Start to Finish

Saturday did not disappoint!

Timbers at Troy
Looking along the Practice Putting Green and the
First Hole covered with Frost
January 27, 2018

The day started cold, temperatures in the mid-20's, but ended admirably although I lost my Fitbit somewhere in the process.

It is a good day when I start it on a golf course. Even the cold temperatures could not cool our enthusiasm as Jeremy and I headed out to play 18 holes. Fortunately, there was a frost delay, which meant the temperature warmed up above freezing before we hit the course. As it turned out, we were able to play as a two-some and completed 18 holes in three hours! And we played very acceptably for the first 18-hole outing of the year. The morning started in the 20's but it was in the 50's by the time we finished. Because of our great pace of play, we were never cold.

But that was not all.

The day developed into a beautiful harbinger of Spring day. We may have touched 60 on the thermometer as the day progressed. That meant that Radio Flyer got to spin its propellers and I continue to learn more about the many functions of my powerful drone. I tried out the hand launch mode, but I had forgotten a critical step and so I learned about the following mode instead. 

Finally, the evening was capped off by a Bull Roast to support a local youth baseball team in their bid to play in a summertime tournament at Cooperstown, NY. It was a fun evening and I was amazed at how many ways people have invented to separate me from my money--even after the cost of the ticket for the food.

What a busy great day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday in my Mind

Temperature as I write this

Amazingly, this is the final weekend of January 2018. I cannot believe that the month is almost over. On one hand it seems like it just started, but on the other it feels like the month has been dragging on for an eternity.

Saint Martin
July 5, 2017

It has been cold. I will be happy to see the month depart if only for that reason.

In my mind I am walking along a warm sandy Caribbean beach watching the sunrise and enjoying the palm trees swaying in the wind.

In reality, I am about to head out to the winter brown golf course where the temperature is below freezing, even though it was not supposed to get that cold last night, to play a round and imagine that I would be playing better if the conditions were more hospitable. Winter rules will definitely be in play.

But, it is the weekend! 

Springtime will be here soon enough. Well, maybe not soon enough!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday Findings

As I roll into the weekend, I took a moment to reflect upon the week behind me.

Possible Sign for February 9th

What a week it was.

I was furloughed for a day, officially. The downside was that I was furloughed, the upside was that I got to play golf on the nicest afternoon of the year, so far.

Sadly, another furlough looms in less than two weeks.

Chris and I celebrated the signing of her retirement papers. 

My drone saw some airtime as I continue to get used to it. I flew it again yesterday afternoon, but it was very cold outside and I didn't get any really good images or videos. I was mostly flying to continue to learn my controls and I took it off the beginner mode for the first time. I recorded my longest distance flight of 1299 feet, and highest altitude of 150 feet. The total flight time was 11 minutes. I forgot to take any photos at altitude while I was enjoying the view and I also had the video off, so I have nothing to show the view, but since the drone software automatically made a video of the the flight highlights when I did have the camera functioning, I thought I'd share it. The added music was a nice touch.

I hope the weekend is full of fun and activity!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Celebrating Life Events

Celebration Tiramisu at
Iron Bridge Wine Co

The days often churn by, one after another, in a seemingly endless stream. Once in a while, we stumble upon a day which has a special significance, not because it marks the anniversary of something we have done before, but because it is the beginning of something new or a significant change in the streaming days.

Such a day was Monday. 

Monday afternoon Chris did something hugely significant. She officially signed the papers announcing her intent to retire at the end of the school year!

I was able to join her for the momentous paper signing, actually we had completed most of the forms before her visit. It was a bit underwhelming for so momentous an occasion. After all, we only retire from a position once. We may retire multiple times during the course of life, but from each position only once. And the first retirement is the most significant.

After the papers were submitted, a pleasantly efficient process, wee stopped by the Iron Bridge Wine Company to celebrate with a few glasses of wine and a cheese plate. While we were there, they gave us a free dessert for the occasion and we made an very enjoyable early happy hour out of the experience. 

The retirement countdown continues, but it is now official. There is a lot of angst and excitement all wrapped together. We have strategically planned the end of summer cruise to occur when she would have been going back to school! With a bit of planning and some sharing from family sand friends we will make this retirement send off one to remember. And it has already started!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

What can we get in exchange?

The Wall

One of the craziest things that I have heard on national television was yesterday from the OMB director who when asked for the White House position about the "dreamers" responded that it depended what they could get in exchange.

I saw the interview with my own eyes and was appalled. It is reported here by CNN.

Really? 

Trading an inanimate wall for the lives of people has become a deal in commodities?

This is how our government has decided to assess the net worth and value of people? By what they get in exchange?

If immigration is such an important issue and, as the OMB Director said, is so closely tied to national security, then why are there no absolutes? If the negotiating position is that we will take what is offered, then why bother to negotiate at all?

February 8th is coming quickly. I hope our elected representatives can craft a deal sooner rather than later but with one side not having any repeatable position, that is going to be really difficult. 

One side in the negotiations doesn't really want either a wall or a defined policy on "Dreamers." They just want to be obstructionists.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Shutdown is Ended

What did I do during the great government Shutdown of 2018?

I went to work to receive my furlough notice and after ensuring that furlough plans were in place I departed for the remainder of the day. 

Tee-shot on Par 3, 6th
Carroll Park, Baltimore
January 22, 2018

Upon arriving home I watched CNN for news that the Congress and the President would come to an agreement and then took a look at the weather and decided to go golfing. While our elected leaders were wrestling with the important issues confronting them, I was not going anything productive by just watching the TV hanging on every word being uttered by the talking heads.

I had planned nothing else for the day, so it was a good day to head out for my first time of 2018. Even though the course was brown with the dormant grasses of winter, I was rewarded for my effort with a really good nine hole round which saw three pars and a missed a birdie by inches. Yes I also had two double bogies. But, all-in-all, for the first outing of the season I was really happy. 

In the end, the Congress found a compromise and the President signed yet another extension and I am back to my regular workweek today. I only hope that we do not have to do it all over again in three weeks. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 22, 2018

Jeremy Arriving While Monitored by Radio Flyer

1. The federal government is now in Day 3 of the shutdown. A vote in the Senate on a budget deal is scheduled for noon.

2. Moderate weekend weather was a welcome relief to the frigid temperatures we had been experiencing. 

Cayuga Lake from Sheldrake Point Winery
January 12, 2018

3. I like the perspective that images captured from my drone provide. For instance, this relatively boring shot of Jeremy , Chris, and I becomes more interesting from the perspective it provides. 

4. Last weekend as we suffered through the snows and cold of Upstate New York, we visited one four favorite wineries and captures an image of the fog, or is it mist, rising off Cayuga Lake during the morning hours of a very pleasant Friday. 

5. I will be furloughed today as I arrive at work. I wonder what the remainder of the day holds for me?

6. The unintended consequences of a furlough as reported by a friend: "I was supposed to provide coaching to a group of government employees this week. The class was scheduled to start today. The class was cancelled. I am not working, so I won’t get paid. The hotel lost a booking. The restaurants were I would have eaten lost business. Now, multiply this by 11 because all of the coaches and the facilitators are in the same boat. Not to mention the 25+ students that will miss out on a quality program. Congress needs to do their job and pass a budget."

7. Let me echo the foregoing remarks: Congress needs to do their job and pass budget, but The President needs to have a consistent negotiating position. The flip-flop that happened with Senator Schumer, as reported by CNN, on Friday is unacceptable. We have a deal, and then a few hours later--no, wait, I didn't mean that. 

Headlines

Senate adjourns without deal to end government shutdown; vote postponed until noon Monday - 

The Washington Post

These kids started a book club for minority boys. It’s the most popular club in school. - The Washington Post

Protesters in Seoul Burn Image of Kim Jong-un During North Koreans’ Visit - The New York Times

For Trump, this time bankruptcy won't get him out of a mess - CNN

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter, and they're on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They're individuals and families whose taxes support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life."

Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Enjoying the Warmer Weather

January 20, 2018
With a bit of snow and Christmas Decorations still in place

The Federal Government shutdown has entered day 2 with little relief in sight.

January 21, 2018
No decorations and the Snow is Gone

Interestingly, a local golf course sent me a notice that they are opening on Monday for play. I wonder if that is because they expect furloughed federal workers may want to take to the course for some respite from the insanity in D.C.?

Looking up the Street
January 20, 2018

Yesterday was a beautiful day, for January. The temperatures rose into the high 50's. Chris and I fully enjoyed the warmer weather and the big task for the day was finally getting the exterior Christmas decorations down. We also started preparing the house for Spring--which cannot be too far off, can it?

I was able to get my drone, Radio Flyer, up in the air for some great flight time. It was nice to be able to do some flying and get some images of the neighborhood without freezing my hands. 

Clearly, moderate weather after an extended period of frigid temperatures was made to be enjoyed--and we certainly did enjoy it.

Here's hoping that today's more moderate weather is as enjoyable as was yesterday's.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Failure to Govern

It happened.

Government Shutdown Begins as Budget Talks Falter in Senate - The New York Times

The Congress and the President have failed to agree on funding the government and the doors to many agencies are shuttered. 

Congress returns to work Saturday as lawmakers press to keep shutdown short-lived - The Washington Post

The future of our country hangs in this precarious balancing act between the President and the congress. I believe that it will only get worse especially after the mid-term elections.

Our legislators and elected officials have apparently forgotten that the needs of the country must outweigh their own personal needs and gains. The art if the deal lies in the ability to compromise and find a win-win-solution, let's try that for something new.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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