It
never fails that there is always one more deranged “leader” around the corner,
or in this case, across the world, who’s shooting his mouth off about blowing
up somebody, and in this case, the U.S.A.
If
war weariness is what you want, just go to Iraq and Afghanistan, or Syria.
I’m
saying this to the pudgy dictator, Kim Jong un.
He
needs a big dose of war weariness to cool his bellicose jets, and throw some
ice water on his heated words about nuking anybody.
Justin Bieber should go and spit on this goofy and dangerous
dictator.
No, don’t do that.
Then Mr. Kim Jong un will definitely begin pushing
buttons.
*
Not much was ever known about Shakespeare, but now we might know a bit too much about him.
The Bard was more than just a superb writer.
He was also a tax evader and hoarder:
Shakespeare called grain hoarder, tax dodger, money
lender and ruthless businessman of Stratford-upon-Avon
‘Over a 15-year
period he purchased and stored grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices
to his neighbors and local tradesmen,’
write researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales.
I
will continue to read his plays (or Bacon’s), even though his own honor and
reputation have been stained.
*
It’s almost time to throw out the basketball,
and throw in the baseball…and some new bats!
Louisville Slugger makes first big change since
1972, introducing splinter-resistance surface
There will be fewer
cracking bats this season — at least that's the hope of the bat maker, which
claims the company has achieved a '9h,' the highest hardness rating possible.
“The
Louisville Slugger Louisville Slugger is rolling out a new logo
for the first time in 33 years on a new bat that company officials say is
designed to be the hardest wooden bat ever produced at the Louisville, Ky.,
factory.”
I once picked up one of these bats, and thought that
I was holding a telephone pole.
I didn’t have a career in baseball.
It ended at my first game as a little leaguer.
It was a night game.
I was standing in center field (or right field).
Some kid on the other team hit a high, fly ball.
I waited hours for that ball to come down.
Finally, it came down, and I caught it…
Right on my forehead.
The crowd cheered!
My baseball career ended, and
I learned the meaning of irony.
*
Here’s a short history of baseball bats:
The
History of Baseball Bats
Baseball bats in the
early days of baseball came in all shapes and sizes. In the 1850's baseball was
an extremely young sport and batters made their own bats and experimented with
bats of all varieties (long, short, flat, heavy). They quickly learned that bats
with rounded barrels seemed to work the best. Because bats of all shapes and
sizes were being used, a rule was made in 1859 that bats could be no larger
than 2.5 inches in diameter, although they could be of any length. Ten years
later in 1869, another rule was added that stated the baseball bat could be no
longer than 42 inches in length - the same maximum length allowed today. At
this time there was no rule regarding the shape of the bat. In fact, some
players sometimes used bats with flat surfaces when bunting.
The Birth of the
Louisville Slugger
1884 brought the
beginning of the most famous name in baseball bats today - The Louisville
Slugger. It all started at a baseball game in Louisville, a 17 year old John
Hillerich watched Louisville player Pete Browning become frustrated after
breaking his favorite bat. Hillerich, a woodworker with his father, approached
Browning after the game and offered to make him a new bat. They went together
to the woodworking shop, selected a piece of white ash and Browning supervised
as John Hillerich made his new bat. The next day, Browning went three for three
with the new bat, word spread about the new bats, and the Hillerich family was
in the baseball bat business! Demand quickly grew (although baseball bats
weren't the focus of their business yet), and they soon began adding their
recognizable Louisville Slugger trademark to each bat.
More Developments
In the 1890's, the rules
committee stated that bats could no longer be sawed off (flat) at the end, they
must be round, and the maximum diameter was increased to 2.75 inches. Shortly
after 1900, Honus Wagner, one of the great players of all time, became the
first player to be paid to have his autograph burned into Louisville Slugger
bats. Although bats have continued to develop over the years, wood baseball
bats today look similar to the bats of 100 years ago. The biggest differences,
however are that bats today are much lighter and have thinner handles.
The Rise of Aluminum
Bats
In 1924 a patent was
issued to William Shroyer for the first metal baseball bat. Despite this early
patent, metal bats were not seen in the game of baseball until 1970, when Worth
introduced the games first aluminum baseball bat. Soon after, Worth produced
the first one-piece aluminum bat and the first little league aluminum bat.
Easton arrived in the aluminum bat scene in the late 1970's with a stronger
grade of aluminum that is credited with significantly increasing the popularity
of aluminum baseball bats. Despite the popularity of the bats with the baseball
players nationwide, Major League Baseball (for competitive and safety reasons)
has never allowed anything other than wood bats to be used. In 1993 Worth and
Easton both introduced Titanium bats, and in 1995 Easton and Louisville Slugger
introduced the strongest, lightest grade of aluminum bats to date. Improvements
to baseball bats continue today as developments such as double walled bats and
scandium-aluminum bats arrive in sporting goods stores. There is no doubt that
today's high-end, scientifically designed aluminum bats are a far distant
relative to the heavy, hickory bats used by players nearly 150 years ago!
2001 - Barry Bonds and
Maple Bats
The 2001 baseball season
brought about a feat that 10 years ago most would have thought not only
impossible, but completely ridiculous - Barry Bonds hit a record 73 home runs
in a single season! Soon into his home run tear it was learned that Bonds was
using maple wood baseball bats, rather than the standard bats made of white
ash. Players copy success, and soon major league ball players everywhere were
searching for maple baseball bats! A quick search online will find dozens of
companies selling maple bats. The past 150 years has brought significant
changes to baseball bats and the game of baseball itself. There is no doubt
that the future will bring additional changes to the seemingly simple tool
known as the baseball bat.
IT’S
ABOUT RENEWABLE RESOURCES!
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