She is 231 (and two days, as of today). 4 July 1776 was the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress and is considered the birthday of the United States of America. Our current constitution (our 2nd) was ratified by the ninth state (the
Congress of the Confederation required 9 of the 13 states to ratify it before it took effect) on 21 June 1788. It replaced the Articles of Confederation (our 1st constitution) which was a VERY loose confederation that left too many important powers to the states.

Yes, it is.  However, it is not the oldest.  That distinction belongs to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose Constitution, written mainly by John Adams, predates the Federal Constitution by several years.

Murtallian: Yah, my expression is unclear, that's actually what I meant.

To steal a description of George W Bush (from an admirer of same) and apply it to myself:

"English is his second language. From what I can see he does not have a first language."

( lifted from www.ejectejecteject.com )

Simply put, it is HITS divided by AT-BATS. For example, a player with 43 hits in 133 at-bats would have an average of 43/133, or .323 (pretty good). The last player to bat as high as .400 for an entire season was Ted Williams in 1941 (.406).

The more complicated questions are, however, "What is a 'hit'?" and "What is an 'at-bat'?" There are many wrinkles in official scoring, but generally speaking, a hit is awarded any time the batter reaches base by putting the ball in play (unless there is an error or a fielder's choice), and an at-bat is charged each time the batter comes to the plate (unless he is walked, successfully completes a sacrifice hit/fly, or the inning ends with him still at the plate, such as a baserunner thrown out stealing).

One thing NOT included: a batter is neither given a hit nor charged an at-bat for walks. As a walk has been shown to be (almost) as good as a hit in generating runs, many people think the better gauge of a player's offensive contribution is the "on-base percentage", which is in its simplest form: HITS plus WALKS*, divided by AT-BATS plus WALKS* plus SACRIFICE FLYS (*"walks" includes "times hit by pitch", which is essentially the same thing, with the addition of a bruise. ) The Oakland Athletics, for example, are known to use a player's OBP as a primary factor in whether or not to give him a new contract, trade for him, sign him as a free agent, etc.

More and more commonly, you will also see "OPS", which is "on-base percentage plus slugging average". Slugging average is TOTAL BASES (from hits) divided by AT-BATS. For example, a player with 12 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 4 home runs over 75 at-bats would have a slugging average of .493 (12+5*2+1*3+4*4=37/75).

And now you know.

Should I have asked?  

Thanks, I'll try and get some points from my family with this...:)

Any form of incendary or explosive device.... especially in the hands of your average American.... is dangerous.....

Nahuris

currently we have several rules

1) if the firework doesn't go off look straight into it, shake it vigorously and yell "what the hell I spent 12 bucks on that piece of crap"
2) lighter fluid will make even the most boring firework more fun
3) gas is even better
4) never point the fireworks at people unless it'll be really funny

last but not least,

5) drink heavily starting at 9am.  fireworks are more Awesome Dude when your bombed out of your skull

an RSA for all our friends (redneck service announcement).

In *MY* experience...

Being a Suburbanite of somewhat dazzling demeanor, and having MANY "redneck" (well, redneck is a relative term, honestly) relatives...

I'd rather have the average dumb hick redneck than the average dumb cosmopolitan 'city dweller'.

Once you've exhausted all the 'Stupid Videos' hicks, the stack of Jerry Springer suburban rejects is MUCH longer, and more spectacularly lacking in intelligence AND initiative....

..I'm an 'equal opportunity' kind of guy, and dealt with both.

My experience is that the average Redneck is more dependable in a fight, and will drag you to safety if you go down. Your odds in the city are much greater at getting caught doing anything illegal. This explains why fewer city guys kill themselves with fireworks....

I own the Anarchist's Cookbook, and some of the "Uncle Fester" PDF's, I'm not going to divulge the contnets here, at risk of getting someone killed. There's MUCH more spectacular things one can do if one has the knowledge and access to some (perhaps now illegal to own) 'ingredients'...

FWIW, my DSL was down, so I missed all this the first go-around...

..and I didn't say you did.

It's entirely possible that I'm over-sensitive about it.

Some might say I am one - but if you think that, you don't know redneck.

As a group, they're just like everyone else. For some reason, it's not politically incorrect to poke them with a stick - unlike far too many other groups.

"We" also have a healthy enough self-image to not mind occasional jabs, but it does get tiresome sometimes....

...or a stoner.

If you've ever said "Tie this rocket to the tree there, it'll be like one of those chinese new years things" - then you might be a red neck...

Frankly, I find myself both repelled and fascinated by the possible additions to the "You might be a redneck.." anthology of commentary.