Monday Musings - February 29, 2016

1. Happy Leap Day! It is February 29th!

Snow Along the Fence of my Yard

2. Small patches of snow remain around my yard from the last big snow. I hope they are gone soon.

3. Daylight saving time returns in two short weeks! 

Wine and Munchies on a Saturday
Fauquier county Wine Tasting & Competition

4. One great was to spend an afternoon is with friends judging wines at a competition. We had a great time at this year's Fauquier County Wine Tasting and Competition. 

5. I discovered that Virginia has ceased production of its annual wine trail map and that it is only available via the web. While I laud their use of electronics, I have been at more than one Virginia winery without internet service which will make it hard to get to another winery.

6. I saw this sign at a local Middle School yesterday. It embodies the idea of "closed more often to serve you better."

7. The youth basketball season ended yesterday for Ethan and Jackson. I witnessed two close and exciting games. One saw the what would have been the winning basket hit the rim and fall away after the buzzer sounded and the other saw a flurry of shots all miss which cemented a win after five scoreless minutes in the final period.

February 28, 2016
Enjoying the Afternoon as it Passes into Evening

8.  I have been attending many youth games this past year but it wasn't until the Dad that coaches Jackson's basketball team looked at me in the hallway yesterday and said, "it's baseball season now, over to you," that it really struck me that I am not just an observer but an active participant in teaching sports to young and active people. 

9. Golf season is getting close, I was hitting balls yesterday and feeling good about my swing. 

10. Sipping wine around the fire table at the end of a beautiful day which saw the convertible being driven with the top down. What a great way for February to meld into March.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Democratic Primary Reflections

I watched the results from South Carolina's primary pour in last evening and I was struck by the lopsided results.

Results from Democratic Primary in South Carolina | InsideGov

What bothers me is the emphasis on monitoring the results across ethnicities. I have been concerned all along about the way particular candidates seem to be targeting specific ethnic groups. 
CNN reporting in an article titled Hillary Clinton crushes Bernie Sanders in South Carolina: 5 takeaways this morning provided some initial analysis of Clinton's recent Nevada and South Carolina victories. Some excerpts:

Clinton's firewall of minority support held, helping her seal a close contest in Nevada and then turn South Carolina into her first dominant win of the 2016 race.

South Carolina's electorate climbed from 55% African-American in 2008 to 62% in 2016. And the vast majority of those voters -- 84% -- backed Clinton, according to exit polls.

This type of campaigning is also happening in the Republican primaries, however, with five candidates still in the race it does not seem as evident.

It seems that the campaign is becoming a race for race.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A New Strategic Bomber for the Air Force

The Air Force has been discussing a new long range bomber for a few year now. They finally released a concept diagram of the bomber and it is diagrammed in a CNN article.  I have to say, it looks a lot like something that we already have. 

B-52G Taking Off

Supposedly, this bomber will finally be a replacement for the venerable and old B-52. The new bomber has been dubbed B-21. I wish I could understand the Air Force numbering system. There is a B-1, a B-2, a B-52, and the new bomber is B-21? Why not B-3? Or B-53? I know, it probably means that it is the bomber for the 21st century and if history is any guide, it will probably be flying into the 22nd century.

B-2 Bomber

According to another article, the Air Force wants to have 100 of the B-21's flying by the mid-2020's to replace the B-1B's and B-52H's. Good luck with that. Note, the B-52H is the only version of the B-52 remaining in operations, but I am kind of partial to the B-52G since those were the versions of the bomber being flown by the bombardment wing to which I was assigned as a young lieutenant in the Air Force.

Well, I guess we do need a new design for the 21st century. Oops, I though I wrote new design? The new bomber looks a lot like an old bomber. I wonder why?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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