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Daily Readings for Saturday, August 12, 2023
- Morning Psalms 63; 149
- First Reading 2 Samuel 12:15-31
- Second Reading Acts 20:1-16
- Gospel Reading Mark 9:30-41
- Evening Psalms 125; 90
Morning Psalm 63
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Morning Psalm 149
1 Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters
and their nobles with chains of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment decreed.
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!
First Reading 2 Samuel 12:15-31
15Then Nathan went to his house.
The LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became very ill. 16David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, "While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us; how then can we tell him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm." 19But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" They said, "He is dead."
20Then David rose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He went into the house of the LORD, and worshiped; he then went to his own house; and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate. 21Then his servants said to him, "What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but when the child died, you rose and ate food." 22He said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me, and the child may live.' 23But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."
24Then David consoled his wife Bathsheba, and went to her, and lay with her; and she bore a son, and he named him Solomon. The LORD loved him, 25and sent a message by the prophet Nathan; so he named him Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and took the royal city. 27Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the water city. 28Now, then, gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; or I myself will take the city, and it will be called by my name." 29So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, and fought against it and took it. 30He took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone; and it was placed on David's head. He also brought forth the spoil of the city, a very great amount. 31He brought out the people who were in it, and set them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, or sent them to the brickworks. Thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Second Reading Acts 20:1-16
1After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples; and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, he came to Greece, 3where he stayed for three months. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, and so he decided to return through Macedonia. 4He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia. 5They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas; 6but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. 9A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. 10But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." 11Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. 12Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted.
13We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself. 14When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus. 16For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
Gospel Reading Mark 9:30-41
30They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; 31for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." 32But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
38John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward."
Evening Psalm 125
1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time on and forevermore.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous might not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
Evening Psalm 90
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn us back to dust,
and say, "Turn back, you mortals."
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end like a sigh.
10 The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
12 So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
13 Turn, O LORD! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands —
O prosper the work of our hands!


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subset: commoncrawl


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The Morning Flap: November 14, 2012
These are my links for November 13th through November 14th:
- Don't cry now – The GOP Will Have a Better Candidate in 2016– Yes, it's all sad — and grim, and depressing — but is Election 2012 truly the end of the GOP universe? Perhaps. But before giving way to unseemly hysterics, here are some thoughts to peruse:* Timing is everything: This year, the Republicans needed new and appealing young talents to take on Obama, and that, as it happened, was just what they had. The upside was that in 2009 and 2010 they had a crop of new stars, all born to run on a national ticket. The downside was that they would be ready to start running in 2014 at the earliest. And so the most crucial of all nominations would go to one of a number of has-beens or retreads, whose experience was either old or irrelevant, and whose talent at best underwhelmed.Mitt Romney, the best, left office six years ago, and had a liberal past, a financial career that had netted him millions, and, as the son of another ex-governor, seemed the image of white and upper-class privilege, minus the military heroics, medical problems, or personal tragedies that humanized the Roosevelt cousins, the Kennedy brothers and the elder George Bush.
Near the end, Romney became a good candidate, but he was always less than a good politician; a speaker in tongues that were not his first language, and a technocrat in a profession in which visionaries tend to win the big prize. His loss deprives the country of an effective executive, but it allows the next generation of the GOP, which would have been pushed aside for eight years or more if he had triumphed, to step forward now and make over the party — a moment that can't come soon enough.
* The country has changed, but the next Republican ticket will have at least one, and possibly two, brownish-skinned children of immigrants, with inspiring stories of rising from nowhere to live the American dream. He and/or she (and "she" must be seen as a real possibility) will never have fired hundreds of people, will not be rich, will not be dogged by multiple changes on issues, will understand modern conservatism from having run and won on it, and also will be a career politician, unlikely to make the unforced verbal errors that haunted this campaign just ended. There are few such "diverse" stars in the Democrats' stable. Hillary Clinton, if she runs in 2016, will be 69, and unlikely to get the nation's young in a tizzy. In the next cycle, the dynamic that worked this year in the Democrats' favor — race, youth and gender — may be turned on its head.
- White House 'secede' petitions reach 660,000 signatures, 50-state participation– Less than a week after a New Orleans suburbanite petitioned the White House to allow Louisiana to secede from the United States, petitions from seven states have collected enough signatures to trigger a promised review from the Obama administration.By 6:00 a.m. EST Wednesday, more than 675,000 digital signatures appeared on 69 separate secession petitions covering all 50 states, according to a Daily Caller analysis of requests lodged with the White House's "We the People" online petition system.A petition from Vermont, where talk of secession is a regular feature of political life, was the final entry.
Petitions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas residents have accrued at least 25,000 signatures, the number the Obama administration says it will reward with a staff review of online proposals.
The Texas petition leads all others by a wide margin. Shortly before 9:00 a.m. EST Wednesday, it had attracted 94,700 signatures.
But a spokesperson for Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday afternoon that he does not support the idea of his state striking out on its own. "Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it. But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government," according to a statement from the governor's office.
A backlash Monday night saw requests filed with the White House to strip citizenship rights from Americans who signed petitions to help states secede.
- Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' For Favorable Testimony On Benghazi– Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday said the White House used David Petraeus's affair to get the CIA director to give testimony about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that was in line with the administration's position on the matter.Appearing on Fox News's Special Report, Krauthammer said, "The sword was lowered on Election Day"
- Greetings from the Single-Party State of California! – Dental Care for the Poor– Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is already putting his wish list together. Note the sheer lack of much to do with fiscal solvency:Steinberg talked of using the supermajority to reinvest in public schools and colleges, restore adult dental care for the poor, and alter the initiative process in a way that makes it harder for millionaires to impose their will by spending vast sums qualifying a measure for the ballot.The Senate leader said he might be willing to consider overhauling the state's income tax structure to lower rates but broaden the base, and to consider a constitutional amendment laying the groundwork for same-sex marriage.
Adult dental care for the poor! Exactly what we need with a cash deficit somewhere around $20 billion, according to the state controller.
There are two races in Orange County and Sacramento County that are very close, and the GOP is not willing to concede as yet. There is a possibility that the ability to keep the Democratic legislature from overruling the Democratic governor rests in the hands of two Republicans.
- Hooray! Bankrupt California Is Now a One-Party State!– I might dislike the state GOP even more than Harold Meyerson does, but there are some other numbers that prevent me from celebrating what Meyerson hails as "the political transformation of California." For instance:The last Republican turned off the lights* Democrats have controlled all eight statewide executive offices since 2011, for only the second time since the 19th century.* Democrats have a 28-12 edge in the state Senate, tied for its largest advantage since the 19th century. The party has held a majority there since the late 1950s.
* Democrats have a 54-26 edge in the state Assembly, its largest advantage since 1978. The party has run the Assembly since 1997.
* California has been represented in the U.S. Senate by Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer for two decades.
* That 38-15 congressional delegation advantage, if it indeed holds, will be by far the largest spread in state history, and almost the largest percentage advantage as well (there was that 3-1 moment in the 1870s). Republicans last held more California congressional seats than Democrats in the late 1950s.
So what has all this enlightened Democratic governance produced? Here's one way of looking at it: The last month that California had an unemployment rate of less than 10% was January 2009. The last month its unemployment was lower than the national rate was April 1990. The 2010 Census marked the first time California didn't gain a seat in the House of Representatives since basically ever. For the first time since the Gold Rush, a majority of California residents were born in the state. The ultimate migration-magnet in a nation of immigrants is just no longer so, however strange that may be to accept.
- California to GOP: Adios– here are many ways to illustrate the descent of the California Republican Party into oblivion. A starting point is the demographic breakdown of the members of Congress elected last week in the state.Assuming the leaders in the few remaining close races hold their leads, there will be 38 Democrats and 15 Republicans representing California in Congress come January. Of those 38 Democrats, 18 are women, nine are Latinos, five are Asian Americans, three are African Americans, four are Jews and at least one is gay. Just 12 are white men. Of the 15 Republicans, on the other hand, all are white men — not a woman, let alone a member of a racial minority or a Jew, among them.The composition of the state's new Democratic congressional delegation merely reflects the state's demographic changes. Latinos (72% of whom backed Obama) were 23% of the California electorate in 2012, up from 18% in 2008. The share of Asian voters (who voted for Obama at a 79% rate) doubled, from 6% to 12%, between those two elections. Voters under 30 increased their share of state ballots cast from 20% in 2008 to 27% in 2012, and backed Obama at a 71% rate. The state's proportion of white voters, meanwhile, fell from 65% in 2004 to 63% in 2008 to just 55% last week.
More sentient Republicans now say the party needs to modify its position on immigration. But a deeper look into the politics of the increasingly young and multicolored electorate suggests that the GOP is estranged from this new America on more issues than just immigration. The exit polling on Proposition 30, the tax hike on the wealthy promoted by Gov. Jerry Brown to keep the state's schools and universities from further disastrous budget cuts, shows key elements of the Democrats' new majority consigning the old Howard-Jarvis-no-tax-hike California to history's dustbin. Voters under 30 supported Proposition 30 at a 67% rate, and Asian Americans gave it 61% support.
- Majority Supports Path to Citizenship; Greater Division on Other Social Issues – ABC News– Most Americans support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, an issue that may be high on the agenda of newly re-elected President Obama and the 113th Congress, given the increased importance of nonwhites – including Hispanic voters – in the nation's political equation.On two other prominent social issues in last week's voting, a bare majority continues to support legalizing gay marriage, and this ABC News/Washington Post poll finds a new high, 48 percent, in support for legalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use.A PATH – Fifty-seven percent of Americans in this survey, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, with 39 percent opposed. That's virtually identical to results of a similar question last asked in mid-2010, with support up from its earlier levels, as low as 49 percent in late 2007.
Debate on the issue was heightened by restrictive immigration policies enacted in Arizona in 2010 and Alabama in 2011, and, in June, when Obama moved in another direction, granting immunity from deportation to many undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children.
Hispanics accounted for 10 percent of voters in Tuesday's presidential election, reaching double-digits for the first time, and Obama won them by 71-27 percent, improving on his 2008 margin in this group. In the exit poll, voters overall, by more than 2-1, said illegal immigrants working here should be offered a chance to apply for legal status rather than being deported.
In this survey, support for a path to citizenship peaks at 82 percent among Hispanics, 71 percent among Democrats and liberals alike and 69 percent among young adults, all key Obama groups. Support's at 68 percent among nonwhites overall, compared with 51 percent among non-Hispanic whites. Obama lost white voters by 20 points last week, but won nonwhites — who accounted for a record 28 percent of the electorate – by 61 points. It was a record racial gap.
- The Fiscal Cliff: Will Obama and Congress Cut a Budget Deal?– Five people will gather Friday inside the White House to begin making decisions that could affect the pocketbooks of 315 million Americans.When President Obama sits down with the Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress, only 46 days will remain before the nation risks plunging over the "fiscal cliff" — a pileup of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to drain $560 billion out of the economy next year and derail the recovery.It will be high-stakes poker, holding the promise of great rewards for an economic rebound if Washington succeeds and the peril of another recession if it fails.
Promise or peril, some Americans are going to feel the pinch. Should Obama get his way, those with annual incomes above $250,000 will face higher tax bills. If Republicans come out on top, tax rates and defense spending will remain the same, but social programs will face budget cuts.
A compromise portends discomfort, most likely in the form of reduced paychecks, jobless benefits and business tax breaks. And a stalemate means higher taxes and reduced federal spending across the board, including at the Pentagon.
- Hard questions await Obama at news conference– This is not what the White House wanted for President Barack Obama's first news conference of his second term.He won't be able to dwell much on his stronger-than-expected victory or even press his agenda for the next four years. Instead, he'll be diverted by a Washington sex scandal.
- Flap's California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-11-13 – Flap's California Blog – Flap's California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-11-13
- Flap's Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-11-13 – Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog – Flap's Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-11-13 #tcot
- for-2012-11-13&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-11-13
- Petraeus and Broadwell attempted to conceal affair using Gmail drafts | The Verge – RT @verge: Petraeus and Broadwell attempted to conceal affair using Gmail drafts
- Michael Ramirez: Free Stuff is Not Overrated – Flap's Blog – Michael Ramirez: Free Stuff is Not Overrated #tcot
- Day By Day November 13, 2012 – Dive, Dive! – Flap's Blog – Day By Day November 13, 2012 – Dive, Dive! #tcot
- Broad Concern about 'Fiscal Cliff' Consequences | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press – Pew Poll: Broad Concern about 'Fiscal Cliff' Consequences – Blame Congressional GOP More #tcot
- Video – Austan Goolsbee says that there is no way the fiscal cliff can be avoided. – WSJ.com – RT @WSJ: Can the fiscal cliff be avoided? Here's what three of the top economic professors in the U.S. think: VIDEO
- Pew Poll: Broad Concern about 'Fiscal Cliff' Consequences – Blame Congressional GOP More– As the president and congressional leaders begin negotiations to avoid the "fiscal cliff" deadline at the end of the year, there is widespread public concern about the possible financial consequences. More say the automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to take effect in January would have a major effect on the U.S. economy than on their own finances. But nearly identical majorities say the effect of the changes would be mostly negative for the economy (62%) and their personal financial situation (60%).The public is skeptical that President Obama and congressional Republicans will reach an agreement by the end of the year to avoid the fiscal cliff. About half (51%) say the two sides will not reach an agreement, while just 38% say they will. If no deal is reached, more say that congressional Republicans would be more to blame than President Obama (53% vs. 29%).
- Pew Poll: Hispanic Household Wealth Fell by 66% from 2005 to 2009– Median household wealth among Hispanics fell from $18,359 in 2005 to $6,325 in 2009. The percentage drop—66%—was the largest among all racial and ethnic groups, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project. During the same period, median household wealth declined 53% among black households and 16% among white households.The Pew Research report provides the first look at how the Great Recession impacted household wealth. It finds that plummeting house values were the principal cause of the erosion in wealth among all groups. However, because Hispanics derived nearly two-thirds of their net worth in 2005 from home equity and a disproportionate share reside in states that were in the vanguard of the housing meltdown, Hispanics were hit hardest by the housing market downturn.The Pew Research analysis also finds that the median wealth of white households is 18 times that of Hispanic households and 20 times that of black households. These lopsided wealth ratios are the largest in the quarter century since the government first published such data, and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession.
- Public Opinion Strategies: Three Keys From the Exit Polls– Given the demographics of the 2008 and 2012 elections, the Republican Party is in danger of becoming the "Win In Off Years Only Party" unless we make a full-throated improvement with Hispanic voters. And, we have to admit it is us, not them.Want proof? That's easy – as of this writing, Mitt Romney is getting 48.7% of the vote, while House Republicans are getting 48.4% of the vote. The House majority for 2014 (and beyond) is not built on winning the vote, but on fabulous drawing of the congressional district lines. So even the battleground we won on (congressional) was tilted for us, which we may not be able to count on in ten years.
- Republican polling firm explains what went wrong– On Election Day, Mitt Romney had a victory speech prepared — but not a concession. He believed he would win. His confidence was based in part on internal polls showing an electorate that favored Republicans. Many Republican Senate candidates also got false optimism from their numbers.In a memo, the firm of Romney pollster Neil Newhouse, Public Opinion Strategies, explains its mistakes and suggests how to fix them going forward.As a part of the Republican polling community, our prescription includes doing at least one-third of the interviews with cell phone respondents going forward, adjusting as required, ensuring that we include enough younger voters in our sampling, and (in many cases) polling until the final weekend of the campaign. This is going to cost campaigns and organizations more money on polling, but it is necessary to have a more accurate representation of the electorate.
- President 2012: Gallup defends itself– Gallup's Frank Newport posted a memo online defending the organization's 2012 polling, which gave Mitt Romney the lead in the presidential race from mid-October to the end of the month.Newport notes that the final pre-election Gallup poll, taken after a hiatus due to Hurricane Sandy, showed a dead heat, not so far off the final popular vote results."In the end, Gallup's national popular vote estimate was that the popular vote was too close to call, a statistical tie — 50% for Mitt Romney, 49% for Barack Obama," Newport wrote. "When the dust settled, Romney got 48% of the popular vote and Obama received 50%, meaning that Gallup's percentage-point estimate was within two percentage points for Romney and within one point for Obama." (Further counting has boosted Obama's total closer to 51 percent.)
However, he added, "it is clear that voting today is subject to new pushes and pulls" and that changes to the pollsters' likely voting model might be necessary.
Newport also takes what appears to be a veiled shot at The New York Times's Nate Silver, who argued that a mid-October Gallup poll showing Romney ahead was likely wrong.
"It's not easy nor cheap to conduct traditional random sample polls," Newport writes. "It's much easier, cheaper, and mostly less risky to focus on aggregating and analyzing others' polls."
- Upcoming 5K,10K and Other Ventura County Area Running and Fitness Events! – Welcome! – Conejo Valley Guide – RT @ConejoJoe: Upcoming Ventura County area 5Ks, 10Ks and other running events
- 2012 Malibu Marathon Yesterday Was My 30th Marathon – Marathon Training Blog – Conejo Valley Guide – Congratulations Joe – see you at LA! RT @ConejoJoe: My 30th marathon on Sunday was not my best one but happy to finish
- Kathy Sullivan: For NH Republicans, some advice from the winning side | New Hampshire OPINION02 – RT @CPHeinze: Former New Hampshire Dem party chair gives state GOP some post-election advice: "Retire John H. Sununu."
- Who's who in the Gen. Petraeus scandal – Photos – 1 of 5 – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: PHOTOS: Who's who in the Gen. Petraeus scandal:
- Flap's Dentistry Blog: Fake California Dentist Esteban Campos Pleads Guilty – Fake California Dentist Esteban Campos Pleads Guilty
- 53% Favor Bush Tax Cuts For All But The Wealthy – Rasmussen Reports™ – Boehneer will cave – earlier the better RT @RasmussenPoll: 53% Favor #Bush Tax Cuts For All But The Wealthy… #taxcuts
- The Morning Flap: November 13, 2012 – Flap's Blog – The Morning Flap: November 13, 2012 #tcot
- Don't cry now – The GOP Will Have a Better Candidate in 2016– Yes, it's all sad — and grim, and depressing — but is Election 2012 truly the end of the GOP universe? Perhaps. But before giving way to unseemly hysterics, here are some thoughts to peruse:* Timing is everything: This year, the Republicans needed new and appealing young talents to take on Obama, and that, as it happened, was just what they had. The upside was that in 2009 and 2010 they had a crop of new stars, all born to run on a national ticket. The downside was that they would be ready to start running in 2014 at the earliest. And so the most crucial of all nominations would go to one of a number of has-beens or retreads, whose experience was either old or irrelevant, and whose talent at best underwhelmed.Mitt Romney, the best, left office six years ago, and had a liberal past, a financial career that had netted him millions, and, as the son of another ex-governor, seemed the image of white and upper-class privilege, minus the military heroics, medical problems, or personal tragedies that humanized the Roosevelt cousins, the Kennedy brothers and the elder George Bush.


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This in one of my favorites shots, a portion of Mr. Octopus through the glass of the tank at the aquarium in Cabrillo Beach, California.
RULES: Create your Watery Wednesday post first then come back and enter your name and the link to your post in the spaces provided. Next, just have fun visiting the other entrants to see their posts. If you leave a comment they'll know you've visited and will visit you in return. Have fun!


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This is the one
AshGrey-OperaMauve 2
Alfred Themes are imported via a URI scheme. So, when you click on the + Import Theme link, the Alfred2 Preferences window will open, asking you if you want to import the theme. There are no files to download, and, also, because of that, themes cannot be auto-updated.


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The term spectra is defined as the entire electro-magnetic wavelength.
Spectroscopy began in 1666 when Sir Isaac Newton discovered that white light passing through a glass prism split the light into a rainbow. To confirm this, Newton passed the rainbow through another prism and it recombined into white light.
Spectroscopy took off in the 19th century when Joseph Fraunhofer took a spectra of the Sun and noticed dark lines in the spectra
In 1857, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen experimented with laboratory chemical spectra and determined that each chemical element has its own unique spectral signature - called spectral lines. Furthermore, Kirchhoff summarized the three important elements of spectra, called Kirchhoff's Laws. To understand the laws, it is important to understand the concept of a "blackbody." This is not an object that is black or dark, instead a blackbody is a theoretical object that emits all light and radiation that is directed to it. If 100% of light were to illuminate a blackbody, 100% of that light will be emanated.
Kirchhoffs Laws (three of them):
1. A blackbody process a continuous spectrum, free of any spectral lines.
2. A hot, transparent gas will produce emission lines - a series of bright lines against a dark background.
3. A cool transparent gas in front of a blackbody will produce absorption lines - dark lines on a spectra that would appear in the same place as a hot gas cloud comprised of the same elements.
Astronomers study the spectra of stars and galaxies based on these three laws, but do not use a prism in their spectroscopy equipment. Astronomical spectrometers use what is called diffraction grating. There are three main components to a spectrometer:
The slit - only a small section of light is required for a spectral analysis. This also helps remove any stray light.
The collimator and diffraction grating - the collimator focuses the light onto the diffraction grating where light is split into its fundamental colors.
Camera lens or CCD detector - the reflected spectra is then captured on film or CCD for analysis.
A diffraction grating is nothing more than a special cut glass plate with small lines etched into the glass. The more accurate and more numerous the cuts, the more accurate the spectra. The reason gratings are used instead of prisms is that the grating can be adjusted and the prism cannot. The prism of a spectroscope must have 60 degree angles and cannot be rotated.
The image above is from the Spectrashift.com group of amateur astronomers using this style of spectroscope to capture the radial velocity of a stars wobble as a result of an exoplanet.
The image below shows the Fraunhofer spectra, complete with the brightest Fraunhofer lines (shown by letters of the alphabet). This image also shows the frequencies of each color.
Image Credit - and additional information.
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My first project of 2012 involves something I've wanted to try for a while. A while means 6 or 8 months ago. I saw some posts about it (can't recall where, sorry!) and thought, "I can do that!" And on the list it went. (You know the list. The list of projects-I-really-want-to-make-but-don't-know-when-or-even-if-I'll-ever-make-them list.) You've probably seen them, too. Clay tags adorning all sorts of home decor and gifts. I just loved them so here's my take on it.
2.5 lb. tub of Crayola Air-Dry Clay
small cookie cutters/cute little jewelry charms
any other litttle doo-dads/shapes from around the house you'd like to try
rubber and/or acrylic stamps
something to use to make the holes in the tags (I used a wooden skewer)
rolling pin
sculpting tools (I
round object to use to as a template for the actual tag (I used a 1" round lip gloss lid -- really. It was just the right size.)


text: As MLC Sales Co. April 13, 2013 | by Dennis Carlisle (AKA GroJLart) About the Author GroJ Lart Dennis Carlisle (AKA GroJLart) is a former Hidden City contributor and the anonymous foulmouthed blogger of Philaphilia, where he critiques Philadelphia architecture, history, and design. He resides in Washington Square West. Carlisle has contributed to Naked Philly, the Philadelphia City Paper's Naked City Blog, and Philadelphia Magazine's Property Blog. He is currently an employee of developer Ori Feibush, owner of OCF Realty. Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


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As most of you have noticed, this season has been rather therapeutic for me as a fan of the Kansas City Royals. By the end of the 2009 season, my relationship with the team had become, frankly, toxic. I'm in a much better place now, to the point where I think that many of my fellow Royals bloggers are needlessly pessimistic about the future of the franchise. I like a good Dayton Moore joke as much as anyone, but I almost wonder if there's some sort of time warp going on here, where people continue to judge Moore as if the last six months never happened.
Moore gets hammered, and deservedly so, for moves like the Betancourt trade and the Kendall signing – but is only grudgingly given his due, if at all, for the fact that the farm system overfloweth. As Kevin Goldstein rhetorically asked after Chris Dwyer's last start for Wilmington – 6 innings, no runs, 9 strikeouts, and a promotion to Double-A after the game: "Seriously, is any system having as good a year as the Royals? Is there anyone even close?"
So I've climbed back on the Moore train, and plan to stay on board until we see what happens with the most impressive collection of minor league talent the organization has had in at least 15 years. That doesn't mean that my criticisms of Moore will suddenly abate. In a way, the evaluation of Moore only really starts now.
This month, in fact, may be the most important month of Moore's tenure to date. This is the month when we'll find out whether Moore is truly serious about trusting the future of the Royals to the kids, or whether he's going to continue to follow the safe, CYA route of employing proven veterans until they're pried from his cold, dead hands.
In Moore's first July as a GM, he was a trading dervish. He got the proceedings off to an early start, moving J.P. Howell to Tampa Bay for Joey Gathright on June 20th. He then moved Ruben Gotay for Jeff Keppinger (July 19th), Mike MacDougal for Daniel Cortes and Tyler Lumsden (July 24th), Elmer Dessens for Odalis Perez, Blake Johnson, and Julio Pimental (July 25th), Tony Graffanino for Jorge de la Rosa (July 25th), and on deadline day he traded Matt Stairs for Joselo Diaz, and Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista for Ryan Shealy.
Not all these trades worked out – actually, in aggregate the Royals probably lost more talent than they acquired – but the point was that Moore saw an opportunity to overhaul his roster, and took it. We can only hope he'll be similarly active this season.
Moore hasn't been active at the deadline since. In 2007, his only July trades were to acquire the infamous Roman Colon for a minor leaguer, and to trade Octavio Dotel (a no-brainer) for Kyle Davies. In 2008, the Royals did not make a single July trade, although they did pass Horacio Ramirez through waivers in August and then traded him to the White Sox for Paulo Orlando. (And they plucked Robinson Tejeda off waivers from the Rangers in June.) And last year, the only trade Moore made in July was…the acquisition of Betancourt. But hey, he also paid cash to acquire Ryan Freel and Josh Anderson, so it's all good.
The Royals can't afford that kind of passivity this season. Not when their window of opportunity looks like it might open a crack next season, and then be thrown completely open in 2012. Not when they've got at least a half-dozen players who will attract some kind of interest on the trade market. And not when they've got replacements ready to step in, all of whom figure to be better than the guy they're replacing in a year or two, and some of whom are better than the guy they'll be replacing right now.
This last point is crucial, because the unfortunate by-product of the Royals' current 8-3 stretch is that some people are actually suggesting that the Royals are still in contention this season. Me, I prefer for my team to be playing better than .452 baseball before I think about contending. I'm a purist like that.
It's one thing for Ned Yost to argue that the Royals aren't out of it. He's the manager; if he can't make the case that his team isn't out of it, he's not doing his job. It's another thing when our old friend Jeff Flanagan argues that the Royals can't afford to trade Jose Guillen because they're in the race. Come on, Jeff. You're better than this.
"Try and visualize the lineup right now without Guillen – replace him with Mitch Maier or Willie Bloomquist. Seriously, how does that look?"
As a courtesy to Flanagan, I won't make a list of the six different reasons why this is a ridiculous argument.
As I write this, the argument for what to do with Guillen may have become a moot point, as in his last at-bat against the Mariners last night he pulled up lame while running to first base. We've been told that it was a quadriceps injury, and that he's "day-to-day" – which, given Guillen's history, seems incredibly optimistic.
This significantly impacts the Royals' ability to trade him, obviously. But even if Guillen is out for an extended period of time, it's unlikely to have a huge impact on the Royals in the long term. The Royals were never going to get more than a marginal prospect for him. The main value of trading Guillen was always to open up the lineup spot to a younger, more deserving player – if he's on the DL for a while, that spot will open up anyway.
(Okay, the main value of trading him was simply to unload his salary – he's owed nearly $6 million the rest of the season, which is to say, more than the Royals are likely to shell out for all of their draft picks this year. But I'm not sure the Royals would have been able to get another team to pick up a large fraction of his salary.)
The injury to Guillen, though, only hammers home the point that it's better to move these guys a few weeks early than one day late. So let's look at all the players the Royals might be tempted to trade this month – which is over half the roster – and see what they can get.
Player: Kyle Farnsworth
Outstanding salary: $2.25 million* + $500,000 buyout.
*: The season is at roughly the halfway point, so I'm simply dividing each player's salary by two.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 80%.
Quick – who leads the Royals in ERA? Here's a clue – it's the same guy who leads the team in WHIP. Here's another clue: it's the last guy you would have guessed before the season began.
Farnsworth's 2.04 ERA and 1.047 WHIP in 35 innings don't justify his two-year, $9 million contract, but they do explain why the Royals thought he'd be worth the money. The dude still throws in the upper 90s, after all. There are always teams looking for bullpen help at the trading deadline, and Farnsworth's contract situation is very favorable.
Farnsworth has allowed just three runs in his last 26 innings, and just as impressive as his performance is the fact that he's maintained it even as the Royals have slowly ramped up his responsibilities. He started the season pitching the same garbage relief that he was relegated to last season. He then started pitching in games where the Royals had a large lead, then games where the Royals only trailed by a run, and now he's pitching in tie games in the ninth inning, as he did Monday night. The old Farnsworth would have given up the walk-off homer on his second pitch – as he did last year. The new Farnsworth pitched a tidy one-two-three inning and got the win. Evidently Farnsworth is relying more on a two-seamer and a changeup this year. This makes some sense - as hard as he throws, his four-seamer never had much movement, and his two-seamer is still plenty fast.
It's hard to believe that the Royals would keep Farnsworth, given that he's gone after the season, and that he's likely to have multiple suitors. Stranger things have happened, but the odds are pretty good that he'll be moved soon.
Possible suitors: The Angels are still in the race, and have a pretty dreadful bullpen, a rarity under Mike Scioscia. The Red Sox are also pretty thin behind Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard. And the Reds are clinging to first place despite a bullpen without a single reliable right-handed reliever.
What the Royals should expect in return: Let's not lose our heads here: he's still Kyle Farnsworth. A single B-grade prospect would be a steal. More likely, the Royals are likely to get a guy who grades out as a future utility-player/good fourth-outfielder/bullpen arm.
Who replaces him: The Royals have a ton of relief prospects, but they could all still benefit from a little more development. If and when Hochevar or Meche returns, they'll slip into the rotation and either Bruce Chen or Anthony Lerew will take Farnsworth's role. Otherwise we might see another audition for Brian Bullington or Philip Humber.
Player: Scott Podsednik
Outstanding salary: $825,000
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 65%
If you want to be charitable towards the Royals, you can make the case that they signed Podsednik with the intention of dealing him at the deadline all along. If that's the case, then mission accomplished: Podsednik is having a classic Podsednik season, batting .301/.348/.370. It's a completely singles-driven profile; Pods has hit FIVE doubles all season, which is ridiculous for someone who has the speed to make a double out of a single once a month. Still, he's hitting for average, and stealing bases (24 of 34 so far), and his defense in left field hasn't been a complete disaster.
Best of all, he's doing this in a season in which offense is suddenly down all around baseball, making otherwise-rational teams think that they now need an infusion of speed and little ball to win in this brave new world. I see no need to disabuse these teams of this notion. Podsednik's low salary might make him particularly appealing to teams with financial constraints.
Possible suitors: Left fielders for the San Diego Padres are hitting a combined .193/.289/.279. Throw in the fact that Podsednik is a perfect fit for that ballpark, and I'm a little disappointed that we haven't seen a trade already. Melky Cabrera has been so disappointing in Atlanta that they've been forced to play Eric Hinske out there.
What the Royals should expect in return: Again, we (and the Royals) need to keep our expectations in check. As an everyday player, Pods is likely to fetch more than Farnsworth, but only a little more. I'd be happy with someone who would rank as the 15th-best prospect in the organization – which, given the state of the farm system, would actually be a half-decent prospect.
Who replaces him: Alex Gordon, assuming he's eligible for parole.
Player: David DeJesus
Outstanding salary: $2.3 million this year, $6 million next year or $500,000 buyout.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 55%
The big fish in the Royals' pond, DeJesus is having the best season of his underrated career. He's hitting .329/.397/.466, adapted to his third outfield position in the last three years flawlessly, is under a very reasonable contract, and has a very enticing option for next season. He's also almost a certainty to be a Type B free agent, and possibly a Type A free agent, either this year or next.
The draft pick compensation is a huge part of his trade value. Twenty years ago, teams would give up impending free agents without any recognition of the value those players would have in terms of draft picks. Things are different today. Three years ago, the Red Sox gave up three players for a half-season of Eric Gagne, in large part because they valued the draft pick that Gagne was expected to give them. (Gagne then pitched so badly for the Sox that he dropped out of the Type B rankings completely.)
DeJesus' situation is interesting because there's a good chance he'll be a Type A free agent this winter – but if his option is picked up, he'll probably be a Type A free agent next winter as well. The Elias rankings are based on a player's performance over the past two seasons, so DeJesus' numbers this year will count towards his free agent status both times. Basically, as long as DeJesus hits as well in 2011 as he did in 2009, he'll have the same Free Agent status both times.
The Royals have three options with DeJesus:
1) Trade him.
2) Decline his option, offer arbitration, then collect two draft picks when he signs elsewhere this winter.
3) Exercise his option, then decide between 1) and 2) against next year.
From where I sit, declining DeJesus' option would be foolish – a player of his caliber is a bargain on a one-year, $6 million deal. The only downside is the risk that he gets hurt or somehow plays so poorly in 2011 that the draft picks you would have gotten this winter dry up.
The Royals might justifiably say that they'd rather have the draft picks in hand, given that they're odds of contending in 2011 aren't that great even with DeJesus. But for a team that's in a win-now mode, DeJesus' option is awfully enticing. Which is to say, DeJesus probably has more valuable to another team than he does with the Royals.
So the incentive is there for a deal to be made. The question is whether a contender is willing to give up the talent it will take to get DeJesus and the two draft picks.
Possible suitors: Since DeJesus can play all three outfield positions competently, any team with an outfield need is a potential destination. The same teams that would want Podsednik would want DeJesus even more; the Braves, in particular, have the farm system talent to get a deal done. The Red Sox don't know what they can expect from Jacoby Ellsbury or Mike Cameron, and J.D. Drew hasn't even had his annual injury yet. If the Rays are as fed up with B.J. Upton as they appear, then Tampa becomes an option. A sleeper team might be the Giants, if they decide to go all-in for this season.
What the Royals should expect in return: A lot. A lot, or they shouldn't do the deal. Let's put it this way: I wouldn't trade DeJesus for the package that the Phillies got for Cliff Lee (J.C. Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont, and Tyson Gillies). Granted, that's more a reflection of Ruben Amaro's incompetence than anything else. But DeJesus should be able to command the standard three-prospect package of a Grade B+, a Grade B-, and a Grade C prospect. Think of this as a do-over on the Carlos Beltran trade.
(Going on a tangent for a moment, but I think we can add Ruben Amaro to that list of General Managers who I'd rank behind Dayton Moore. Amaro gave Raul Ibanez that three-year deal that looked like a steal for one month, and an albatross ever since. He was given a huge gift when Roy Halladay agreed to a contract extension before trading for him, and then screwed everything up by giving away Lee for pennies. He gave Ryan Howard a ridiculous contract extension at the exact moment before his value went south. And the Phillies are barely over .500, in third place, and in danger of squandering the final peak years of some Hall of Fame-caliber players.)
Who replaces him: Gordon, but if the Royals manage to trade DeJesus and Podsednik, they have some decisions to make in at least one corner outfield spot. They could audition Jordan Parraz or David Lough out there. There's also a good chance that DeJesus' replacement in right field will be one of the players coming back in a trade.
Player: Willie Bloomquist
Outstanding salary: $850,000.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 40%
A year after Bloomquist had a career-high 434 at-bats, the Royals have found a way to minimize his contributions – he has only 74 at-bats in half a season. The prescription for Bloomquist always said that for best results, take him in small doses. For as much flak as his signing received, our issue was was always more about what he represented than Bloomquist himself.
Since joining the Royals, Bloomquist has 508 at-bats and 167 games, basically a full season's worth, and has hit .262/.305/.360, along with 30 steals in 39 attempts. That's not a starting player, but as a utility player those numbers are perfectly acceptable. His salary of $1.4 million last year, $1.7 million this year is not ridiculous. What was ridiculous was that he was practically a full-time player last year. This year, his opportunities to hurt the ballclub have been limited.
One of the reasons why Bloomquist's playing time has been curtailed of late has been the surprise performance from Wilson Betemit, who is hitting a frankly ridiculous .386/.438/.773 since he was called up. In 44 at-bats, he has hit four homers, which 1) ranks sixth on the team, and 2) is as many homers as Jason Kendall has hit since the start of the 2008 season.
Betemit isn't anywhere near this kind of hitter, but there's every reason to think that he can be a significant contributor to the Royals going forward. Betemit, like another ex-Braves retread in Bruce Chen, was a top prospect once upon a time. Betemit was signed by the Braves when he was 14 years old – no, seriously, 14. When his real age came to light years later, the Braves were disciplined – I believe they were banned from signing international players for six months – and they got off easy. Betemit is one of the few guys in baseball today who debuted in the majors as a teenager, in 2001. That off-season, Betemit was ranked the #9 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America. As a 19-year-old, he had just hit .355/.394/.514 in a six-week stint in Double-A.
He didn't stick in the majors until 2005, when he was 23, but hit a very respectable .305/.359/.435 as a rookie. He never developed after that point, and was traded in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He signed as a minor-league free agent with the Royals this winter.
The thing is, while he never developed into a star, Betemit really hasn't played all that badly either. His career line in the majors is .263/.328/.445, and aside from a 45 at-bat audition with the White Sox last year, he's always been at least adequate in the majors. He's only 28 years old, and much like the player who essentially replaced him in Atlanta, Omar Infante (that would be All-Star Omar Infante to you, buddy), while Betemit's dream of being an everyday player may be over, he should have a long and successful career as a super-utility player ahead.
Betemit can do most of the things Bloomquist does, but Bloomquist can do only some of things Betemit does. Both of them can play multiple positions, but Betemit also has the advantage of being a switch-hitter. Bloomquist's biggest advantage in the field is that he can play all three outfield positions, whereas Betemit has never started a game in the outfield. On the other hand, given his bat, Bloomquist's ability to play the outfield may actually be a detriment, because it tempts teams into playing him out there.
Betemit has made at least 16 starts at all four infield positions, and started at both shortstop and second base for the Yankees in 2008. He's not the most graceful defender in the middle infielder, but then he more than makes up for it with the bat. Offensively, it's no comparison. Bloomquist has a massive edge in speed; Betemit has a massive edge in plate discipline and power.
The problem with Betemit is that he doesn't have the look of a utility infielder. Utility infielders are supposed to be scrappy, scrawny, speedy guys who don't hit much – they're supposed to look like Willie Bloomquist. Betemit doesn't. But given our manager and general manager's background with Atlanta, the fact that the Braves are thriving with Infante in that utility role lends hope that the Royals may feel comfortable doing the same with Betemit. Which makes Bloomquist, whose Swiss Army Knife package is appealing to some contenders, expendable.
Possible Suitors: The Red Sox, who are missing something like a third of their roster – including Dustin Pedroia – are rumored to have interest. You would expect almost every National League contender to at least kick the tires on Bloomquist.
What the Royals should expect in return: A lottery ticket. Some 19-year-old kid who throws strikes and has maybe a 10% chance of seeing his velocity suddenly bump into the low 90s.
Who replaces him: Betemit takes over his role; the Royals have a half-dozen options for who takes over his roster spot. If they want a backup outfielder, they could go with Jordan Parraz. If they want Willie Bloomquist Lite, they can go with Irving Falu or Ed Lucas.
Player: Brian Bannister
Outstanding salary: $1.15 million. Bannister is also under club control for 2 more seasons.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 30%.
You know I love Bannister, and I can't say that I want to see him go. If nothing else, keeping him around is worth it to have a perpetual foil to Dayton Moore in the clubhouse.
But if the Royals decide it's time to move on, well, I can't blame them. Bannister has a career 4.88 ERA, and over the last three years that number goes 5.76, 4.73, and 5.44. I think he's a better pitcher than that, and for significant periods of time he has been a better pitcher than that. But twice in his career he's run out of steam in August, and this year his numbers are destroyed by the 11 runs he gave up in Cincinnati when he became dehydrated.
Let's face it: with his upper-80s fastball, there's simply a limit to how good Bannister can be in the superior league. He's the quintessential National League pitcher; against inferior hitters, without having to face the DH, and in a big ballpark – hello, NL West! – he could be a revelation. Plus, he's an excellent hitter for a pitcher. At least, this is the pitch the Royals should be making.
The Royals don't have to trade him, and they shouldn't trade him just get rid of him. But in the long run, the Royals are looking at a situation where they should have five starting pitchers better than Bannister as soon as next summer. There's nothing wrong with making a proactive trade now, rather than trading him for whatever you can get next season.
A month ago Bannister had a 4.50 ERA and his trade value was presumably a lot higher. Then came the disaster in Cincinnati, a bad start in Atlanta where he admitted to being gun-shy, six shutout innings to beat Stephen Strasburg, and then two consecutive outings where he's allowed four runs. Basically, the Royals need Bannister to show some consistency over the next three weeks to convince suitors that his struggles were just a speed bump and not something to be alarmed by.
It's no surprise, then, that with the All-Star Break coming up, the Royals are bumping Anthony Lerew from his start on Saturday in favor of Bannister. The Royals say they're doing this because Bannister's the better pitcher, and he probably is, but don't be fooled: they're showcasing him. If Bannister aces his next few auditions, we may have to find someone new to carry the torch of sabermetrics in the Royals' clubhouse.
Possible suitors: The Padres would be an ideal location for him, and while San Diego has four starters with an ERA of 3.24 or less (!), their fifth starter, Kevin Correia, has a 5.05 ERA. The Dodgers have been struggling to find a fifth starter all season. The nasty divorce between the McCourts has basically frozen the Dodgers' payroll, but if the Royals are willing to pick up Bannister's modest salary the rest of the season, they could steal something here. Remember, the Indians' willingness to pay the remainder of Casey Blake's salary netted them Carlos Freaking Santana for a two-month rental.
But given that all three divisional races in the NL are close, there are a lot of teams that could use him. Maybe Omar Minaya wants to erase his mistake and bring Bannister back? The Reds? The Cardinals? There are a lot of landing places for Bannister if the Royals are serious about moving him.
What the Royals should expect in return: If the Royals trade him, it has to be with the knowledge that they're giving up 2.5 seasons of a league-average pitcher. That's not beanbag. It's not worth trading him if they don't get at least a Top-15 prospect in return.
Who replaces him: Meche or Hochevar in the short term. Michael Montgomery or Aaron Crow or Chris Dwyer or John Lamb by this time next year.
Player: Mike Aviles
Outstanding salary: Aviles is not arbitration-eligible yet, so his salary is basically the league minimum. Also, he won't be a free agent until after the 2014 season.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 25%.
Aviles is the most surprising player whose name has come up in trade rumors. On some level, it makes sense. Second base is an easy position to fill, because you're basically drawing on the pool of second baseman and the pool of failed shortstops. The Royals want to see what Chris Getz can do, and if Getz fails, then they have Johnny Giavotella getting ready off-stage.
And let's face it: the Royals have never been entirely comfortable with Aviles. He never had a good defensive reputation, even in the minors, then shocked everyone by playing the hell out of shortstop as a rookie. This year, he's played mostly second base, and frankly hasn't looked all that sharp. The ideal solution would be to admit that Betancourt was a mistake and move Aviles back across the keystone, but the Royals probably look at how Aviles has played at second base and figure that it would only look uglier at shortstop.
If the Royals do trade him, this won't be your standard deadline deal. Aviles is under contract for 4.5 more seasons. His career batting average is .300 on the nose, and that includes the .183 disaster last season when he played hurt. This would be a substantial trade of a cheap everyday player under contract for the long term, and the return would have to be in kind.
Possible suitors: Aviles' name has come up in trade rumors because the Red Sox are reportedly interested in him; with Pedroia out in the short-term, and Adrian Beltre a free agent after the season, the Red Sox might see Aviles as a guy who can fill a lot of holes in different spots both now and in the future. But "a guy who can fill a lot of holes" is a lot different than "an everyday middle infielder", which is why I'm skeptical that the Royals will be able to trade him for what he's worth. What worries me is that they might be able to trade him for what they think he's worth.
What the Royals should expect in return: Aviles isn't the player that DeJesus is. On the other hand, he's millions of dollars cheaper, and he's under contract for three additional seasons. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a DeJesus-caliber haul for him.
Others of note:
Player: Rick Ankiel
Outstanding salary: $1.625 million, plus $500,000 buyout.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 15%.
First he has to get healthy. Then he needs to hit. And even then, some team has to be suitably confident that Ankiel will stay healthy, and keep hitting. It's a tall order. As with Guillen, the Royals can be reasonably confident that Ankiel will pass through waivers, effectively moving his trade deadline to August 31st.
Player: Kyle Davies
Outstanding salary: $900,000, plus he's under club control in 2011.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 10%.
Like Bannister, Davies has shown stretches of effectiveness, but whereas Bannister has been a league-average starter for months at a time, Davies has problems going more than a few starts at a time. Davies is cheap, but in the last five seasons he has just one year with an ERA lower than 5.27. In his last six starts, he's walked 20 batters and struck out 13. I still think the Royals should try him in the bullpen for the next three months and see if they catch lightning. Otherwise, he's a non-tender candidate this winter.
Player: Alberto Callaspo
Outstanding salary: Basically league minimum, and under club control through 2013.
Odds that the Royals will trade him: 10%.
There isn't even a whisper of a Callaspo trade rumor, but you have to think the Royals are trying to figure out his future with Mike Moustakas on his way. Callaspo isn't hitting nearly as well as he did last season; he hit .300/.356/.457 last year, and just .277/.310/.417 at the moment. But I actually think his trade value may be higher. For one, most of his dip at the plate can be explained by a drop in his batting average, which is somewhat fluky – the power he showed for the first time in his career last season has stayed. But more importantly, whereas last season he was a second baseman with terrible defense, he's now a third baseman with at least adequate defense. Remember, the Royals were actively trying to trade him this winter, and the only substantial rumor we heard was from the Dodgers for Triple-A catcher A.J. Ellis.
I don't think the Royals will trade him now, and I don't think they should trade him now, because Callaspo's value is not as a one-year rental, but as a long-term solution at the hot corner. Teams are more amenable to making major roster changes in the off-season. The Royals will likely hold on to Callaspo for now, hope that his batting average rebounds in the second half, and try their luck on the market again this winter.
Conclusion: Without even knowing what the Royals get in return, we can almost tell whether this will be a successful month for Moore simply by how many players get traded. With the exception of DeJesus and Aviles, it's hard to imagine the Royals making a trade that doesn't improve the team in the long term.
If you add up the percentages that each player gets traded, you wind up with an average of 3.3 players traded, and that doesn't include Guillen, whose trade status is up in the air at the moment. That may be giving Moore too much credit, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that at least three guys get moved off the roster this month.
Basically, as along as Farnsworth and Podsednik find new homes, and as long as the Royals don't give DeJesus or Aviles away, this will be a successful month. Anything less than that, and Moore's ability to understand his team's position on the success cycle – and his ability to avoid thinking that two good weeks from his team suddenly means they should be a buyer instead of a seller – will be called into question.


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Space Object Plays Chicken with the ISS – Astronauts Forced to Hunker Down in Capsule
Saturday, July 18th, 2015Early this morning the ISS and a piece of debris from an old Russian weather satellite almost gave one another a bro-like chest bump.
Astronauts had an hour and a half to secure as many of the ISS's individual modules and get themselves hunkered down into their escape pod (the Soyuz capsule attached to the ISS) and nervously wait to see how it would play out.
While that's the official word there are a lot of humans on the ground declaring that that's what NASA wants you to believe and that the "space object" was actually a UFO doing a drive-by of the ISS.
Thankfully the debris or whatever it was went by without incident. NASA gave the astronauts the all-clear a few minutes later.
While safe it's still a terrifying scenario because orbit is pretty is pretty predictable once things are in it…
But there's that old saying…
What goes around comes around.
Let's just hope that's all it is…an old saying…
Or just a UFO flying by.


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FloraXchange is an online communication platform that supports growers by spreading specific offers. Growers on FloraXchange keep up their assortment and from there the specific offer will be known to the buyers. The buyer will be kept constantly informed by the catalog.
In the horticultural sector it is known to communicate by Florecom. FloraXchange tries to realize the communication with growers en exporters according to these standards. However, some companies aren't capable to communicate by Florecom. For these companies FloraXchange can be used for the translation (like a universal travel plug).
All exporters can use FloraXchange for free to communicate with the growers, who subscribed to FloraXchange. There are several types of subscriptions, more about this you can find here. On this page you can find information about the functionalities that exporters can use in FloraXchange.
The commercial network of FloraXchange can be an important part for every grower. The commercial network of FloraXchange connects them to exporters he works with. The exporter is kept constantly informed of the catalog and the supply related issues of the grower. In this way you can use FloraXchange as:
More information about these functionalities you can find here.
All growers can use FloraXchange for free to communicatie with exporters who are subscribed on FloraXchange. To use the services of FloraXchange, there is always one participant that had a subscription. A grower has too pay €500,- for a subscription.
Do you want to see which exporters are already using FloraXchange? Check this page.
If you want to know more about FloraXchange you can always sign up for one of our demonstrations on this page.


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Welcome to City Church
City Church exists to continue what Jesus began.
City Church Distinctives
Three words that define City Church culture
- We are real people from all walks of life.
- It is okay to not be okay.
- Come as you are - that's where Jesus meets you.
Learn More
- Grace changes everything.
- Because we are recipients of undeserved grace, we proclaim and practice it.
- Grace is a way of life.
Learn More
- We are intentional about doing life together.
- Love God. Love People. It really is that simple.
- We are for our city.


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Lady A Postpone Request Line Tour as Charles Kelley Continues Journey to Sobriety
Lady A singer Charles Kelley's "journey to sobriety" has forced the trio to postpone their Request Line Tour. The band made the announcement on social media on Thursday morning (Aug. 4), adding that they hope to hit the road again in 2023.
"We are a band, but more importantly ... we're family," the note reads. "We're proud to say that Charles has embarked on a journey to sobriety. So, right now in order to be the healthiest, strongest and most creative band we can be, Lady A will take the time with the support of our families and team of professionals to walk through this together."
This isn't the first time the band has addressed the issue. Previously, Kelley admitted to drinking too much at times, leading to a confrontation from his wife, Cassie, as well as bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood.
"It's early on this road, but we are determined to do what will best set us up for many more years together."
"At the time it was, it p---ed me off," he told Pop Culture and other media in 2019. "I look back and I'm like, if they had not done that, who was going to do it, you know? Because my wife could tell me all she wanted to but until you've got your bandmates (speaking up), you're like, 'Oh s––, I've got, I've got to control this.' There's a lot of that on this record I think."
A song called "Be Patient With My Love" from their Ocean album explored this further. The most recent message from Lady A doesn't specify if drinking was the issue, nor does it state where Kelley currently is in this journey.
"I've definitely had an interesting spiritual journey over the past year or so," he told Taste of Country in 2019. "And honest conversations about a lot of stuff to be honest with you — my drinking over the past several years and getting that in control. It's brought us closer to actually have those conversations."
COVID aside, Lady A have been fairly reliable touring artists in recent years, although the 40-year-old Kelley did have surgery for appendicitis in July 2021, forcing the band to cancel a show. In recent weeks, several appearances were canceled for unknown reasons, including a number of fair and festival dates.
The Request Line Tour was to begin on Aug. 13 in Nashville and continue through October. Fans were able to call in requests ahead of time and the group told ToC they planned to honor them. "It's legitimate," Dave Haywood said.
"We had done a couple of like random shows like charity events where it was just us sitting around with an acoustic guitar. In those settings we kind of would be like, 'What do y'all wanna hear?'" Kelley added at the time. "Some of them would be cover songs. We were like why can't we do something like this?"
The band say information about ticket refunds will be coming in the next few days.


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A question I often hear from married men is: 'I've admitted my sin, apologized to my wife, and tried to make it right. She says she forgives me, but can't trust me. Will she ever trust me again?' Â Rebuilding trust is like rebuilding credit. It can be done, but only through a combination of time and consistency. So if broken trust is a challenge to your marriage, let me offer you three ideas on how to rebuild it.
First, get a solid structure put in place. A solid structure is a combination of accountability, daily prayer, Bible reading, and regular consultation with a pastor, mentor or Christian counselor. Find yourself a good men's accountability group, or a good Christian therapist. An accountability group is a great option since connection is a necessity to having transformation in your life! I encourage you to also begin a daily habit of devotion, personal prayer, and some time spent reading scripture. Let your wife know, in writing preferably, what your structure is. List the name of your group leader, your counselor, and the schedule you're adopting. Give her a copy so she knows what program you're following, and tell her she can watch you to see if you're sticking to it. You'll probably be surprised how much trust this alone can build.
Second, set aside a weekly time – maybe an hour or so to do nothing but listen to her. Tell her it's her time to tell you how she feels about your marriage, about your progress, about herself, or anything else that's on her mind. During her 'listening' time, try not to interrupt her or argue. You simply listen carefully to her concerns, and make sure she knows you share them. This habit will show her that, in contrast to the selfishness you displayed through your sexual sin, you're now putting her and her needs first.
Finally, don't rush her. She's been wounded, and wounds are healed, not erased. So give her time. Give her the time and space she needs to be angry and sad, as she grieves over the blow your marriage has endured. By patiently waiting for her confidence in you to rebuilt, you'll show her that you take responsibility for your behavior by not expecting her to 'just get over it.' She needs that from you. So if both of you will patiently invest in time and consistency, you'll reap an enormous level of strength and intimacy in your relationship. In the end, the trust she's lost can be restored, added to, and treasured.
3 Steps To Rebuild Trust #HealthStatus
Rebuilding trust is like rebuilding credit. It can be done, but only through a combination of time and consistency.


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All prices are in Canadian dollars. All algonquinpark.on.ca prices are applicable to online purchases only.
Please note:
HST (5-15% depending on the Province) will be applied to all orders shipped to addresses in Canada. The exception are items marked with a ** which are only taxed at 5%.
The Friends of Algonquin Park, Box 248, Whitney, Ontario, Canada K0J 2M0
Charity BN/Registration #11923 4060 RR0001
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In Cooperation


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Posts Tagged 'Charlene Johnson'
Obituary: Robert L. Brehm
Robert "Bob" L. Brehm, 77, of Berthoud passed away peacefully on January 3, 2012 at his home. He was born December 10, 1934 in Johnstown, Colorado to Adam and Mary (Schafer) Brehm. He graduated from Berthoud High School in 1953, lettering in football and basketball. Bob married Charlene Johnson of Berthoud on February 26, 1956. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958 and received an honorable discharge. In May of 1959 he retired from Hewlett Packard after 32 years of services. Bob was ... Full Story


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January Lunchtime Fiber Open Studios
Jan 18, 2022 10:00AM—2:00PM
Cost 0.0
Categories Event
Topics All
Please join us for Lunchtime Fiber open studios! There will be plenty of time for show and tell, sharing of ideas and tips, problem-solving, and having fun. You can hang out with us at the SEFAA Center or you can join us virtually, whichever suits you best. So, drop in when you can and stay for as long as you'd like.
Covid-19 remains a concern, so please be aware that you must wear a face mask covering both your nose and mouth at all times while in the SEFAA Center.
See you there!
Image: Happy Houses by Ann Buggey is a 2021 Square Foot Fiber Art Pin Up Show winning entry.


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The weather has broken most state records, resembling mid-summer more than Fall, however Sunday was the epitome perfection. Basking in the glow of windless warm sunshine, enjoying the exquisite feel of the day, it is understandable why this is a favorite season for many... cherished all the more for its fleeting passage.
As Halloween arrives it is interesting to review the origins of one of our most treasured and anticipated holidays. As with most of our holidays, its origins are deeply rooted within the pagan beliefs of our ancestors, with their celebrations altered to adapt to Christian faith. The Celtics, a once powerful people of central and northern Europe, gathered for their New Years celebrations at end of harvest and their beliefs are included in Halloween as we know it. The celebration of their New Year, called Samhain (Irish-Gaelic for 'the Summer's end') took place on October 31st, which is coincidentally our Halloween.
It was believed border between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinnest on this night, allowing the souls of the deceased to enter the land of the living. So for this one night hearth fires were extinguished so their light could not be seen to either guide or frighten the returning souls. Gathered in celebratory groups, these tribal people lit huge bonfires of sacred oak branches to drive away evil spirits and warm the living. Costumes were worn so the Lord of Death could not recognize and then come claim one in the coming year. Often animals were sacrificed, fortunes were told, and at the end of the night with the safety of dawn, hearth fires were relit from the bonfire to ensure happiness and prosperity as the New Year began.
The Roman Church decided to make All Saint's Day on November 1st to coincide with the Celtic festival. All Saints' Day was instituted as a holiday in the year 609 and it was moved from May to November in 834 after the Church discovered the importance of the Celtic rituals. On All Souls Day poor people went 'a-souling' (or begging) for 'soulcakes' in exchange for the promise they pray for the dead in purgatory and from this came our custom of 'trick or treating'.
These beliefs arrived in Mexico directly from the Roman Church and are still celebrated with 'The Day of the Dead' as family members welcome deceased relatives home for the night. Their grave is surrounded by welcoming candles and a place at the table is set for them as their favorite foods are prepared. Generations gather and complimentary stories about the deceased are told as they are welcomed home for an evening with loved ones.
Any way it is viewed historically, the customs surrounding the death of summer also honor the dead, complete with the belief that mortal souls return to wander the earth. Autumn leaves, Jack-o-lanterns, bobbing for apples, costumes, black cats, and fortune-telling all evolved from these pagan customs. It is amazing that these ancient Celtic rituals, which have become our Halloween, continue to be embraced and still flourish today.
Thousands upon thousands of birds arrived to bathe in the pond before the festivities began... |


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Kenneth Agee was born in Phoenix in the year 1962 making him a lifelong resident of Arizona. Mr. Agee graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering Technology. Kenneth CEO of Foresight Investment an Realty dealing in property speculation for many years, until applying his many computer talents to the development of the operational base for LoveMe.com, without which the adventure may have remained simply another grand scheme in the world of unrealized opportunities. Kenneth enjoys boating, skiing and traveling. He met Elena Mikhailovna Korosteleva, born 1977, during an AFA Romance tour in St Petersburg, and they were married in Kazansky Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia on April 25th, 1999. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Angela.
Columbian Women 7227 North 16th Street, Suite 240Phoenix, AZ 85020 (602) 553-8178 fax (602) 468-1119 Contact Us


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Promising change after eight Republican dominated years, Obama betrayed the public trust by special favors given business at the expense of essential growing needs.
Spurning them, in fact, he shows contempt for the things he rhetorically supports, proving he's no different from the worst of the bipartisan criminal class, serving wealth and power interests only.
As a result, he backed Wall Street's financial coup d'etat, looted the nation's wealth for them, institutionalized speculation and corporate racketeering, wrecked the economy, and consigned millions to impoverishment without jobs, homes, savings, social services, or futures.
Now more is planned, first announced in a January 18, 2011 Executive Order, (EO) titled, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review" to benefit business, no matter the public cost.
On February 7, Obama elaborated in a Chamber of Commerce speech, promising to "remove outdated, unnecessary regulations" to free business more than ever since the roaring twenties to do whatever they damn well please, saying:
"I understand the challenges you face. I understand you are under incredible pressure to cut costs and keep your margins up. I understand the significance of your obligations to your shareholders and the pressures that are created by quarterly reports. I get it."What he doesn't "get" or give a damn about is growing human need. Instead, he focuses solely corporate bottom line concerns no leader should prioritize over greater ones affecting millions of troubled households during the nation's gravest economic crisis in decades, one he's worsening, not alleviating.
In fact, acting more like one of them than one of us, he discussed various special favors he had in mind, including lowering corporate taxes and "breaking down some of the barriers that stand in the way of your success," eliminating "outdated and unnecessary regulations" to save billions of dollars annually, no matter the incalculable public cost.
Dismissively he said: "I've ordered a government-wide review," and if there are rules on the books that are needlessly stifling job creation and economic growth, we will fix them....I've also ordered agencies to find ways to make regulations more flexible for small business," promising to make government as accommodative as possible, giving away the store if there's anything left from the wreckage he already caused.
Obama Unveils Corporate Friendly Deregulation Plan
On May 26, Reuters writer Alister Bull headlined, "White House takes steps to cut business red tape," saying:
Obama unveiled a plan to save corporations "billions of dollars over time, seeking to placate businesses complaining about what they see as undue regulatory burden."In fact, billions of dollars in political contributions freed corporate giants from numerous regulations since the 1970s.
Jimmy Carter, in fact, spearheaded deregulation Nixon and Ford began by hiring Alfred Kahn to head the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act followed. It dissolved the CAB, removed industry restraints, eased consolidation, and subsequent bills deregulated trucking and railroads - the 1980 Motor Carrier Act and 1980 Staggers Rail Act, following the 1976 Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act.
Carter also phased out interest rate deposit ceilings, and gave the Fed more power through the 1980 Depository Institutions and Monetary Control Act, removing New Deal restraints and enabling subsequent administrations to go further.
Under Reagan, energy deregulation followed, notably oil and gas, then electric utilities under GHW Bush and Clinton, the result being high prices, brownouts, and Enron-like scandals.
In the 1980s, the 1982 Alternative Mortgage Transactions Parity Act led to exotic feature mortgages with adjustable rates or interest-only. They carry low "teaser" rates for several years, after which they're adjusted much higher, often making loans unaffordable, especially for low-income, high-risk borrowers using subprime and Alt-A loans.
The 1982 Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act deregulated thrifts and fueled fraud, so much that the Savings and Loan crisis followed. As a result, hundreds of banks failed, sticking taxpayers with most of the $160 billion cost. In 1987, the Government Accountability Office (GOA) declared the S & L deposit insurance fund insolvent because of mounting bank failures.
In 1988, global regulators imposed minimum bank capital requirements, known as the Basel Accord or Basel I, enforced in G-10 countries.
In 1989, the Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act abolished the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and FSLIC, transferring them to the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and FDIC. It also created the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to liquidate troubled assets, assume Federal Home Loan Bank Board insurance functions, and clean up a troubled system.
Clinton era telecommunications deregulation let media and telecommunication giants consolidate, gave new digital television broadcast spectrum space to current TV station owners, and let cable companies increase their local monopoly positions.
His 1994 Reigle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act let bank holding companies operate in more than one state. In 1996, the Fed reinterpreted Glass-Steagall to let bank holding companies earn up to 25% of their revenue from investment banking. The 1998 Citicorp-Travelers merger followed, combining a commercial/investment bank with an insurance company ahead of the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act, also called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) authorizing it.
In 2000, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) passed, legitimizing swap agreements and other hybrid instruments, at the heart of today's problems by ending regulatory ov
New Deal reforms were enacted to restrain corporate fraud and abuse. Gutting them decades later to the present, business was freed to pillage at will, Washington turning a blind eye to the worst of their racketeering.
Obama, in fact, exacerbated the worst of bad practices, especially for his Wall Street favorites, literally rewarding their criminal fraud with at least $12.3 trillion dollars of taxpayer money and perhaps more yet to be disclosed, if ever.
Obama's "Simpler, Smarter Regulatory System"
Thirty federal agencies proposed eliminating or modifying hundreds of regulations to benefit business, despite compromising environmental concerns, sacrificing public safety, and disregarding general welfare issues.
While details so far are sketchy, several proposals include:
-- excusing states from requiring air pollution vapor recovery systems at gas stations;
-- ending "outdated" Endangered Species Act regulations;
-- freeing business from 1.9 million regulatory reporting hours relating to workplace safety;
-- curtailing railroad and other safety standards;
-- stressing bottom line priorities over public benefits; and
-- assuring further deregulation follows current proposals.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Jacob Lew said:
"Paperwork and reporting burdens are a serious problem....This is not a one time project. This is the beginning of what will become a new way of doing business."
Responding, the Chamber of Commerce applauded "some commonsense recommendations that will save businesses some time, money, headaches, and resources," adding much more needs to be done, saying:
"What we need is a plan to make our flawed regulatory system smarter, less intrusive, and more accountable."
National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Legislative Director Scott Slesinger said:
"The purpose of the regulatory system is to protect the health and well-being of the American public. Any proposed changes should be closely evaluated to ensure they protect the public, first and foremost."From what's so far known, public safety and welfare are being sacrificed for bottom line considerations, Obama prioritizing his efforts for them.
"Coming at a time when the entire system for protecting (public safety) is already under political attack by some in Congress, we will closely examine these specific change to ensure that federal agencies continue to put the public's interest above all else."


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Our bestselling fly mask. 360° protection.
The Premier Equine Comfort Tech Lycra Fly Mask has been engineered to provide a smart 360° protection solution for horses against flies. The easy pull-on design is strapless for safety, crafted from a breathable four way stretch Lycra for comfort, and helps to provide a secure custom like fit which helps prevent bugs and flies crawling under the mask and causing irritation.
Sensory zones such as the eyes and ears are protected by a flexible durable mesh, engineered with a degree of stability helping it to stand away from the face as to not cause irritation. The breathable and lightweight nature of the mesh allows for airflow, vital to the health of the sensory organs it is protecting.
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Brand | Premier Equine |
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