Friday, July 10, 2015

Where's Louie?

It is true, I forgot one animal in the manager that I am watching while other members of my family enjoy a much needed sojourn to the beach.
Louis with Florence and Arthur behind

Louis--the white Ragdoll cat. 

He is here doing his usual thing--tying not to be seen, but when he is visible he is generally unperturbed by the activity.

Louis takes full advantage of the sanctuary areas we afford the cats--areas of the house that are off limits to canines who desire to eat cat foot or roll in the cat boxes. Truly, dogs have some disgusting habits that need to be monitored and controlled. 

Louis always seems to have things under control. For instance, this morning I heard Arthur, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, barking incessantly. At 5 AM that can be especially annoying. Louis was on the table looking down at the dog who dearly wanted to play with the cat. I think Arthur thought Louis was a stuffed animal. Louis was unperturbed and looked at me with his big blue eyes as if to say, "when are they leaving so that I can have the house back?"

That is the essence of Louis. He is around only when he wants to be around, but when he is around--it better be just him.

Pets, especially dogs and cats, living together, can be a lot of fun! I wonder how much fun a bird would add to the mix?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Going to the Dogs

Among my tasks for the next couple of days is watching and caring for the dogs.
Makayla

Literally, I am going to the dogs. I could have been at the beach, but I got the dogs!

It is in interesting trio. There is Makayla--who is the unquestioned monarch of the family and the domicile. She is also trying to make the best of the situation by having to share walks with two additional dogs.

Florence
First, is Florence, an Italian Greyhound, with a cute, but demanding personality. She is a cuddle and prefers to sleep next to anything warm--like me. She is the Energizer Bunny on steroids and ins a bit too intelligent for her own good. She can figure out how to acquire any object of her desire--usually some kind of food, from almost anywhere.
Arthur

Next is Arthur, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is rapidly becoming the brains of the operation because his incredibly cute looks and personality can get him almost anything he desires. He is also very cuddly and prefers to lay on my lap when I am working on my blog. 

It is an interesting combination, especially at meal time because they each eat different foods and must be fed separately to ensure there are no dietary crossovers! 
Riordin

I guess table food doesn't count and neither do the "cookies" they get for doing their business outside and expediently.

Actually, I enjoy having them around. The one who is not amused is Riordin! He is relaxed about the additional dogs, but they get in his way. He would prefer to have my lap for himself--but with one or two dogs vying for it, he gets a bit left out. And the space on the bed for sleeping is limited as well. He will get over it!

And to think, I could have gone to the beach and missed all of this.

Nah! I'm good!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Raindrops of Life

The rain continues to thwart an otherwise laudable attempt at kickstarting summer. 

While large portions of our country are facing severe drought conditions, in this area we are seeing enough rain to make me believe that we have moved into a rainforest climate. It is so wet that thing seems to dry out. 

As I look into the forecast for the next 10 days, significant rain is forecast for 8 of the days--and almost always in the afternoon after I get home from work. 

While it has been nice not to water the gardens or fill the pool, it gets a bit tough trying to squeeze in mowing the lawn between passing rain showers. 

Yesterday I played golf and the course was extremely wet from the overnight storms--standing water on most of the holes and in the bunkers. The back nine holes were too wet to play and while I had fun replaying many of the holes on the front nine, I really like the back nine at this course. The good news was that they credited me for half of my fees and I still managed to play at least 18 holes of golf--muddy, soggy golf.

At one point, as I was driving the cart on the path I had to wait for a turtle to swim past. The water was at least 6 inches deep. Did I take a picture? No--but I should have.

I just need to be thankful that this region is not experiencing a drought and find a way to appreciate the raindrops that so many other people would rejoice at seeing fall from the sky.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Clouding the Issue

I guess I am amazed that the country has become galvanized around the issue of Confederate flags and banners while ignoring the real mental health issues that contribute to people committing heinous atrocities.

The more, it seems, that we focus on trying to end the Civil War the farther from the news those with extreme views are able to hide from the American public.

We have lost sight of the real issue and are focused upon a symptom.

Why did an imbalanced young adult walk into a church and murder people? We may never know, but I am pretty sure that a Confederate flag did not tell him to commit the crime.

It is clear that he was exposed to extreme and anti-social dogmas that will survive whether the flags are removed or not. And will we be further limiting our rights to free speech and expression if flags and banners are outlawed?

The flag did not commit the crime!

A misguided and potentially mentally ill person did. Let's focus on the action and the person and stop hiding behind the wrapping paper.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, July 6, 2015

Monday Musings - July 6, 2015

1. It is back to the grind after the holiday weekend!

2. The Orioles have been playing less than spectacular baseball, but with the signature win yesterday they are only one game out of first place. Ready to make a run.
U.S. Womens Soccer Team
FIFA World Cup Champions

3. Congrats to the U.S. Women's Soccer Team for bringing home the World Cup!

4. It is July and vacation time--I wish I was headed off on vacation today.

Callaway Razr XF Hybrids and Irons
5. My new golf iron set arrived three days early--they still haven't been broken in yet. The Callway Razr XF's are ready to take to the links. Someone remarked, "Oh that's too bad, they're backwards." Maybe that's why I got such a good deal on them. 

6. How about the Greeks--they are going to send the entire world economy into a tailspin!

7. In response to the furor over the Confederate Flag, it was reported that Bubba Watson, a two time golf Master's winner will paint over the flag on the General Lee--one of the original cars for the Dukes of Hazard TV series. 

8. Have a great first full week of July! I wish I was in Florida.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Stifling Celebrations

Baltimore Fireworks
Having survived the fourth, and the celebrations that are associated with it--I was reminded that it isn't really a party unless the police show up.

Last evening Howard County decided that it was more important to send police officers around to neighborhoods and visit with homeowners in their backyards enjoying a celebratory 4th of July rather than doing crowd control at the huge displays or ensuring that the highways are safe from inebriated drivers.
Baltimore's Fireworks

Think about it. Small family groups  staying away from the crowds, not having to drive, secure in their neighborhood backyards with family and friends, and not burdening the public safety system drew a response that progressively caused the multitude of private fireworks displays visible around my house to disappear. It was sad and misplaced. A definite damper on the celebration of our nation's independence.

According to an article about the history of fireworks titled, The Rockets' Red, White, and Blue Glare, they have been used since 1777 to celebrate Independence Day and by 1783 a large variety of fireworks were available to the public. 

Private citizens can own a firearms but cannot celebrate our nation's independence with fireworks in their own backyards.

This needs to be changed.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy Independence Day

The Spirit of Independence lives still, I am sure.


Every holiday season the articles appear reminding us that the stories and anecdotes that we use to characterize our holiday experience are not true.

The Washington Post published Five things you think you know about July 4th that are wrong this morning. 

I knew most of them and I have always been a little amazed that we don't celebrate Independence Day on July 2nd, but the Declaration of Independence does say July 4th and I guess it just makes it a bit easier.


Then there are the 9 Things you may not know doubt the Declaration of Independence provided by the History.Com. 

It is good to take a few minutes to review history and remember the heroic deeds of our forefathers. We should celebrate that the American Experiment, as it has been called, continues to live and thrive. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday, July 3, 2015

Friday holidays

Yay! It is the weekend and it is only Friday!

Many of my coworkers look forward to Fridays, I am a big fan of Saturdays. It is great when Friday is actually a holiday.

Let the weekend begin! 

I am golfing this morning and hopefully will begin the holiday weekend with a good score. It will be my first outing at this course, and so it should be interesting.

I have been trying to tune in my driver--it is an adjustable one, but have not seen much improvement. I'm still pretty bad off the tee.

Whatever the outcome, it should be a great beginning to the Independence Day weekend. 

Please secure your seat belts and ensure your tray tables are in the upright and locked position. We are cleared for the weekend!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Independence Day Weekend

Cue the fireworks. 

Rev up the engines for incredible traffic in the interstates.

Bring on the celebrations.

Independence Day is upon us and the weekend is already alive with activity although it is only Thursday!

Tomorrow is Independence Day Observed--for those who don't normally work on Saturday, and so a three-day weekend is in store that will begin a day early this evening as people stream away from the cities and into the countryside to relax and enjoy the summer.

With all of the chaos of the weekend, take a few minutes to remember the reason for the celebration. We live in the best country in the world, bar none! We enjoy freedoms that others only dream of and many are jealous of and would like to find ways to deprive us of. 

That written, we must be careful not one become extreme or small-minded. Just because we don't agree with something, does not automatically make it wrong, it is just different.

We are a diverse land with many cultures incorporated into the fabric of our society. That makes us stronger when we acknowledge it and weaker when we refuse to employ it.

Our responsibility is to remember that freedom comes with a price tag and we must protect and defend it so that future generations my experience its benefits.

The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.  ~Thomas Jefferson

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Surviving Leap Second


The world stood still for a second last evening at 8PM EDT. 

Leap Second happened.

Dire outcomes had been postulated had the computers of the world not synched properly. 

But this morning I hear aircraft flying and my computer seems to be working without any lingering after effects. I assess that leap second came and went largely unnoticed by the overwhelming majority of the people on the planet. 

That the leap second passed largely unnoticed means that many other people were successful in doing their jobs to ensure that our computer-based society could survive the threat of widespread computer shutdowns that in a worst case scenario could have shut down everything from traffic lights to power generation to every form of navigation--even our trusty handheld GPS.


I spent my leap second watching the Orioles lose their second game in a row to the Texas Rangers. 

I was more disappointed about not being able to view the once every two thousand year conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the evening sky due to cloud cover.

And then it was over. Probably not to be remembered until the next time a leap second is added to the clocks to keep everything aligned.

Thank you to everyone who made the leap second a non-event. Let's keep it that way.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
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