Author / admin

by admin

Book 10 (of 52) – Red Sector

Red Sector – Diane Carey

In the latest entry of the Double Helix series, a commander who spent years as a prisoner on a quarantined planet volunteers to go back to help Spock, Bones, and Dr. Crusher find an heir to the Romulan royal family, which has been decimated by an artificial virus, similar to what was seen at Terok Nor and an outbreak the Enterprise had encountered years earlier.

Diane Carey brings us Red Sector, the third entry in the Double Helix series which focuses mostly on the pair from OG Star Trek, with the Next Gen crew playing a bit supporting role.  She deftly avoids the problems I had with the previous installment, with plot overlap trying to investigate and solve for a mysterious plague, by skipping that part of the story altogether.  The disease is a given, with the action focused on rescuing the one person who can potentially cure it from a bad situation.  With three more entries to go, I am cautiously optimistic on where the series is headed.

by admin

iTunes Top 200: #6 – 10

itunes_image4 years ago, we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library. Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2020.

We’ve reached the Top 10, and today we will look at the 5 songs ranked from #10 to #6 since my stats began in late 2007.

#10: 2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage
iTunes stats: 111 plays, most recently on 3/28/2019
Previous ranking: #9

Dropping a bit since being removed from my White Sox victory play list, this track contains radio highlights, courtesy of The Score, from the 2008 season, culminating in the team’s Division Series loss to the Rays.

#9: Queen – We Are The Champions
iTunes stats: 128 plays, most recently on 8/24/2019
Previous ranking: #7

Reaching #4 on the Billboard charts in the late 70s, the song made it on to my White Sox playlist following their 2005 World Series championship but has fallen off in recent years.

Sox Win#8: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
iTunes stats: 132 plays, most recently on 11/13/2019
Previous ranking: #8

The rallying cry for the 2005 White Sox after A.J. Pierzynski and teammates heard it being sung in a bar in Baltimore, it finally dropped off my playlist for the 2015 season.

#7: sox05_montage
iTunes stats: 146 plays, most recently on 11/27/2019
Previous ranking: #6

Radio highlights, courtesy of ESPN 1000, of the 2005 White Sox season, culminating in the team’s first World Series title since 1917.

#6: Gordon Beckham Intro
iTunes stats: 148 plays, most recently on 6/22/2019
Previous ranking: #5

The Outfield’s hit Your Love, featuring Gene Honda introducing the former White Sox third baseman.

by admin

Mariners All Time Leaders – Through 2019

marinersWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams.  We continue today with the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Toronto Blue Jays. I’ve seen them play 36 times, including the final night game at the original Comiskey Park, the first 2 games of their sweep of the White Sox in the 2000 ALDS, and the home opener in 2019.

Home Runs

Name Total
Kyle Seager 6
Franklin Gutierrez 3
Richie Sexson 3

Hits

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 19
Kyle Seager 16
Michael Saunders 12

Runs

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 8
Raul Ibanez 6
Kyle Seager 6

RBI

Name Total
Kyle Seager 10
Mike Cameron 8
Alvin Davis 7

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Saunders 3
7 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

200 Things To Do In Illinois – Arlington International Racecourse

Illinois celebrated its bicentennial as a state in December of 2018.  To celebrate, the Chicago Tribune published the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, celebrating the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Now that the state is starting to open back up following the corona virus outbreak, I figured this was the second-best time to look through this collection and cover the ones I’ve done/eaten/seen.

We continue things this week with one of the entries from the Sports category: Arlington International Racecourse, from Arlington Heights, IL.

After a fire ravaged the racetrack in the mid-1980s, the northwest suburban attraction emerged like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The lavishly landscaped grounds, rebuilt track and stately new grandstand once again made this a magical spot to experience thoroughbred racing.  Arlington made history as the first thoroughbred racing site with a million-dollar purse.

Another north side spot that I never would have gone to were it not for the location of my job.  We’ve made a few trips over the years (3?  I want to say 3) for team outings, but, outside of those, I have had very little interest in going and wagering on the ponies.

by admin

Fitbit 6: Week 18

Week 11 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus saw my highest step total since leaving work in mid-March.  The week got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, where I came in 5 steps under 4700.  Monday, thanks in part to the Memorial Day holiday, I managed to surpass my daily step total for the first time in nearly a month, finishing with 7700 steps.  Tuesday was slightly worse, but still a pandemic decent 7100 steps.  Wednesday fell back down to Earth, as the workers returned to start installing the new hardwood floor and I ended up with 3900 steps.  Work continued on Thursday, and I came in 16 steps shy of 3700 steps.  Friday moved to the sanding of the floor, and I finished the day 3 steps away from 3800.  Saturday was the low point of the week, as I left home for the new floor to be stained and stayed in a hotel, which left me with only 3600 steps.

Total steps: 34,551

Daily average: 4935.9

by admin

Post Mortem – Jane The Virgin

After 5 seasons, the remake of the Venezuelan telenovela wrapped up its run last summer with more twists and turns and, finally, a wedding.

It will be interesting to see what comes next for the show’s stars.  Gina Rodriguez has tried to cross over into films, but with mixed results, and she has seemed to put her foot in her mouth numerous times when speaking publicly on social issues.  We’ll see what the future holds.

by admin

Angels All Time Leaders – Through 2019

laangelsWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Angels began life in 1961, joining the American League along with the second incarnation of the Washington Senators.  They’ve changed their location designation multiple times, starting in Los Angeles, changing to California in 1966, moving to Anaheim in 1997 and, awkwardly incorporating both Los Angeles and Anaheim starting in 2005, and finally returning to just Los Angeles in 2016.  I’ve seen them play 36 times, including games 1 and 2 of the 2005 ALCS against the White Sox and Jim Thome’s 500th career home run in 2008.

Home Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 5
Chone Figgins 3
Garret Anderson 3
Juan Rivera 3

Hits

Name Total
Maicer Izturis 21
Howie Kendrick 18
Vladimir Guerrero 16

Runs

Name Total
Vladimir Guerrero 10
Maicer Izturis 8
Chone Figgins 8

RBI

Name Total
Garret Anderson 9
Howie Kendrick 9
Shohei Ohtani 9

Doubles

Name Total
Torii Hunter 5
Maicer Izturis 4
Casey Kotchman 4

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

Book 9 (of 52) – Save Yourself

Save Yourself: A Memoir – Cameron Esposito

Comedian Cameron Esposito checks in with her first memoir, a collection of essays detailing her growing up in the western suburbs of Chicago as a devout Catholic, going to Boston College and discovering her sexuality, coming out to friends and family, moving back to Chicago, finding both herself and a career, and, finally, taking the leap to move to LA.

I have never seen Esposito perform live, despite the best of intentions.  I had tickets to see her in Toronto back in 2015, but she had to cancel due to an acting gig.  I had loose plans to see her this spring as part of her book tour, but, thanks to a certain pandemic, that show didn’t happen either.  Thus, at least for the time being, this book is the closest I will get to her work for awhile.  And an enjoyable book it was.

 

by admin

Lay Back Cause It’s Summertime

We reach the halfway point, with 6 months down and only 6 to go in the 2020 calendar.  This month, we have multiple shots of Angelina from the New Year’s trip to Los Angeles at the end of 2018.  We start with a shot of her posing on a lookout in Los Angeles with good views of the Hollywood sign.  Next, we have her and Michael in the float barn in Pasadena.  Below that, she drinks her coffee at the Central Perk shop at Warner Bros. Studios in beautiful Burbank.  Finally, another shot of her and Michael waiting outside of Roscoe’s Chicken N Waffles.

by admin

Orioles All Time Leaders – Through 2019

oriolesWith baseball shut down because of the corona virus, I thought it would be an interesting time to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles began life in 1901 as the Milwaukee Brewers, one of the charter members of the American League.  They moved to St. Louis the following year, becoming the Browns, before finally arriving in Baltimore in 1954.  I’ve seen them play 32 times in 6 different stadiums, first in 1985 at the original Comiskey Park and most recently last June at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Home Runs

Name Total
Manny Machado 4
Brian Roberts 3
4 tied with 2

Hits

Name Total
Brian Roberts 31
Nick Markakis 17
Melvin Mora 14
Adam Jones 14

Runs

Name Total
Brian Roberts 17
Nick Markakis 8
Melvin Mora 8
Luke Scott 8
Adam Jones 8

RBI

Name Total
Brian Roberts 12
Manny Machado 9
Nick Markakis 8
Luke Scott 8

Doubles

Name Total
Brian Roberts 6
Adam Jones 5
Melvin Mora 4

Triples Continue reading →