Another Debate--More of the Same

The debate season remains in full swing, and they all seem to be the same. Last evening the Republicans held another in an unnumbered series of debates. 

The back biting continues.

Who of these people really deserves our votes to be president?

Someone needs to propose a plan. 

How come it seems that thing new ever comes out of these debates. I wonder if any of the candidates actually debated during school?

These debates are more like an afternoon fights behind the high school stadium between bullies--no rules and no intelligence required.

I was disappointed last evening to hear the reality TV programming continue. As I read the news assessments of who won, I remain disappointed that the winner was decided by assessing which candidate was able to tear apart the other candidates and not based upon which candidate laid out the best vision for the country.

I suppose the debates will continue, they do provide some sideshow comedic relief on an otherwise dark and gloomy night.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Dark and Stormy night

"It was a dark and stormy night . . . " I seem to remember Snoopy starting many stories with this phrase and never finishing it.

Last evening was truly dark and stormy. We were out in the worst of it driving home from a local restaurant. 

How do you know it is raining hard?

1. The rain comes down in torrents. (I never really knew what a torrent was until last evening)

2. The rain looks like it is running uphill.

3. The tail lights of the car in front are almost visible. 

4. The lines on the road are invisible.

5. The person in the passenger seat asks if the headlights are on.

I receive emergency notices from the county and my phone was blowing-up last night. Between the tornado watch, thunderstorm warning, and flood warnings it was difficult to concentrate on dinner. Even though I had the sound turned off, the phone was still vibrating in my pocket every few seconds as the storm raged around us while we were in the restaurant. 

Where does the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night . . . " come from? 

According to Wikipedia, the phrase comes from the original opening sentence of the novel Paul Clifford:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

.

Last night, the opening sentence was all too true, except I was in Elkridge and the flame of the lamps was in fact the glow of the headlights.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

From Under the Snow

Flowers Growing Under the Snow

As the snow melted, there they were. Hidden in a place that earlier in the week covered by a foot of snow, the green plants of springtime were waiting for the sun.

And there they were right there hidden in plain sight, waiting for me to discover them. 

They had grown under the expanse of snow, protected form the frigid cold waiting for the warmer weather, much like me.

Springtime is beginning to push winter out of the way making ready for the green again. I love the green of spring. Green is the color that goes away during the dark season. I love the green. 

I have an urge to get onto a golf course, why? Because it is green.

I want to mow my lawn, why? Because it is green!

My lawn is brown, but it too, has been growing under the snow and the warm temperatures and rain will soon return it to green--the color of life and shamrocks! Did I mention that St Patrick's Day is coming? Even sooner, I will be heading to Sarasota for palm trees and Spring Training.

There is hope for Spring because some plants were growing under the snow.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Toilet Bowl of Life

Sometimes life takes a turn and I wind up deep in the toilet. And I do not mean figuratively, either. 

I came home last evening to a slow toilet. You know there is something drastically wrong when the water doesn't rush out of the bowl. Yet, The water was moving, slowly!

Stand by for potential catastrophe. Fortunately, there were no solids in the bowl to deal with, yet.

The Offending Toilet Bowl Freshner

After significant plunging and buckets of water to increase the pressure no appreciable change was noted. It then became clear to me what I was dealing with. This was not the usual blockage caused by too much paper--no, it was something different and as I scanned the rim of the bowl I realized what it was--the bowl freshener!

Well, this would be easy then, all I needed was my snake--except my snake had been liberated for a good cause! Ugh! No good deed goes unpunished.

And of course, I had a racquetball match looming! I declared to the family that the toilet was closed for repairs and raced to Lowe's for a new snake, or as they call it an auger.  Before returning home I had a racquetball match to play which turned into a quick losing effort.

Once I returned back home, the process seemed fairly straightforward--in my mind. Sometimes things do not execute on paper the way I draw them up in my mind. But, I was successful after a few minutes in dislodging the object and restoring full flush functionality!

Sometimes those toilet bowl freshness are more work than they are worth!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 22, 2016

1. Today is National Margarita day. Have one for me!

2. MLB Spring Training is underway. Hooray for Springtime.

3. Sunday's can be the busiest day of the weeks. Yesterday was filled with two basketball games and an acting performance by the grandsons.

4. It came to me why I have developed a love of golf. I can watch my heroes play AND since I also play the game it is possible for me to play on some of the courses the they do. That doesn't happen in many other sports.

5. The political races are narrowing. That may not be a good thing. The leading candidates are too similar.

6. The Daytona 500 was run yesterday. I had no clue!

7. Would it upset the balance of nature if we just eradicated mosquitoes? They seem to transmit disease and little else beneficial.

8. After a taste of warmer weather this weekend, I am ready for Springtime!!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Longer Days

Friday at Dawn in Columbia, MD

I noticed it the Friday morning while leaving the fitness club after a racquetball match to start the day. It was light outside at 6:45 AM. This represents a significant change from just a few short weeks ago. 

Friday the sunrise was building in the east and the dawn was in full glorious array. Although I have to drive into the dawn and rising sun, I am not complaining because I am happy to get to work in light instead of darkness.  

Coupled with the beginning of Spring Training, the dark season is beginning to fade. The daylight up to 10 hours and 58 minutes per day, which is already 1 and 1/2 hours longer than on December's  Winter Solstice.

Of course, with the longer days comes more activity! And that is awesome. Yesterday was warm and I enjoyed doing some work outside the house. Although the lawn was soggy, it felt good to be beginning to live outside again! I am hopeful that there will be no more snow this season and we can soon slide into the early Springtime predicted by Punxsutawney Phil!

For now, I will enjoy the day at hand and revel in the lengthening days.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Did They Really Say That?

The temperature outside my front door this morning is already higher than the highest temperature yesterday! The rising temperatures are mirroring those in the political contests around the country.

I have heard some incredible statements uttered by people about the presidential race during the past couple of days. 

Here is some things that resonated with me:

Trump:

"I can be more politically correct than anybody you've ever interviewed," Trump said. He added: "I can do whatever I want. ...I deal with society. Society loves me."

"Boycott all Apple products until such time as Apple gives cellphone info to authorities regarding radical Islamic terrorist couple from Cal"(My Thoughts? A candidate should not be advocating boycotting any company, especially on which may be in conflict with his own business interests)

Kasich:

"We've got to slow down," Kasich told Cooper. "You've got to celebrate other people's wins, and sometimes you've got to sit with them and cry."

Obama:

"I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president," Obama said at a news conference in California after a meeting with southeast Asian leaders. "And the reason is that I have a lot of faith in the American people. Being president is a serious job. It's not hosting a talk show, or a reality show."

The Pope

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel," the Pope told journalists who asked his opinion on Trump's proposals to halt illegal immigration.  (Note: This is a lot different than the way the TV sound bytes are characterizing it)

Carson:

Dr. Ben Carson says Democrats are “always going to bring up the race issue anytime they don’t get their way like little children having a temper tantrum.”

Bill Clinton:

"Let me just say this," Clinton said, "that campaign has been remarkably fact free and a lot of the numbers don't add up." (Note: He was talking about the Sanders campaign)

My thoughts? This is all beginning to sound like a bad reality TV show. And guess which candidate starred in his own reality TV show? Oh yes, that would be Trump.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Spring Training -- Orioles

It is the time of the year when the winter seems to be fading fast into a bad memory. Pitchers and catchers have reported to the MLB Spring Training camps and another season for the Boys of Summer is getting underway.

Yes, it is America's pastime. 

It is the harbinger of springtimes arrival and the resumption of the classic rivalries that will keep me interested from now until October. 

All of the teams start with the same record and have a chance to win their division, a championship, and the World Series. 

The saga that is 162 games long begins in less than two short months. Even the pundits are fun to read--although the Orioles are not forecast to do very well. The O's are picked by USA Today to finish last in the American League East. 

Orioles 2016 Spring Training Schedule

But it doesn't matter because that is why they play the games. Anything can happen. The O's are forecast to finish only 10 games out of first place--there are a lot of games between April and October!

In a few short weeks, I will be traveling to Sarasota and giving my own assessment of the team. Soon after that, nearly every evening I will be following the exploits of the Orioles as they progress through the season. It is a time of optimism, despite the pundits' predictions. 

I am excited about hearing some of my favorite words again: "Play ball!"

Let's Go O's!!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Yay for Apple

It is amazing how a seemingly small thing can be so important. I am happy, today, that I own and operate Apple technology.

I applaud Apple Inc for standing up to the government's attempt to unlock and thereby discard our 4th Amendment right to privacy. I know there are many who think that in this particular instance Apple should concede--but where could it stop. I believe Apple, Inc, adequately stated their position in their February 16, 2016 letter to customers. 

Constitutional rights to privacy and protection are just that--rights. That the government could force a private company to develop software to assist the government in breaking into technology created by that same company and thereby access people's private records is ridiculous. The government already has agencies devoted to doing just that--for instance the FBI, itself.

This action threatens privacy on a global scale. And it threatens the economic viability of American companies in the larger worldwide market if they can be forced to turn over specialized software to overcome the security of devices, consumers worldwide will quickly begin buying from companies which cannot so easily be compromised.

In the past, to ensure privacy consumers could burn or shred documents to ensure they would not fall into the hands of unscrupulous people. There were not multiple copies of everything traveling around in cyberspace. Today, however, nothing ever really disappears in the world of the internet and the cloud. The only way to protect privacy and secure our lives from the forces of those who would steal our identities is through unbreakable encryption. As more and more companies and banks push us, the consumers, towards electronic receipt of financial documents, this problem becomes greater. More of our most important documents will be stored in cyberspace.


How quickly the computer breaches of the Office of Personnel Management which affected millions of Americans have been forgotten. Even our government has shown that it cannot protect our privacy.

It is too easy for people to think they have nothing to hide, when in fact there are criminal forces who would quickly exploit our naivety for their financial gain. Of course we have privacy to protect. If the U.S. government can overcome technology to access data are we ignorant enough to believe that criminals and even other countries cannot?

This is a new world of cyber security. We all must be extra vigilant to protect ourselves. Apple must not be forced to give up our individual security no matter the price.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Difference is in the Day

Yesterday morning the world was frozen. The snow that had fallen since Sunday evening and all through Monday was covered with ice and the falling rain was freezing at it hit the ground. It was a mess. The temperatures crawled past 30 degrees and began their slow climb ultimately into the 40s as the morning wore on. 

No Snow in the Yard

The rain picked up intensity and the ice turned slippery making driving almost impossible. The schools closed, businesses delayed opening, accidents were everywhere. Fortunately, I too was delayed in having make my daily trek to the office. Travel was very difficult. But the temperature kept climbing as the rain fell harder. By 9 AM it was already 40 degrees! That was up from 8 degrees on Sunday morning.

As I made my way to work, suffering in snarled traffic which doubled my commuting time, the rain fell harder. I even took my umbrella with me. When I went into my building the weather was terrible.

Driveway Devoid of Snow

But then, a few hours later when I left work to head home it was completely different. All traces of the inches of snow and monsoon-like rains had disappeared. The sky was a brilliant blue and clear. The early evening was, in a word, idyllic. I was amazed at the difference of just a few hours. 

As I drove home in the brilliant sunshine, I marveled at the change in the world from just a few short hours earlier. The day had transitioned form dreary to bright and with it my mood had changed as well. 

The only snow that remained were the piles created during the blizzard of a few weeks ago. Every trace of the past few days' storm had vanished. I forgot to take a picture, but even in the images I shot this morning, it is clear that the snows of winter are receding.

Maybe, just maybe, springtime is on the horizon and the groundhog's prediction of an early spring will come true!

All happening in just a day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD