Sitting outside last evening as night fell, covered with bug repellant, I marveled at the efficiency of the many bats which were feasting on the burgeoning mosquito population.
They flew in tight turns clearing the sky of the swarms which seemed to be aimed directly at my legs. I am the definition of a mosquito magnet. Any mosquito within an acre of me will make an express run to sample my blood. I would like to think it is my sweet personality--but I am sure that cannot possibly be the truth.
The bats, however, are my defenders. They make it almost enjoyable for me to be out experiencing the evening. I enjoy watching the bats at dusk. Sometimes the pass low over the pool--or make a sudden turn over my head all while dining on the attacking hoards.
I still serve as a meal for some. And executioner for others.
So there I was, watching the bats fly closer to me and swatting bugs.
Was I having a good time? No, not really. But the other option was to head inside and we only have a few months of the year to enjoy our yard and pool--so I stick it out, covered with spray, counting the stars appearing in the lightly clouded sky, and cheering on the bats.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
More taxes for people, less taxes for Casinos
There is a funny thing happening in Maryland. I wish that I understood the math behind it--but I don't.
The state is considering lowering the taxes on casinos while at the same time raising personal income taxes on a large percentage of the population.
Really?
Whose bright idea is this?
I am becoming a huge fan of a flat tax. I believe that every segment of the population should bear the burden for providing services and funding the government equally. Everyone--regardless of income should pay the same percentage with no exemptions.
This will never happen because politicians make great points with low income voters by persecuting the higher income earners. This is neither fair nor equitable.
Implementing a flat tax will make it harder to hide inefficiencies and waste because everyone will have an even stake in ensuring that government is run efficiently.
Lower income voter who are in a net get more from tax payers than they pay will now be more interested in supporting efficient government.
Rich voters will be encouraged to earn more and thereby fuel the economy even more rather than trying to find ways to evade the oppressive tax rates which when federal, state, and local bites are added together can exceed 50 percent.
Every American should support the government equally. Every American should expect the same protections ad services.
Therefore a flat tax seems the most reasonable approach. Oh--and keep the taxes high on casinos--they are just stealing money from people legally.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
The state is considering lowering the taxes on casinos while at the same time raising personal income taxes on a large percentage of the population.
Really?
Whose bright idea is this?
I am becoming a huge fan of a flat tax. I believe that every segment of the population should bear the burden for providing services and funding the government equally. Everyone--regardless of income should pay the same percentage with no exemptions.
This will never happen because politicians make great points with low income voters by persecuting the higher income earners. This is neither fair nor equitable.
Implementing a flat tax will make it harder to hide inefficiencies and waste because everyone will have an even stake in ensuring that government is run efficiently.
Lower income voter who are in a net get more from tax payers than they pay will now be more interested in supporting efficient government.
Rich voters will be encouraged to earn more and thereby fuel the economy even more rather than trying to find ways to evade the oppressive tax rates which when federal, state, and local bites are added together can exceed 50 percent.
Every American should support the government equally. Every American should expect the same protections ad services.
Therefore a flat tax seems the most reasonable approach. Oh--and keep the taxes high on casinos--they are just stealing money from people legally.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Monday, July 16, 2012
Monday Musings - July 16, 2012
1. The return home from vacation was a smooth trip except for the portion from north of Richmond to DC where we lost an hour and a half due to traffic, weather, and a particularly ugly accident.
2. I am taking today as the last official day of vacation to get some stuff done around the house before immersing myself back into life full bore.
3. I was amazed at one car on the road yesterday--a Bentley, which kept weaving in and out of traffic trying trying to move forward, they wound up behind me. I guess sometimes the harder we try to get ahead, the further off the pace we wind up.
4. The Presidential election is getting really ugly. I am sure one of the candidates will soon be proposing a way to end the drought in the midwest.
5. I highly recommend the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
6. Has any one noticed that Pluto--once the ninth planet in our solar system but lately relegated to sub-planet status, now has five moons? Or is it a binary planet with one of its moons Charon? Inquiring minds want to know.
7. Why is the Higgs boson nicknamed the God particle?
8. If this is July, the Orioles must be posting a losing record.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
2. I am taking today as the last official day of vacation to get some stuff done around the house before immersing myself back into life full bore.
3. I was amazed at one car on the road yesterday--a Bentley, which kept weaving in and out of traffic trying trying to move forward, they wound up behind me. I guess sometimes the harder we try to get ahead, the further off the pace we wind up.
4. The Presidential election is getting really ugly. I am sure one of the candidates will soon be proposing a way to end the drought in the midwest.
5. I highly recommend the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.
6. Has any one noticed that Pluto--once the ninth planet in our solar system but lately relegated to sub-planet status, now has five moons? Or is it a binary planet with one of its moons Charon? Inquiring minds want to know.
7. Why is the Higgs boson nicknamed the God particle?
8. If this is July, the Orioles must be posting a losing record.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Good morning from the road
We said our goodbyes to the beach yesterday followed by our last supper in Florida. The car was loaded and ready when we hit the road about 0216 this morning.
I have just finished my driving shift and we are half way home somewhere near mile marker 82 in South Carolina. Traffic is light but our hearts are heavy leaving the beach and our friends behind.
The day is sunny so far. We had escaped the heat by going to Florida. Now it is back to reality and life. I am left with good memories and lots of pictures.
The gps says we'll be home by 4:30pm.
That would be awesome. I'm sure traffic around DC will slow us significantly.
-- Bob Doan, on the road in SC
Sent from my iPhone
I have just finished my driving shift and we are half way home somewhere near mile marker 82 in South Carolina. Traffic is light but our hearts are heavy leaving the beach and our friends behind.
The day is sunny so far. We had escaped the heat by going to Florida. Now it is back to reality and life. I am left with good memories and lots of pictures.
The gps says we'll be home by 4:30pm.
That would be awesome. I'm sure traffic around DC will slow us significantly.
-- Bob Doan, on the road in SC
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Unraveling Days--Nearing Vacation's End
The days left in my vacation are quickly drawing to zero. Tomorrow I must begin my roughly 15 hour sojourn back to Maryland. Today is effectively my last day in the paradise that I consider Florida.
Yesterday was a day devoted to shopping and happy hour on the beach. We enjoyed a quiet day and a spectacular evening alongside the waves of Jupiter Island. The waves were the roughest that they have been since we arrived. I am always amazed at the many faces that the ocean takes on--from placid and friendly to rough and foreboding.
I did not go out in search of the sharks, but we did see about a 4 foot one racing along the shore in the rough surf presumably in search of dinner. Chris took the cool image of the day. It was an osprey just clearing the water after snagging dinner--a fish. I took some nice images of the osprey in flight as it posed overhead for me--but the fish and the bird are more interesting.
The bird was just beautiful. And as I sat on the beach contemplating the meaning of life, I was fascinated watching such a majestic bird flying and fishing so close to me.
I guess I survived Friday the 13th. And now for my second favorite foreign holiday--Bastille Day which is today. Vive la France!
I do love the beach though.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Yesterday was a day devoted to shopping and happy hour on the beach. We enjoyed a quiet day and a spectacular evening alongside the waves of Jupiter Island. The waves were the roughest that they have been since we arrived. I am always amazed at the many faces that the ocean takes on--from placid and friendly to rough and foreboding.
I did not go out in search of the sharks, but we did see about a 4 foot one racing along the shore in the rough surf presumably in search of dinner. Chris took the cool image of the day. It was an osprey just clearing the water after snagging dinner--a fish. I took some nice images of the osprey in flight as it posed overhead for me--but the fish and the bird are more interesting.
The bird was just beautiful. And as I sat on the beach contemplating the meaning of life, I was fascinated watching such a majestic bird flying and fishing so close to me.
I guess I survived Friday the 13th. And now for my second favorite foreign holiday--Bastille Day which is today. Vive la France!
I do love the beach though.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Friday, July 13, 2012
A Week, Already?
As I was sunning myself on the beach yesterday, I realized that I have been on vacation for a week already. Amazing! And OMG it is almost over.
We headed off to the beach a bit earlier than normal--I wanted to get there before low tide--hoping for some better images of the sharks and other creatures. Although the water still had only about 10 foot visibility--I was rewarded by some good images.
The storms over the ocean were kicking up the sand a bit. But the clouds were magnificent. They were fun to look at and watch off in the distance. The sun came and went and the water became more choppy as the day went on.
We had a visit from a relatively large sand crab--who walked right by me and stopped for a bit to have its picture taken. If it wasn't such a crab, it would have been cute. And I took this with my underwater camera.
I conducted my obligatory shark quest and ran across two at different times during the day. The bigger shark was later in the day, but the water was so cloudy by then I didn't even try to take a picture.
The exciting animal of the day was the squirrel fish I found hanging out near the bottom of a rock ledge. They don't normally visit waters this shallow, so it was a real find. It was nice that it wasn't moving around too much, so I was able to work the shot a bit.
When I am not in the water, I am reading two books--one is about a World War II B-24 crew member that survived over thirty days at sea in a life raft and then was sent to a Japanese concentration camp. The book is named, Unbroken<\i>. The other is about the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. Both are very interesting. The reason I am reading two is because one is electronic, and I can't read it on the beach--the other is a traditional book.
Nothing is better than a good read for vacation.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
We headed off to the beach a bit earlier than normal--I wanted to get there before low tide--hoping for some better images of the sharks and other creatures. Although the water still had only about 10 foot visibility--I was rewarded by some good images.
The storms over the ocean were kicking up the sand a bit. But the clouds were magnificent. They were fun to look at and watch off in the distance. The sun came and went and the water became more choppy as the day went on.
We had a visit from a relatively large sand crab--who walked right by me and stopped for a bit to have its picture taken. If it wasn't such a crab, it would have been cute. And I took this with my underwater camera.
I conducted my obligatory shark quest and ran across two at different times during the day. The bigger shark was later in the day, but the water was so cloudy by then I didn't even try to take a picture.
The exciting animal of the day was the squirrel fish I found hanging out near the bottom of a rock ledge. They don't normally visit waters this shallow, so it was a real find. It was nice that it wasn't moving around too much, so I was able to work the shot a bit.
When I am not in the water, I am reading two books--one is about a World War II B-24 crew member that survived over thirty days at sea in a life raft and then was sent to a Japanese concentration camp. The book is named, Unbroken<\i>. The other is about the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. Both are very interesting. The reason I am reading two is because one is electronic, and I can't read it on the beach--the other is a traditional book.
Nothing is better than a good read for vacation.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Thursday, July 12, 2012
What I've Seen in Jupiter, Florida, 2012
The beach, the animals on the shore, and those in the water--it has been awesome again this year to get away and check out nature and its magnificence. I had fun getting the picture of this sand crab--he was very tough to catch.
I realized the other day why I love getting into the water so much to see the marine animals--they let me get closer to them than the creatures which live on land. I have almost lost count of how many times that I have been within ten feet of a seven foot nurse shark, or for that matter three sharks. I keep looking for them hoping for a really good image--which so far has escaped me.
On Tuesday when I was snorkeling and the visibility was particularly poor, it wan not until I did some processing on the image that I took of the big shark that I realized that there were really two sharks watching me watch them. The visibility was getting rather poor--but I now clearly see two nurse sharks in the image. Ugh! I really hate those kinds of surprises.
I had a fun experience on the shore when a sheltie walking with its owner along the beach decided to come visit relax for a while. She was a beautiful dog, Katie, who just wanted a few minutes out of the sun under my umbrella. We exchanged some conversation with her owner only to discover that this beautiful, 13-year old dog had just been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The ravages of cancer, it seems, are everywhere.
And then again yesterday, as we took an off the beach day due to bad weather, we happened upon the sand cranes again. They were chilling and wandering around--but ever mindful of our presence.
In addition to the wildlife, there is just the calming of the ocean waves hitting the beach. On any given day, what really is better than this?
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
I realized the other day why I love getting into the water so much to see the marine animals--they let me get closer to them than the creatures which live on land. I have almost lost count of how many times that I have been within ten feet of a seven foot nurse shark, or for that matter three sharks. I keep looking for them hoping for a really good image--which so far has escaped me.
On Tuesday when I was snorkeling and the visibility was particularly poor, it wan not until I did some processing on the image that I took of the big shark that I realized that there were really two sharks watching me watch them. The visibility was getting rather poor--but I now clearly see two nurse sharks in the image. Ugh! I really hate those kinds of surprises.
I had a fun experience on the shore when a sheltie walking with its owner along the beach decided to come visit relax for a while. She was a beautiful dog, Katie, who just wanted a few minutes out of the sun under my umbrella. We exchanged some conversation with her owner only to discover that this beautiful, 13-year old dog had just been diagnosed with bladder cancer. The ravages of cancer, it seems, are everywhere.
And then again yesterday, as we took an off the beach day due to bad weather, we happened upon the sand cranes again. They were chilling and wandering around--but ever mindful of our presence.
In addition to the wildlife, there is just the calming of the ocean waves hitting the beach. On any given day, what really is better than this?
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Evening at the Square Grouper Revisted
One of our favorite watering holes in Jupiter is a riverside bar called the Square Grouper. It sits along the river/inlet offering a fabulous view of the water activities ranging from pleasure craft to working boats. This year, the Grouper upgraded its sitting area with a canopy of palm trees to keep the sun away.
Most important though are the views the spot offers. Waterfowl abound in the area along with a stunning view of the famous Jupiter Lighthouse.
As the sun sets, there are few places more enjoyable to relax and enjoy the coming evening. Of course, being there with friends for engaging conversation really helps, too.
Parking can be a bit of a problem on busy nights, but the views and ambiance are well worth the effort. I have written about the Square Grouper before--and this spot continues to be one of the truly great locations in all of Jupiter, Florida.
That is why I seem to always go back, one more time.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Most important though are the views the spot offers. Waterfowl abound in the area along with a stunning view of the famous Jupiter Lighthouse.
As the sun sets, there are few places more enjoyable to relax and enjoy the coming evening. Of course, being there with friends for engaging conversation really helps, too.
Parking can be a bit of a problem on busy nights, but the views and ambiance are well worth the effort. I have written about the Square Grouper before--and this spot continues to be one of the truly great locations in all of Jupiter, Florida.
That is why I seem to always go back, one more time.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Friends in Low Places
It is amazing the different animals we can see if we just keep our eyes open.
While walking the area the other day I happened upon some sand cranes eating on the corner. They let me get pretty close for a picture. And they were just hanging out in the neighborhood along with the suicidal squirrels.
Snorkeling yesterday, I ran across three nurse sharks and one really cool eel. One of the nurse sharks was about 7 feet long. I did get one image of all three together, but it is really difficult to see all three in the image. Trust me--they are there.
I also ran across a spotted eel--with its entire body exposed laying on the bottom showing me his teeth. Yeah.
A really awesome day in the water and on the beach.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
While walking the area the other day I happened upon some sand cranes eating on the corner. They let me get pretty close for a picture. And they were just hanging out in the neighborhood along with the suicidal squirrels.
Snorkeling yesterday, I ran across three nurse sharks and one really cool eel. One of the nurse sharks was about 7 feet long. I did get one image of all three together, but it is really difficult to see all three in the image. Trust me--they are there.
I also ran across a spotted eel--with its entire body exposed laying on the bottom showing me his teeth. Yeah.
A really awesome day in the water and on the beach.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Monday, July 9, 2012
Back to the Ocean
After taking a day off to let my back repair and also to buy some shirts with significant UV properties, it was back into the water yesterday.
John B. MacArthur State Park on Singer Island was the location chosen for our day in the sun and water. It is a wide long beach with a small rock reef that teems with life.
I did run across a hot woman on the beach and we hooked up for the day. I have a picture of here right here. She is a real looker, too! I especially liked the Orioles hat on her head. Fortunately for me, we are married to each other and I get to spend every day with her!
The beach was a bit crowded--it was Sunday after all. The water was calm and relatively clear--maybe 15 foot visibility.
Highlights of the day included a lobster who didn't want to be messed with--he was camped out in a bad spot and had this been lobster mini-season he would have been boiling in someone's pot before the end of the day.
We ran across some pork fish and other fairly common fish near the reef. There were just too many people around to fully enjoy the reef, so we only stayed out near it for a short while--OK, maybe an hour.
I did run across one fish that I can't name yet. The spotted one following the pork fish in the image.
All in all another great vacation day topped off by an awesome dinner at the Juno Fish House.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
John B. MacArthur State Park on Singer Island was the location chosen for our day in the sun and water. It is a wide long beach with a small rock reef that teems with life.
I did run across a hot woman on the beach and we hooked up for the day. I have a picture of here right here. She is a real looker, too! I especially liked the Orioles hat on her head. Fortunately for me, we are married to each other and I get to spend every day with her!
The beach was a bit crowded--it was Sunday after all. The water was calm and relatively clear--maybe 15 foot visibility.
Highlights of the day included a lobster who didn't want to be messed with--he was camped out in a bad spot and had this been lobster mini-season he would have been boiling in someone's pot before the end of the day.
We ran across some pork fish and other fairly common fish near the reef. There were just too many people around to fully enjoy the reef, so we only stayed out near it for a short while--OK, maybe an hour.
I did run across one fish that I can't name yet. The spotted one following the pork fish in the image.
All in all another great vacation day topped off by an awesome dinner at the Juno Fish House.
-- Bob Doan, Jupiter, FL
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