A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher.  By regulation it may be no more than 2.75 inches (70 mm) in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches (1,100 mm) long.  Although historically bats approaching 3 pounds (1.4 kg) were swung, today bats of 33 ounces (0.94 kg) are common, topping out at 34 ounces (0.96 kg) to 36 ounces (1.0 kg).  Read more, including about banana bat, mushroom bat and fungo bat at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat

The Iberian Peninsula has seen many civilizations and cultures pass through its land over its long history; and for many, eggs were an important food source in their time.  The Romans regarded eggs quite highly in their cuisine; and the Moors, who were the last civilization to be conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms, used poached and fried eggs abundantly in their dishes.  This can still be seen in various Middle Eastern and North African cuisines today, as well as in both Spanish and Portuguese dishes; among other inherited ingredients such as chick peas, almonds, paprika and bread-based dishes.  Like Spain, Portugal is inherently Catholic, and both are home to numerous convents and monasteries all over the countries.  However, it was common practice in Portuguese convents to use egg whites for starching/pressing their habits, and egg whites were also very useful for filtering liquids, such as wine.  As they were paid with chickens by the poor, eggs were always bountiful.  During the time of the Discoveries when Portugal received cane sugar from Brazil, the nuns wisely thought to use it in their desserts.  Add heaps of leftover yolks, and you have the beautiful beginning of doces conventuais.  If you’re keen to see the vast array of egg based desserts across the Peninsula, simply stroll the streets at any given Catholic holiday, and you’ll be astonished by the sheer number that exist.  What’s more amazing is how each and every one has their own unique texture and flavor.  When you look at Portugal economically, this small country has traditionally run on its agriculture.  Plagued by poverty for several generations, it wasn’t until after the reign of the monarchies, through the Salazar dictatorship that ended in 1974, that Portugal clawed its way out.  Hence, meat was a commodity reserved for the aristocracy and various shortages throughout the years pushed the masses to often rely on eggs to supplement or become their sole source of protein.  In rural areas, it was common to raise chickens (and many still do today), as they required the least amount of space and can feed off the ground and/or from leftover food scraps.  The process of frying an egg is still considered an art, as witnessed by my boyfriend’s careful, concentrated egg frying when we make steak.  Even the word “to fry an egg” in Portuguese--estrelar derives from estrela–star, perhaps demonstrating that the Portuguese have always believed that eggs were heaven-sent.  Andrea Smith  Read more and see pictures at http://catavino.net/the-history-of-the-egg-in-portugal/

Search millions of opinions by case name, topic, or citation from Free Law Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit.  https://www.courtlistener.com/  "CourtListener is a free legal research website containing millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts.  With CourtListener, lawyers, journalists, academics, and the public can research an important case, stay up to date with new opinions as they are filed, or do deep analysis using our raw data." 

Alfred P. Sloan, inventor of the modern corporation  "His ideas were so clearly correct that we have forgotten that they were an invention."  These are the words Dr. Schein of MIT's Alfred P. Sloan School of Management uses to sum up the contributions of Alfred Sloan.  While growing up in suburban Connecticut in the 1880s, Alfred P. Sloan spent much of his time in the study and analysis of the world surrounding him.  While other kids spent time playing outside, Sloan preferred staying indoors and preparing for school.  He was one of the youngest people to enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and he was the youngest in his class when he graduated in three years with a degree in electrical engineering.  After college, Sloan began to study business intensively when he went to work for a floundering ball-bearing manufacturer in New Jersey.  He convinced his father to purchase this company and Sloan then revived it in just six months.  He ran the business for seventeen years before convincing General Motors to purchase it.  After successfully selling his company and making it a part of General Motors, Sloan became a part of the upper-level management in GM.  For about the next five years, he scrupulously studied the company.  Then he was ready to revamp the business and presented his management ideas in a long discourse.  Sloan's ideas included how to break down GM into smaller divisions--something we see in almost all companies today.  Alfred Sloan created structure so people could be more creative with their time and have it be well spent.  He also came up with the idea that senior executives should exercise some central control but should not interfere too much with the decision making in each operation.  It is difficult to describe many of Sloan's ideas because most of them would seem like common concepts of a business, yet they were new and innovative at the time.  Largely due to his invention, GM became the pioneer in market research, public relations and advertising.  Sloan soon became chairman of GM and then took over as president in 1923.  At that time, GM had less than one-fifth of the U.S. auto market share while Ford had more than half.  By 1931, GM achieved the almost unimaginable by surpassing Ford once and for all.  Through Sloan's three decades of innovation, leadership and guidance, GM became the world's largest industrial corporation.  Even today after many changes, mergers and acquisitions, GM continues to be the largest auto company, and it is the world's third largest corporation behind Wal-Mart and Exxon-Mobile.  Ford dominated its market with the invention of the assembly line.  Then Sloan invented new business models and management methods that catapulted GM into the top spot.  To read more about Alfred P. Sloan, visit the MIT Entrepreneurship Center.  https://inventhelp.com/archives/08-04/inventhelp-newsletter-august-2004/alfred-p-sloan-inventor-of-the-modern-corporation

The Long Island Vegetable Orchestra (LIVO) was founded in 2011 at the C.E. Post campus of Long Island University.  LIVO performs with freshly prepared instruments which may include a saxophone-soundalike "cucumberphone," pumpkin basses, carrot flutes and eggplant for percussion.  http://liu.edu/CWPost/Community-and-Culture/Vegetable-Orchestra  Long Island Vegetable Orchestra LIVE  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WHH2d2VE9s  4:49  Vienna's Vegetable Orchestra  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOXFOTagSE  4:44

Check the facts before you spread information.  FactCheck.Org  From the Annenberg Center; check the accuracy of statements, including advertisements, from politicians, pundits and special interest groups.  Politifact.com  Run by the St. Petersburg Times, the site's "Truth-o-meter" helps separate "fact from fiction" in political statements, including advertisements, from races around the country.  Project Vote Smart  Check voting records, background, and public statements of candidates from around the country.  ProPublica ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.  Fact Checker (Washington Post)  From columnist Glenn Kessler, focusing on accuracy of statements of political figures "regarding issues of great importance, be they national, international or local."  Snopes.com  Fact-checking site for "for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation."  http://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=283063&p=4471741  See also Fake News, Misinformation, and Propaganda from Harvard Library at http://guides.library.harvard.edu/fake  Consider the source.  Think before you click and share. 

Duarante degli Alighieri, popularly known as Dante, was an Italian poet who was active during the late 13th century and early 14th century.  Dante is regarded as perhaps the greatest poet to have existed in Italy and his works are still widely read in Italy.  He is credited with penning the ‘Divine Comedy’ which is regarded as perhaps the most important literary work in Italian that has ever been composed.  It was Dante who first gave shape to the language through his work at a time when Latin was the dominant language in Europe.  Great Italian writers like Boccaccio and Petrarch were hugely inspired by his work and his influence is clearly visible in the literary works that they produced in their lifetimes.  Find 98 quotes by Dante at http://quotes.thefamouspeople.com/dante-alighieri-196.php

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 1767  September 12, 2017  On this date in 1940, cave paintings were discovered in Lascaux, France.  On this date in 1958, Jack Kilby demonstrated the first working integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments.  On this date in 1992, NASA launched Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission.  On board were Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_12