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Book 13 (of 52) – Keep The Memories, Lost The Stuff

Keep The Memories, Lose The Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life – Matt Paxton with Jordan Michael Smith

TV’s Matt Paxton, best known from Hoarders and Legacy List with Matt Paxton, checks in with this helpful collection of tips and tricks on how to declutter your home, either to prepare for a move to a smaller space or just to clean up your current home.  Each chapter breaks down a specific part of the process, from how to manage your collection of family photos to how to sell that unwanted family heirloom that is probably worth less than you think to finally packing up and moving to a new location.

Keep The Memories, Lose The Stuff, published in conjunction with AARP, takes the lessons he has learned over the past 20 years as a professional cleaner.  The focus is on older people looking to downsize and finding the best way to get rid of a lifetime’s worth of stuff while keeping those things that are really important.  While that is not really something I need to worry about just yet, I can take some of the tricks and tips to declutter my own space, getting rid of things that I don’t need and don’t necessarily want.

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Top 200 Albums: #141 – 150

itunes_imageWe last counted down the Top 200 albums in my iTunes library four years ago. Since that time, the world has literally changed, and my commute has decreased from 1+ hours each way to 25 steps. So, despite the decrease in potential listening time, I figured it was time to take another look, based on number of plays from late 2007 through the morning of January 1, 2022.

We begin the second quarter of our chart with the next batch of ten albums that I have listened to the most over the last 15 years, including two compilations, two albums from bands I’ve seen live in concert, and one movie soundtrack.

#150: Various Artists – Billboard Top Hits 1988
iTunes stats: 83 plays
Previous Ranking: 190

Five tracks from this compilation of the biggest hits of 1988, from artists like Billy Ocean, The Escape Club, and Bobby McFerrin, amongst others, nearly doubled its plays over the past four years to rise 40 slots on the chart.

#149: Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion I
iTunes stats: 84 plays
Previous Ranking: 151

The third studio album from the band, released the same day as its companion album Use Your Illusion II and which I bought during finals week after my first semester in college, increased its listens by nearly 65%.

#148: Various Artists – Austin Powers
iTunes stats: 86 plays
Previous Ranking: 117

The soundtrack to the original Austin Powers film, released in 1997 and featuring the work of artists like Strawberry Alarm Clock and Divinyls, uses four songs to increase its plays by 23.

#147: Nirvana – In Utero
iTunes stats: 87 plays
Previous Ranking: 125

The final studio album from Nirvana, released in 1993 just six months before Kurt Cobain’s death, added 27 new listens to the four tracks out of twelve that I’ve listened to.

#145: The Beatles – With The Beatles
iTunes stats: 88 plays
Previous Ranking: 147

This 1963 album, like all of the Beatles studio albums, would be much higher, but I lost all of the old counts for their albums when I upgraded to the remastered versions in 2009.

Continue reading →

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By The Numbers – 20

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #20.  85 different players have donned #20 while playing in Chicago, 30 for the White Sox and 55 for the Cubs.

Carlos Quentin was acquired by the White Sox in a December 2007 trade with the Diamondbacks for Chris Carter, earning the nickname “The Carlos Quentin” after general manager Kenny Williams was quoted saying that the team’s goals for the winter meetings were to “acquire Carlos Quentin, and not a guy like him but actually Carlos Quentin.”  Quentin played immediate dividends, breaking through in a big way for the 2008 White Sox.  He was leading the American League in home runs and was third in slugging percentage, OPS, and RBIs when he broke his wrist slamming his bat following a strikeout against Cliff Lee, causing him to miss the last 6 weeks of the season.  The injury likely cost him the MVP award, and certainly impacted the White Sox, as their battle with the Twins for the AL Central title came down to 163rd game and left the starting rotation is disarray before playing, and eventually losing to, the Rays in the ALDS.

Quentin continued to struggle with injuries for the remainder of his White Sox career, never appearing in more than 131 games.  A shoulder injury ended his 2011 season, and his White Sox career, at the end of August.  That December, just over 4 years since he was acquired, Quentin was shipped to the Padres, for Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez.

On the north side of town, Corey Patterson switched to #20 when he was recalled to the Cubs in 2001, appearing in 51 games and hitting only .221.  He became a full time player in 2002, hitting .253 in 153 games and slugging 14 home runs while driving in 54.  He was breaking out in 2003, becoming the threat the Cubs had hoped he would be, with a .839 OPS, a .298 average, and 13 and 55 for the power numbers when a torn ACL ended his season on July 6.  He returned in 2004, playing 157 games and hitting .266, but was never quite the same player as before the injury.  2005 was not a good season for Patterson, as he saw himself demoted in July following an 8-game losing streak.  Following the season, he was traded to the Orioles.

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Book 12 (of 52) – Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-To Book – Dan Harris, Jeff Warren, and Carlye Adler

Catching up on the books I read while in Hawaii on vacation.

Following up on his previous book on meditation, Dan Harris returns, along with Jeff Warren and Carlye Adler, with Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics.  In 2017, Harris and crew rented a tour bus and hit the road, embarking on a cross-country trip to tackle some of the myths and misconceptions that stop people from meditating.  This book tells the story of that trip, along with practical meditation instructions to tie into the reasons people give for not meditating.

Meditation was something I had been interested in dating back to 2017.  I had done it off and on, more off than on to be honest, until last year, where I tried to stick with it every day.  That has carried into this year, at least so far.  Has it improved my life?  I think so, at least a little bit.  Has it transformed my life?  I’m not quite ready to go that far just yet.

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Against The Mets All Time Leaders – Through 2021

21st-CENTURY-METS_01In the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs.  We continue today with the New York Mets.

The Mets began life in 1962, joining the National League following the abandonment of the New York market by both the Dodgers and Giants in 1957.  I’ve seen them play 16 times, all against the Cubs and including Tom Glavine’s 300th career victory, their pennant clinching victory in the 2015 NLCS, and, most recently, on my first post-pandemic visit to Wrigley Field on April 22, 2021.

Name Total
Corey Patterson 4
Aramis Ramirez 2
12 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Corey Patterson 10
Aramis Ramirez 10
Moises Alou 8
Mark Gruzielanek 8

Runs

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 5
Derrek Lee 5
Corey Patterson 4
Moises Alou 4
Michael Barrett 4
Sammy Sosa 4

RBI

Name Total
Corey Patterson 10
Aramis Ramirez 7
Michael Barrett 6

Doubles

Name Total
Aramis Ramirez 4
Michael Barrett 3
Moises Alou 2
Jorge Soler 2
Derrek Lee 2
Mark Grudzielanek 2
Neifi Perez 2

Triples Continue reading →

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Book 11 (of 52) – Criminal

Criminal – Karin Slaughter

Catching up on the books I read while in Hawaii on vacation.

Criminal, the sixth entry in Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series and my seventh overall, straddles two time periods, the 1970s and the present day, to show how Amanda Wagner got her start in the male-oriented Atlanta PD and what her connection is to Will Trent. When the killer arrested by Wagner and Evelyn Mitchell in their first case together is paroled, Wagner suspects him in a similar crime today. There’s only one problem: the suspect is Will’s father. Can she keep him away from the case while trying to solve it quickly?

If i have one complaint with Slaughter’s series, it’s that all of the characters, police, perps, and everyone in between, have some connection. That trait rears its ugly head once again here, as we learn that Wagner rescued Will Trent as a baby, named him, and kept watch out for him over the years.  Aside from that, the stories are engrossing and enjoyable, but the interconnectedness just pulls you out of the story.

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FB8 – Week 3

Another week of fun in the sun, although one with a twist, led to my second consecutive week well above goal, matching my total from last year.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, as I had to leave my resort and move to the next stop on my trip across the street, which gave me 10,200 steps.  On Monday, I started my plan of working remotely despite the four-hour time difference, and then using the afternoons to enjoy, finishing with seven fewer steps than Monday.  Tuesday saw a noticeable increase, jumping up to 11,000 steps.  Wednesday increased that total by 13 steps, coming 6 steps shy of 11,100.  Thursday was the big day of the week, as I took some meetings from the beach and finished the day with 12,700 steps.  Friday was the end of the road, as I checked out and headed back to the airport for the long flight home, ending with 11,400 steps.  I landed back in Chicago early Saturday morning and managed 3800 steps between naps and such.

Total steps: 70,708

Daily average: 10,101.1

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Book 10 (of 52) – The Last Thing He Told Me

The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave

Catching up on the books I read while in Hawaii on vacation.

When her husband disappears following a federal raid at his company, Hannah Hall tries to keep things together for her stepdaughter.  But when the FBI and the US Marshalls show up, Hannah decides to take things into her own hands, digging into her husband’s past and learning the truth about who he was and what her future holds.

Winner of the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Mysteries and Thrillers, The Last Thing He Told Me is my first introduction to Laura Dave.  I’m not sure how much of a thriller it was, but the mystery was a fun ride.  I’m not sure what else Dave has released, but it might be worth checking out.

 

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Spring Delay

In normal times, pitchers and catchers would have been reporting to training camps throughout Arizona and Florida this week, starting their workouts and getting ready for the 2022 baseball season.  Thanks to the ongoing lockout, however, these are far from normal times.  While there has been no official announcement from MLB, spring training has been delayed due to a work stoppage for the first time since 1995.

Given the lack of actual negotiating between the two sides, it’s hard to tell when this thing may get resolved.  Spring training games are still scheduled to start one week from tomorrow, which seems very unlikely, even if a resolution were to come this weekend.  Maybe the lost revenue from those games will start to force the owners to the negotiating table.

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Book 9 (of 52) – The Sun Down Motel

The Sun Down Motel – Simone St. James

Catching up on the books I read while in Hawaii while on vacation.

In The Sun Down Motel, Simone St. James tells two stories of the Sun Down Motel, one involving Viv Delaney, who was the night clerk in 1982 before disappearing, and the other about her niece, Carly Kirk, who comes to town in 2017 to find out what happened to her aunt.  When Carly accepts the same job in order to get more information about her aunt, she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that caught Viv’s attention in 1982.

I had no previous experience with Simone St. James prior to this, but I had been intrigued by this book since its nomination for a Goodreads Choice Award in 2020.  I’m glad I finally got the chance to dive into it, as St. James tells an intriguing story across generations of one family, tied together by this mysterious motel in upstate New York and the trail of dead girls surrounding it.  I just may need to dig into what other offerings St. James has available.