Two Evenings in a Row

Two evenings in a row I was able to be outside both without rain and in short sleeve shirts. 

It was fantastic. 

That streak ends today, however, because it is raining, again.

But I revel in the memories of Thursday's GORC Pirates baseball game which was played in sunshine and then sitting around my pool with friends last evening. 

Two evenings without rain and with temperatures warm enough to be warm is a record for the past few months here in Baltimore. 

I was even able to see a sunset! Not the one imaged in the picture here, but one nearly as beautiful. And yesterday morning, a sunrise!

I am looking forward to the summer ahead. One day at a time!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Fraud Protection Fraud

I had an interesting experience last evening. I received a call from the fraud protection department of one of the credit companies I do business with. Apparently some of my purchases set off their fraud protection program and they were calling to verify some of the charges on my bill.

Although this is not the first time that this has happened--usually I receive the call there is real fraud involved and it is an indication that my credit card has been compromised, my experience last night was different.

The answering machine contained theca form the fraud alert center. I debated returning it; however, I knew that if the call were genuine I would not be able to use my card when I wanted it.

My problem was simply--how do I verify that the call is not a fraudulent call?

As I dialed the phone and the classic voice in using broken english answered, my trepidation grew. Then the questions and the exchange of information. 

Still, how do I verify that the fraud center that I am calling is not fraudulent? 

The person on the other end of the phone offered to connect me with customer service, give me a number to call back, and other inadequate means of verification. Each of those ideas represent a potential fraud avenue.

As it turned out, after a few tense minutes on the phone, I felt that the information they were asking for was publicly available and gave it to the person who then asked me about three charges legitimate charges.

But the question remains, how can I protect myself from fraud protection fraud? 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Another Cold and Gloomy Night

OPACY
May 18, 2016

I went to the Orioles-Mariners baseball game last evening. 

The Orioles won a well played game and I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the outing, but that would not be true.

It was there again--the weather.

At a time of year when I should be in a short sleeved shirt, shorts, and sandals; I was bundled up in two layers of shirts with a heavy coat. And I was cold!

Look at the overcast, gray skies in the picture of the stadium that I took last evening. I just looks cold. 

Even holding my obligatory baseball game cold beverage made my hand cold!

To add to the misery, it drizzled off and on all evening accompanied by a biting wind. 

The temperature at game time was 63 degrees, but by 9:30 had dipped into the 50's.

I long for the hot, 90 degree days of summer when I am sweltering in my seat with sweat rolling down my face making my cold beverage taste even that much better--until it gets warm.

I should enjoy the game more. The Orioles have the best home record in baseball (17-7) and the second best winning percentage in baseball. The enjoy a half-game lead over our arch rivals from Beantown and the team whose name shall remain unspoken is languishing 7.5 games back at the bottom of the division. 

I just wish the weather would become normal and that we would get a respite from the pervasive rain.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Bathroom Battles

With everything else happening in our society today, the bathroom battle being waged in legislatures across the land is one of those things that I have trouble understanding.

This issue is becoming an emotional one, but I think it deserves to be explored. First off, what is the difference between a bathroom and a restroom? We use the terms interchangeably, but are they? I think not. 

I found this definition on the internet: Toilet is the actual equipment you use to "do your business" (i.e., to urinate or defecate). Bathroom literally means the whole room, in which there is a toilet, a bathtub, and a sink. Restroom is generally used for public spaces (such as restrooms in a restaurant or a rest stop along the freeway.)

An editorial in the Washington Post this morning titled, How the psychology of public bathrooms explains the "bathroom bills," helped me to gain additional perspective, since I am apparently one of those people who do not have a problem using public restrooms. 

The article ends with the following statement: "By focusing our basic fears and making the gender divide so conspicuous, bathrooms are lightning rods for the sorts of hysteria we are now witnessing. Freud wouldn’t have been at all surprised."

Earlier in the article the fears of our society are addressed. I did not realize that up to 15 percent of people have so much anxiety about public restrooms that they schedule their days around their personal habits. The article points out that,  "These fears reflect both the vulnerability we feel in bathrooms and our expectation that these spaces are, and should be, strictly divided by sex. That’s nothing new. Public restrooms have always been riddled with anxiety and conflict. They’ve been sites of panic over contagious diseases, scandalous revelations about lewd behavior and political struggles over “potty parity” between men and women. The current controversy is only the latest saga."

The concerns being expressed about safety will not be mitigated by enacting discriminatory legislation. 

From my perspective there is sufficient privacy in modern public restrooms and no one else needs to know if a transgender person is using the facility. An NPR article titled When a Transgender Person Uses a Public Bathroom, Who is at Risk? confirms that: 

". . . some people just don't understand that when it comes time for a transgender person to start using the other restroom, they'd rather do it privately, and with as little fuss as possible.

"The last thing you as a trans person would want to do is draw attention to yourself. . . "

So I wonder, what is the real problem? Food for thought.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Crippled Court

The Supreme Court still has only eight members. They appear fairly evenly split on major issues. 

Despite the contention that the lack of confirming and seating a ninth judge not hamper justice or the interpretation of the constitutionality of issues, the court is resorting to sending some issues back to lower courts with instructions to work out a compromise.

The New York Times this morning, in its article titled, The Crippled Supreme Court, describes the situation and the problem.

Fundamentally, the Supreme Court is not supposed be involved in proposing compromises. The article states: "The court’s job is not to propose complicated compromises for individual litigants; it is to provide the final word in interpreting the Constitution and the nation’s laws."

With only eight members our constitutional freedoms are at risk. 

Just as with the annual budget battles that leave our government crippled, the delay in confirming a ninth justice for the Supreme Court is another area in which the Congress, in this case specifically the Senate, is failing to discharge its constitutionally directed responsibilities. 

Can the Congress be unconstitutional?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - May 16, 2016

1. The Baltimore region's string of consecutive days with at least a trace of rain ended on Thursday at 15. That was two days short of the record. I am glad that it is over, except that it is still raining nearly every day. 

Patrick next to Testudo
May 15, 2016

2. Now that the rain has ended it is cold. 38 degrees this morning.

3. Chris and I enjoyed attending the University of Maryland University College ceremony in which the degree of Master of Science in Cybersecurity was conferred upon Patrick! Congrats Patrick!

Jeremy at Eisenhower on May 16, 2016
As Dawn Breaks

4. I managed 54 holes of golf over three days this weekend! Yay. I wish my scores were better, but the practice is really beginning to pay off in some areas of my game like putting and chipping. Now if I could just hit my driver reliably.

5. Sometimes projects happen and I'm not around to help and participate. A jeep was significantly modified in my driveway yesterday.

Jeremy's Jeep at the start of the project

6. Why is it so cold outside this morning?

7. Did anyone notice that the Orioles, even with their loss yesterday have the second best record in Major League Baseball?

8. The world's reported oldest person died at 116. Her successor is also 116 years-old and she lives in Italy and is also the last documented living person born during the 1800's. 


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dawn on the Course

Despite the continuing rainy days, I made it out yesterday to enjoy sunrise on a local golf course. 

Even in the image in snapped of the sun rising through the trees, a pool of water can be seen in the lower right corner. Yes, it has rained that much. 


It was exciting to be first off the tee and the first ones to walk across the dew laden fairways. Of course it was wet, too. I snapped the image of Trevar walking across the first fairway just to document the moment. The sun is low on the trees in the background.

It turned out to be a beautiful day not only for golf, but for other celebrations as well. 

Until about 3:30 pm when the storms arrived, that is. 

But, at least I was able to begin the day in full sun on the course.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Rain Stopped--For a Few Hours

Finally, last evening, the rains stopped and the mystical orb in the sky, better known as the sun, reappeared and the sky turned blue.

Timbers at Troy

I wanted to take a picture of it. 

It felt good to feel the warmth on my skin and see the blue of the sky. 

I took advantage of the afternoon by hitting a golf course for a relatively frustrating round. But, it was good to be out enjoying the day as the clouds cleared and the sun came out.

More rain is on tap for this afternoon and so the string of consecutive days with precipitation continues unabated.

Enjoy the sun while it shines.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sinks--why did it have be a sink?

The saga continued through four, yup four, new sinks! 

Makayla Investigating the
New Sink on the Doorstep

The frustration factor achieved a  maximum value.

The sink of our dreams (I am going to call it, new sink #3) was delivered yesterday--it did not fit the hole. That's right, the most beautiful sink in the world (doing my best imitation of a country song title) did not fit. It was too small for the existing hole because of its elegant styling!

Ugh! I was totally despondent when Patrick arrived to help me install the sink because I had already determined that the sink installation was doomed from working with the template. I could tell that the sink and my existing hole were not a good match. We unboxed the sink and confirmed that the tapered corners did not fit my rectangular hole!

Because of the tapered design, the new sink
did not fill the existing hole

Did I mention that the sink weighed 110 pounds? So it is not something to with which to be trifled. Yet, similar to its two predecessors, sink #3 is now residing in its box awaiting the return process. This one should be interesting because it was delivered via common carrier. 

The sink hole remained and the mood of the house was depressed. Queue our friends Fran and Mary who arrived to assist with the installation. I needed a miracle! Further confirmation that the sink would not fit and that there was nothing that could be done to alter either the sink or the hole was quickly made and a three-pronged internet search began for sink #4. 

A glimmer of hope filled the house when a sink, with similar construction and finish was located at Lowe's. The difference, and why I had missed during my extensive internet search, was that I had been searching for a two-hole sink--but I could make a four-hole sink work! The holes are for the faucets and the soap dispenser. We already had a new one-hole faucet and a separate soap dispenser that had been modified to work with our old four-hole sink. 

Initial Fit-up of the Sink

From the available people a sink retrieval team was constituted and departed to secure sink #4. Those remaining behind ordered Chinese for dinner. It was a perfectly planned operation.

The expedition to Lowe's was a success. It turns out that even though the sink was not on display in the store, they had two of them. This had been independently confirmed by the internet and an old fashioned telephone call before the retrieval team departed. The intelligence was confirmed and sink #4 was obtained and brought to the scene of the installation. 

Patrick and Francis Completing the Installation

The box was opened and the sink placed in the "sink hole." Cheers erupted from the assembled crowd because this sink, unlike the three previous versions both fit the hole and was acceptable!

From that point on, the mood of the house was jubilant and what is usually the hardest part of any project, the installation, actually proceeded smoothly and without any show stoppers. 

It was almost anti-climactic. Everything fit, even the new disposal, and all of the other parts worked. Surprisingly, even during the operational testing of the sink no leaks were discovered. 

Newly Installed and Fully-Functional Sink
With the Sticker Still on it

Clearly, this sink was meant to fill the hole in our kitchen! And the hole in our lives. 

During the past week we have discovered how important kitchen sinks are to the functioning of a household.

Although the project is not complete because I still have to return sink #3, I am glad that the sink replacement project is over.

My recommendation is that if you think you want a new sink, think again. Sinks were not meant to be replaced independently but rather to be installed with new construction or during kitchen renovations. 

Oh yeah, Happy Mother's Day Chris--your new sink is finally installed.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

They Tell Stories . . .

The Sun Still Shines

Stories are told about days that used to be filled with blue skies, warm temperatures and sunshine. 

For the Baltimore region, it has been two weeks since we have seen blue skies and sunshine for an entire day. I remember being so excited about a passing patch of blue sky and sunshine that I took a picture.

It was announced that the region is currently in pursuit of a record stretch of continuous days of precipitation. The record is 18 straight days and we have currently have 15. That is correct--15 straight days which have seen some form of measurable precipitation. It is possible that the string could be broken today.  

It has been almost two weeks since the GORC Pirates were able to play or practice on a baseball field! 

It has been two weeks since Cat (my convertible) left the comfortable confines of the garage and took to the streets for a drive. I may drive it to work this morning just because I can.

In checking the morning weather statistics, there has been no measurable precipitation so far--and it looks good that the string of rainy weather will be broken. Unfortunately, thunderstorms will be in the region for the entire day tomorrow--and I am supposed to play in a golf tournament. Ugh!

Weather is something we deal with daily, but when it becomes newsworthy then it has moved from the dealing into the coping category. 

Here's hoping for sunshine and warmer temperatures. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD