A Domain of my Own

Many of my faithful readers may have noticed that my blog has a new address.

Yup.

For Father's Day, Patrick purchased abobslife.com and I finally got it fully integrated with my blog over the weekend. So instead of http://rjdoan.blogspot.com, you will now see http://www.abobslife.com when you connect to my blog.

My blog hasn't moved--everything is still there, except I finally got the DNS servers to recognize the alias. So don't be alarmed. The change was transparent to the user.

Yay--I have my own domain name. Like Pinocchio said, "I'm a real boy."

Thanks Patrick. One of the greatest Father's Day presents yet. I'm sorry it took so long to get everything hooked up and working.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clams, Beer, and Weekend

It is fun that families come together around the barbecue.

Over the weekend, while we were suffering through a cold weekend in upstate NY, we gathered around the "barbie" for some great food and conversation. 

The clams were spectacular--I haven't had clams in many years and these were very special. But what was even more important was the conversation, the memories, and the connections between people that were made as a result of gathering to share a meal and memories.

Perhaps it is the gathering and the sharing that defines family. We were blessed that people gathered from multiple States to share the weekend. 

And yes--there was some beer, too. 

And there was a lot of meat--I forgot to take an image of the ribs and chicken that found their way onto the table.

But it was the gathering, the memories, the laughter, and the sharing that made the evening and the weekend.

Times like these are special and deserve to be remembered.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 18, 2014

Trumansburg Gold Course
One of the Holes

1. I played my first ever complete, 18 hole, round of golf yesterday. I was surprised that it took all day.

2. I took the Ice Bucket Challenge and was in one of the 1.2 million videos shared on Facebook. 

3. I felt that the Troy Whittemore Classic was a huge success. I only wish that I had won the Dustin Brown signed Team USA Jersey. 

4. There are 40 games left for the Orioles in this baseball season. I cannot believe how quickly the summer is winding down. 

5. Frustration is defined as driving at highway speed nearing your destination at the end of a five-hour trip only to become ensnarled in a construction zone traffic jam for 30 minutes. Each minute seems just that much longer trapped in traffic and once the road opens again all I can think about is that I could have been home by now.

6. Summer vacation is ending in many places and the kids are heading off to school. Drive carefully.

7. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz last night when I walked through the door of my house: "There's no place like home."

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Gulf or Golf: My First Tournament

I'm playing in a golf tournament today. Yup, me! I'm not even sure I know which end of the club to use when addressing the ball.

Would that be, "Mr Ball?"

I am very good at gulf sports--like Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, and Gulf of California.

Golf, on the other hand is something I have only infrequently attempted with far from satisfactory results.

Today, I am playing for a cause. I will be taking the course with many of my family and friends and a lot of other people that I do nor know to play in the Troy Whittemore Classic at the Trumansburg Golf Course. Troy was my nephew and the tournament is to benefit the scholarship fund established in his memory. Even a local radio station, WHCU,  is helping to spread the word and the tournament director told me last evening that the registration is closed with 32 teams registered for the 9 AM shotgun start.

Checkout the Facebook page at Troy Whittemore Classic. 

I expect to make Facebook updates as the day progresses. Wish me luck.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

It's Just Cold--Hit the Grill!

Dinner on the Grill, August 15, 2014

On the 15th of August in Ithaca, NY,  the weather was just plain cold!

It felt like late-September. Overcast, dreary, and cold. I actually had to put on jeans and a hoodie to head into town to do some shopping. 

What happened to summer? I don't think this bodes well for the winter--perhaps it is going to be a long, hard, cold winter. Like the one we suffered through last winter. 

Coppola Claret 2012

The high, in Ithaca, NY, yesterday was 66 degrees. Today is supposed to be much warmer (yes, those were the actual words used by the forecasters) topping out at 78 degrees. Point of fact, 78 degrees is the average daily high August 16th in Ithaca. Much warmer translates into average for this time of year! The low was an incredible 54 degrees--I can't even begin to imagine why it is so cold during August! Get this--yesterday was rated at 5 heating degree days. 

At least the unseasonably cold weather did not deter my date with the grill and a bottle of wine. The wine was a standby go to wine because the local wine store had a terrible selection of wines. Grilling some meat helped to restore a sense of summer to the otherwise autumnal-feeling situation.

Even though it may not feel like it, I can still act like it is summer! Break out the beach chairs, umbrellas, and sun screen!

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

On the Highway MPG

Driving our vehicle last evening it registered an amazing, for it, mpg reading on the computer.

We were cruising along the Susquehanna River just north of Harrisburg, PA, and our Toyota Highlander registered 26 miles per gallon (mpg). It was an amazing time as we watched the effective miles per gallon climb into previously unseen territory. We are usually able to get it near 24 mpg when engaged in highway traveling, but at the display climbed towards 25 we began to take notice. And then as it crested 26 mpg, ultimately topping out at 26.2 mpg, we were really impressed. 

Unfortunately, the flat road soon ended and we came into a town. It was sad to see how quickly the mpg dropped as we slogged through stop and start traffic and traffic lights. 

The exciting part is the Toyota reports the official highway mpg for our Highlander is 25--it was nice to actually get more than the reported value. I didn't think that ever happened. I wasn't even sure real people could get to the reported value.

Yay, us! Thanks Toyota.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

Medieval Thinking and Modern Weapons

Displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community cross the Iraq-Syria border.
CreditAhmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The situation in Iraq, the confrontation with ISIL (or ISIS as at the US news media calls them because most Americans aren't familiar with the Levant) highlights a fundamentally medieval thinking foe armed with 21st Century technology and tactics threatening the peace of not only the region, but of the entire world.

The situation is truly a blast from the past and the barbarism being displayed is reason enough that these throwbacks need to be stopped to restore peace to the troubled region.

Already the ISIL is bringing together an alliance of enemies to be arrayed against them. Syria, Turkey, the Kurds, Iraq, Iran, the US, and the UK along with others I may have missed are coming together against them and trying to protect the innocent peace loving non-combatants in the region.

I have been appalled by the brutality and disrespect of life ISIL has shown. Just research some of the web sites to find examples of the genocide. There is a body of evidence that demonstrates that ISIL has executed unarmed men who were captured. This is a page right out of the middle part of the 20th Century associated with names like Hitler and Stalin.

The United States must use its ability as the last standing super power to confront these brutal people. It is clear the Russia is engaged in its own deception campaign to steal people and territory from another country and that China is trying to steal oil fields in the Asian region. They clearly are not going to get involved in stopping this medieval threat until it is upon their borders.

The following passage highlights the approach used by ISIL in dealing with civilians:

Christians living in areas under ISIS control who wanted to remain in the "caliphate" faced three options, converting to Islam, paying a religious levy—jizya—or death. "We offer them three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract – involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have nothing but the sword", ISIS said. ISIS had already set similar rules for Christians in Ar-Raqqah, Syria, once one of the nation's most liberal cities.

This threat to peace is not going to go away. Americans need to take notice of this threat and realize that even though it is half a world away, this type of medieval mentality is alive and strong in the 21st Century.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Out the Hotel Window - Denver, August 2014

Sunset on August 11, 2014 looking at the
Denver International Airport Terminals

It would be easy for me to get bored looking out the hotel windows in Denver, since I seem to stay in the same area and have seen the landscape and the sights on so many separate occasions. But I don't! 

Yesterday I was reminded why I like to look out the hotel window, because I caught the sunrise--the actual no kidding sunrise as it was coming up right over the terminals at Denver International Airport. 

Sunrise Denver International Airport
August 12, 2014

On Monday evening, after I had arrived, I snapped a nice image of the airport terminals bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. I also, apparently, caught an image of a UFO--because I have no clue what that thing in the top center of the frame is and I don't remember seeing it when I took the image. It is not present in the image I took a few seconds later. Hmmm. A good one for the conspiracy theorists. It is probably dirt in the window.

But yesterday morning, I caught the rising sun coming up over the buildings just to the left of the main terminal at the airport. The sunrise was, in a word, magnificent! As I have written before, I like sunrises more than sunsets.

Sunrise Denver International Airport
August 12, 2014 #2

And this sunrise was one to be remembered. I remain fascinated at how quickly the sun jumps up into the sky from being just below the horizon to being "up."

I didn't take an image of the full-up sun.   I was so caught up in the moment, that I missed it with the camera.

But it is etched into my mind!

Good morning world! Another day is at hand with all of its promise and hope. Make today better than tomorrow--that is my goal with each sunrise.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Denver, Colorado (again!)

Flying the Turbulent Skies

I did my best imitation of self-loading cargo (SLC) again yesterday as I carried my bag down the aisle into a Boeing 737 emblazoned with the markings of Southwest Airlines and after retrieving my electronics and reading material and stowing my carryon, I claimed my seat for an almost four-hour flight. 

I have become a fan of Southwest Airlines because when you fly with them you have no expectation of anything other than a drink and some peanuts. I fly for peanuts!

I always make the following statement when I enter the Southwest jet, "I'm flying first class today!" It usually draws a chuckle from the flight attendants because there is only one class of travel on Southwest. Yesterday was special because as we landed we were serenaded by one of the flight attendants with a nice arrival song over the public address system. She had a nice voice which reminded me of Doris Day until she went horribly flat during one part of the song. I still applauded because it was a nice ending to an unusually turbulent flight across the middle section of America.

The flight was one of the most turbulent that I have experienced in quite a while. The seat belt sign was on for most of the flight. It almost becomes counter productive to have the seat belt signs illuminated, because over time, people begin to ignore the warning and do what they need to do--usually, use the restroom. It is to the point where the only time it is serious is when the captain suspends cabin service and orders the flight attendants to be seated and strapped in. Then, people listen.

Upon landing, I imitated SLC again and deplaned. Off for business after spending part of my life I can never recover strapped inside an aircraft over the heartland of America.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Denver, CO (again!) 

Monday Musings - August 11, 2014

1. It is only early August, but already the Halloween decorations are in the stores. 

2. Another idyllic weekend and I had one major project to accomplish--it didn't get done, I kept getting redirected.

3. I may have a potential buyer for Kitty, my first Jaguar. It will be sad to let the venerable old car go, but I am not spending the time maintaining it that I should.

4. In contrast to the Halloween decorations in the stores, I saw this butterfly on my Butterfly Bush on Saturday. 

5. The NFL began play this week. I don't even know what the scores of the games were. 

6. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy yesterday. It was fun, but not great.

7. It promises to be a very busy week ahead, I can't believe how quickly August is sliding into September--even the 62 degrees this morning sounds like a September temperature.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD