Football? In August?

The NFL is desperately trying to give consumers a product that they can appreciate and identify with. 

How can they expect fans to appreciate meaningless games at regular season prices? 

NFL football in the stands is just not a lot of fun. Especially if someone happens to be cheering for the visiting team. There is a thuggish mentality that takes over. And the games do not matter.

Who really cares about a preseason football win? Look at the 2014 season. The Washington Redskins were 3-1 in the preseason , but wound up 4-12 during the regular season.

Conversely, the Indianapolis Colts were 0-4 during preseason, but finished the regular season 11-5.

I saw parts of some of the games this past weekend. The stands were mostly empty. 

The product is just not that good.

If preseason games were free, then they would be a good value. Alternatively, play the games in smaller stadiums and charge less per seat, like baseball! But since the real teams don't take the field until September, it is hard to get excited about meaningless games.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 17, 2015

1. Teachers in some counties of Maryland report back to school today. Welcome back teachers, summer is over and it's time to get ready for the next school year.

Golf Carts and Golfers ready for the
Troy Whittemore Classic Golf Tournament

2. There is a lot of sadness as summer vacation comes to an end, but--summer is NOT over! Let's not hasten the demise of summer just because schools are gearing up. Autumn comes too soon as it is without helping it arrive sooner.

Hole Six at the
Troy Whittemore Classic sponsored by
Chris

3. I played in a golf tournament in Upstate New York yesterday. While my team did five or six strokes better than last year, we were hoping to do even better. 

4. Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my introduction to golf! What a change. Instead of hoping to just hit the ball, I was actually planning how to execute specific shots.

5. How 'bout them Orioles? 18-2 winners over the Athletics yesterday, on a three game winning streak and creeping up to only four games out of the division lead. Good things are happening in Baltimore! More baseball is on tap for today!

Balloon over Hershey, PA
August 15, 2015

6. I had the opportunity to ride and look out the windows on most of my trip to and from Upstate New York this weekend. I saw a hot air balloon over Hershey, PA. 

Lights Reflecting on Cayuga Lake
August 15, 2015

7. I was able to take a few minutes and look at the stars and consider the reflections of the lights in Cayuga Lake on Saturday night. The scene was memorable and I tried to capture it. It made a better memory and image, I guess.

8. Reading the news of the past few days I find it amazing what can be condoned in the name of religion. ISIS has found a way to incorporate rape, sex slaves, murder, and who know what other atrocities and justify them as an offering to god. 

9. Did you read that North Korea now has its own time zone? Actually, it is reverting to the one it used until 1910. Maybe I can declare a personal time zone?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

An Historic Day: Old Glory Over Havana

I really do not know why I feel the way I do about reestablishing

The Flag being raised at the US Embassy
Havana, Cuba

relations with Cuba, but I am very happy that one of the last vestiges of the Cold War has finally been eradicated.

The raising of the Stars and Stripes over the Embassy in Havana yesterday, on a clear and beautiful August day, was the proper exclamation point to formally begin to reconnect with a country for which we have had an unreasonable paranoia for far too long.

I do not fully understand the Cold War, anti-communism mentality that vilified Cuba--but being unrepentant for so many decades is a travesty. Since 1961, the U.S. has fought a war in Vietnam and then subsequently normalized relations with that country--and we didn't win that war.

The anti-Cuban mentality that many people have is, in my opinion, misguided. Countries (for instance China) with far worse human rights track records are afforded most favored nation status. The embargo has not worked! What will work is entrepreneurship and capitalism. Open Cuba to the world commerce and the commerce of America. Our economic prowess is still a force almost unequalled on the planet and that is what will eventually bring hope, prosperity, and freedom to the Cuban people. 

It was an historic day and it coincided with V-J Day! Coincidence? I think not.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Facial Recognition Software is a Problem

I've written before about the subtle but real ways that police and other government agencies are usurping our Fourth Amendment protections. There is a good summary in an article titled, What Does the Fourth Amendment Mean?

The latest in the instances where we need to critically review Fourth Amendment protections was highlighted in a New York Times article yesterday describing how the San Diego police department may be misusing facial recognition software. 

Imagine this--you are stopped by police for a traffic violation. Remember, most traffic offenses are not criminal offenses. The officer takes your picture to run it through facial recognition software and swabs your mouth to collect a DNA sample. 

As quoted from the article, here was the real world response to this situation:

Lt. Scott Wahl, a spokesman for the 1,900-member San Diego Police Department, said the department does not require police officers to file a report when they use the facial recognition technology but do not make an arrest. 

“It is a test product for the region that we’ve allowed officers to use,” he said of facial recognition software and the hand-held devices the police use to take pictures. “We don’t even know how many are out there” in the region.

And that is the real problem. "We don't even know how many are out there."

Why are protections from unreasonable police actions being allowed? Even worse, what is being done to control the technology and the images and DNA samples that were taken. How are these being handled? How long are they being stored? When will they be destroyed, especially more compelling since no criminal charges were files, and in the case of one of the men in the article, no charges of any kind were filed and he was not even suspected of breaking the law.

With the breaches of extremely sensitive and personal data that have splashed through the news lately on a federal government level, what reasonable expectation is there that data collected by local police departments is secure?

Unless there is a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is involved, personal information should not be collected especially since recent history proves that in an electronic form it cannot be protected.

I do not want my image as collected by law enforcement or my DNA profile available to hackers trolling the internet! And did I mention, that facial recognition software is not 100 percent accurate? There are probabilities associated with the identification and therefore it is possible for an innocent person to be caught up in a legal morass which ultimately will involve time, large sums of money, and lawyers to be exonerated.

This most personal and private of data needs the utmost protection, and even more important should never be collected and therefore not require protection.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Autumn in the Air

After weeks of sweltering, humid temperatures which often left me slipping wet from perspiration after just walking to the car after work, the past two days have definitely been harbingers of autumn.

I first noticed it yesterday afternoon while I was enjoying an extremely slow playing round of golf at The Timbers at Troy. The temperature was comfortable and the humidity was low. It was obvious that many other golfers also wanted to enjoy the pleasant afternoon because the course was full--and it was slow. It took 4 hours and 12 minutes to play 18 holes on the same course where a few weeks ago I played 2 hours and 58 minutes. I made my last putt with just enough visible light to line up my shot. But it was beautiful weather and I thoroughly enjoyed the outing.

The coolness of the impending autumn was far more noticeable this morning as I took the dogs out for their morning activity. The 63 degree temperature was a true slap in the face. It was, to use a word, crisp. I could imagine apples on the trees and leaves collecting in piles on my lawn. I went back out to look for the Persieds meteor shower and it was just cold.

But please, not for two more months!

I want to enjoy summer until October. Already the daylight has begun to fade all too soon. Sunset last evening was at 8:05 PM. Two short weeks ago it was 8:22 PM. We are losing over 2 minutes of daylight per day!

Enjoy the day! 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunset to Sunrise Vacation

Sunset July 22, 2015
from the Square Grouper, Jupiter, Florida

In reviewing the images we captured during our vacation, it was surprising that even though the weather was great most of the days, Chris and I only captured one sunset and one sunrise that provided the classic images of which memories are made.

I enjoy sunrises and sunsets. The color saturation and the transition of the hues provide a constant stream of changing color.

Sunrise August 2, 2015
Port Everglades, Florida
aboard the Carnival Conquest

Even more interesting than realizing that we only captured one of each, was the fact that the sunset was imaged on the very first night of our vacation while in Jupiter, Florida, with friends and that the sunrise was taken from the balcony of our stateroom on the ship on the morning that we docked signifying the ending of our vacation. 

The setting and rising of the sun bookended our vacation, and nothing in between was nearly as spectacular.

I just found it very interesting--and I remember we watched for the sunsets every evening and I was awake for many of the sunrises--but none were as stunning as the sunset that started our vacation the sunrise that woke the world as we began our last day and traveled back to our day-to-day lives.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Going to the Dogs

Every so often we have the opportunity to dog sit for canines in the family.

Chris with Florence and Arthur

This week, we are watching not one, but two excitable, cute, adorable dogs. Florence and Arthur have rapidly become part of the family while they are staying with us. 

It is amazing how quickly they assimilate into the household. The funniest part is that Riordin, one of our cats, now considers them playmates and likes to join into their antics.

Makayla often just looks at them as if to say, "Really?"

It is all good, however. 

We have a great family dynamic in that we all share dog sitting duties when other members are out of town and all of the animals get along very well. 

Just another member of the pack!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 10, 2015

Any Questions?

1. Thanks Chris, for putting up with me for 40 years!

2. Wouldn't it be great if signage was as clear as what we saw yesterday while visiting a winery in Western Maryland. Doesn't leave much doubt about which way to go. Frankly, it was hard to actually go the right way, the wrong way looked so inviting.

3. I want to go on another vacation where someone needs to poke me to assess that I am just relaxed.

4. Chaos--now that can be a lot of fun! Just add kids and dogs for the complete package.

Chris receiving a surprise Anniversary gift

5. I still have it! I was able to surprise Chris with a special anniversary gift last evening. And, I caught the response on camera!

6. I saw the new Misson Impossible movie over the weekend. It was good, but not great. Nice plot twists, but that is what I have come to expect.

7. Do you know what is better than spending Friday evening with friends drinking wine? Not much!

8. August seems determined to set the stage for another winter. The temperatures have already begun to cool. 

9. Shopping for new lights is hard work. There are too many choices and none are exactly right. 

10. Who wants to trust their lives to a self-driving car, especially in D.C. rush-hour traffic?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Weekend Repairs

Looking into the Garage Door Opener
Broken parts--the gears should be covered

When Chris and I returned from our vacation, one of the major mechanical devices which had suffered a catastrophic failure during our time away was the garage door opener.

Over the course of the week, we came to realize just how much we depend upon the garage door opener, partly because when I had the new garage door installed two years ago, I did not provide a mechanism for manually opening it from outside!

Broken gear cover part

That may have been a mistake. It is easy enough to open and lock from the inside, but from outside it is not possible. That meant that once the car was driven from the garage we had secure the garage door from inside and walk back through the house to return to the car and drive away.

It wasn't fun. 

I was able to repair, not replace, but repair, the garage door opener yesterday. I had ordered the parts and they arrived. Parts were a concern because the Stanley model 6500 garage door opener is not made any more and I was on the secondary market for them. Many of the potentially required repair parts are "no longer stocked." Fortunately, the one that I thought I needed was available!

Completed and repaired

It was not a simple repair. The biggest problem was that no instructions were provided and there was one part that caused me to perform one aspect of the repair three times before I was satisfied that I had it correctly. 

I knew it was going to be a multi-hour project. And it was.

But it works!

Once I applied the power and adjusted the travel of the garage door, it actually worked!

I was pleased. Chris later told me that she gave the project only about a 50 percent chance of success. I was a bit higher thinking I had a 70 percent chance of success. It really depended upon whether any critical collateral damage had occurred as the gear cover was chattering and flinging itself around the enclosed space.

Weekends are great times to get repairs accomplished. It is just too hard to attempt a multi-hour project after working all day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Remodeling Surprise

View of the Old-looking Bath

Looking in from the Door

It happens every few years when we head out on vacation. We return to find that Patrick and Tina have surprised us by updating or remodeling a room in our house.

This year it was the master bath! 

Our master bath was somewhat dated. Yes, Chris and I had added ceramic tile some years ago and removed the even more dated vinyl flooring, but the room just screamed "old!" 

New Bath View

The cabinet over the toilet (yes, the very same toilet that I repaired a leak in earlier this week) and the colors give the appearance of dated. I believe that too many of my family have been watching HGTV! I am constantly besieged with updating and remodeling ideas.

Looking in from the Door

But I have to admit, the new and improved room really "pops!" The crown moulding was a really nice touch and the removal of the cabinet over to toilet opens up the room. The swap out of the lights for daylight brightens the room and the new color scheme is one that is currently in vogue! 

New Bath and the Color Scheme

We can't forget the new mirror. The old one, which apparently had already been removed before the pictures were taken, was big and just hung there on the wall with no style. The new mirror has style and class. Even the cabinet supporting the sink was painted.

The removal of the window shelf and rebuilding the frame was a very nice touch.

It was a nice surprise to return home and have such a great anniversary gift waiting. Thanks to all who participated in the project.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD