Saturday, February 17, 2018
Presidents' Day Weekend
Last evening while enjoying Happy Hour at a local pasta restaurant, I was introduced to an advertisement from the pages of The Washington Post published in advance of President's Day.
Usually I would be underwhelmed at the idea of looking at a newspaper ad, however, this one contained numerous statements made by great Americans about our country and justice.
The ad was titled, "Mr President, In anticipation of Presidents' Day consider the following words of counsel and caution." Author Tom Blair took out the ad.
One very telling quote was from Steven Hawking: "People who boast about their I.Q. are losers." I have seen this quote also written "People who boast about their IQ are idiots."
And this from President John F. Kennedy:
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past, let us accept our own responsibility for the future."
There are 59 quotes in total and as I researched for the blog this morning I was unable to find all of the them reprinted, although they should be. The best that I could do was a .pdf file of the February 14, 2018 edition of The Washington Post.
Happy Presidents' Day--may America be stronger through the trials of today!
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Friday, February 16, 2018
Awesome Thursday
Happy Hour Around the Fire Pit February 15, 2018 |
Looking at our house from up the street February 15, 2018 |
The weather provided a foretaste of the springtime that I seek with temperatures approaching 70 degrees. Chris and I were able to enjoy happy hour outside around a fire pit and watch the evening fall while discussing Spring Break plans, retirement, and summertime house projects.
A Letter about Ms. Doan |
Rounding out the day, Chris received confirmation that she has reached the pinnacle of her career as an educator and that she can retire knowing that she has made a positive difference in the lives of many children. One of her students generated a letter about the great assistant that she truly is and Chris was able to take a picture of the letter. The final sentence in the letter is especially touching, "She helps me like Jesus helped the kids that are depressed become happy." Truly, when someone is compared to Jesus they have reached the pinnacle of their career and can retire knowing that they were a positive influence in the lives of others.
What a Thursday it was!
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day Delivery |
Louis enjoying Pre-Dinner Happy Hour |
Now, we plan a special dinner at home with a very nice bottle of wine and time alone together to reflect.
Last evening was another special Valentine's Day in the series. The wine of choice was a 2006 Chateau St Jean Reserve Merlot. I remember that we purchased the wine at the winery when we visited Napa and Sonoma a few years ago. The dinner was steak from the grill with oven-baked potato and salad. For dessert we enjoyed Key Lime Pie! I hesitate to think what that dinner would cost in a restaurant. The wine alone might be as much as a small car payment.
Valentine's Steak on the Grill |
I look forward to being at home and enjoying a special meal with my Valentine is the best kind of celebration.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Olympics Observations
Chloe Kim Snowboarding |
For the past two evenings I have been fascinated watching the half-pipe snowboarding competition and seeing two gold medals delivered by the US competitors Chloe Kim and Shaun White.
Shaun White Snowboarding |
I found it fitting that the 31-year old Shaun White's gold medal was the 100th gold medal earned by the U.S. Team during Winter Olympics competitions. It was Shaun's 3rd Gold Medal!
By comparison, it seems that they give out almost 100 gold medals during every Summer Olympics, I know that isn't true, but it sure seems like a lot of medals are given out. Oh wait, according to Wikipedia, 307 gold medals were awarded during the 2016 Summer Olympics!
And the games go on!
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
Pitchers and Catchers
Even though the calendar says it is Winter, it must be Spring because Orioles Spring Training gets underway today as pitches and catches report to Sarasota to begin workouts.
It has finally arrived. Spring Training has returned and hopes are high or the upcoming season.
OK, for the Orioles hopes are not really that high. It is really a dark spot on the excitement that is the beginning o Spring Training. The Orioles have problems--with pitching.
MLB.com suggests that Spring Training will be an exciting one or the Orioles as they work to set their starting pitching rotation. I take the view that the entire season hinges upon what the Orioles do in the next couple of weeks. The Orioles enter training with just two of five needed starting quality pitchers.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun makes the following statement:
When the Orioles officially report to spring training camp Tuesday, they will not be a better team than the one that finished fifth in the American League East last season. That should be fairly obvious.
And that is where we begin the season.
Hopes are definitely not high. I see the Orioles losing a lot of games with astronomical scores like 9-7.
Well, we can't win if we don't play!
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Monday, February 12, 2018
Monday Musings - February 12, 2018
1. We survived another government shutdown. The cost to the American taxpayers is enormous and the loss of status in the world is unquantifiable.
2. What did you do with your Sunday afternoon now that the NFL football season is over?
Rolls Royce Hood Ornament |
4. The torrential rains of the weekend have soaked everything. The lawn is a squishy land of mud. Maybe Springtime is close at hand?
5. The thermometer hit 66 degrees yesterday. Officially it was 63.9 degrees. This morning it is 52 degrees, which looks as if it will be the high for the day.
6. I was reviewing some of the images I captured at the auto show last week. I had forgotten this one with the Rolls Royce hood ornament in it.
7. Youth basketball season is winding down, the playoffs are up for next week. I'm excited because after basketball comes baseball.
Headlines
Abuse Case Exposes Fissures in a White House in Turmoil - The New York Times
Russian Plane Crash Kills All 71 Aboard - The New York Times
Pence: The United States is ready to talk with North Korea - The Washington Post
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week
"The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours. And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world."
Farewell Address to the Nation, January 11, 1989
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Radio Flyer Takes to the Skies
February, so far, has been a month of wild weather. The weather has ranged from below freezing temperatures to the current torrential rains which are making the region excessively soggy.
Looking up the Street February 10, 2018 |
The flight plan for the day was to continue developing dexterity with the controller and do a lot of low altitude work around the year and up the drive. But, I managed to get some nifty images from the skies in what was my also my highest flight to date. Even the clouds were interesting to look at an realize they contained rains which was going to envelop the region.
My flights were shorter than desired because both the batteries only contained a 60 percent charge from sitting unused for almost two weeks. Note to self--the batteries need to be topped off after they have been sitting unused.
The next time I get the opportunity to fly, I will be working on the hand-launch and hand-signal control of the drone. It is one of the coolest features of this drone and I have been studying the videos in preparation for my first hand-signal control flight.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Saturday, February 10, 2018
The Week that Was
Yes, there was a government shutdown, despite the news reports indicating that the shutdown was averted. It was not. I spent time working the shutdown all week and even during the shutdown. It was an incredible waste.
The weather has been cold! Too cold. It has been no fun.
Nathan Chen Falling |
I watched some of the team ice skating on the night before the opening ceremonies.
I felt very bad that Nathan Chen fell during his opening program. All of the build up was a lot of an 18 year old to handle. I am sure he will recover nicely.
The Falcon Heavy liftoff from Florida restored some moxie to the US Space Programs. The double-booster landing was fabulous. No one else on the planet has been able to pull that off.
The week!
I'm happy that Saturday is here. I only wish it were warm enough to golf.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Friday, February 9, 2018
Our Government at Work
I really a being a bit facetious with the title because as I write this i have been advised that appropriations to fund the government have lapsed again and that we are in yet another shutdown furlough.
We just did this a couple of weeks ago.
Congress continues to unevenly attempt to fund the government and the President seems to enjoy the on and off-again form of government that shutdowns create.
Chaos!
Waste! The amount of money that goes into planning for a shutdown, whether one actually occurs or not is phenomenal.
As I write this, the New York Times is reporting that the shutdown is over!
House Passes Budget Deal to Raise Spending and Reopen Government - The New York Times
But has the President signed the bill? Are we going to have to do this again in a few weeks?
The questions remain.
Fundamentally, this is not way to run a government. We are rapidly becoming a third world country in terms of consistency in government. If this continues, our credit rating will slump and it will cost a lot more to fund the debt.
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Thursday, February 8, 2018
I Love a Parade
A large military parade to demonstrate how powerful the U.S. military is for all to see.
It is like an adolescent game of who can spit the watermelon seed the farthest.
Or a game of my army's bigger than your army!
Ugh!
Have we not gone far enough with this insanity? The need to demonstrate how big and bad we are seems a bit lost on the world. Our military is becoming a shell of its former self due to the continuing budget crises.
The last big military parade in Washington D.C. was during 1991 to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.
Military parades are about ego and power. Of course Trump wants one. - The Washington Post
What would we be celebrating this time?
-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)