Daily Archives: May 28, 2017

Elegance on the high seas – The Killeen Daily Herald

Posted: May 28, 2017 at 8:01 am

World travelers Bob and Linda Bilec took a step back in time to an era of elegance and sophistication on the high seas when they boarded the Queen Mary 2 last October.

They sailed to Southampton, England, to visit their daughter, Jennifer, and her family for the Christmas holidays.

As they stood on the deck of the QM2, they watched the skyline of New York City fade into the background. For Bob, it was the realization of how small Manhattan Island really is, a mere 22.82 square miles of land inhabited by 16.36 million people.

For Linda, it was watching the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island shrink in size as the boat pulled away from New York Harbor. She said she couldnt help but think of all the people who immigrated to the United Sates on a ship, seeing Lady Liberty for the first time, and hoping for a better life.

The Bilecs are residents of the world. They have traveled and lived all over the globe for pleasure and work. But this was their first transatlantic crossing on an ocean liner. So when Jennifer asked her parents to spend the holidays in England, Bob knew right away that they didnt want to fly.

I wanted to take the Queen Mary, he said. I wanted the experience of sailing on the boat.

They started planning for their trip a year in advance, watching fares and looking for the best and most economic time to travel. They even downloaded a schematic of the ships decks to find the right mid-ship state room to help mitigate the potential for seasickness.

While Bob wanted a themed crossing, Linda said she looked forward to the elegance of a bygone era of dining and dancing the night away in the ships formal restaurant a stark contrast from the downhill skier and outdoor enthusiast she is.

I was really excited about the dancing, Linda said, admitting that she and Bob took private foxtrot and waltz lessons before they sailed.

I was thinking about Titanic, the movie, Bob said. I looked at the staircase, the chandelier its all very elegant.

Their search led them to Road Scholar, a nonprofit organization that offers educational and adventure tours, domestic and abroad, with an intellectual twist for seniors 50 and older. Not only did Road Scholar have a trip planned for Southampton with a murder-mystery theme, and four nights in London, it also included return airfare to Austin for both of them.

The RMS Queen Mary 2 is a transatlantic ocean liner and not a cruise ship so the crowds are not as big (around 4,000 people including staff and passengers). There is a strict set of guidelines, including casual and formal dress codes. On formal nights, men must wear a tuxedo and women must wear a gown or after-five dress.

If you want to enjoy the experience, get a tuxedo and (for the ladies) a formal dress, Bob said. You can pick up deals at thrift stores and discount stores.

Bob found a designer tuxedo jacket and pants in a thrift store. After adding a white tuxedo shirt, tie and cuff links, he had a tux for under $100. Linda, a former costume designer, picked up a basic black dress at a discount store and embellished it with sequins across the neckline. With a change of accessories and jewelry, she was able to make the dress look different for each of the formal evenings.

All the women have on a black dress and (they) drip in pearls, every pearl they own. They wear lots of pearls, Linda said, smiling her smile that never seems to fade.

The passage took seven days and followed the same route as the Titanic, in reverse, when it sailed from Southampton on April 12, 1912, on its way to New York, a destination cut short by a collision with an iceberg.

I actually looked for icebergs, Linda said. There were none.

The weather cooperated the whole way sunny skies, calm blue waters and smooth sailing. When it was time to retire for the evening, they chose an inside cabin, above the water line but with no portholes to look out onto the sea.

We wanted the experience of sailing on the boat, Bob said. When you are sleeping, you dont need an outside window. When you look out the window, all you see is ocean.

The views didnt change for seven days, Linda added.

Although jet lag is often a problem when flying through time zones, Bob said sailing on the ship wasnt so hard to deal with because time advances one hour every day. By the time they reached Southampton, they were adjusted to the time change.

It takes two or three days to recover from jet lag, Linda added.

Linda Bilec was born in Colorado, grew up in Michigan, and attended college in Utah, before transferring to Lake Superior State College (now University) in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., on the border of Canada.

An avid downhill skier, during winter Linda spent as much time on the Michigan slopes as she could, either skiing by herself or coaching a high school ski team during her college years.

Sault Ste. Marie was less than 200 miles from the town of White River, Ontario, Canada, where her aunt had a summer vacation trailer park. White River was also Bobs hometown. He and his twin brother, Michael, are known to be the first set of twins ever born in this small town of about 1,000 people. He also has three older siblings.

The population hasnt changed in 40 years, said Bob, a U.S. citizen since 2009.

White River is also known as the coldest spot in Canada. Bob recalls one morning when he looked out the window of his home and the thermometer read -68 Fahrenheit. Summer temps can reach as high as 75, but the season only lasts four weeks.

Summers in White River were short and recreation was scarce. For fun teens would cruise the parking lots of businesses, listening to their music, looking to see what was going on in their small town where the sun didnt set until after 10 p.m. One summer evening while Linda and her cousins were working at her aunts trailer park, Bob and his friends drove through the lot. Bob was in the back seat. Linda saw the boys in the car and intercepted their fun. I threw them out of the park. I made them leave, she said.

While Linda didnt see Bob tucked away in the back, he saw her.

The next day Linda took a break from work to walk over to the service station where her car was towed after it ran out of oil. Bob was up on a scaffold at the service station painting a sign that read, White River, the Coldest Spot in Canada. Linda didnt notice Bob, but he noticed her as soon as she walked by. He remembered her from the trailer park. Calling down to her he asked, Hey, do you want to go to a party?

She looked up and said, Yes. Later that evening, Bob walked over to her aunts house to pick her up for their date. They walked back to his familys home for the party, but his parents were not there and as it turned out, the party was intended just for two. His parents returned home, interrupting their first date, but that didnt stop the young couple from spending time together that summer.

When the season ended, Linda started classes at Lake Superior State College in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and Bob headed to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Though 400 miles apart, their romance ensued and they traveled by bus back and forth between colleges to see each other, splitting the fare.

Linda graduated from Lake Superior State College in 1972 with a B.A. in English and emigrated to Thunder Bay as a landed immigrant to be near Bob. She took a job as a porter at a psychiatric hospital for two years before entering Lakehead University to earn her B.A. in English, so she could teach.

On one of her days off from the hospital in 1975, they married.

Both graduated from Lakehead University in 1976 and moved to Alberta, Canada, where Bob pursued his MSc in chemical engineering while Linda taught school. Following graduation, Bob was hired by Exxon Mobile and the couple stayed in Alberta for eight years until Bobs job transferred him to Toronto for two years, then New Jersey for one year before he was transferred to Spain. That is where their life of travel really began.

Travel is definitely in Bob and Lindas DNA. Over the years, theyve traveled extensively as a couple to China, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and the southernmost point of Chile, where they sailed around Cape Horn. As a family living in Spain, they traveled extensively throughout the European continent.

Moving around the world with two children was challenging but Linda always made it an adventure. She got Jennifer into kids acting and their son, Chris, continued hockey.

In Spain, they visited the beaches often and traveled around the country, learning the history. Christopher and Jennifer played soccer in the courtyard of a 12th or 13th century castle, and on a side trip to Greece one of Bobs most memorable moments was when the children ran across the finish line at the original stadium in Olympia, where the first Olympic Games were held.

The family also skied downhill in Kitzbhel, Austria, the children learning from their mother who has been skiing since she was 12. Linda did an excellent job of moving, leaving family and friends, Bob said. She would always find something the children could do in their new home that they couldnt do in their previous home.

When their assignment in Europe ended in 1989, the family returned to Ontario, Canada, where Bob continued his career with Exxon. In 1992, Exxon Mobil transferred Bob back to New Jersey. During that same period, Linda entered Rutgers University where she earned her law degree and served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of New Jersey. Bob retired in 2006, after a career working in the oil and gas industries at refineries around the world. They stayed in New Jersey until 2012. When Linda retired from her job and they moved to Texas.

But of all their travel adventures, except for their latest trip on the Queen Mary 2, most trips come in second to Lindas love of Disney World. Shes been 14 times, including a side trip to Paris Disneyland on their recent trip to England, with their daughter and grandson.

Bob said traveling has expanded his horizons and made him more understanding of people. He said it has given him a new world view and a new appreciation of how others live.

Travel has enriched my life. It has given me a new perspective, Bob said.

You learn tolerance, understanding and not to be so judgmental, Linda added.

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Elegance on the high seas - The Killeen Daily Herald

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Kiplinger’s Personal Finance: Get a great deal on your next getaway – Richmond.com

Posted: at 8:00 am

An exotic vacation say, renting a castle or private island for a family or friends reunion is more affordable than you might think.

Check home-sharing sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway or TripAdvisor Vacation Rentals, as well as the Landmark Trust (www.landmarktrust.org.uk) for historical buildings in Europe.

On HomeAway, we found a 16th-century castle in northern France that sleeps 12. Rentals start at $1,066 per night; if you split the cost 12 ways, youd pay $89 apiece per night (taxes and fees are extra).

Or kick back at your own private island off the coast of Belize, starting at $1,500 per night on HomeAway. The 1.5-acre island with a five-bedroom house accommodates 14 and comes with a staff, and you can arrange pickup for diving or fishing excursions.

You can cruise through canals and explore riverside villages on a houseboat in India. It sleeps eight; book it through Trip Advisor Vacation Rentals and each guest will pay as little as $64 per night.

TripAdvisor also lists a multi-tiered treehouse in Kenya for six that overlooks baobab trees and has a view of the Indian Ocean. Rates start at $360 per night.

Use these strategies to lower the price of your next plane ticket.

Time it right: For domestic travel, watch for steep sales between Labor Day and Dec. 15 (except over the long Thanksgiving weekend) and then after the holidays until Feb. 15. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are typically the cheapest days to fly domestically.

Check fares from other airports: For international flights, watch for airfare sales at hubs near you.

You could drive or take a bus there or book airfare on a separate flight, making sure to leave plenty of time to catch the international flight (if the tickets are separate, youre on your own if you miss your second flight).

However, smaller airports sometimes have international bargains that larger ones dont, says George Hobica, of Airfarewatchdog.com. He recently spotted flights to Paris from Flint, Mich., with one stop, that cost half the price of nonstop flights from Detroit.

Use local transportation: A similar trick works for far-flung destinations that would be outrageously expensive to book with a single airline.

Say you want to go to the Greek Islands. Flights from the U.S. to one of the islands typically cost at least $1,400 round-trip. Instead, grab a sale round-trip fare to Athens (often less than $600), plan to stay a night or two there, and then fly to the island of your choice on a budget airline such as Ryanair (less than $100), says Scott Keyes, of ScottsCheapFlights.com.

Kiplinger's Personal Finance: Get a great deal on your next getaway - Richmond.com

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Intentional community – Wikipedia

Posted: at 8:00 am

An intentional community is a planned residential community designed from the start to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They typically share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include collective households, cohousing communities, coliving, ecovillages, monasteries, communes, survivalist retreats, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. New members of an intentional community are generally selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned collectively by the community).

The purposes of intentional communities vary in different communities. They may include sharing resources, creating family-oriented neighborhoods, and living ecologically sustainable lifestyles, such as in ecovillages.

Some communities are secular; others have a spiritual basis. One common practice, particularly in spiritual communities, is communal meals. Typically, there is a focus on egalitarian values. Other themes are voluntary simplicity, interpersonal growth, and self-sufficiency.

Some communities provide services to disadvantaged populations, for example, war refugees, the homeless, or people with developmental disabilities. Some communities operate learning or health centers. Other communities, such as Castanea of Nashville, Tennessee, offer a safe neighborhood for those exiting rehab programs to live in. Some communities also act as a mixed-income neighborhood, so as to alleviate the damages of one demographic assigned to one area. Many intentional communities attempt to alleviate social injustices that are being practiced within the area of residence. Some intentional communities are also micronations, such as Freetown Christiania.[citation needed]

Many communities have different types or levels of membership. Typically, intentional communities have a selection process which starts with someone interested in the community coming for a visit. Often prospective community members are interviewed by a selection committee of the community or in some cases by everyone in the community. Many communities have a "provisional membership" period. After a visitor has been accepted, a new member is "provisional" until they have stayed for some period (often six months or a year) and then the community re-evaluates their membership. Generally, after the provisional member has been accepted, they become a full member. In many communities, the voting privileges or community benefits for provisional members are less than those for full members.

Christian intentional communities are usually composed of those wanting to emulate the practices of the earliest believers. Using the biblical book of Acts (and, often, the Sermon on the Mount) as a model, members of these communities strive for a practical working out of their individual faith in a corporate context. These Christian intentional communities try to live out the teachings of the New Testament and practice lives of compassion and hospitality.[1] Communities such as the Simple Way, the Bruderhof[2] and Rutba House would fall into this category.

A survey in the 1995 edition of the Communities Directory, published by Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC), reported that 54 percent of the communities choosing to list themselves were rural, 28 percent were urban, 10 percent had both rural and urban sites, and 8 percent did not specify.

The most common form of governance in intentional communities is democratic (64 percent), with decisions made by some form of consensus decision-making or voting. A hierarchical or authoritarian structure governs 9 percent of communities, 11 percent are a combination of democratic and hierarchical structure, and 16 percent do not specify.[3] Many communities which were initially led by an individual or small group have changed in recent years to a more democratic form of governance.

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Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex – Greece Post

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An anniversary celebration is planned for June 10 at East Hill Farm.

MIDDLESEX The Rochester Folk Art Guild attains a milestone accomplishment this year, as the group celebrates 50 years as a vibrant and creative crafts community.

The first seven members to make the move to Middlesex put down roots on East Hill, in 1967. Since that time, hundreds of people have spent time at East Hill Farm, helping it grow and develop into one of the oldest intentional communities in the country.

To mark this year's milestone, members extend a welcome to all in the local communities to share in a day of celebration, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Tours of the studios and East Hill Gallery are planned.

The Guilds Ensemble Resonance will perform chamber music of Mozart, Nino Rota and Taylor-Coleridgefor flute, bassoon, and piano at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Free light refreshments will be available.

The Folk Art Guild has built a reputation for pottery, woodworking, weaving and other handcrafts. Beautiful and functional objects from these studios have found their way around the world, over the years that these studios have been in continuous operation.

Eighteen independent structures have been built over the years, and the 1850s farmhouse has been pushed out and renovated in three directions.

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Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex - Greece Post

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Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex – News … – Penfield Post

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An anniversary celebration is planned for June 10 at East Hill Farm.

MIDDLESEX The Rochester Folk Art Guild attains a milestone accomplishment this year, as the group celebrates 50 years as a vibrant and creative crafts community.

The Guilds Ensemble Resonance will perform chamber music of Mozart, Nino Rota and Taylor-Coleridgefor flute, bassoon, and piano at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Free light refreshments will be available.

Eighteen independent structures have been built over the years, and the 1850s farmhouse has been pushed out and renovated in three directions.

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Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex - News ... - Penfield Post

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How Star Wars is influencing modern space travel – MyGaming

Posted: at 8:00 am

It was 40 years ago today, on May 25, 1977, that Star Wars first burst onto cinema screens, and from that time the world changed for the better.

Star Wars introduced the world to Jedi knights with lightsabers, an evil empire building a moon size planet killer weapon, a rebel alliance with X-wing fighters and countless cool droids that were often smarter than their owners.

Quite why Star Wars was such a massive hit has been debated ever since. It was clearly not for the dialogue.

It was probably due to the fast-paced action. In fact, Star Wars popularised the notion that some films do not need opening credits, just an opening crawl to set the scene.

Director George Lucas wanted the action to start as soon as the film did, and for audiences to be engrossed from the first few seconds.

What made Star Wars different to the already loved Star Trek TV series was that Star Wars was not a prediction of our human future. Instead it was a story set in another galaxy in the ancient past.

Some of us had our lives and careers shaped by Star Wars, and by longing to create the things we saw when we were young.

Forty years on, who and what has been shaped by this revolutionary movie?

The first Star Wars film was revolutionary in its depiction of high-speed battles between spaceships.

The dog fights around the Death Star seemed so realistic, even though it was not obvious how some of the spaceships actually manoeuvred so well.

When I took spacecraft design courses at university in the late 1980s (as part of my undergraduate degree), I did not dream that fellow Star Wars fans might one day be influential enough to actually design real spacecraft.

We were taught that bringing a rocket back to Earth from space was impossible. I now realise that my lecturers were probably not Star Wars fans.

The billionaire inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk is one of those millions of mega Star Wars fans. He says that Star Wars was the first movie that he ever saw, and from that he has had an obsession with space travel and for turning humans from a single planet species into a multi-planet civilisation.

In 2002, Musk created the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX, with the stated aim of creating spacecraft to regularly fly hundreds of humans to and from Mars.

Musk named his series of rockets Falcon, after Han Solos Millennium Falcon. And in 2017, a Falcon rocket became the first orbital class booster to return from space, land and later re-fly back into space.

In 2000, fellow billionaire inventor Jeff Bezos started his rocket and spaceship company Blue Origin off the back of his success creating Amazon. His New Shepard rocket was the first suborbital booster to return from space, land and later re-fly back into space.

Bezos is more of a Trekkie. He is so obsessed with Star Trek that he has even acted in it, appearing as an alien in the 2016 movie Star Trek Beyond.

At this point, the Star Wars mega-fan (Musk) is ahead of the Trekkie (Bezos) in delivering commercial space flight with reused rockets. But only time will tell who will win.

Star Wars introduced us to the Landspeeder. This is the car-like vehicle that Luke Skywalker uses to get to and from the family moisture farm, and which he sells so he can part-pay Han Solo to fly with him to the Alderaan system.

Lukes X-34 landspeeder is very much like a hovercraft that did exist long before Star Wars. But hovercraft are noisy and kick up a lot of dust, which is not great in the desert driving situations encountered on Tatooine!

In 1978, a toy landspeeder was the must have toy, and I was lucky enough to have one. I still have it of course. The way it appeared to float across the floor on its highly sprung and hidden wheels was brilliant design.

Subsequent Star Wars films such as Return of the Jedi showed us speeder bikes, and since then engineers have tried to replicate these amazing vehicles.

Some great engineering efforts include the Jetovator speeder bike that works over water and connects to a jet ski. The makers were clearly inspired by Star Wars.

Others have recently created and tested hoverbikes that if they were fully commercialised would be very close to the speederbikes of Star Wars.

One group have even made a speeder, the Aero-X, to test in the desert to ensure that Luke would be able to use it if need be.

But for me, it was the droids of Star Wars that had the greatest impact. There can be no greater pair of onscreen robots as R2-D2 and C-3PO. They were perfect.

I have written before about Star Wars and robots. The vision that George Lucas and his team had in creating these robots (and the others that are found in the original 1977 movie) has had a major impact on robotics development, by inspiring many current day roboticists.

We are beginning to see real high quality automatic translation services something C-3PO was designed to do. We have medical robots, military robots and even farm robots.

All of these were shown in Star Wars. Our present-day robots are not as capable as the Star Wars robots, but us roboticists are working hard to make that happen.

It is unlikely that any film in the future will be as surprising as Star Wars was. It was new and exciting and surely that is one of the reasons for its success.

But yet there are new Star Wars fans being born every day. It helps that many of their parents and grandparents are possibly also Star Wars fans, and that at the moment there is a new Star Wars film out every year.

If the love of Star Wars is handed down the generations then who knows what it will have inspired in another 40 years time.

Jonathan Roberts, Professor in Robotics, Queensland University of Technology

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Recovering the importance and the lessons of the Ascension – Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Posted: at 7:57 am

In the growing secularism of contemporary Western culture, Christian believers have to be very intentional in their faith. They have to know the meaning behind feast days and customs. In particular, they should seek to understand the high importance of Easter and the Ascension, which is celebrated today in many places.

Believers have to work to realize and live the truths of faith, especially the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is the heart of the Christian faith. Summarizing St. Paul to the early body of believers: if Jesus is not risen from the dead, then Christians are the most pitiable of all people.

And so, the Resurrection matters. Easter has a depth that has to be known, cherished, and actualized by believers. The Christian knows that darkness and death have been destroyed and the assurance of eternal life gives a providential perspective to evil, suffering, and other tragedies in life. The Ascension of the Lord has a part in this perspective.

Of course, many different levels of people and believers in the West still like celebrating the customs of Easter. Decorated baskets, colored eggs, and chocolate bunnies all indicate to society that something important is going on. And so, even if the Resurrection and the symbolism of these various customs are forgotten, they can still help people to know that Easter is a proper time for festivity and joy.

But why would the customs of Easter be mentioned now? Wasnt Easter several weeks ago?

Case in point: We have to work to understand Easter. Certainly, Easter is the holy day that commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but since that event is so radical in human history and so fundamental to the Christian way of life, Easter is also by extension a fifty-day season in the calendar of the church.

Believers need time to appreciate and assimilate the truths of the Resurrection every year, and so the Easter Season is a time for renewal and deeper formation in their faith.

In particular, the believer has to rediscover the importance and the lessons of the Lords Ascension into heaven.

The Easter season begins to conclude with the Ascension of the Lord. Unfortunately, in our culture, we dont seem to have any customs for the holy day. Even though in many places the feast day is now moved from its traditional Thursday observance to a Sunday, its easy for it to pass without any notice or attention.

This is a sad situation in terms of the believers discipleship since the Ascension is such an intimate and essential event in Christs earthly ministry and in the churchs observance of the Easter season.

After rising from the dead, Jesus spent forty days with the community of disciples. The closeness of this time is especially shown in the Emmaus story, when two disciples were accompanied by Jesus, taught by him, and broke bread with him. In his time with his disciples, Jesus wanted to confirm the early church in the reality of his Resurrection and in his teachings on love, mercy, and reconciliation.

After this period of time with his disciples, Jesus ascended to the Father.

When Christ ascended into heaven, he did not leave his human nature behind. He brought that nature, our human nature, into heaven with him. The Son of God did not leave us orphans. He still has his human nature, and still bears the wounds of his Passion in the kingdom of heaven.

By bringing his human nature into heaven, Jesus Christ opened paradise for the human family. With a glorified human body and a human soul, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity sits at the right hand of God the Father for all eternity. This incorporation of the human and the divine makes him our presence in eternity and the mediator between God and humanity.

This is the pressing and inspiring lesson of the Ascension. It touches the core of the Christian faith, our own dignity as human beings, and the life available to us after death. It is a strong reminder to us of how greatly we are loved and how intensely God desires fellowship with us.

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Rays Tales: The stories behind Corey Dickerson’s ascension … – Tampabay.com

Posted: at 7:57 am

The 25 pounds DH/LF Corey Dickerson lost during the winter through diet and exercise are considered the primary reason for his ascension to one of the American League's most productive hitters, going into the weekend leading in hits, multihit games and total bases, and ranked in the top five in average, runs and extra-base hits. But there's more to Corey's story most interestingly his use of a 2x4 in hitting drills as in his second season with the Rays he also has emerged as a strong candidate for the AL All-Star team. Here is some of what's new and some of what got him here:

Laying down the wood

While reducing his overall number of pregame swings, Dickerson has returned to a drill he was first introduced to in 2011 at Class A ball by coach Lenn Sakata to reduce his leg kick standing on a 2x4 piece of wood (which is on the ground the long way) while taking swings at a ball on a tee. With his heels hanging off the back, Dickerson forces himself to be better balanced as he swings, first with his feet still, then by striding. "I'm a firm believer in being really grounded," he said. "When I get off it, I feel really grounded and I'm back on my legs, and I feel like I'm where my swing needs to be." Hitting coach Chad Mottola sees the benefits, as do a couple of other Rays now trying it.

A little bit less of a bat man

Dickerson is loosening up his obsessive compulsion in taking care of his bats, including noting and cleaning foul ball scuff marks with rubbing alcohol and retaping the handles daily. "I'm definitely not as bad as I used to be, not as meticulous," Dickerson said, noting some days he will even hit with no tape on the handles. Also, he's sticking with the same models more often rather than frequently changing, currently favoring a Marucci DD10 (named for his son, Davis) that is 34 inches long, 31 ounces and flat gray with a shiny black handle.

Consistent consistency

Dickerson said the biggest reason for the more consistent production is more consistent preparation. "The consistency of what I'm doing is better than it's ever been," he said. "The consistency of my routine, and the way I go up to the plate and handle when I don't have success I continue to be who I am and I know the way I'm doing the process and what I'm doing throughout the day is what's helping my result. And sticking to it, I think that's been the biggest thing, trusting that." Even on a bad day, Dickerson is satisfied knowing he put in the same work and the same time, arriving 1-1:30 p.m. for a 7:10 game, getting busy around 2, starting his cage routine at 3:50 then going onto the field for batting practice.

Leading man

Dickerson seemed like an unorthodox choice when the Rays absent an obvious option slotted him at leadoff vs. right-handed starters, but he has taken to the role and prospered. Dickerson had past experience in the minors and Colorado and said he doesn't consider it a big adjustment: "It's an opportunity to get up there to hit a few more times maybe in a game. I think I can hit in any spot."

Big swingin'

Dickerson has hit four of the Rays' longest homers of the season, per ESPN's Home Run Tracker:

1. 453 feet, May 16 at Cleveland

2. 447 feet, May 20 vs. Yankees

3. 445 feet, April 21 vs. Astros

5. 437 feet, April 16 at Boston

(Logan Morrison had No. 4 at 444, May 10 vs. Royals)

An impressive perspective

No. 2 hitter Kevin Kiermaier has a good view of Dickerson's work, marveling not only at what he has done, specifically hitting for big power and a high average, but how much time, effort, thought and conversation he puts in: "I've never had a teammate who enjoys hitting, or talking about hitting, more than him. I love it when guys take pride in their job. I know he cares so much he can beat himself up at any time, but that's how competitive he is. He can literally hit any pitch anywhere. It doesn't matter if it's up and in at his face, or down and low bouncing off the ground, he can put a barrel on anything."

And another

Cleanup hitter Logan Morrison said what impresses him most is how Dickerson covers the whole plate, and more, and makes solid contact: "He's always had a special eye-hand coordination that very few have. When you see him take (a 97 mph pitch) up at the eyes and hit it down the leftfield line, that's special. And then a changeup down on the plate he somehow hits and fouls off. It's like he's playing cricket sometimes. I told him I would like to see him swing at more strikes and let more balls go, but he hits balls out of the park, so I don't know why you would tell him to do that."

How the deal has worked out

The Rays got Dickerson and minor-league 3B Kevin Padlo from the Rockies in January 2016 for LHP Jake McGee and RHP prospect German Marquez. Here's how they've done:

Dickerson: .268 BA, 36 HRs, 93 RBIs, .823 OPS in 196 games

Padlo: Broke hamate with Stone Crabs; .229, 16 HRs, 66 RBIs in '16

McGee: 2-3, 3.90, 16 of 21 saves in 77 games, no longer closer

Marquez: Joined rotation late April; 4-3, 4.37 in 12 games total

Ministerial Association hosts ‘Ascension’ at Dana – Blair Enterprise Publishing

Posted: at 7:57 am

The former Dana College campus in Blair came alive one evening last week for an event filled with prayers and music.

The Washington County Ministerial Association sponsored the Ascension Community Celebration on Wednesday.

The organization Angels Share has plans to develop the vacant campus to be named the "Frank and Jane Krejci Learning and Life Community" into residential housing, offices and for the relocation of Grace University from Omaha.

The Grace move is planned first. The target date is May 2018.

The Ascension Celebration began with a flag ceremony by Blair scouts from troops and packs 143 and 232. Hillside Church's praise band and the Ascension Choir provided music.

The Grace Praise Band was scheduled to perform, but members couldn't attend because the Grace University Chambers Choir is embarking on a two-week mission trip to Germany and the Czech Republic. Mike Harvat, a leader for the Grace Praise Band, represented the group by playing a song.

Scouts from troops 143 and 232 in Blair raise a flag during a ceremony at the Ascension Celebration on Wednesday, from left: Alex Luttig, Ty Evangelisti, Robert Hemmingsen and Jason Preister.

Pastor Mark Denger of Christ Lutheran Church, which may establish its first permanent physical home on the campus, said the Ascension Celebration had a few purposes: to "praise the ascended Lord Jesus;" to "thank God for the new thing he is doing at the Dana campus;" and to "pray for the Lord's blessing and power over everything that happens here."

"We believe we achieved those targets," Denger said.

The pastor told the crowd gathered on the Viking Field bleachers that they were there to "celebrate the resurrection of this campus for a godly purpose."

"We are celebrating the fact that God is in this place tonight, and that he will be in this place in the years that are to come," Denger said.

Among projects for the campus, Angels Share founder Ed Shada has developed a plan for 150 residential units to house behavioral health, post-care foster care youth and senior citizens.

"We are not simply celebrating the fact that Grace University is going to occupy this place," Denger said. "We are celebrating the fact there are people who are going to be coming and going from this campus who are going to need encouragement that only Jesus Christ can bring."

A goodwill offering was taken Wednesday for the Washington County Ministerial Association's Good Samaritan Fund, which provides residents with financial support for housing, utility bills, fuel and medicine.

About 190 people attended the Ascension Celebration, including guests.

"It was a beautiful evening," Denger said.

Tim Fischer leads the Ascension Choir during a celebration organized by the Washington County Ministerial Association on Wednesday at the former Dana College campus.

Originally posted here:

Ministerial Association hosts 'Ascension' at Dana - Blair Enterprise Publishing

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The Ascension is our Exaltation – cedarspringspost

Posted: at 7:57 am

Posted on 26 May 2017.

Gladden us with holy joys, almighty God, and make us rejoice with devout thanksgiving, for the Ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and, where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Roman Missal, The Collect of the Mass of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ).

On this Solemnity of the Ascension we give thanks to God for the Ascension of Christ is our exaltation! Why is the Ascension our exaltation? St. Augustine has a wonderful explanation: in the incarnation, the Son of God assumed our humanity so that he could die on the Cross to be in solidarity with the human family who, as a consequence of sin, suffers death. He triumphantly rose from the dead to give us hope and 40 days later returned to God the Father. Jesus brought the human flesh representing our humanity into the mystery of God, something that did not exist prior to the incarnation. God gains nothing from this, but we gain so much. In other words, in the Ascension, we give glory to God because Jesus brought humanity into God. Salvation is not only the forgiveness of sins but brings us into the very mystery of God and the fullness of life.

To truly be the people who believe that the Ascension of the Lord is our Exaltation, one must proclaim this good news of salvation to all men and women. We cannot keep our mouths shut regarding such great news! Jesus has saved the human family not only from sin and death, but has given us the gift of eternal life. We in turn, join the Apostles to be Jesus witnesses to the ends of the earth. Lets begin that witness at our dining room tables with our friends and relatives and share the joy that Christs Ascension is our exaltation. Let everything that we do and say reflect the fact that we are the children of the heavenly kingdom because the Ascension of Christ is our exaltation.

Thanks be to God for our salvation in Christ. Amen.

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The Ascension is our Exaltation - cedarspringspost

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Daily Archives: May 28, 2017

Elegance on the high seas – The Killeen Daily Herald

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance: Get a great deal on your next getaway – Richmond.com

Intentional community – Wikipedia

Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex – Greece Post

Rochester Folk Art Guild to mark 50 years in Middlesex – News … – Penfield Post

How Star Wars is influencing modern space travel – MyGaming

Recovering the importance and the lessons of the Ascension – Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Rays Tales: The stories behind Corey Dickerson’s ascension … – Tampabay.com

Ministerial Association hosts ‘Ascension’ at Dana – Blair Enterprise Publishing

The Ascension is our Exaltation – cedarspringspost

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