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Website Terms of Use
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Big Data Certification is one of the most desired skills of 2017 for IT professionals. It gives you an edge over other Professionals to accelerate career growth. The certificate is proof that you can be responsible enough handle huge amount of data. Big Data professionals have many benefits such as better career growth, salary and job opportunities.
Importance of Big Data:
Big Data is becoming popular all over the world. Companies across all verticals like retail, media, pharmaceuticals and much more are pursuing this IT concept. Big Data Hadoop tools and techniques help the companies to illustrate the huge amount of data quicker; which helps to raise production efficiency and improves new dataâ€driven products and services.
Uses of Hadoop in Big Data:
A Big data developer is liable for the actual coding/programming of Hadoop applications. Mentioned below is some information on Hadoop architecture
- It includes the variety of latest Hadoop features and tools
- Apache Hadoop enables excessive data to be streamlined for any distributed processing system over clusters of computers using simple programming models.
- Hadoop has two chief parts – a data processing framework and a distributed file system for data storage.Â
- It stocks large files in the range of gigabytes to terabytes across different machines.
- Hadoop makes it easier to run applications on systems with a large number of commodity hardware nodes.
9 most popular Big Data Hadoop tools:
To save your time and help you pick the right tool, we have constructed a list of top Big Data Hadoop tools in the areas of data extracting, storing, cleaning, mining, visualizing, analyzing and integrating.
Data Storing Tool- Hive, Sqoop, MongoDB
Data Mining Tool- Oracle
Data Analyzing Tool- HBase, Pig
Data integrating Tool- Zookeeper
Data Extraction Tool:
Talend is a software vendor specializing in Big Data Integration. Talend Open Studio for Data Integration helps you to efficiently and effectively manage all facets of data extraction, data transformation, and data loading using of their ETL system.
In computing, Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) refers to a process in database usage and especially in data warehousing. Data extraction is where data is extracted from data sources; data transformation where the data is transformed for storing in the proper format; data loading where the data is loaded into the final target database.
Features of Talend:
ETL tool boosts developer productivity with a rich set of features including:
- Its graphical integrated development environment
- Drag-and-drop job design
- More than 900 components and built-in connectors
- Robust ETL functionality: string manipulations, automatic lookup handling
Pentaho Data Integration also called Kettle is the component of Pentaho responsible for the Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) processes. PDI is created with a graphical tool where you specify what to do without writing code to indicate how to do it.
How PentahoWorks:
PDI can be used as a standalone application, or it can be used as part of the larger Pentaho Suite. As an ETL tool, it is the most popular open source tool available. PDI supports a vast array of input and output formats, including text files, data sheets, and commercial and free database engines.
Important Features of Pentaho
- Graphical extract-transform-load (ETL) designing system
- Powerful orchestration capabilities
- Complete visual big data integration tools
Data Storing Tool:
MongoDB is an open source database that uses a document-oriented data model. MongoDB
How it Works:
MongoDB stores data using a flexible document data model that is similar to JSON. Documents contain one or more fields, including arrays, binary data and sub-documents. Fields can vary from document to document.
Some features of MongoDB Tool
MongoDB can be used as a file system with load balancing and data replication features over multiple machines for storing files. Following are the main features of MongoDB.
- Ad hoc queries
- Indexing
- Replication
- Load balancing
- Aggregation
- Server-side JavaScript execution
- Capped collections
Apache Hive is a data warehouse infrastructure built on top of Hadoop for providing data summarization, query, and analysis. Hive gives an SQL-like interface to query data stored in various databases and file systems that integrate with Hadoop.
How it Works:
Hive has three main functions data summarization, query and analysis.It supports queries expressed in a language called HiveQL, which automatically translates SQL-like queries into MapReduce jobs executed on Hadoop.
Features of Apache Hive
Apache Hive supports analysis of large datasets stored in Hadoop's HDFS and compatible file systems such as Amazon S3 file system. Other features of Hive include:
- Index type including compaction and Bitmap index as of 0.10
- Variety of storage types such as plain text, RCFile, HBase, ORC, and others
- Operating on algorithms including DEFLATE, BWT, snappy, etc.
Sqoop (SQL-to-Hadoop) is a big data tool that offers the capability to extract data from non-Hadoop data stores, transform the data into a form usable by Hadoop, and then load the data into HDFS
How it Works
Sqoop got the name from SQL + Hadoop. It supports incremental loads of a single table or a free form SQL query as well as saved jobs which can be run multiple times to import updates made to a database since the last import.
Here are some important and usable features of Sqoop
- Parallel import/export
- Import results of SQL query
- Connectors for all major RDBMS Databases
- Kerberos Security Integration
- Support for Accumulate
Data Mining Tool:
Oracle Data Mining
Oracle Data Mining (ODM), a component of the Oracle Advanced Analytics Database Option, provides powerful data mining algorithms that enable data analysts to discover insights, make predictions and leverage their Oracle data and investment
How it Works
Oracle Corporation has implemented a variety of data mining algorithms inside the Oracle relational database. With Oracle Data Mining system, you can build and apply predictive models inside the Oracle Database to help you predict customer behavior, develop customer profiles, identify cross-selling opportunities and detect potential fraud
Features of Oracle Data Mining
Oracle Data Miner tool is an extension to Oracle SQL Developer, work directly with data inside the database using
- Graphical "drag and drop" workflow and component pallet
- Oracle Data Miner work flows capture and document the user's analytical methodology
- Oracle Data Miner can generate SQL and PL/SQL scripts
Data Analyzing Tool:
HBase is an open source, non-relational, distributed database and is written in Java. It is developed as part of Apache Software Foundation's Apache Hadoop project and runs on top of HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System), providing Bigtable-like capabilities for Hadoop
How it works
Apache HBase is a NoSQL database that runs on top of Hadoop as a distributed and scalable big data store. HBase can leverage the distributed processing of the Hadoop Distributed File System. It is meant to host large tables with billions of rows with potentially millions of columns and run across a cluster of commodity hardware
The Apache HBase is consist of the following features:
- Linear and modular scalability
- Convenient base classes for backing Hadoop
- Easy to use Java API for client access
- Block cache and Bloom Filters for real-time queries
- Query predicate push down via server side Filters
- Support for exporting metrics
Apache Pig is a high-level platform for creating programs that run on Apache Hadoop. Pig is complete, so you can do all required data manipulations in Apache Hadoop with Pig.
How it Works
Pig enables data workers to write complex data transformations without knowing Java. Pig is called Pig Latin, and appeals to developers already familiar with scripting languages and SQL
Pig Features:
Pig Tool has the following key properties:
- It is trivial to achieve parallel execution of simple
- Permits the system to optimize their execution automatically
- Users can create their own functions to do special-purpose processing.
Data Integrating Tool:
Apache Zookeeper is a coordination service for distributed application that enables synchronization across a cluster. Zookeeper in Hadoop can be viewed as centralized repository where distributed applications can put data and get data out of it.
How it Works
Zookeeper provides an infrastructure for cross-node synchronization and can be used by applications to ensure that tasks across the cluster are serialized or synchronized. ZooKeeper allows developers to focus on core application logic without worrying about the distributed nature of the application.
ZooKeeper will help you with coordination between Hadoop nodes. Following mention the important features of it
- Managing and configuration of nodes
- Implement reliable messaging
- Implement redundant services
- Synchronize process execution
Further, if you want to start a career in Big Data and learn Hadoop and other Big Data technologies, I would recommend you to go through a structured training on Big Data and Hadoop. If you have a structured training in Big Data and Hadoop, you will find it very easy to land up a dream job in Hadoop.
Hope this post helps you. If you have any questions you can comment below and I will be glad to help you out.
Related links –
Hadoop Ecosystem and its components
Introduction to Hadoop Distributed File System
Facts and Myths about Big Data

subset: commoncrawl


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It's Scrapping the Little Things with My Creative Time, and I'm still working on my Project Life album from a few years ago. I needed some cards for the pages with my son's Homecoming pictures, so I whipped some up with some MCT products.
First, I used the Stiched 4x6 Journal Die to make my title card, adding a strip of cute chevron paper from the Carta Bella Ahoy There patterned paper pack at the bottom. I spelled out "Homecoming" using letters from the Alpha Pack stamp set. Finally, I embellished the card with the Stitched Heart Background Die and added a couple of die cut hearts, using the dies included in that set.
For my next two cards, I used the Stitched Journal Die. This card is for journaling, so I kept it mostly blank, but added some patterned paper down the side, die cut with one of the Stitched Bracket Dies. "Beautiful" is from the Just Simply Live set, and again I added hearts made with the Stitched Heart Background Dies.
Lastly, I made a card that has stripes down the side made with the Geo Borders stamp set and then a football and sentiment from the Touchdown set. I'm happy to have another page finished in my album!
Products used on these cards:


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To fight in a war is to risk everything you hold dear. The enemy will show no mercy and they will leave no survivors. To kill them is an act of kindness. One of them dead means one of your men that will survive.
It was these thoughts alone that helped the boy as he crept his way alone the burnt red ground, his boots heavy, splaying dust into the air with every step. This wasn't the first mission that Jack had undertaken alone, but with the weight of his newest discovery weighing heavily on his shoulders, it was hard not to feel the panic of not returning home sneaking in. More than once he found himself watching over his shoulder, sure he'd heard someone scurrying lightly through the dry bushes.
The heat from the burning red sun was making him sweat, penetrating through his thick black jacket and his combat trousers, his feet slipping around in his over-sized boots.
A crack filled the air and Jack felt himself freeze, his joints seizing up like un-oiled cogs, any thoughts he had of returning home sifting away. His grip tightened on his gun, his breathing slowing down, almost instinctively, as he readied himself to turn and face his pursuer, but before he even had the chance to turn, he felt the cool gab of a gun barrel against the back of his neck, and knew all was lost. Dropping his weapon, he felt as the gun fell back against his thigh. Lifting his hands into the air, Jack turned slowly to meet what would most likely be his demise.]
Closing his eyes, he thought once more about the girl he'd left at home, imagining her long black hair as she tied it up messily, her soft, blue, almond shaped eyes and the way they sparkled as she rubbed her still flat stomach with joy.
With that last thought, he opened his eyes.
"Got'cha!" a voice said with a laugh, a slightly harsh, mocking voice that made Jack sigh both internally and externally.
"You're a prick, Hannah, I hope you know that." He said, relaxing his entire body as the girl in front of him laughed, the sound echoing around the baron wasteland.
"You didn't really think I was going to hurt you, did you?" she asked, pulling the green bandana from over her mouth down around her neck, her eyes looking up at him mockingly. Hannah had always looked the same to him. She had the potential to be a very pretty girl, but the tough exterior and the ruggedness of her appearance gave off amore careless, sexy look. Her auburn hair was cut short, just below her jaw line, and jagged, like it'd been done with a blade (Which it most likely had), her body was slim, just like everybody else who worked in the resistance due to the lack of food, but she still curved nicely where she could beneath her tattered and baggy clothing. Yet the thing that truly made her stand out were her eyes, big and round, a blue-grey colour that were in a constant state of mocking of cynicism, never serious despite the harsh world around them.
"Honestly, I wouldn't put it past you. But I didn't know you were you," He replied, running a hand through his scruffy brown hair, making it stick up at strange angles.
"Then you're not as good a hunter as you think you are, Jackie," she said, punching his arm playfully.
"Did Sam send you out to help?" Jack asked to distract from the throbbing pain now in his arm – Hannah his a lot harder than she thought she did. When she replied simply with her signature smirk he knew what was happening. "Of course he didn't, he's got no idea you're here, does he?"
"Nope!" Hannah replied, throwing her arms out and popping the 'P' with her chapped and dry lips. "He doesn't really like to let me out of his sight anymore." She said with a half hearted shrug.
"So you snuck out? Why can't you just spend time with Amy or Lucy?" he asked, clearly not comfortable with the risk that came with helping Hannah sneak out from her brothers radar.
"Because they're only friends with me because they have to be. They cant possibly like me." She said with a harsh laugh.
"Amy likes you! You're both a similar age." Jack said weakly. Hannah gave him a look that just screamed 'dumb-ass'.
"That doesn't mean you can put us in a play pen and make us play happy families." She said bitterly. "I've never got on very well with other girls. I grew up with boys." She said blunt enough that you could almost overlook the sadness in her voice – almost. "So what are we doing anyway?" She asked.
"I can't tell you that," Jack said, picking his gun back up so it rested comfortably in his arms and beginning to walk back in the direction he'd began.
"Then how'd you expect me to help?" Hannah said, skipping sideways awkwardly to try and catch up.
"I don't," Jack replied bluntly, "I expect you to go back and play happy families with Amy and Lucy." He said, laughing at the way she scowled at him.
"First off, Lucy is thirty-five years old; I don't think she's into playing games right now. And secondly, Amy's too busy prepping for your happy family so I think you've got more to lose on this mission if you go it alone."
Jack stopped still in his strides, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"She told you?" He asked, looking down at the older girl that was only a couple of inches shorter than she was.
"She didn't have to," Hannah replied, besides, she tells me everything."
"I thought you didn't get along with girls?" Jack asked as she began walking again, this time not tying to outrun the auburn girl beside him, allowing her to walk normally again.
"I don't. But there's not a lot of options in our little 'clan'" she said, air quoting with her hands. "We just love the ones we're with." She said with a shrug.
"What is it about the idea of someone actually caring for you that scares you so much?" Jack asked as Hannah became increasingly interested in her own gun, fiddling with the straps and checking the barrel.
"I've seen too many people I care about lose somebody they love, and I've seen how it tears them apart. I've vowed never to do that to anyone."
"So instead of keeping yourself safe, you've decided not to let them care bout you?" Jack asked, abashed by the girls logic.
"Basically," she replied with a shrug.
"Well I don't think it's working," Jack said with a kind smile and Hannah even tried to return it before her eye's caught something just over a ridge.
"Get down!" she said, shoving Jack so he landed harshly on the ground, a cloud of red dust flying up around them, the scent of Cigarette smoke and something muskier filling Jack's nose from where Hannah was half laying on top of him, holding him to the ground.
"Are you insane!" Jack half shouted but Hannah covered his mouth with her hand, feeling the movement of his mouth as he tried to shout a string of profanities, only for the muffling effect of her palm to take hold. Only when he saw warning look in her eyes as she pointed silently over the ridge she'd shoved them behind did he finally stop. Slowly, they both began to get up, peeking over the ridge down into the valley below. It wasn't a big drop, only about five feet, but at the centre of the dip sat what was clearly once an old warehouse from before the war that now had clearly been upgraded with silver plating against the windows and heavily armoured guards standing on each door they could see.
"Now do you want to tell me what the fuck we're doing here?" Hannah hissed in Jack's ear as his breathing increased rapidly. Jack tried to suppress it, but he couldn't help but smile. Something about the way Hannah swore like a sailor always got to him, even if the others barely noticed it anymore.
"The other day I stumbled upon a warehouse like this one to the West, I think it's where they're taking the people." He said and Hannah's eyes widened in shock. People from the resistance had been disappearing since before the war had even begun. No one knew where they went or what happened to them when they were there, but what disappeared as a human returned a monster.
"Is that where they-" Hannah began, unable to finish her sentence, so Jack merely nodded. "Like Pat's son?" she questioned and was greeted by another nod. "And we're about to storm in on a hunch that they're in there?" she asked and Jack nodded once again as Hannah's already large eyes widened more so that the red sun reflected off of them, turning her iris' a peculiar shade of orange.
"Bet you wished you stayed home now," Jack said with a weak laugh, trying to hide his fear." But Hannah smiled back widely.
"Not a chance." She said.
"It's going to be dangerous."
"Too late to run back now,"
"We could get killed, or worse,"
"We're sitting ducks anyway,"
"There really isn't any chance in hell in deterring you is there?" Jack said with a laugh and Hannah found her self joining in.
"Hell is empty, Jack," she said with a smile before pulling her bandana back over her mouth, her auburn hair falling so that only here eyes showed. "All the devils are here." She said sincerely and he nodded. They may never have seen the monsters that had destroyed their once beautiful world, but they knew enough to be sure they were monsters.
"If we go down, Hannah, we go down-" he began but Hannah interrupted.
"Fighting." She said determinedly.
"That," Jack said with a laugh. "And we go together." He said, holding his hand out towards her. He couldn't see her mouth, but he knew she was smirking at him as she clasped her hand around his, her fingerless gloves scratching his palm.
"Together." she echoed.
Are you enjoying my ongoing story? Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Thanks, sharkyclarky97Write a Review


text:
Steve Carell was born in Acton, Massachusettes and originally wanted to be a radio broadcaster. However, Carell soon switched to acting and joined the Chicago troupe The Second City in 1991, where Stephen Colbert was his understudy.
In 1996 he joined the cast of the ill-fated The Dana Carvey Show and then in 1997 lent his voice to the popular SNL animated skit The Ambigulously Gay Duo alongside Stephen Colbert. However, it was his role as a correspondent on The Daily Show from 1999 to 2004 that would lead him to mainstream success.
While on the Daily Show, Carrel began his film career with roles in Evan Almighty and eventually writing and starring in The 40 Year Old Virgin.
With his new found success, Carrel got the lead in NBC's remake of the British television show, The Office.
Since then Carrel has become a regular Hollywood A-lister and is even considered a member of Hollywood's Frat Pack.
In his personal life, Carell is married to Nancy Walls and they have two children together, Elisabeth Anne and John.
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text:
Apollo 15 postal covers incident
|Part of a series on
|Apollo 15
The Apollo 15 postal covers incident, a 1972 NASA scandal, involved the astronauts of Apollo 15, who carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers into space and to the Moon's surface on the Lunar Module Falcon. Some of the envelopes were sold at high prices by West German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger, and are known as "Sieger covers". The crew of Apollo 15—David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin—agreed to take payments for carrying the covers; though they returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA. Amid much press coverage of the incident, the astronauts were called before a closed session of a Senate committee and never flew in space again.
The three astronauts and an acquaintance, Horst Eiermann, had agreed to have the covers made and taken into space. Each astronaut was to receive about $7,000 (equivalent to $49,000 in 2022[1]). Scott arranged to have the covers postmarked on the morning of the Apollo 15 launch on July 26, 1971. They were packaged for space and brought to him as he prepared for liftoff; he brought them aboard in a pocket of his space suit. They were not included on the list of the personal items he was taking into space. The covers spent July 30 to August 2 on the Moon inside Falcon. On August 7, the date of splashdown, the covers were postmarked again on the recovery carrier USS Okinawa. One hundred were sent to Eiermann (and passed on to Sieger); the remaining covers were divided among the astronauts.
Worden had agreed to carry 144 additional covers, largely for an acquaintance, F. Herrick Herrick; these had been approved for travel to space. Apollo 15 carried a total of approximately 641 covers. In late 1971, when NASA learned that the Herrick covers were being sold, the astronauts' supervisor, Deke Slayton, warned Worden to avoid further commercialization of what he had been allowed to take into space. After Slayton heard of the Sieger arrangement, he removed the three as backup crew members for Apollo 17, though the astronauts had by then returned compensation from Sieger. The Sieger matter became generally known in the newspapers in June 1972. There was widespread coverage; some commentators argued that astronauts should not be allowed to reap personal profits from NASA missions.
By 1977, all three former astronauts had left NASA. In February 1983, Worden sued, alleging the seizure of the envelopes without a hearing had violated the Constitution. The Department of Justice concluded it had no grounds for fighting the suit, and the government returned all the covers in an out-of-court settlement that July. One of the postal covers given to Sieger sold for over $50,000 in 2014 (equivalent to $62,000 in 2022[1]).
After the start of the Space Age with the launch of Sputnik I on October 4, 1957, astrophilately (space-related stamp collecting) began. Nations such as the United States and USSR issued commemorative postage stamps depicting spacecraft and satellites. Astrophilately was most popular during the years of the Apollo program's Moon landings from 1969 to 1972.[2] Collectors and dealers sought philatelic souvenirs related to the American space flight program, often through specially-designed envelopes (known as covers). Cancelling covers submitted by the public became a major duty of the employees of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) post office on space mission launch days.[3]
The American astronauts participated in creating collectables. Beginning in the late 1960s, Harold G. Collins, head of the Mission Support Office at KSC,[a] arranged for specially designed envelopes to be printed for the different missions, and to be canceled on the launch dates.[4] Such unflown philatelic covers were often gifts for the astronauts' friends, or for employees of NASA and its contractors.[5] Although it was not publicly known until September 1972, 15 of the men who entered space as Apollo program astronauts before Apollo 15 had agreed with a West German named Horst Eiermann to autograph 500 philatelic items (postcards and blocks of stamps) in exchange for $2,500. This included a member of each mission between Apollo 7 (1968) and Apollo 13 (1970). These items were not taken into space.[6]
The astronauts were allowed to take Personal Preference Kits (PPKs) into space with them. These small bags, with their contents limited in size and weight, contained personal items the astronauts wanted to be flown as souvenirs of the mission. As the spaceflights moved toward and culminated in the Moon landings, the public's fascination with items flown in space increased, as did their value.[7]
Covers were prepared by the crews and flown on Apollo 11, Apollo 13 and Apollo 14. Ed Mitchell, lunar module pilot for Apollo 14, took his to the Moon's surface in a PPK.[8] These were often retained by the astronauts for many years; Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong kept his until he died, and they were not offered for sale until 2018,[9] when one sold for $156,250.[10]
The Apollo 15 mission began when the Saturn V launch vehicle blasted off from KSC on July 26, 1971, and ended when the astronauts and the Command Module Endeavour were recovered by the helicopter carrier USS Okinawa on August 7. Onboard Endeavour were Mission Commander David Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin. The Lunar Module Falcon, with Scott and Irwin aboard, landed on the Moon on July 30, and remained there for just under 67 hours. The mission set several space records and was the first to use the lunar rover. Scott and Irwin rode it to explore the area around the landing site during three periods of extravehicular activity (EVA).[11] On August 2, before finishing the final EVA and entering the Lunar Module, Scott used a special postmarking device to cancel a first day cover provided by the United States Postal Service bearing two new stamps,[b] whose designs depicted lunar astronauts and a rover, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Americans entering space.[c][12] That cover was returned to the Postal Service after the mission,[13] and is now in the Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum.[12]
Eiermann knew a stamp dealer named Hermann Sieger from Lorch, West Germany.[14] The two had met by chance while on a bus to observe the launch of Apollo 12 in late 1969; Eiermann heard by Sieger's Swabian inflection that they were from the same part of Germany, and invited him to his house. Sieger got the idea for the lunar covers after hearing that the Apollo 12 astronauts had taken a Bible with them. When Sieger learned that Eiermann knew many astronauts, he proposed that an Apollo crew be persuaded to take covers to the Moon. Eiermann did not think astronauts would take money to do so, but agreed to ask them when Sieger characterized the payments as investments for the astronauts' children. Eiermann did not mention Sieger's name in his approach to the astronauts.[15][16]
Eiermann lived in Cocoa Beach, Florida at the time of Apollo 15, and was a local representative of Los Angeles-based Dyna-Therm Corporation,[17] which was a NASA contractor.[18] According to Scott's autobiography, one night several months before launch, the astronauts' supervisor, Director of Flight Crew Operations Deke Slayton, had Scott and the other crew members come to dinner at Eiermann's house; Scott described Eiermann as a longtime friend of Slayton.[19] Worden, in his autobiography, agreed that the crew was invited to dinner there, but described Scott as inviting his crewmates, and did not mention involvement by Slayton.[20] In his testimony before a congressional committee in 1972, Scott described Eiermann as a "friend of ours", someone with whom he had dined and who knew many people at KSC, including a number of the astronauts.[21] Scott also told the committee that he had met Eiermann at a party, rather than through another astronaut.[22]
At the dinner, Eiermann proposed the astronauts carry 100 special stamp covers, to be flown to the Moon. Worden stated that he and Irwin, who had not previously gone into space, were assured that this was common practice. Worden recalled that the astronauts were told the covers would not be sold until some time in the future after the Apollo program had ended. They would receive $7,000 each. They were informed that other Apollo crews had made and profited from similar agreements. Earlier astronauts had been given free life insurance by Life magazine. This benefit was no longer available by the time of Apollo 15. Worden wrote that to ensure their families were provided for given the severe risks and dangers of their profession, the astronauts agreed to the deal, planning to put the payments aside as funds for their children.[23][24] At the time, Scott earned $2,199 a month ($13,000 as of 2020) as an astronaut, Worden $1,715 and Irwin $2,235.[25]
According to Scott, the astronauts also decided the covers would make good gifts and requested an additional 100 each for a total of 400 covers. Scott indicated in his testimony that after discussion with his crewmates, he expected the covers to be a "very private and noncommercial enterprise." He added: "I admit that this is wrong. I understand it very clearly now. But at the time, for some naive and thoughtless reason, I did not understand the significance of it."[26] Irwin wrote in his autobiography that the initial meeting with Eiermann took place in May 1971, and that the astronauts met with him twice thereafter.[27] Eiermann relayed instructions from Sieger on how to prepare the covers: they were to be postmarked twice, at KSC on the date of launch and on the recovery ship on the date of splashdown, and carry a signed statement from the astronauts with a certification from a notary.[15] The certification would make the covers more sellable in Europe, where a notary is a legal professional who often verifies the document, not just the signatures.[28]
An additional 144 covers were flown pursuant to an understanding between Worden and F. Herrick Herrick of Miami, a retired movie director and a stamp collector.[29] According to a letter reporting on the stamp incident from NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Clinton P. Anderson, Herrick was a friend of the three astronauts who had arranged for Worden, also a stamp collector, to buy an album full of stamps and proposed the astronauts take covers into space. These would be split and set aside for some years, and then sold.[30] In his book Worden said he had been introduced to Herrick at lunch by former race car driver Jim Rathmann,[d] and that Herrick proposed the plan. Worden also related his insistence the covers must be held, unsold and unpublicized, until after the Apollo program had ended, and he had retired from NASA and the Air Force. "I didn't want to do anything that would embarrass either myself or NASA, and I believed Herrick was as good as his word. It was a huge lapse in judgment on my part to trust this stranger. I was too old to believe in Santa Claus."[31] In his 1972 testimony before the Senate committee, Worden described Herrick as a friend with whom he had had past dealings, and with whom he discussed the possibility of commemorative covers.[32] According to a 1978 Justice Department report, before the Apollo 15 flight Herrick advised Worden that taking covers to the Moon would be a prudent investment because they would be valuable to stamp collectors.[33]
While Scott and his crewmates were completing their mission training, a controversy developed within NASA and Congress over some of the souvenir silver medallions the crew of Apollo 14 had carried to the Moon. The private Franklin Mint, which had supplied the medallions in question, melted down some of those that had been flown. These were mixed with a large quantity of other metal, and commemorative medallions were struck from the mass, used as a premium to attract people to pay to join the Franklin Mint Collector's Club. The fact that some part of the medals had flown to the Moon was used in the mint's advertisements.[34][35] Because the Apollo 14 crew had accepted no money, they were not disciplined.[36] Slayton reduced the number of medallions each member of Apollo 15 could take along by half.[34] He warned the Apollo 15 crew against carrying any items into space that could make money for them or others.[36] In August 1965, Slayton had issued regulations requiring that items astronauts planned to carry be listed, approved by him, and checked for safety in space if similar items had not already been flown.[37] Each crew member was bound by NASA standards of conduct issued in 1967 forbidding using one's position to make money for oneself or another person.[38]
Creation and spaceflight[edit]
Eiermann was supposed to create the cachet for the special covers he had proposed, but time ran short and Scott did it instead. He used the Apollo 15 mission patch to create the design, and gave it to Collins of the Mission Support Office. Collins arranged with the Brevard Printing Company of Cocoa, Florida for the design to be reproduced on both regular and lightweight envelopes. The company performed the work and billed Alvin B. Bishop Jr. $156 for the lightweight envelopes and $209 for the regular ones.[39] Bishop, a public relations executive who specialized in the aerospace industry, and knew many astronauts, created specially designed covers for a number of the Apollo missions, which he supplied only to the crew and their families.[23] He was at the time employed by Hughes Enterprises in Las Vegas; the company paid the bill.[40]
Herrick secured the services of a commercial artist, Vance Johnson,[41] with whom Worden discussed the design, resulting in 100 envelopes depicting the phases of the Moon. Worden listed these covers as part of the contents of his PPK for Slayton's approval, along with 44 first day covers that he owned.[42][43] Ad-Pro Graphics, Inc. of Miami printed the Herrick envelopes, along with card inserts stating the accompanying cover had been carried on Apollo 15. Herrick paid the firm's bill of $50.50; he also obtained the postage stamps for the covers, and two rubber stamps stating the dates of the launch and splashdown.[44] The design was printed on labels that were affixed to the envelopes.[45] Not all Herrick covers are identical, as different cachets, rubber stamp impressions and combinations of postage stamps were used.[46] Worden also carried a cover postmarked in 1928, autographed by aviation pioneer Orville Wright.[47]
In addition to those brought by Scott and by Worden, Irwin carried 96 covers, one with a "flown-to-the-Moon" theme, eight with an Apollo 15 design, and 87 covers honoring Apollo 12, carried as a favor for Barbara Gordon, wife of Apollo 12 astronaut Dick Gordon.[48][49] Barbara Gordon, a stamp collector, had wanted her husband to take the covers on his lunar mission, but he had refused.[50] The flown-to-the-moon cover was a favor for a friend of Dick Gordon.[45] Apollo 15 carried the cover from the Postal Service to be canceled on the surface of the Moon. The agency also sent a backup, stowed in the Command Module with another cancellation device,[e] for use on the homeward journey if Scott did not get to postmark the lunar cover.[51]
All covers except the group of 400 had been approved by Slayton,[52] who stated in his testimony that he would almost certainly have approved them if asked (assuming their weight could be negotiated with the Flight Manager), on condition that they stay in the Command Module and not go to the lunar surface.[53] In July 1972, after the story broke, William Hines of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that "the idea that this complicated caper could have been carried out without the knowledge and at least tacit permission of Slayton is regarded by people familiar with NASA as ludicrous. Slayton's tight rein over his sometimes fractious charges is legendary".[54]
The crew bought several hundred of the ten-cent First Man on the Moon postage stamp issue.[f][5] These were affixed to the lightweight envelopes by secretaries in the Astronaut Office.[55] Collins had made arrangements for the KSC post office to open at 1:00 am EDT on launch day—opening this facility so early on an Apollo launch morning was not unusual—and brought several hundred of the stamped covers. Once the envelopes had been run through the cancellation machine, he took them to the astronaut quarters, where members of the Flight Crew Support Team vacuum sealed them in Teflon-covered fiberglass to fireproof them for space. Normally, if the Flight Crew Support Team found that an item was not on an astronaut's PPK list, they would add it, and make sure it was approved, but team leader James L. Smotherman stated that he "goofed", explaining that he had confused the 400 covers with the Herrick envelopes, which had been approved by Slayton.[56][57][58] Since the 400 covers had not been approved by Slayton, they were considered unauthorized.[45] Scott stated, "I never intended to bootleg the covers. If I had intended to bootleg the covers, I certainly would not have allowed Mr. Collins to handle them or the rest of the people to assist me."[59] Like other items being placed in the pockets on Scott's space suit (for example, his sunglasses), they were first shown to him by the suit technicians helping him dress.[60] Divided into two packets, the bundled covers were about 2 in (5 cm) thick and weighed about 850 g (30 oz); they entered the spacecraft in Scott's pocket.[61] Apollo 15 blasted off for the Moon at 9:34 am on July 26, 1971, with three astronauts[62] and about 641 covers aboard.[g][63]
At some point while the mission was en route to the Moon, the 400 covers were moved into the lunar lander Falcon; in his testimony, Scott agreed this violated the rules. He stated he did not recall how the transfer took place, and that he was only certain that the envelopes went to the lunar surface because they were in the bag of items taken out of the Falcon in preparation for the return to Earth. Worden stated in his testimony that they were aware of the presence of the covers in the Command Module after the mission's launch, but he did not recall if the covers had been among the many items moved into the Falcon in preparation for the lunar landing; he did not believe the matter had been discussed during the flight.[64] He wrote in his autobiography that the night he had agreed to the deal with Eiermann "was the last I heard or thought of about the covers until after the flight ... What arrangements Dave [Scott], Eiermann, and Sieger made to get the covers onto the flight, I never knew until later. Dave later told a congressional committee that he had placed them in a pocket of his spacesuit, but he never shared that information with me".[65] He indicated that the covers he had arranged to have on board, including those from Herrick, remained in his PPK in the Command Module throughout the flight.[66] The testimony before Congress, from multiple individuals including Apollo 15 astronauts, was that carrying the covers did not interfere with the mission in any way.[67]
[Scott:] What's that, Jim?
[Irwin:] No!
[Worden:] Good. Very good.
[Scott:] Okay?
[Worden:] Yes. You got to – yes. We've already signed those, haven't we? We haven't signed these? It really doesn't make much difference, does it?
[Scott:] No.
[Worden:] We don't really have to sign them now I guess. We can do that anytime.
[Worden (continuing):] Yes, those – those covers would have been infinitely more valuable, I think.
[Scott:] Oh, well.
[Worden:] Maybe, Dave, it's just as well we didn't.
[Irwin:] Okay.
NASA, Apollo 15 Command Module Onboard Voice Transcription, p. 267. August 3, 1971, 1:56:11 pm through 1:57:21 pm EDT (mission time 196:22:11 through 196:23:21), aboard Endeavour in lunar orbit above the far side of the Moon
Apollo 15 splashed down about 335 miles (539 km) north of Honolulu at 4:46 pm EDT (UTC–04:00) on August 7, 1971; the crew was retrieved by helicopters from the Okinawa.[11] Scott had asked that a supply of the twin space stamps of the design he had canceled on the Moon (issued August 2) be available on the Okinawa, and on July 14, Forrest J. Rhodes, who ran the postal facility at KSC, wrote to the Chief Petty Officer in charge of the Okinawa's post office. The ship replied on the 20th, saying the stamps could be obtained in time.[68] The stamps were secured from the post office at Pearl Harbor;[69] 4,000 were flown to the Okinawa at sea by helicopter,[56] reportedly in the custody of a naval officer joining the vessel.[70] The astronauts had no money with them; their purchases were paid for by high-ranking officers aboard the Okinawa, who were later reimbursed. The crew had the assistance of Okinawa crew members in affixing the stamps to the 400 covers for cancellation by the ship's post office.[71] The Irwin covers were not postmarked, either at liftoff or splashdown.[46] Worden wrote in his book that he never saw the covers Scott had brought until the astronauts were on the flight to Houston. However, as Scott mentioned he was having them postmarked with the splashdown date, Worden arranged to have that done for the ones he had taken into space. On the flight, the 400 covers were autographed by the three astronauts;[72] the Herrick covers were also signed while en route.[73] Irwin remembered the signing took several hours.[74]
Distribution and scandal[edit]
On August 31, 1971, C.G. Carsey, a clerk in the Astronaut Office in Houston, typed certifications on 100 of the covers, with the aid of other NASA employees in her office. The certifications stated the cover had been on the Moon aboard the Falcon. The covers already carried a handwritten statement signed by Scott and Irwin that they had been landed on the Moon on July 30. Carsey later stated that in signing the certifications as a Texas notary public, she only intended to certify their signatures were genuine.[75] The question of whether Carsey had improperly certified that the covers had been landed on the Moon (something she had no personal knowledge of) was the subject of an investigation by the Texas Attorney General.[76] With the notary certifications, the last of Sieger's requirements for the covers was fulfilled.[15] On September 2, Scott sent the 100 covers by registered mail to Eiermann, who was in Stuttgart, where he had moved. Eiermann turned the covers over to Sieger, and was rewarded with a commission of about $15,000—ten percent of the anticipated proceeds.[77] The remaining 300 were entrusted by the astronauts to a Houston-area stamp collector who arranged with a local printer to have an inscription stating that the cover had been carried to the Moon printed in the upper left. The printer discovered there were 298 covers, not 300; the stamp collector consulted Scott, who told him not to worry about it.[78] One of Irwin's covers from the group of eight, with a shamrock design as its cachet, was given to Rhodes and one to the president of the Kennedy Space Center Philatelic Society; Irwin said in 1972 that he had retained the other six.[79]
Sieger notified his customers of the flown covers via a mailing, selling them at DM 4,850 (about $1,500 at the time), with a discount to those who bought more than one. He kept one for himself, and by November had sold the remaining 99.[80] He numbered and signed the backs of the envelopes in the lower left as a token of their genuineness.[70]
Worden recalled in his book that he sent the agreed number of 44 covers to Herrick soon after returning from space. He also sent him 60 belonging to himself for safekeeping,[81] and gave 28 to friends.[33] Herrick consigned 70 covers to Robert A. Siegel, a prominent New York dealer. Siegel sold ten covers for a total of $7,900, receiving a commission from Herrick of 25 percent. Herrick sold three himself for $1,250 each and placed several on commission in Europe.[82]
In late October 1971, a potential customer for one of the Herrick covers wrote to NASA to inquire about its authenticity. On November 5, Slayton responded, saying NASA could not confirm whether it was genuine. He warned Worden to ensure that his covers would not be further commercialized.[83] Worden wrote an angry letter to Herrick.[84] In June 1972, Herrick instructed Siegel to send 60 covers to Worden in Houston, which he did by registered mail. Until this point, Siegel had assumed the 60 covers belonged to Herrick.[83][85]
Probably before they made an official NASA trip to Europe in November 1971, the Apollo 15 astronauts received and completed the paperwork necessary to open accounts in a Stuttgart-area bank to receive the agreed $7,000 payments.[86] According to Scott's testimony, while they were in Europe, they heard the Sieger covers were being sold commercially. Scott called Eiermann, who promised to look into it. The astronauts indicated they received the bankbooks in early 1972.[86] Irwin remembered in his autobiography that before their trip to Europe, Scott came to him and said, "Jim, we are in trouble now—they are starting to sell the envelopes over there", and that the covers cast a shadow over their European trip.[87] Scott said the crew discussed it among themselves, then decided that the receipt of funds was improper. In late February they returned the bankbooks to Eiermann, who responded that the astronauts should receive something for their efforts.[88] Howard C. Weinberger, in his account of the Apollo 15 covers, deemed the astronauts' refusal "an effort to save their careers and reputations".[16] The crew initially agreed to accept albums filled with aerospace-themed stamps for their children, including issues in honor of Apollo 15. Scott related that they decided this too was improper and said they wanted nothing. This final refusal happened in April 1972.[28] Worden remembered, "we did this before NASA asked us anything about a deal with Sieger—before NASA even knew about it".[89]
Discussion of the covers in European philatelic publications alerted collectors in the United States.[90] On March 11, 1972, Lester Winick, president of a group of collectors of space stamps and covers known as the Space Topics Study Group, sent a letter to NASA's general counsel asking a number of questions about the Sieger covers. The letter was forwarded for a response to Slayton, who casually mentioned it to Irwin in late March; Irwin told him to talk to Scott.[91] Slayton spoke with Worden on the assumption that the covers referred to were among the group of 144, but Worden told him this was not necessarily the case and that he should talk to Scott. Slayton did talk to Scott in mid-April, just before the launch of Apollo 16. Scott told him there had been 400 covers not on the approved list, and that 100 had been given to a friend.[92] In his autobiography, Slayton wrote that he confronted Scott and Worden about what he called a "regular goddamn scandal": "they told me what the deal was, and I got pretty goddamn angry. So I was through with Scott, Worden, and Irwin. After 16 splashed down, I kicked them off the backup crew for 17."[93] One reason for Slayton's anger was that he had defended the astronauts as rumors of the high prices being paid for the covers circulated; according to Andrew Chaikin in his history of the Apollo program, Slayton "went out on a limb to defend his people".[94] Slayton wrote to Winick, stating that the spacecraft had carried covers, but NASA could not confirm these particular envelopes had been taken; he did not tell Winick unauthorized covers had been flown. He sent a copy of his response to the general counsel's office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, which took no action. Slayton did not inform Administrator Fletcher, Deputy Administrator George M. Low or his own superior, Christopher C. Kraft of the postage stamp incident or of the disciplinary action he had taken.[h][95]
In early June 1972, Low heard from a member of his staff of the possibility covers flown on Apollo 15 might have been sold in Europe. He asked Associate Administrator Dale D. Myers to enquire through NASA management channels for information. Low kept Fletcher informed of the situation as it developed. Myers made an interim report to Low on the 16th. Before he could make his final report on the 26th, the story broke with an article in The Washington Sunday Star on June 18. Kraft interviewed Scott on the 23rd. Low ordered a full investigation by NASA's Inspections Division on June 29.[96]
According to Low in his personal notes, during the investigation, Scott, who had to that point maintained that the astronauts had never intended to profit from the Sieger covers, disclosed the information about the German bank accounts. Once the facts had been developed, Low consulted with Fletcher, Kraft, Slayton and others regarding whether to expel the three men from the Astronaut Corps and return them to the Air Force, to reprimand them and retain them within NASA outside the corps, or to reprimand them but allow them to remain astronauts. Low accepted Kraft's recommendation to reprimand the astronauts, and to state that their actions would be taken into consideration in their future assignments. Low asked to meet with the crew members before making a final decision, and this took place on July 10, Scott and Worden individually at Low's Washington office and Irwin by telephone. All admitted the basic facts, with Scott making "the point for the first time that his intention had really been to use the funds for a trust fund for his children, and not for any direct personal use".[97] Worden, also admitting the facts, stated that he felt he had "taken most of the beating", and in a way was relieved the full story was being aired.[97] Irwin, who had already decided to leave NASA, expressed his concern for Scott's future.[97]
Later on July 10, the three astronauts were reprimanded for poor judgment,[96][98] something that made it extremely unlikely that they would be selected to fly in space again.[99] Richard S. Lewis, in his early history of the Apollo program, noted that "in the atmosphere of wheeling and dealing that has characterized government agency-industrial contractor relations in the Space Age, the unauthorized freight that the Apollo 15 crew hauled to the moon was a boyish prank. In the rhetoric of space program critics, though, it was branded as exploitation for personal gain of the most costly technological development in history. In the press, the astronauts were treated like fallen angels."[100] Kraft remembered in his memoirs that Slayton told him, "They did it. There was no hiding. Dave just said sure, nothing wrong with it, right?"[101] Scott, while stating, "we made a mistake in even considering it",[102] felt that the reaction "was turning into a witch-hunt".[103] Worden, though admitting blame for entering into the deal, felt that NASA had not adequately supported him, and that Scott had not taken full responsibility for his role.[104] He believed that Slayton would not have required them to leave the Astronaut Corps if left to himself, but that Kraft had insisted.[105] Irwin, who would become an evangelist after leaving the Astronaut Corps, said that NASA had no choice but to reprimand them. He hoped he could turn the experience to use in his ministry, that it would help him empathize with others who had erred.[106]
The hearings themselves did not go well at all. [NASA Inspections Division director Bartley A. Fugler] made a very poor witness. He was imprecise, vague, and just did not look like a strong investigator. Fletcher and I took a severe beating on NASA's administrative procedures. Chris Kraft took a very offensive approach to the Committee, which of course, annoyed the Committee. Deke made a fairly good witness, but the Committee did not believe his story. The astronauts themselves appeared to be even more naïve than they actually were.
NASA Deputy Administrator George M. Low[107]
In mid-July, the media reported on the dispute over the sculpture Fallen Astronaut, left on the Moon by Scott in tribute to those killed in the American and Soviet space programs; the sculptor was having copies made for public sale, over the astronauts' objection.[108] Due to the increasing publicity surrounding the incident, and concerned about the appearance of commercialization of Apollo 15, the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences set a hearing for August 3. It called a number of NASA employees including the astronauts, Slayton, Kraft, Fletcher and Low to appear.[109] Fletcher and Low had tried to talk Senator Anderson out of having a hearing, but the chairman insisted.[110] Worden remembered that while there were difficult questions asked about the astronauts' conduct, part of the committee's concern was why NASA management had allowed another incident to happen so quickly after the Apollo 14 Franklin Mint matter. Members also wanted to know how it was that NASA's chain of command permitted allegations against the astronauts to go unreported to senior management.[111] Because of the efforts of Fletcher and Low,[110] Anderson invoked a rarely used Senate rule for when testimony might impact the reputation of witnesses or others, closing the hearing to the public.[112] Kraft recalled that while he and Low were grilled by the committee, the senators treated the astronauts "like gods".[113]
The other astronauts were divided in their opinions. Some saw it as simply a dumb mistake. Others thought Scott, as mission commander, should be court-martialed. To some, it was a gray area. Astronauts had sold their autographs, for example, and profited in other less dramatic ways from their fame. But this time, there was so much money involved, and it had all become so public. It had tarnished the astronaut corps. That it had all been done by earnest, straight-arrow Dave Scott, whose mission had been such a high point for Apollo, only made the shock greater ... Whatever the astronauts thought of the stamp affair, the damage was done ... For better or for worse, the myth of the Perfect Astronaut had crumbled.
Andrew Chaikin, A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts (1995 edition), pp. 497–498
None of the Apollo 15 crew flew in space again.[114] Given that the reprimands meant they would likely never be promoted by the Air Force, they were offered other positions at NASA where their skills could be used.[115] Scott was made a technical adviser on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (the first joint mission with the Soviet Union) and retired from the Air Force in 1975. He became director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, retiring from NASA in October 1977 and entering the private sector. Worden transferred to NASA's Ames Research Center in California, remaining there until his 1975 retirement both from the Air Force and NASA, and then entered the private sector.[116][117] Irwin retired in 1972 and founded an evangelical group.[118]
Fletcher asked astronauts still with NASA, and even those who were not, such as Apollo 7's Wally Schirra, to turn in all flown covers in their possession to NASA pending a determination of whether they were government property.[119] Kraft related that there was resistance from astronauts, but "we confiscated them, sometimes under duress".[120] These covers were returned when the Justice Department chose to take no action, "and whatever happened to them was kept quiet".[121] Among the astronauts interviewed in NASA's investigation was Apollo 13's Jack Swigert, who denied any dealings with envelopes; after he subsequently admitted he had, Low removed him from Apollo-Soyuz.[122]
Kraft suspended some fifteen astronauts who "had broken faith with us and ignored a standing order from Deke"; some, having apologized and served their suspensions, flew on Skylab in the mid-1970s.[120] The covers affair resulted in prejudice in the Air Force against former astronauts (all three Apollo 15 astronauts had served there). This deterred Apollo 14's Stu Roosa from returning to the Air Force when he left NASA, leading him to go into business instead.[123] Although Apollo 16's Charles Duke had taken covers to the lunar surface in April 1972, changes to the PPK procedures instituted by NASA meant that none were taken on Apollo 17 that December.[8] Today, astronauts are forbidden by federal regulation from taking philatelic items into space as mementos.[124]
The remaining covers in the Apollo 15 astronauts' control (298 from the group of 400[i] and 61 more from Worden[j]) were held by NASA during the investigation; Worden said he surrendered them at Kraft's request on the understanding they would be returned once the investigation was over, but the covers were transferred to the National Archives in August 1973.[125] There was a Justice Department investigation into the covers. Its Criminal Division decided in 1974 that no prosecution was warranted, but the Civil Division the following year assumed the covers would be retained by the government.[126] Kraft wrote, "it was questionable that any law had been broken and [the Justice Department] realized that dragging astronauts into court would not be a popular pastime."[120]
In December 1978, the Justice Department issued a report indicating that while the government might have some claim to the Herrick covers (due to the appearance of having been made for profit), it probably did not have any claim to the 298 remaining covers, which the astronauts had said were intended as gifts.[127] The department sent a secret memo to NASA that same year, effectively stating that the government took the covers without "any legal proceedings against the astronauts," and in the process "may have violated their constitutional rights," according to a press source in the Justice Department.[128] In 1979, the department informed NASA that it had concluded that the government would likely lose if the astronauts sued for the covers. There was opposition among senators to the covers being returned, and in February 1980 Howard Cannon of Nevada introduced a joint resolution that the government should keep the covers because of their commercialization and advise the Attorney General to "defend any civic action brought" regarding them.[129][130] It passed the Senate but died in the House of Representatives.[129]
In February 1983, Worden sued, alleging NASA violated the Constitution by seizing the covers without a hearing.[128] At this time, the Justice Department reminded NASA of its 1978 secret memo.[128] The government concluded NASA either approved the covers or knew they would be aboard Apollo 15 and, in an out-of-court settlement, returned all the envelopes to the three astronauts in July 1983.[128][131][132] The settlement was finalized on July 15, with the government agreeing to release the covers unconditionally, whereupon Worden's legal counsel would terminate the suit.[133] That same year, NASA announced plans to fly about 260,000 postal covers aboard the Space Shuttle STS-8 mission, with the U.S. Postal Service to sell them and split the profits with NASA;[134] Worden remarked in his 2011 memoirs that he was amused by this, pointing out that NASA's covers were intended for "unabashed commercial exploitation."[133]
In July 1983, the Associated Press reported on the government's return of the covers, describing how the Justice Department "decided it had no grounds for fighting" the suit and that Worden had agreed to dismiss it, with the 359 envelopes returned.[135] Justice Department lawyer John Seibert stated that NASA had either authorized the envelopes or knew they would be carried into space.[135] The Justice Department read a statement to The Washington Post, printed July 29, explaining how in its decision to return the 61 covers claimed by Worden, it also chose to return the other 298 that Scott and Irwin carried, dividing the latter equally between all three men.[128] Worden's lawyer, James Fleming, said the astronauts were "very happy" with the result. Lawyers also said the three men agreed among themselves not to sell the covers right away, keeping them as mementos and reminders of what had happened.[128] In 2013, Corey S. Powell and Laurie Gwen Shapiro of Slate magazine suggested that the 1978 investigation "largely exonerated" the astronauts, and opined that the return of the covers in 1983 effectively rescinded the accusations.[136]
Some of the covers were later sold by the astronauts. One of the group of 298 covers impounded by the government and owned by Scott sold at the January 2008 Novaspace auction for $15,000.[137][138] A Sieger cover sold in 2014 for over $55,000, the highest auction price to that point—the auctioneer noted that it was one of only four Sieger covers to come to public sale since the initial distribution.[16][139] Worden sold many of the returned Herrick covers to pay debts from his unsuccessful 1982 run for Congress.[16] When asked in 2011 where the covers were, he said, "Lord only knows. Some of them sold, some of them are still in a safety deposit box. They're probably all over the world by now."[114] In his memoir, Worden expressed remorse at what had happened, writing: "Even if I didn't break any formal rules, in hindsight I had broken an unspoken trust."[132] In a 2013 interview with Scott, Slate found that "he's vexed by lingering inaccuracies in the Wikipedia entry about the incidents. We ask: Why didn't he get a friend to log in and correct the entries? He responds with a startled pause. 'Is that right? I didn't know you could do that!' "[k][136]
Summary of covers[edit]
|Carried by
|Total produced and approval status
|100 (unauthorized)
|Mission logo
|7/26/71 at KSC; 8/7/71 USS Okinawa
|"Sieger covers": Notarized, handwritten statement in upper left. Carried to lunar surface.
|298 (unauthorized)
|Mission logo
|7/26/71 at KSC; 8/7/71 USS Okinawa
|Not notarized, printed endorsement in upper left. Carried to lunar surface.
|144 (authorized)
|"Phases of the Moon"
|8/7/71 USS Okinawa
|"Herrick covers": Carried in command module.
|1 (authorized)
|"First Flight"
|12/17/28 Jackson, MI
|Carried in command module. Autographed by Orville Wright.
|87 (authorized)
|Apollo 12
|12/10/69 Houston, TX
|Carried in command module. Signed by Apollo 12 astronauts.
|8 (authorized)
|Shamrock and lunar rover
|various, most 9/29/71 at KSC
|Carried in command module.
|1 (authorized)
|"Flown to the Moon"
|Not canceled
|Carried in command module.
|1 (authorized)
|8/2/71 on lunar surface
|USPS cover: Carried in lunar module. Now in National Postal Museum.
|1 (authorized)
|Not canceled
|USPS backup cover: Carried in command module.
See also[edit]
- Apollo insurance covers – unflown covers created by Apollo astronauts for sale by their families if they died while on the mission.
- Robbins medallions – space-flown medallions from the Gemini and Apollo flights.
- U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps § Space Achievement Decade Issue of 1971 (Apollo 15 mission commemorated)
- "The Man Who Sold the Moon" – Robert Heinlein's 1950 story about a privately funded lunar mission paid for, in part, by covers to be taken to the Moon.
- ^ An office whose duties included aiding astronauts in the time leading up to their spaceflights
- ^ Die proofs perforated by hand were used rather than actual stamps.
- ^ Scott catalog numbers 1434–1435.
- ^ Rathmann owned a Cocoa Beach car dealership, and was friendly with many astronauts, for whom he got discount prices on General Motors automobiles. See Chaikin, p. 249.
- ^ The postmark applied on the Moon read UNITED STATES ON THE MOON; the backup read MOON LANDING, U.S.A. See Winick, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Scott catalog number C76.
- ^ Faries noted that in 1983, 61 Herrick envelopes were returned by NASA to Worden, rather than the expected 60, but the 61st had no postal markings. For a full discussion of the number of covers, see Faries, pp. 29–31.
- ^ On May 23, 1972, NASA issued a press release announcing that Irwin planned to retire, and based on that, a new backup crew for Apollo 17 was being put in place, excluding Scott and Worden. See NASA press release 72–113, "Astronauts Mitchell and Irwin to Retire", May 23, 1972.
- ^ Scott testified at the August 3, 1972, hearing that two covers had gone astray from the expected number, but stated that he had never counted them and thus there might only have been 398 to begin with. See August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Faries noted that in 1983, 61 Herrick envelopes were returned by NASA to Worden, rather than the expected 60, but the 61st had no postal markings. For a full discussion of the number of covers, see Faries, pp. 29–31.
- ^ Link to the version of this article as of the date of publication in Slate
Additional numbers following page numbers for some books are Kindle locations.
- ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Dugdale, Jeff (March 30, 2013). "Astrophilately". The Philatelic Database. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, p. 5.
- ^ a b Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 6–7.
- ^ O'Toole, Thomas (September 16, 1972). "15 Astronauts Got Paid for Autographs: 15 Astronauts Given $2,500 for Autographs". The Washington Post. pp. A1, A4.
- ^ Scott & Leonov 2004, pp. 328–330, 5414–5418.
- ^ a b "Apollo Flown Covers". Space Flown Artifacts (Chris Spain). Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ Weinberger, Howard C. "The Flown Apollo 11 Covers". Space Flown Artifacts (Chris Spain). Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Neil Armstrong collection commands $5.2 million at auction". collectSPACE. November 5, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
- ^ a b "Apollo 15". NASA. July 8, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "Moon mail". National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Ramkissoon, p. 215.
- ^ Hauglard, Vern (July 12, 1972). "3 Astronauts Disciplined over Smuggled Moon-Mail". The Washington Post. p. 1.
- ^ a b c Winick, p. 73.
- ^ a b c d Weinberger, Howard C. "The Flown Apollo 15 Sieger Covers". Space Flown Artifacts (Chris Spain). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 3–4.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Scott & Leonov 2004, pp. 328–330, 5425.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 149–150, 2679–2674.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 49.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 82.
- ^ a b Weinberger, Howard C. "Apollo Insurance Covers". Space Flown Artifacts (Chris Spain). Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 149–150, 2684–2688.
- ^ Chriss, Nicholas C. (December 6, 1972). "A-OK in the Sea of Prosperity". The Guardian. p. 13.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Irwin, p. 228.
- ^ a b Winick, p. 77.
- ^ Winick, p. 81.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, p. 17.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 148, 2648–2670.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 133–134.
- ^ a b Ulman, p. 284.
- ^ a b Scott & Leonov 2004, pp. 328–330, 5418–5421.
- ^ "Lunar minicoin promotion questioned". Tucson Daily Citizen. Associated Press. September 3, 1971. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b O'Toole, Thomas (September 16, 1972). "Ex-Astronauts Disregarded Warning Against 'Souvenirs'". The Washington Post.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, p. 3.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, p. 7.
- ^ "Apollo 15 Stamps Sale Linked To NASA and Ex‐Hughes Aides". The New York Times. September 19, 1972. p. 30.
- ^ Chronology of 144 Authorized Covers, p. 1.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 14.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 148, 2671–2679.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c Ramkissoon, p. 212.
- ^ a b Winick, p. 85.
- ^ AAMS, p. 209.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 149, 2671–2679.
- ^ Winick, pp. 80–81.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 26.
- ^ Winick, p. 87.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 14–15.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 59.
- ^ Hines, William (July 13, 1972). "Congresswoman charges NASA stamp 'runaround'". Chicago Sun-Times. pp. 2–3.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 50.
- ^ a b Winick, p. 75.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 1, 7–9.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 46.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 8–9.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 109.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 1, 7–8.
- ^ "Apollo 15 Mission Overview". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
- ^ Faries, p. 30.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 107–109.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 150–151, 2697–2715.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 35.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 76.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Faries, Belmont (June 18, 1972). "A Lunar Bonanza". The Washington Sunday Star.
- ^ Winick, p. 76.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 150, 4053–4075.
- ^ Ramkissoon, pp. 212–213.
- ^ Irwin, p. 116.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 10–11.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 147.
- ^ Faries, p. 28.
- ^ Winick, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Fletcher August 2, 1972 letter, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 148, 4321–4340.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, pp. 19–20.
- ^ a b Chronology of 144 Authorized Covers, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 245, 4338.
- ^ Fletcher July 27, 1972 letter, p. 20.
- ^ a b August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 53–54, 98–100.
- ^ Irwin, pp. 228–229.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 55–57.
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 245, 4345.
- ^ Faries, p. 29.
- ^ Management chronology, p. 1.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, p. 63.
- ^ Slayton 1994, pp. 278–279, 5171–5180.
- ^ Chaikin, p. 497.
- ^ August 3, 1972 hearing, pp. 9, 24–25, 63–64, 73–74.
- ^ a b "Apollo 15 Stamps" (PDF) (Press release). NASA. July 11, 1972.
- ^ a b c George M. Low personal files, Addendum to Personal Notes No. 74, July 18, 1972, Archives and Special Collections, Folsom Library, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
- ^ Management chronology, p. 2.
- ^ Marsh, Al (July 12, 1972). "Astronauts 'Canceled' for 'Stamp Deal'". Today. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Lewis, p. 274.
- ^ Kraft, p. 343.
- ^ Scott & Leonov 2004, p. 329, 5434.
- ^ Scott & Leonov 2004, p. 331, 5454.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 246–249, 4429–4464.
- ^ Worden & French 2021, pp. 412–413.
- ^ Irwin, p. 235.
- ^ Jurek, pp. 185–186.
- ^ Schneck, Harold M. Jr. (July 22, 1972). "NASA Concerned Over Moon Statue". The New York Times. p. 31.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 252–253, 4456–4473.
- ^ a b Jurek, p. 185.
- ^ Worden 2011, pp. 254–255, 4496–4531.
- ^ Lyons, Richard D. (August 4, 1972). "Astronauts and Space Officials Heard at Inquiry on Exploitation of Souvenirs". The New York Times.
- ^ Kraft, p. 345.
- ^ a b Connelly, Richard (August 2, 2011). "Apollo 15, 40 Years On: Five Odd Facts (Including Faulty Peeing, a Very Irked NASA & the Coolest Lunar Experiment)". The Houston Press. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
- ^ Jurek, p. 184.
- ^ Howell, Elizabeth (April 8, 2013). "Al Worden: Apollo 15 Astronaut". Space.com. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ "David R. Scott". International Space Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Wilford, John Noble (August 10, 1991). "James B. Irwin, 61, Ex-Astronaut; Founded Religious Organization". The New York Times. Associated Press.
- ^ "Deke Slayton 1972 Autograph Letter Signed to Wally Schirra". Heritage Auctions. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c Kraft, p. 344.
- ^ Kraft, p. 144.
- ^ Carney, Emily (August 29, 2014). "For Jack Swigert, on his 83rd birthday". AmericaSpace. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
- ^ Chaikin, p. 551.
- ^ 14 CFR Part 1214, Subpart 1214.6 – Mementos Aboard NASA Missions
- ^ Worden 2011, p. 269, 4770–4775.
- ^ Faries, p. 31.
- ^ Ulman, p. 285.
- ^ a b c d e f O'Toole, Thomas (July 29, 1983). "Covers Returned to Moon Astronauts". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Faries, pp. 31–32.
- ^ "S.J.Res.141 – 96th Congress (1979-1980)". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. February 4, 1980.
- ^ Faries, pp. 27, 32.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (March 18, 2020). "Alfred Worden, 88, Dies; Orbited Moon and Walked in Deep Space". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Worden 2011, p. 271.
- ^ Orloff, Richard W., ed. (August 1983). "SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-8 PRESS KIT" (PDF). NASA. p. 37.
- ^ a b "U.S. Returns Stamps to Former Astronauts". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 30, 1983. p. 11. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ a b Powell, Corey S.; Shapiro, Laurie Gwen (December 16, 2013). "The Sculpture on the Moon". Slate. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ "Flown. From The Dave & Tracy Scott Collection". Highlights from the upcoming Novaspace auction. January 26th, 2008. Arizona Challenger Space Center. Novaspace. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ^ "Auction Results". Novaspace. Archived from the original on September 12, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
Lot Number 391. Surface flown Apollo 15 cover. $15000.00.
- ^ "Item 477 – Apollo 15 Catalog 442". RRAuction. November 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- American Air Mail Catalogue. Vol. 5 (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Air Mail Society (AAMS). 1974. OCLC 63013465.
- Chaikin, Andrew (1995) [1994]. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-024146-4.
- Faries, Belmont (September 1983). "NASA Returns Moon Covers to the Apollo 15 Astronauts". Society of Philatelic Americans Journal: 27–32.
- Fletcher, James C. (July 27, 1972). "Letter from James C. Fletcher to Clinton P. Anderson". (exhibit to August 3, 1972, committee hearing).
- Fletcher, James C. (August 2, 1972). "Letter from James C. Fletcher to Clinton P. Anderson". (exhibit to August 3, 1972, committee hearing).
- Irwin, James B.; Emerson, William A. Jr. (1982) [1973]. To Rule the Night: The Discovery Voyage of Astronaut Jim Irwin. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press. ISBN 978-0-8054-7227-1.
- Jurek, Richard (2019). The Ultimate Engineer: The Remarkable Life of NASA's Visionary Leader George M. Low. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-1847-6.
- Kraft, Christopher (2001). Flight: My Life in Mission Control. New York: Dutton. ISBN 978-0-525-94571-0.
- Lewis, Richard S. (1974). The Voyages of Apollo: The Exploration of the Moon. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co. ISBN 978-0-8129-0477-2.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1972). "Chronology of 144 Authorized Covers". (exhibit to August 3, 1972, committee hearing).
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1972). "Chronology of 400 Unauthorized Covers". (exhibit to August 3, 1972, committee hearing).
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1972). "Management Chronology". (exhibit to August 3, 1972, committee hearing).
- Ramkissoon, Reuben A. (2006), "An Astrophilatelic Rendering of the Conquest of Space: Part 3, Project Apollo – the Moon Landing Missions", The Congress Book 2006, State College, PA: American Philatelic Congress, Inc., pp. 191–221
- Scott, David; Leonov, Alexei (2004). Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-0-7434-5067-6.
- Slayton, Deke; Cassutt, Michael (2011) [1994]. Deke! (First E-book ed.). New York: Forge. ISBN 978-1-466-80214-8.
- Ulman, Leon (1981), "78-64 Memorandum Opinion for the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division", in Ulman, Leon (ed.), Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel (January 11, 1978 – December 31, 1978), vol. 2, Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, pp. 281–289, ISBN 978-0-936502-00-7
- United States Senate Committee on Aeronautics and Space Sciences (August 3, 1972). "Commercialization of Items Carried by Astronauts". United States Senate.
- Winick, Les (1973). "The Apollo 15 Cover Story". COMPEX. Combined Philatelic Exhibition of Chicagoland, Inc.: 71–89.
- Worden, Al; French, Francis (2011). Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 978-1-58834-310-9.
- Worden, Al; French, Francis (2021). The Light of Earth: Reflections on a Life in Space (eBook ed.). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-2865-9.
External links[edit]
- NASA News Release 72-189, "Articles Carried on Manned Space Flights" from collectspace.com


text:
Farriers Laura Florence and Bryan Farcus answer questions on treating your horse's hoof thrush
Thrush invades the frog of the hoof and thrives on necrotic tissue. It is identified by a particularly unpleasant smell and an oily, black discharge. Usually found in the grooves on either side of the frog, thrush spreads by going deeper, rather than superficially across a tissue's surface. Conditions conducive to the development of thrush include:
- anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions like a dirty stall or persistently muddy paddock
- extremely wet weather
- absence of or infrequent hoof cleaning
- abnormal hoof conformation of a deep central sulcus in the frog
Q: Is thrush a synonym for hoof infection? If no, how does it differ from an infection?
Bryan: There seems to be some debate whether thrush in horses is more of a fungus or bacteria. Most equine science texts list an anaerobic bacterium called Sphaerophorus necrophorus as the main culprit. However, since thrush can also occur in the mucous membranes of humans, as a yeast-like microscopic fungal form, some argue that a fungal organism call Candida albicans can play a much greater role. Regardless of its origin, one constant remains — prevention.
Laura: Horses can be plagued by chronic and debilitating hoof infections. Other bacterial and fungal agents are at play in horses' feet, causing infection and damage. Some attack the white line and hoof wall, others cause lesions on the coronary band and pastern. Thrush is distinct from other infections in that it localizes in the frog.
Q: What is the worst case scenario for chronic/untreated thrush?
Bryan: Permanent damage to the frog corium (sensitive underlying tissues), Deep Digital Cushion infection, and in the most severe cases an invasion of the attachment of the Deep Flexor Tendon to the bottom of the coffin bone, resulting in permanent lameness.
Laura: It is possible for thrush to become so entrenched that it can reach sensitive tissue deep in the foot and cause serious lameness and health risk. Severe infection can be identified by compressing the frog with strong thumb pressure and/or hoof testers. Reaction will indicate a deep invasion of thrush.
Q: What are your favorite treatments for thrush?
Bryan: One of my most effective treatments for potential or minor cases is a thorough hoof picking and a hoof wash/spray of a 50:50 mixture of water and either hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar. Caution: do not use this on any cases that have advanced into the bleeding state; instead refer to your veterinarian for advice.
Laura: Treatments vary widely and many are effective, with consistent, thorough attention. Clean the frog daily using a diluted agent of a substance such as apple cider vinegar, Borax powder, or Lysol. Gently but thoroughly clean all of the deep crevices. Have your farrier trim away any loose flaps of dead frog. This will allow more air contact and easier cleaning. Take care not to poke and scrub too vigorously – infected frog tissue can be painful and can easily bleed. Use a squirt bottle of whatever solution you have chosen to irrigate the area and loosen debris (I re-purpose dish liquid bottles for this). An old cotton t-shirt cut into 4 or 5 inch squares is great for gently wiping through the sulci of the frog. The clean soft squares can "floss" the deep central crevice. Remember - gently! Follow this cleaning treatment with an application of healing salve or ointment to nourish damaged tissue. If the infection is deep and the frog soft and painful, apply raw honey by saturating cotton balls and carefully place into the frog. Just leave the cotton balls there until the next treatment! After a few weeks of the raw honey, switch to any of the following: over-the-counter fungal creams, cow mastitis creams from your veterinarian, or calendula salves. If deep areas in the frog stay moist, try applying a paste made up of SORE NO-MORE® The Sauce and sugar to help with drying. The key is to focus on healing the frog from deep to shallow, inside out. It is important to balance killing the bad stuff while supporting the good.
Once thrush rears its smelly head, expect treatment to be long term. Attention to diet, exercise, environment and regular hoof trimming are critical, in addition to topical application of cleaning and healing agents.
Resources: The Principles of Horseshoeing (P3), D. Butler and J. Butler; Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary, 6th Ed., D. Anderson, J. Keith, P. Novak
Laura Florence is an American Farrier's Association Certified Farrier serving clients in southeastern Pennsylvania. A former Resident Farrier with the University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center Farrier Service, Laura began private practice in 2007, rehabilitating and maintaining horses' hooves through a holistic approach. www.holistichoofcare.com , 484-868-3715.
Bryan S. Farcus MA, CJF, is the creator of a select line of "Farrier-Friendly™" products and author of the "Farrier-Friendly™" series of articles that appear in horse magazines throughout the US. Bryan currently works with horses and their owners in Ohio and West Virginia. www.farrierfriendly.com
Common symptoms of thrush
- Resistance to having feet picked up and cleaned/inspected
- Sensitive, painful frog, usually with a deep central cleft
- Toe first landing, even when the foot looks healthy
- Hoof wall separation, flat soles, high bars and sunken frogs
- Irregular hoof wear patterns due to a compromised gait
- "Wry" or twisted hooves
- Thin, distorted or displaced frogs
- Contracted heels that won't relax and spread
- Club feet that began in mid-life or after an injury or laminitic episode
- Seasonal soundness issues
Source: No Horsing Around, LLC, www.NoHorsingAroundLLC.com


text:
The minute my reader Gunel from Azerbaijan sent me this recipe, I was hooked. Savory potato-carrot loaf? Baked in a loaf pan? Really? I mean, I am familiar with potato breads, but this is no bread. This is something different. Its texture is more like kourkouto I am still addicted to, but it comes in a different shape and tastes differently. The loaf sets beautifully while baking and doesn't fall apart when you slice it. It is utterly delicious too! Serve this loaf for breakfast, as a side dish, or as an any-time-of-day treat. This is a must try. You will be hooked, too.
Savory Potato Carrot Loaf
Makes one medium loaf
4 medium potatoes (about 1 + 1/2 pounds)
1 medium carrot
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (such as olive or vegetable)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped fresh mixed cilantro and dill
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
Put the potatoes and the carrot in a medium saucepan and fill it with enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Do not overcook – the vegetables should be cooked through but should not be mushy. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel off their skins. Cut the flesh into medium dice. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 380ºF. Grease (you can use butter, or vegetable oil spray) the bottom and the sides of a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, using a balloon whisk, stir the eggs to mix. Add the oil and stir to blend. Add the yogurt and stir again. Add the flour and baking powder. Stir to mix. Toss in the diced vegetables and chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir to mix. (Note: there is no need for a vigorous beating, so do not use a mixer).
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour, or until golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Unmold the loaf from the pan. Serve sliced, at room temperature or chilled. This loaf will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.


text:
Venezuelan assembly removes three deputies until race dispute is resolved. Opposition-controlled parliament obeys Supreme Court contempt ruling
The head of Venezuela's National Assembly has said that three lawmakers whose elections last month are being challenged at the Supreme Court will abandon their seats until the controversy is resolved.
The announcement by assembly speaker Henry Ramos Allup to CNN en Español came a day after the top court held the opposition-controlled legislative body in contempt for allowing the lawmakers from Amazonas state to be sworn in.
The National Assembly today did not hold its scheduled session for lack of quorum: nobody showed up.
What is going on is very simple and comes from many previous posts: the regime is hell bent on annulling the new assembly.
First Constitutional Crisis As Supreme Court's Electoral Hall Attempts To Freeze Venezuelan National Assembly
Here's Venezuela's Constitutional Crisis, in eight easy steps.
According to my World #Misery Index, #Venezuela remains the most miserable place on #earth. https://t.co/psYK9TnbaV pic.twitter.com/K3nIXaEEW4
— Prof. Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 12, 2016


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Hiking in the Setesdalsheiane
Experience Setesdal!
A comprehensive network of marked footpaths exists in the Setesdal mountains. On both sides of the valley, you can hike in a wonderful
landscape. The mountain touring association of DNT Sør, manages six cabins in the district of Valle. The distance between the cabins varies, but generally the walk from one cabin to the next takes about 3 to 5 hours.
In most of the cabins you will find food supplies. You can walk in the mountains for days, or just take day trips. Information to inexperienced hikers can be obtained at DNT Sør in Kristiansand and at the tourist office in Valle. Here you can also get planning maps with cabins and paths
Last updated: 08/09/2023
Source: Setesdal
Hiking in the Setesdalsheiane