in the news with Drew Brees and the president exchanging their differences in the media. 

The statements for documenting this discussion are contained in a CNN report which can be accessed at the link. 

Brees' comments come after he initially said Wednesday he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag." He later issued an apology for his comments saying his comments were "insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country."

President Donald Trump then got involved and said Brees should have never backtracked on his comments. 

"He should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag," Trump tweeted. "OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high..."

Brees then took to Instagram, saying that "we can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities." 

"Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been," Brees' post read. "We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities."

But, about the flag, here is the really interesting part. A noted vexillologist wrote an an article titled, What Does It Mean To Disrespect The U.S. Flag?. In that article he highlights a flag display in The Art Institute of Chicago and one of the comments about it, “Why are we so OK with homeless people being on the ground, but not flags?”

He goes on to write:

In fact, it was this art piece that partially led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1990 that established the U.S. Flag Code as just a guideline, not an enforceable law.

Now you cannot be punished for placing a flag on the ground, burning a flag, or wearing one as a bikini. And that is a good thing, not just for your first amendment rights, but because we break the flag code literally every day.

He goes on to write about the kneeling during the National Anthem: 

We all remember the controversy around Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. This breaks the U.S. Flag Code Title 36, Subtitle I, Part A section 301, which states: “(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart…” It’s a clear violation, but totally legal.

Yet during the same anthem, sometimes in the same stadium, often a giant flag is spread over the field and held parallel to the ground by a host of volunteers.

This act violates subsection 8. “Respect for flag” Part C which reads: “The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.” A few minutes later when the teams run out, you’ll sometimes see the flag as part of their uniform. Another clear violation. Part J reads: “No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.”

He goes on later to begin to conclude:

So what offends me the most as a flag researcher is when people decide who is represented by the flag and who isn’t — when they use it as an identity weapon against a self-defined out-group. Kneeling for the anthem, letting the flag touch the ground, all of those things just break an unenforceable guideline. Changing the flag’s meaning to represent something other than unity, however, is a desecration of the flag’s intent, purpose and design.

Let's be clear, it is not about the flag. Making it about the flag diminishes and obscures the real issue. The real issue, which is contained in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, as prescribed in the Flag Code, is ensuring ". . . with liberty and justice for all."

Black Lives Matter

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Time to Cool and Unify

The 90 degree heat, experienced for the second day in a row, broke last night as thunderstorms rolled across the area. Much needed rain was received which revived the plants. Hopefully, the rain will cool the rhetoric in the nation a bit.

It was a tumultuous day with statements by a very respected General and former Secretary of Defense about the nation's situation being published. And then, there were corroborating statements from other retired generals. And tweets, of course there were tweets. 

I read former Secretary of Defense James Mattis' statement. While some parts were highlighted in the news, I found two paragraphs especially meaningful towards the end of his statement, one of which was extensively quoted, but the paragraph preceding it provides an important and interesting historical context. I am using the statement as quoted in The Atlantic article, James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution.

Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

Despite yesterday's tweets about General Mattis, the president made the following statement about the general at his swearing-in ceremony on January 27, 2017:

I'd like to first congratulate General James Mattis, now Secretary Mattis. Secretary Mattis has devoted his life to serving his country. He is a man of honor, a man of devotion, and a man of total action. He likes action. He is the right man at the right time, and he will do us all very, very proud.


I think the statement that I highlighted is more true than was realized at the time. 

We need to heed the general's words and resist efforts to divide us. We must set aside political divisions and also overcome cultural and ethnic divisiveness. We are all different and unique, but we are all Americans and our diverse nature is what makes us strong unlike any other country on the planet. We embrace our diversity.

We American citizens are the "We the People" referred to in the preamble of the Constitution. "We the People" have the ultimate power to effect change and ensure the survival of the Republic described in the Constitution.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Finding a Normal Again

Pool Party
Elkridge, MD
June 3, 2020

It was hot yesterday! It was our first 90 degree day since October 2019 and the 96 degree temperature reading was 50 degrees hotter than the temperature on Monday morning, just two days previous. 


I loved it. 

Pool Party from Above
Radio Flyer above Elkridge, MD
June 3, 2020

With the arrival of the hot weather, we had our first pool party of the coronavirus era as our family works to find the new normal. Their community pool remains closed and so two of our grandsons along with three of their friends arrived about 11:30 AM for a day of fun in the heat! It was great to watch them swim and play in the water. The draconian rules that will be implemented at most public pools will preclude kids actually playing in the water, for a good reason and for their own protection. But a vetted family and friends group, such as the one in my pool yesterday, is perfect for a private pool.

It was such a nice day that I even took Radio Flyer up for a short 9 minute  to a maximum altitude of 55 feet flight to capture the scene from above. At one point the boys threw balls at the drone--so I had to anticipate the throws and move away from the potential danger.

I believe that the pool will see a lot of activity this year from family and close friends due to the reduced opportunities to enjoy the water in their own neighborhoods. 

We are all struggling to find the new normal as we learn to live with the coronavirus.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A New Day Arrives

Yesterday was a momentous day. 

First Dinner Out since Coronavirus Lock-down
Annapolis, MD
June 2, 2020

It was primary day in Maryland and we voted by mail last week. Chris and I are very comfortable voting by mail. Having been in the military when I was younger, I never missed voting in a primary or a general election and I always had to vote by mail. I believe every vote matters and I personally do not see a problem with using mail-in ballots. It is important to vote and to have every vote counted. 


We also went out to dinner for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown. Yes to a restaurant, ok it calls itself a pub, Davis' Pub. We met with friends who arrived, in Annapolis, for dinner. We met with them as protestors were gathering to march through the streets of Maryland's capitol city. It was exciting to see the protestors gathering and we found a restaurant away from the crowd to enjoy dinner and catch-up on life since the last time we enjoyed time together. Dinner outside was great and we were told that this was only the second day that the pub was open for dining outside since the coronavirus lock-down. During dinner we could hear helicopters circling over downtown Annapolis monitoring the demonstration. 

Top of the Maryland Statehouse
From Main Street, Annapolis, MD
June 2, 2020

Chris on Main Street
Annapolis, MD
June 2, 2020

After dinner, and we tarried at the table for a long while to ensure the protest was over, and then headed into the city center not really knowing what to expect. We found deserted streets and although there remained a heightened police presence, the protest were evidently peaceful and the streets were vacant. And I mean vacant! None of the shops were open, but we found a small bar on Main Street with some outside seating and, fortunately, open restrooms. We sat and watched the last rays of the day fade from the sky. Enjoying time with friends and effectively being alone on the streets of Annapolis. 

Yesterday a new day dawned complete with citizens peacefully exercising their Constitutional right to demand change and dinner at a restaurant for the first time since early-March!

I wonder what new things today will bring.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Night the Lights Went Off

The foundations of the Republic have been shaken during the past few days. 

The lights went off at The White House during the height of the protests. 

There are conflicting reports as to whether the lights go off almost every night or not, some report that historically the lights only go off when a President dies. 

The optic, however, is bad. At the height of the protests outside The White House when leadership was needed most, the single most identifiable seat for democracy in the entire world went dark. "The People's House" went dark! Our country is often referred to as the shining beacon of democracy for the world, yet, when leadership was needed most the lights went off.

The leadership void continued throughout yesterday as governors were berated, peaceful protesters forcibly moved for an ill-advised and unwanted photo op in front of a burned church building, and the use of U.S. military force against Americans was threatened using a act passed in 1807. 

There is no vision at the top! Our leaders are reacting, not leading but only threatening military action against protestors.. 

This has become a worldwide protest and yet the issue at the root of the protests is not being addressed.  

It grieves me. 

This is not my vision for America. This is not the leadership I expect from our elected officials. 

If they really want to "make America great again," our leaders need to stop destroying the foundation.

And keep the lights on!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - June 1, 2020

1. The sixth month of the crazy year 2020 begins today. I am pretty sure no one saw all of this coming when the year started. 

2. Although the country is opening, the coronavirus has extracted an huge toll by claiming the lives of at least 103,000 Americans.

Eastern Black Swallowtail
Elkridge, MD
May 30, 2020

3. I saw one of my first butterflies of the season on Saturday, an eastern black swallowtail. It was flying in and around the grasses near my pool.

Robins Nest with 2 Eggs
Elkridge, MD
May 28, 2020

4. The robins are back and when last I saw the empty nest, there were two eggs in it. 

5. It was strangely cold this morning at 47 degrees! 

6. There is concern that the protests in over 100 U.S. cities demanding Justice for George, may cause a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

7. The past few afternoons have been great pool days. It appears that summertime weather has arrived! At least for a while. Well, until this morning arrived. 

8. There are at least three things that I wish we could return to China and never have to deal with again: coronavirus, stink bugs, and the emerald ash borer. 

9. Sometimes I feel as if our society is caught in a maze of choices that have no good outcome. Down one path is COVID-19, and down another is justifiable civil unrest, then there is a path to economic disaster, followed by trade wars, failed fiscal policies, and a crashing stock market. I'm not sure there is a path to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness left on the table.

10. Today in History. On June 1, 1980, CNN (Cable News Network), the world’s first 24-hour television news network, makes its debut. The network signed on at 6 p.m. EST from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, with a lead story about the attempted assassination of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan. 

CNN went on to change the notion that news could only be reported at fixed times throughout the day. At the time of CNN’s launch, TV news was dominated by three major networks–ABC, CBS and NBC–and their nightly 30-minute broadcasts. Initially available in less than two million U.S. homes, today CNN is seen in more than 90 million American households and over 160 million homes internationally.

Astronauts Dock With Space Station After Historic SpaceX Launch - The New York Times

As Protests and Violence Spill Over, Trump Shrinks Back - The New York Times

Twitter Had Been Drawing a Line for Months When Trump Crossed It - The New York Times

Rebounding U.S. Stocks Outpace Rest of World - The Wall Street Journal

Hong Kong leaders say Trump ‘completely wrong’ for curbing ties - OANN

Hundreds of protesters rally in London, Berlin over U.S. death - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

America has always been greatest when we dared to be great. We can reach for greatness again. We can follow our dreams to distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic, and scientific gain. Tonight, I am directing NASA to develop a permanently manned space station and to do it within a decade. 

From State of the Union Address (25 Jan 1984).

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Return to Orbit

Yesterday was a momentous day for the United States. 

Falcon-9 Dragon Space Launch
May 30, 2020

For the first time since the last Space Shuttle flight humans were launched into orbit from the United States. The last space shuttle flight was the Space Shuttle Atlantis from July 8-21, 2011. Since that flight and until yesterday, the United States did not have the capability to launch humans into space--only Russia and China had that capability. All of the U.S. astronauts who had flown to the International Space Station during that period rode into space aboard a Russian Soyuz space booster. 

It was exciting to watch the most sophisticated human space flight vehicle in the world take off from Cape Canaveral. The 9-year hiatus is over! The United States is no longer dependent upon Russia to place U.S. astronauts into space. 

It is something to cheer as we face the coronavirus and the protests over the wrongful death of George Floyd. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Changing the Focus

Another day, another shifting issue.

Although the stock market had started the week strong and actually ended the week higher--it sagged during the last two days as the government added another issue to the ones we are dealing with: COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd. 

The continuing problems with China are important, but it seems they generally reach a critical state when our leaders are trying to shift the focus from other important issues. I look at it as the moveable crisis. Unfortunately, every time that China becomes the focal crisis, I lose value in my investments! 

It is like the administration is trying to ignore coronavirus and the unrest caused by the death of George Floyd. 

And so now the most important issue in the world is the Hong Kong crisis and the discontinuity between China and the U.S. I agree that it is an important issue, but it seems that it is conveniently important to distract attention from incredibly critical domestic issues--like COVID-19 and the continuing injustice that people of color face in America. 

I was appalled at the arrest of a CNN reported yesterday morning, live on TV from Minneapolis. 

A Twitter feed from the Minnesota State Patrol said: In the course of clearing the streets and restoring order at Lake Street and Snelling Avenue, four people were arrested by State Patrol troopers, including three members of a CNN crew. The three were released once they were confirmed to be members of the media.

Really? I watched the event on TV and the reporter had a camera, microphone, and credentials at the scene--yet he was arrested while another CNN reporter with similar credentials a block away was not arrested.

And worse, in reviewing the tweets from the president, he is turning this into a political issue. It is a leadership issue. 

I saw one tweet which indicated that it was time for a change in 2020. I agree, it is time for a change--the president must stop shifting issues, take responsibility, focus, and begin to fix the problems.



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Scorpion and the Frog

Who despises fact checking more than someone who abuses facts?

Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

When a person in a position of power has a well-documented disturbingly distorted sense of the truth and labels any disagreement as fake news and further cannot engage in a rational discussion of right and wrong--it is an abuse of power. 

Everything and everyone is subject to fact checking. 

According to The Washington Post, 
President Trump made 18,000 false or misleading claims in 1,170 days. 
The attacks this week are against social media, but when will more overt attempts be made to muzzle the free and independent press?

And here is the really confounding aspect of the president's attack upon social media, from a New York Times article this morning, 


But the logic of Mr. Trump’s order is intriguing because it attacks the very legal provision that has allowed him such latitude to publish with impunity a whole host of inflammatory, harassing and factually distorted messages that a media provider might feel compelled to take down if it were forced into the role of a publisher that faced the risk of legal liability rather than a distributor that does not.

“Ironically, Donald Trump is a big beneficiary of Section 230,” said Kate Ruane, a senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, which instantly objected to the proposed order. “If platforms were not immune under the law, then they would not risk the legal liability that could come with hosting Donald Trump’s lies, defamation and threats.”

And the search for truth amidst the bluster remains. Twitter, however, as reported by the New York Times, responded:

Twitter said early Friday that a tweet from President Trump implying that protesters in Minneapolis could be shot violated the company’s rules against glorifying violence, in a move that threatens to escalate tensions between Mr. Trump and his favorite social media megaphone over its content policies.

The company prevented users from viewing Mr. Trump’s message without first reading a brief notice describing the rule violation. Twitter also blocked users from liking or replying to Mr. Trump’s post.

But Twitter did not take the tweet down, saying it was in the public’s interest that the message remain accessible.

Since the message was still available on Twitter, the inflammatory headline carried on Fox News this morning is both incorrect and irresponsible:

Twitter censors Trump's Minneapolis tweet for 'glorifying violence'

Legally, had Twitter been following the letter of the Executive Order and considering their potential liability, they likely should have removed the tweet as it violated their policies. Not censorship, but legally required!

The situation has become like the fable about the scorpion and the frog. 

A scorpion, which cannot swim, asks a frog to carry it across a river on the frog's back. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung by the scorpion, but the scorpion argues that if it did that, they would both drown. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung the frog despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I couldn't help it. It's in my nature."

By "stinging" social media with an executive order, the President may lose access to the very forum which has enabled him to spread his particular brand of embarrassing vicious commentary and falsehoods.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Not so Fast!

They're back. 

An Egg in the Nest
Elkridge, MD
May 27, 2020

The robins returned yesterday after a couple days of quiet. I did not see them during the day, but as we were departing for an evening walk, I saw a robin peeking out from the middle of the hanging basket. Ugh, I thought, that is not good. 

When we returned from the walk the robin was not around and this image confirms my worst fear--the robins have taken possession of the nest and are in fact nesting! There is only one egg right now, but I suspect that there will be more soon. 

Not good news. It creates a few problems. I hope that the robins get used to the level of activity in our yard. The nest is actually, as I understand it, protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as long as it is being used--so we are required to let the robins have access to it until they no longer are using it. I hope we can find a way to keep the flowers alive and water them without disturbing the birds.

Squirrel Keeping Watch
Elkridge, MD
May 27, 2020

We did enjoy a short evening walk to the catch pond to look for geese and other wildlife. Along the way I spied a squirrel keeping tabs on us from the safety of a tree. 

The squirrel was very interested in staying away from Finnegan, who also had spotted the squirrel. 

I was fascinated at how long the squirrel remained and just watched our party as it moved along the sidewalk. 

It was just another day living with the coronavirus and finding things to enjoy and entertain us right in our own neighborhood. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Industrious Robins Depart

Robin's Nest in Hanging Basket
Elkridge, MD
May 24, 2020

A pair of industrious robins determined about two weeks ago to build a nest in one of our hanging flower baskets. 

Robin's Nest Amidst the Flowers
Elkridge, MD
May 25, 2020

We do not want the nest in the hanging basket because the birds were destroying the flowers by digging around and damaging the root structure. Additionally, we were concerned that we would not be able to water the flowers once the nest was occupied. A friend suggested putting golf balls into the nest to deter the Robins. Great idea!  Except, the robins, after a couple days, built a second nest on top of the golf ball.

And then Memorial Day Weekend happened. The robins were actively trying to finish their construction project on Sunday, the same day that the family including four excited dogs arrived to celebrate the unofficial start of Summer. I had a couple encounters with the robins bringing material to the nest during the morning hours, but Chris and I had decided that we wouldn't not further actively deter the robins. It seems, however, that the afternoon and evening with the dogs and the boys racing around complete barking and yelling did what we could not do--the robins have abandoned their construction project. 

I am a bit disappointed because I was planning to install my GoPro to document the egg laying and rearing of the fledglings. But, the robins apparently decided that there was just too much commotion for them to safely nest in a hanging basket on our front porch. 

I hope that they have decided on a better and more secluded location.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Holiday in the Rear View Mirror

Memorial Day is behind us and it was definitely changed by the coronavirus. But, the time spent with family and friends was enjoyable and memorable.

Outlet Being Examined and Cleaned
Elkridge, MD
May 25, 2020

I went to Lowes yesterday and was very impressed. The store placed an arrangement of flowers in one of the parking spaces dedicated to Veterans as a memorial to our fallen comrades. I found it very touching and appropriate gesture.

One of yesterday's projects was devoted electrical ghosts. An electrical circuit in the house went off-line and I was chasing down the reason. After finding, opening, and examining and tightening all of the wires in all six of the outlets in the circuit, it began working again. I have no idea which outlet was causing the issue, but the circuit began working again when I restored power. It was a frustrating three hours of my life that I will never get back. 

I did, however, get to enjoy relaxing on a floatie in the pool for a few minutes before beginning work on one of the pool lights that had become detached. Ugh. There always seems to be another project. From what I determined, the pool plasterers used a too small screw when reinstalling the light and it worked free during Sunday's celebration. The hard part is that the screw has to be a stainless steel screw because it is under water and must not rust. Of course, I bought the wrong size at Lowes. It is the story of my life. 

I wonder what new challenges the week ahead will bring?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD