STRIKE

Interesting reading from the 1876 rules of baseball defining the "strike zone"

"The batsman, on taking his position, must call for a 'high,' 'low,' or 'fair' pitch, and the umpire shall notify the pitcher to deliver the ball as required; such a call cannot be changed after the first pitch is delivered."
High - pitches over the plate between the batter's waist and shoulders
Low - pitches over the plate between the batter's waist and at least one foot from the ground.
Fair - pitches over the plate between the batter's shoulders and at least one foot from the ground.

King Philip's War

From http://www.massmoments.org/

Today in 1675, Wampanoag warriors killed seven colonists in Swansea in retaliation for a series of injustices suffered at the hands of the English. This raid is generally considered the beginning of King Philip's War, a bloody conflict that would involve every New England colony and all the peoples of the Algonquian nation. Over the next year, members of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag tribes attacked more than half of all the settlements in New England and reduced about a dozen towns in Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies to ashes. By August of 1676, more than 600 settlers had died and 1,200 homes had been burned. An estimated 3,000 Native Americans died at the hands of the English.

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In 1662 the governor of Plymouth Colony summoned Wamsutta, the young sachem, or chief, of the neighboring Wampanoag tribe, to meet with him. Distrustful of the Englishman's intentions, Wamsutta refused and was forcefully escorted to Plymouth by armed settlers. Days later, Wamsutta's men carried their leader home, dead. Inexplicably he had become ill shortly after his conference with colonial officials. Wamsutta's brother Metacom, called Philip by the English, succeeded him as sachem. Metacom firmly believed white settlers had poisoned Wamsutta; many Wampanoags agreed, further heightening tension.



By the 1670s there were more than 50,000 English colonists living in New England, and they were steadily encroaching on land held by native people. Decimated by diseases Europeans brought to America in the early 1600s, the Algonquian population had fallen to about 20,000. The settlers and Native Americans were no closer to understanding each other and their respective cultures than at the beginning of the century. The Reverend Increase Mather captured English sentiments toward Philip and the Indians when he described the Wampanoag leader as one of the "heathen people amongst whom we live, and whose Land the Lord God of our Fathers hath given to us for a rightful Possession."



In June 1675 simmering hostilities erupted into open warfare. Early in the month, following a highly questionable trial, Plymouth authorities hanged three Wampanoag men for the murder of a white man. Metacom was enraged. On June 20th Wampanoag warriors burned several farms in Swansea. Three days later, a Swansea man shot and mortally wounded a Wampanoag. The attack on the 24th was the native warriors' revenge. Terrified Swansea settlers abandoned their farms and took refuge in garrisons.

Plymouth Colony sought help from Massachusetts Bay Colony and together their militias tried to corner Philip. He eluded them and fled to his Nipmuc allies in central Massachusetts. In the month that followed, Wampanoags attacked Taunton and Old Rehoboth; they burned much of Middleboro and destroyed the village of Dartmouth.

Time and again, ill-trained and poorly-prepared colonists found themselves thwarted by native warriors who used guerilla-type tactics, were far more skillful marksmen, and could easily pick up and move their camps.

The Narragansett, feared and respected for the prowess of their warriors, had initially stayed out of the conflict, but in the late fall of 1675 rumors circulated among the English that the tribe was preparing for war. On December 19th the English staged a pre-emptive strike. A combined force of 1,000 men from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Connecticut colonies attacked a fortified Narragansett village. (Rhode Island, under Roger Williams's leadership, declined to participate.)

In what became known as the Great Swamp Fight, Englishmen slaughtered approximately 600 Narragansett men, women, and children. The English declared it a huge victory — a questionable conclusion since the Narragansett immediately joined the alliance of native warriors and subsequently killed scores of settlers and destroyed hundreds of homes.

By the spring of 1676, the English had abandoned Springfield, Deerfield, Northfield, Brookfield, Lancaster, Groton, Mendon, Wrentham, Swansea, Rehoboth, and Dartmouth. Algonquian warriors staged raids in Chelmsford, Andover, Haverhill, Woburn, and as close to Boston as Braintree.

While the native peoples' tactic of remaining constantly on the move prevented the English from counterattacking, it made it impossible for the Indians to grow and harvest food. Algonquian food supplies began to run low, a fact their enemies were quick to notice.

In May 1676 the Nipmuc established camps along the Connecticut River, about five miles north of Deerfield, to fish and plant crops. Flush with recent victories, they let down their guard. The English had good intelligence and, when word reached them, 150 men staged a dawn attack. They killed primarily women, children, and old people as they slept. The Nipmuc warriors regrouped, fought back and then pursued the English, killing 39 of them. Their natives' losses were estimated at 200.

The following month, the English staged an offensive and forced the Indians to abandon their newly planted fields. In July colonists resumed their pursuit of King Philip. They captured his wife and nine-year-old son and sold them into slavery. King Philip was betrayed by one of his own men, who shot and killed him on August 12, 1676. Englishmen decapitated and quartered his body. They placed his head on a stake and marched it through the streets of Plymouth, where it remained in public view for years.

Colonists systematically hunted down the other Indian leaders, killing some of them on sight and convincing others to surrender with promises of amnesty, then executing them. In September, Massachusetts Bay Colony declared that any native person responsible for English deaths would be killed and all remaining Indians sold into slavery. Most of the enslaved were shipped to the West Indies, an almost certain death sentence.

By late 1676, English settlers had effectively cleared southern New England of its native inhabitants. A small number of King Philip's people — Metacom's Wampanoags — managed to survive. They sustained their culture in Mashpee on Cape Cod and on Martha's Vineyard.

I'z got RIMZ!

As I sit here taking in the morning news (and just realizing I didn't have my coffee) I looked outside and saw something that piqued my interest. A black Saturn drove by with these really "fly," "bling," rims on it.

"Fly and Bling" is defined by rims that are typically found on sports car or rice-burner bumblebee-mufflered cars. Exhibit one found at the beginning of this blog.

The car in question that saw this morning was a late 90s to early 2000 beat up black Saturn. The rims, upon closer inspection, were OZ Galileos. What exact model I do not know, but what I do know is that Galileos are about $800 apiece. That's 3200 dollars for rims. Not to mention the rubber wrapped on these rims were some sort of low-profile racing tire. I'm pretty sure the car was less than the rubber on the road.

What exactly is the point? This was not a race car. It isn't even a car that is trying to pass itself off as a race car. A 1999 SL1 such as the car I was looking at makes a whopping 100 horsepower with its 1.9L engine. It doesn't even have a 0-60 time. So why the need to spend about $4,000 for rims and tires??

You know you've seen the type...they go to make a turn into the parking deck but they have to inch forward because their car is "slammed" or lowered to the point of stupidness. If they go to fast over a pebble they might bottom out. Meanwhile you are behind them cursing all that is Bling. Should I also mention that most slammed cars do not pass Federal DOT standards?

To polish this post off, here is a funny video of one of these Saturns thinking it would be fun to race a LT1. WHAT?

Killer Tomatoes and Street Justice

Case of the Killer Tomato (warning, NSFW language)
I knew I shouldn't have turned the news on this morning. The state of our society continues to spiral into who-knows-what

What the hell is this? We can't even eat tomatoes without worrying about contracting deadly diseases now? I think it's time that the government do some overhauling of our domestic food supply regulation and enforcement. All it takes is some person or entity with nothing but trouble on their mind to completely screw with our food system.



I also heard a news story on the radio this morning about some dude who mugged a 60+ year old Catholic Schoolteacher. Now her profession is irrelevant, but who the hell mugs a 60 year old lady?

In certain situations I am a definite believer in 'eye for an eye' justice. Murdering children, the elderly, police officers, etc...but only when there are multiple witnesses and camera evidence, with 100% airtightness. This actually doesn't happen very often, but when it does....

Don't give me any of that 'world is blind' crap, because most of the people who commit these crimes don't care and will just go back to crime afterwards. Heck, even in the jails if you are a "mother killer" "elderly murderer" or "child killer/rapist" you can expect your days to be numbered. What does that tell you when even the the lowest of the low scourge of society thinks you are a worthless loser that should be put down like a dog? Someone that brings rival gangs together for the common cause of eliminating you? (and most likely will last a week out of solitary before someone gets to you)

Now our particular jackass of the day was clearly caught on film. Perhaps when they caught this guy we should return to the 1600s and stone the bastard at the town common. Yaknow, if you think about it they really had some of the punishments correct back then, they just lacked the ability to properly prosecute with airtight evidence. Crime was nowhere near rampant as it is now-adays even though life was 100 times tougher. Can you imagine what it would be like should we suddenly be plunged into a situation similar to the past?

Who the HELL picks on a 60 year old woman? Not that mugging anyone is a good thing, but for pete's sake, a 60 year old? Are you that cowardly that you must pick on an older woman who has committed her life to sharing and instilling knowledge on our young folk? You should respect your elders you little punk, and if you want to pick a fight and show how tough you are, try it on someone your own size. If you needed money or a place to stay perhaps you could have ASKED someone at the Catholic school. I'm sure they would have helped in some way, being a House of God and all...

Ok I'm in a better mood now.

Tom Petty

Went to see Tom Petty last night and wow! What a show!
Great song set! He started out with the more popular ones like "Mary Jane's Last Dance," some Travelling Willburies, and a few newer songs.

Setlist from the concert:
YOU WRECK ME
MARY JANE
I WON'T BACK DOWN
EVEN THE LOSERS
FREE FALLIN'
HONEY BEE
SWEET WILLIAM
END OF THE LINE
BREAKDOWN
SAVING GRACE
FACE IN THE CROWD
FEEL A WHOLE LOT BETTER
YOU DON’T KNOW HOW IT FEELS
LEARNING TO FLY
DON'T COME AROUND HERE NO MORE
REFUGEE
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RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM
BABY PLEASE DON’T GO
AMERICAN GIRL

Among the 'newer' ones was a song I am fond of, "Saving Grace". Videos below for your enjoyment!


And another song I like, "Southern Accents"

Broil and boil

It's been a tad bit warm outside, has it not?

I decided that we should perhaps buy a pool pass from the condo association this year. Methinks this is a good idea.

You know you're an outdoorsman when...

I went for a nice long hike up at Wendell State Forest on Friday. Needed some "me" time. (you can read about the park on http://www.skinut.net , my outdoor resource blog.

You know you are a hiker when:
1) You hear "M&M" and think "Metacomet/Monadnock trail instead of chocolate candy
2) Most of the lines for "roads" on your GPS where you are located are dotted instead of solid lines, denoting "unimproved road"
3) When you walk into an outdoor supply shop your significant other demands to hold on to your wallet, claiming "it's for your own protection!"
4) When you say "hike" you really mean camping overnight and backpacking, not a dayhike.
5) You know what Vitamin I is and carry lots of it in the first aid pack.
6) You get happy when you see a sign that says "Tent Sale" just to get disappointed when you find out they are not selling tents.
7) You eat your normal breakfast cereal at home with powdered milk.
8) You own more backpacks then pairs of socks
9) You really know what DEET tastes like because you keep spraying it on right before you cook. Oops!
10) Your computer sign in passwords are the names of your favorite trails