Enjoying the Lights in Dundalk

New holiday experiences can be fun and add some variety to the seasonal preparations. Last evening Chris and I along with a few friends went to Captain Larry's, a Baltimore City neighborhood bar, and boarded a school bus to tour the Christmas lights in Dundalk, Maryland.

There are a lot of local jokes about Dundalk--but last evening the joke was on the jokesters as the residents showed off their artistic skills in their holiday decorations. The bus stopped in front of the best yards and the revelers disembarked to enjoy the lights and chat with the owners, it they were lucky enough to be home.

It was fun riding around on a too full bus with other holiday revelers enjoying the lights while also supporting a local charity, BARCS, a no-kill animal shelter.

We learned about the Dundalk Trinity: Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, and Baby Jesus all incorporated into one lawn display. Seriously! It was identified more than once by the eagled-eyed viewers on the bus. 

We also learned about yard lights which are matched to music. Dial up an FM radio transmitter and watch the lights dance to the music. It was pretty to watch. I took a short video of the lights at one stop, but couldn't hear the music. I actually thought the video was longer when I was taking it.

It was a full evening. There was also a stop at a neighborhood bar, Howard's Pub and Deli, in Dundalk for food and fuel that broke up the bus ride. Then it was back to scouring the neighborhoods from the big yellow school bus for the best yards. 

Fun and different. A new holiday tradition? Maybe!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

One Week to Go

Columbia Mall, MD
December 18, 2014

What did I do last evening? Scoured the local mall for the final gifts of Christmas.

Unsuccessfully, I must add because at least one gift remains at large.

The parking lots were overflowing, the stores were jammed and the holiday spirit was noticeably absent from most of the people I came across during my walk around the Columbia Mall. It was a bit sad and I have to admit that I too, had a frown and not a smile on my face.

Shopping during the holiday season is no fun! Traffic and people and overloaded stores.

It is necessary, however.

Here's hoping your shopping experience is rewarding.

--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Steak on the Bar-bee; Stain on the ceiling

Steak on the Bar-bee

I celebrated unseasonably mild temperatures last evening by cooking a steak on the grill for dinner. It was a mid-December treat. Even though my grill is under cover and I can grill year round, December is tough because of the obstacles caused by decorations arrayed between the kitchen and the grill.

The grilled steak was a treat along with some steamed vegetables and a carb free dinner in preparation for more weekend carb loading. Last weekend was a two pound weekend! Ugh.

I don't need that again, it takes all week to recover from three successive days of overeating.

But racquetball helps to get the weight back within targets.

One thing, in addition to the shopping and gifting, that is literally hanging over my head is the stain on the ceiling from the over flowing toilet tank. It is there, right in the family room waiting for paint. 

I think it is finally dry enough to prime with Kilz and then paint for effect. 

I am still amazed at the mess one slowly overflowing toilet tank can cause. I just need everything to be really dry before I repair the damage and put the light fixture back into place. Maybe I can get to the damage once the purchasing and present wrapping is completed--whenever that happens.

It is a busy time of year.

One week to go until the big day. Shopping is nearly, mostly complete!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Joy of the Season - Elementary School Holiday Concert

Ethan on the Cello

The pace of life is increasing to match the reduced time until Christmas and it seems that more and more activities get crammed into every evening. Last evening it was the annual Holiday concert at Waugh Chapel Elementary School in Odenton, Maryland, where Ethan and his cello were front and center.

The concert was short--because the school has wisely separated the ban and orchestral concerts due to lack of space and fire marshall concerns for overloading the cafeteria/auditorium. OK, maybe it was a bit too short--the orchestral concert was over in 25 minutes and it takes longer than that to drive to the school in traffic and get prepared for an evening of music.

But, the concert was fun and it was great to see "E-dawg" play his cello, he is a second year cello student, and enjoy the attention he received. 

Being his second year with the cello, he was ready for and seemed to revel in the chaos that is an elementary school music presentation. I was excited to see that the cello's, there are three, were situated front and center in the orchestra. Not only could I see him, but during the one piece that contained a cello solo I could even hear him. 

Note: I did not shoot the video, the person who took it forgot that movies need to be taken in the horizontal and not vertical direction. 

I enjoyed the serious look on his face as he strove to create music in a less than perfect environments followed by the smile of achievement when it was over. 

It was a great evening and a great celebration. Good job to all of the young musicians!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

When the Good Guys, Aren't

The revelations about the extent to which the United States government tolerated and possibly authorized extreme torture against enemy prisoners under its control as depicted in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program  have deeply affected me. 

I am appalled.

The report details a very dark time in our history where it seems that the moral character and fiber of all Americans is suspect.

As an American and a private citizen I am gonna lay it out right here: torturing prisoners is wrong and constitutes a breach of faith and potentially criminal acts, no matter what the politicians and appointed officials say.

Torturing prisoners is un-American!

I have always believed that we, the United States of America, were above the use of these tactics against our enemies. We used to be proud of the moral high ground that we as a nation walked. Even in the face of intolerable torture, such as depicted in the book and movie Unbroken, Americans have always possessed and portrayed the best traits of the human race by resisting the urge to torture and mistreat of prisoners.

Sadly, the SSCI report, which I laud the committee for releasing, describes how this is no longer true. We have stooped to the same level, or possibly below that of our adversaries. We, as a society and a nation, have taken a left turn with no blinker and traveled down the dark road into abyss of torture and human rights violations from which we must now extricate ourselves and work to repair our reputation around the world.

And now we are trying to justify this behavior!

Our moral character is suspect and our position as a world leader for human rights is tarnished, possibly beyond repair.

I have read much of the report and listened to the political leaders who try to say that the ends justifies the means--it does not!

In reading the SSCI report, I now firmly believe that those who participated in the torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners of from the War on Terror are no better than many of the War Criminals convicted at the end of World War 2 as a result of the Nuremberg and other post-war trials.

The Code of Conduct is clear about how American POWs are supposed to conduct themselves in captivity, do we have any reason to expect less from our enemies? The Constitution is clear, no matter how those involved in this black eye against America try to skirt it by not bringing people into or onto the territory of the united States. By following the letter of the law, the intent of the law has been violated.

Didn't anyone realize that these activities and actions were wrong and possibly illegal? No one stood up to say, we need to stop? And now the dark truth is exposed and it is far worse than we all realized at the time.

We need to beg forgiveness from the court of the world and vow that this type of behavior will never be tolerated again.

We the People must not tolerate this aberrant behavior anymore. It is time to ensure that our leaders and the instruments of our government do not engage in torture--anywhere in the world. It is just wrong!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 15, 2014

1. 10 days until Christmas! The elves better get a move on.

2. What happens when a toilet in an upstairs bathroom malfunctions? Spots on the ceiling below and an emergency Christmas repair! Fortunately the water was from the tank and not the bowl--so it was clean.

Outside the Columbia Mall

3. Shopping on the second to last Saturday before 
Christmas and the most interesting thing I found was some deer in front of the mall.

4. Who says cell phones are not a necessary part of life? She didn't even know I was in the store with her.

Chris in the Mall

5. Sunday afternoon football with a lot of people cheering for different teams in a local sports establishment was a lot of fun--especially when close games resolved for the favorites. 

6. What do you get when you wash white throw rugs with a red table cloth? Pink!

7. All of our Apple classic iPad charging cords have disappeared. I wonder where they have gone? My iPad is down to 2% and dying quickly.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Court Rules and the Game Stands

The courts have wisely distanced themselves from making a decision about the outcome of an Oklahoma High School Football Playoff game. As reported in the New York Times article, Upon Further Review, by Judge, a Botched Playoff Ruling Stands, the court has determined that it has no basis in law to intervene in determining the outcome of a sporting event.

I wrote about the situation last week in my article, The Game is Over--No, Wait--the judges have to make a ruling. 

Specifically, as reported by the New York Times, There is no precedent allowing a court to order the replay of a high school football game, and no way to ensure that a replay would be fair to both teams, because the conditions of the disputed contest could not be replicated, District Judge Bernard M. Jones II said in a written opinion Thursday.

I agree. The courts do not have a role in determining the outcome of sporting events.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday Nights at Christmas

Our Pyramids

I'm writing this with the memory of an impromptu party that Chris and I hosted with our some of our closest friends last evening still fresh in my mind. 

What a great evening and a perfect end to a busy week. Friends,  conversation, dinner and easy relaxed fun.

I lament that I have to wait for Friday for these evenings to happen.

Christmas Stars by Wiley Purkey

A couple roasted chickens from Costco, a salad or two, munchies, and a few bottles of wine couples with fun conversation--what could be better. 

Well, the season definitely does add some ambiance to the settings for the gathering. The decorations add character to the house by providing visually stimulating diversions. We bought a new art print last week and it has found a prominent place in the house. It was fun to watch the artist, Wiley Purkey, at work on another piece that we are hoping to buy a print of this week. 

It is all good. Oh, by the way, happy 12-13-14!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Christmas Season Birthdays

This may seem strange, but I think celebrating Christmas birthdays is awesome! 

And the definition of a Christmas birthday is any birthday in December.

I attended the celebration of a December family birthday last night and there is just something awesome about having the Christmas Tree lit and opening presents on a day other than Christmas day. 

Birthday's are great for families to get together and celebrate.

Last evening, it was for Nicole--my daughter. And with Christmas just a fortnight away, it was nice to celebrate a birthday. And to experience the love of a family gathered for a special and awesome person.

Nicole Blowing out the Candles

As 2014 comes to an end, every day is a new beginning. Another page in the chapter of life that is a year. Celebrations remind me that every day is special and worthy of celebrating something or someone.

Happy Birthday.

It is two weeks until Christmas.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

And the Government Spasms

The current budget battle hides the deeper problems in America right now. 

The failure to prepare a budget annually is evidence that our elected officials do not know how to do the one job we elected them to do: govern the country.

We the people have elected too many single issue representatives and they do not posses a good understanding that the most important thing we elected them to do is ensure that America is strong and well cared for.

Single issue representatives apparently do not understand the art of compromise to achieve long-term goals. They are looking for quick wins and constant success--but the success they seek is to often personal and not tied to the wider successes won from sound fiscal, domestic, and foreign policies.

Just because they represent different parties does not mean that their goals should be different, only that their means may differ.

How weird that the current explosive issue is about immigration--here's a thought, almost all of us are immigrants. 

We leaders who can focus on the strengths and similarities and not the divisive differences.

Let's move into the future!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD