As the Shutdown Looms

After taking time off to be sick, recover from the flu and become non-contagious, I am ready to return to the world.

And what a world I am returning into.

It appears that the Federal Government will cease functioning at midnight according to the lead story in the Washington Post.

Shutdown looms as Senate Democrats threaten GOP plan

The saber rattling between the Republicans, the Democrats, and the President has finally reached the flashpoint and both sides are willing to play chicken with the credit and good faith of our government. No one I work with hopes that a shutdown will happen. It is far too tumultuous and disheartening to see that our elected representatives cannot accomplish one of their most important Constitutionally-directed tasks. 

The Washington Post has a nice chart Who gets sent home if a government shut down happens. 

A fascinating Op-Ed piece in the New York Times written by Steve Israel this morning lays out why this government shutdown threat is more serious than previous iterations. 

I highly recommend reading it:

The Breakdown in Trust That Could Shut Down the Government

I like the statement near the end which reads: 

If this is the art of the deal, then the art is a dizzying abstract form — hard to decipher and open to interpretation.

Only it’s not art. It’s the functioning of government.

Something has got to give! This is no way to run a government.  

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Flu Timeout

CDC Weekly Flu Activity Through January 6, 2018

Chris and I have gone into almost total isolation from friends and family as we recover from the flu.

Note to self--next time someone plans a large family gathering during the height of flu season, I think I will pass. Not only did I take time off from work to attend the gathering, but now I am taking time off to recover, literally. 

I am hopeful of resuming a more normal schedule tomorrow as I will no longer be considered contagious and hopefully will feel good enough to sojourn down the parkway to work.

Looking at the map, Maryland is one of the few green states, except we were not in Maryland when exposed and we were mixed in with people who traveled from red states! The combination was, toxic.

Chris and I are trying not to singlehandedly turn Maryland into a an orange or red state.

At least the future is a bit brighter in terms of temperatures and weather. The temperatures are going to be climbing and the sun is expected to be brightly burning in the sky. That cannot be bad at all. WE are going into a warming trend and there will be days when the temperatures will not dip below freezing!

It may not be golfing weather, but it is getting close!

Now all I need to do is get over the flu!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Training the Willful Puppy

Finnegan in the Snow

Finnegan has become the definition of a willful puppy. He is strong willed and is fighting his potty training at every turn.

Chris and I thought we had turned the corner on house training. Then the snow and cold returned.

The small Yorkie does not like the cold snow. 

He was good with it in New York and was a potty-trained champion, but upon returning to Maryland he has definitely regressed. 

Jeremy did us a favor last evening by retrieving the dogs for a playdate with Lucas. Finnegan resisted pooping (notice that this word is much softer than the one allegedly uttered by the President) until he was in Jeremy's house. He performed this act almost immediately upon going inside.

This has to change. 

The joys of training puppy continue.

We have the "mad pooper!"

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Flying in Danby

While in New York, I did exercise my drone for a short flight just to get some footage of the house and Scott, Dad, and I watching the drone watching us.

I named the drone, Radio Flyer because it is red like a wagon and I remember that when I was young I had a wagon that I used to hauling stuff around. I remember the day that the wheel connection to the wagon body broke--I was very sad.

My DJI Spark drone is red and it looks a little bit like a red wagon from my childhood. 

While I was in Upstate New York this weekend the weather cleared long enough for a quick flight of my parents back deck. I am still learning to fly it and have only flown it in the beginner mode. I actually hit  the limit for altitude, which is 100 feet in beginner mode. 

I made a video of the flight. I cut most of the s epic stuff and just focused on the parts where we were on the deck watching it watch us. 

When it was at the maximum altitude, I was amazed that I could see Cayuga Lake off to the north. It was also nice to get a full view of the deck that I helped to paint last summer. It is very green

It was a short flight, but it does document that on the day before the storm, there was no snow on the ground. 

Five inches, or more, fell overnight.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 15, 2018

1. It is Martin Luther King Jr Day. Some of us get to enjoy a holiday.

2. Driving back from Upstate New York yesterday the thermometer on the car registered a low of -9 in some places. I can't even imagine that kind of cold.

Matt Blowing the Overnight Snow

3. The weather is cold again! It is 15 degrees outside. Ugh!

4. It is fun to watch the news describe the morning traffic when I know that I do not have to drive into it. 

5. Wall, why does it have to be a $17 billion wall?

6. Doesn't The President realize that he is the face of America and everything he utters or tweets becomes what people believe about our country?

7. What is wrong with this picture of Matt blowing snow on Saturday morning in Upstate New York? Everything! It was 60 degrees the day before and there was no snow. 

Headlines

Hopes Dim for DACA Deal as Lawmakers Battle Over Trump’s Immigration Remarks - The New York Times


In Iran, Protester ‘Suicides’ Stir Anger and Calls for Accountability - The New York Times


Jeff Flake expected to deliver floor speech comparing Trump's attacks on media to Stalin's - CNN

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

"We're a friend of peace first, last, and always. But the American soul was forged in freedom. And we will be a friend of freedom everywhere, and the foes of freedom will be our foes."

Remarks at the 1985 Reagan Administration Executive Forum, January 25, 1985

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

From 90 to 8

Two days and two different birthday parties. 

Dad and Mom Holding Court
at the Head of the Room
January, 13, 2018

Yesterday was a big birthday celebration with people arriving from all over the country to celebrate Dad and his 90 years. 

Lucas with an Alligator

It was an exciting evening despite the inhospitable weather. It was bitter cold and there was a lot of snow, but the meeting hall was warm with admiration and compliments. It was good to see all of the family that was able to make the trek, despite the conditions, and celebrate Dad's life. It is really hard to corral over 70 people on a cold winter's night and my sisters a great job of getting the family to come together.

From my standpoint, it was great to talk to so many of my cousins and catch up on their lives and families.

The Family Posing with an Albino Python

This morning, we departed a frigidly cold Ithaca about 6:30 AM to be back for Lucas' 8th Birthday Party at EcoAdventures. A couple years ago we had his birthday party there as well. I'm not sure having a birthday party with snakes, alligators, and roaches is exactly the way to have fun, but the kids and even the adults seemed to have fun.

There is something really different about eating ice cream birthday cake surrounded by wild animals. And I don't mean the kids, either.

I am glad that I was able to make both celebrations even though they were almost 6 hours of driving apart.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Snow, Why did it have to be Snow

"Heavy snow, freezing rain, bitter cold," those were the words that the weather channel used to describe conditions this morning. I drove from Maryland to Upstate New York just to experience the worst that winter has to offer.

Parts of my extended family are strewn across the state and region as they continue to attempt to assemble to celebrate Dad's 90th birthday.

No one expected a storm of blizzard proportions. There is at least 6 inches of snow on the ground here, but it is hard to tell how much since the wind is blowing it around and creating impressive drifts.

Yesterday it was 61 degrees here. Idyllic weather for January, but it was a brief respite from the winter. Today it is 50 degrees colder and the ground has disappeared under a blanket of cold, white snow.

The big event party is this afternoon at 5 PM. It is looking like it will be a family gathering rather than the 120 person celebration that was originally planned.

Snow. Why did it have to be so much snow? And I still need to get back to Maryland. Maybe.

I'm glad it's a three-day weekend. I have an extra day the allow the dogsled team to navigate the artic conditions.

— Bob Doan, writing from Ithaca, NY

Respite

Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, PA

Amazingly it was 60 degrees yesterday. The weeks of below hospitable temperatures turned into a very mild day. I even joked at work about trying to hit the golf course. Of course that never happened nor was it even a potential reality.

We are now looking at the paradox of frozen rivers and shirt-sleeve temperatures. The image is of the frozen Susquehanna River. It looks cold even though the day was 60 degrees.

I enjoyed the respite from the frigid temperatures. I relish the days which remind me that the winter season is temporary.

Some places in upstate New York are looking at getting more than 10 inches of snow tonight. Not my idea of a great way to start the holiday weekend.

Grin and enjoy or bear it.

— Bob Doan, writing from Ithaca, NY

Thursday

It is Thursday.

What is Thursday after all but the day before
Friday. 

As a five-day per week working society, we seem to love Friday, but let me tell you, I'd rather it be Saturday.

The temperature is well above freezing this morning at 36 degrees. It felt warm when I took the dogs out at 4:15 AM after a transient fox in the neighborhood got them stirred up. 

The weather even made a headline in this morning's The Washington Post! 

PM Update: Turning milder through Thursday
It was nice to be outside and not freezing. It almost felt warm!

One of the regional golf courses even opened up one of their four nine-hole courses for play!

But still, it is only January. There is more snow and ice in the forecast.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

In a Sunbeam

Even on the coldest days, out animals seem to be able to find the best places to nap.

Riordin, Makayla, Finnegan in a Sunbeam

The other day, when the temperatures were Arctic-cold, they found a sunbeam to warm themselves as they napped.

What is interesting is that they all decided to line up in the same sunbeam on hitting the floor. That there were two dogs and one cat dod not seem to matter. Actually, the cat holds his own against the dogs and we have a pretty close knit family.

And they slept there for quite a while until the sunbeam moved away from them.

It must be great to live a dog or cat's life in a good warm home. I wish I could curl up and sleep in a sunbeam.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD