Sporting Road

I never thought of shaving as a hobby, but apparently it is now in 2025, especially with double edge safety razors and straight edge razors.    I didn’t know this was a thing, but apparently razors are now something guys even collect and talk about like bourbon, cigars, and now your grandpa’s safety razors (together with new ones made by people who make satellites with aluminum.) The other day I was at Costco and this old guy was looking at the 24 pack of Gillette Fusion Five razors which now cost almost $100 a pack.   He said to me that it’s too expensive to shave anymore and he didn’t buy any.   That got me thinking. My grandfather used to shave with a double edge razor. And I remember watching him.   It seemed kind of a romantic at the time because I was about eight and wished that I had something to shave. And then I was on Facebook and Hensen shaving runs ads all the time.   And they promote that it’s only $.05-$.08 per blade, and you only need one a week and you’re gonna save a ton of money.   And I’m all about saving a ton of money.  So I ordered an $80 shaver.   And it’s not that good, it’s kind of like a Bic disposable.  And it also gave me a little bit of razor burn feeling afterwards, not burning, but not feeling great.  But it was lightweight. So that let me down the rabbit hole and after that I ordered a Rockwell Razors 6C, Feather Stainless Steel AS D2 at $165, and a Merkur 34C, then a Rockwell Razors 6S.   You can watch YouTube videos

Diamonds are Forever, But Their Price Ain't Diamonds lose 50-70% of their price once they leave the store.   Try pawning your "forever ring" and you will learn real fast.   Lab diamonds are worth nothing once you leave the store and DeBeers saw that coming, as they are exiting the lab diamond market completely this year. There are a few tips that you need to know, which is a certified stone will be worth more and is less of a gamble.   A GIA (Gemological Institute of America) report number (if graded in the last 20 years by GIA) is often laser-inscribed on the girdle of a diamond , which is the outer edge where the crown meets the pavilion. This tiny inscription, visible under 10x magnification, provides a unique identifier linking the stone to its GIA report.    There are other IGI and GRA, which are usually not as stringent grading, and therefore less accurate and less valuable of a grade.   Often lessor stones are sent there because they know the GIA report will not be as good of a rating. Colored Gem Stones The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) doesn't offer formal grading for emeralds, rubies, or sapphires, but they do provide detailed reports on their characteristics. These reports assess weight, measurements, shape, cutting style, color, clarity, and other relevant factors. GIA also determines if the gem is natural or laboratory-grown and identifies any detectable treatments. Key Takeaways: No Formal Grading: GIA doesn't assign numerical grades like they do for diamonds. Detailed Reports: GIA provides comprehensive reports that detail a gem's characteristics and origin. Focus on Identification: The reports primarily focus on identifying and assessing the quality of the gem, including its color, clarity, and any treatments. Buying Colored

HORSE, TRUCK AND TRAILER STUFF TO DO BlueLyte or lite Morton's salt on game and hunt days Feed equine senior if you want to add weight also can do shredded beet pulp with molasses, soaked overnight in water or wyoming hay (alfalfa) cubes soaked in water Rub MTG on legs for rain rot in spring Spray absorbine on sore backs and legs after bathes Trim manes, whiskers and tails monthly bute polo ponies as needed SDZ 15 tabs twice daily for sinus infections Oil change on Ram the start of polo season and acid wash and rotate trailer tires every year at Discount Tire preventative spray on golf cart terminals and check water level on golf cart batteries, take home in October and then charge monthly, hand tightening connections sandclear again in June if eating hay off ground on sandy areas Quest gel in April and October Cheap Ivermectin dewormer in June and December Iodine on sore hooves, not on frog, especially smarty. Use thrush buster on hooves in wet months especially Dash and Smarty

Jack Dennis is a living legend in Western fly fishing circles.  In his numerous books, he tells the story of Curt Gowdy, Ted Williams, Arnold Palmer, and many other stories of his famous friends from a life in fly fishing. He recently offered me a special set of Christmas flies which he personally tied.  He says: This incredible gift is my choice of flies to fish for trout in most waters. I have selected four dozen flies from my fly box fishing collection, including flies tied by Umpqua feather merchants, personal friends of mine, and flies tied by me, which are strictly for fishing. The package will include Jack Dennis's signature flies, such as Amy Ants and Para-Wulff's, adding a variety of new flies that I have found effective. The assortment consists of a fine combination of new hatch-matching dry flies plus a wide variety of new nymphs, including the essentials Copper John's and pheasant tails. Rounding out the assortment includes attractors, hoppers, terrestrials, and streamers.  This incredible fly mixture includes autographed Umpqua's fabulous UPG LT fly box.   A personally tied Amy's ant authenticated to the gift recipient or purchaser.  Only 24 boxes are for sale this Christmas and autographed and numbered 1 to 24. Fishing guide Jack Dennis left the famed Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop (now JD High Country Outfitters) that bears his name in 2009, but started another fly shop and Jack Dennis Fishing Trips when he left. He leveraged 40 years of veteran, reliable guiding experience and a long list of satisfied clients to start the new business.  In 2012, Jack Dennis retired from Jack Dennis Fishing Trips, but sold the service to his most trusted and experienced guides — Scott Smith, Mark Fuller,

Turquoise is the People's Gemstone While popular culture often paints the Wild West in dusty shades of brown and gray, turquoise provided its defining splash of color.  Each person is drawn to a particular piece of turquoise for their own reasons, be it color, story, history, or use and that creates the subjective beauty of it.  Its significance wasn't just aesthetic; it sat at the exact intersection of ancient Indigenous spirituality, a rapidly changing frontier economy, and the birth of American Southwest mythology, long before it was a beloved accessory among free-spirited fashionistas.  It's a rare, natural stone and it's connected to the land, the outdoors, and the wild.   It offers protection, water, life, healing, good fortune and a connection to the creator. The Sacred Root: Indigenous Connection Long before Spanish explorers or American pioneers headed west, turquoise was deeply sacred to the Native nations of the Southwest—particularly the Navajo (Diné), Zuni, Hopi, and Pueblo peoples. For these cultures, turquoise was not a commercial gemstone; it was a living piece of the sky and a symbol of water, creation, health, and protection. The Navajo associated it with the Changing Woman (a principal deity) and believed wearing it offered protection from evil and ensured good health. The Zuni prized it as a ceremonial stone, often carving it into intricate fetishes (small animal carvings) to channel spiritual power and safe passage. The Apache believed that attaching turquoise to a bow or firearm guaranteed dead-eye accuracy. The Frontier Cross-Cultural Boom (Late 1800s) The "Wild West" era saw a dramatic shift in how turquoise was used, driven by cultural exchange—and economic necessity—between Native artisans and Euro-American settlers. Around the 1860s and 1870s, a Mexican blacksmith taught Navajo ironsmiths

Job 39:19-24 “Do you give the horse its strength     or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? 20 Do you make it leap like a locust,     striking terror with its proud snorting? 21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,     and charges into the fray. 22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;     it does not shy away from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against its side,     along with the flashing spear and lance. 24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;     it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. 25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’     It catches the scent of battle from afar,     the shout of commanders and the battle cry. The passage you have provided is a powerful and evocative description of a horse, not just any horse, but a warhorse, a magnificent and fearsome creature in the throes of battle frenzy. It is a vivid portrayal of the horse's strength, courage, and excitement for the fight, captured through a series of rhetorical questions and vivid imagery. Here's a breakdown of the passage's key elements: Strength and Majesty: The passage opens by questioning the source of the horse's strength and its flowing mane, attributing them to a higher power. This immediately establishes the horse as a creature of exceptional physical prowess and beauty. Fearlessness and Battle Frenzy: The description of the horse leaping like a locust, snorting with pride, and pawing the ground highlights its fearlessness and eagerness for battle. It laughs at fear and charges into the fray, unfazed by the dangers of the sword and the chaos of war. Sound and Movement: The imagery of the rattling quiver, flashing spear, and the horse eating up the ground in excitement adds to the dynamic and sensory experience of the passage. The