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Book 25 (of 52) – Turn On The Heat

Turn On The Heat – Erle Stanley Gardner as A.A. Fair

After the publishers of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Cool & Lam series rejected his second installment back in 1939, he came back with the manuscript for Turn On The Heat, originally published in January of 1940. Republished earlier this year by the fine folks at Hard Case Crime, the pulp novel tells the tale of a mystery surrounding a doctor, his missing socialite former wife, and a murder that may tie them back together again.  Cool and Lam try to untangle the mess and figure out what’s truly going on before they, and their client, take the fall.

That makes 3 of the 30 Cool and Lam offerings that Gardner wrote, under the name A.A. Fair, that have been republished by Hard Case Crime.  I don’t know if they have plans for more, but I’d be a willing participant if they do.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 44

Another disappointing week, though one that looks worse than it actually was due to technological difficulties.  My Thanksgiving vacation came to an unsatisfying conclusion on Sunday, with a whopping 2600 steps.  Things bounced back on Monday, as I went back to work and managed to surpass my daily goal for the first time since the previous Wednesday.  Tuesday somehow managed to fall exactly at 6500 steps.  Wednesday combined a trip in to the city to pick up a cake for Val, a day of work, and then a trip out at night to make the week’s best day at over 7800 steps.  Thursday had another night out after work to come in just over my daily goal.  Friday should have been a good day, with a trip to Woodfield Mall for our annual holiday party, but a botched software update to the Fitbit made me lose most of my activity for the day.  Given that the week was already shot, I saw no reason to put special effort in on Saturday, again failing to surpass 3000 steps.

Total steps: 36,013

Daily average: 5144.7

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Book 24 (of 52) – I’m Fine… And Other Lies

I’m Fine…And Other Lies – Whitney Cummings

Comedian Whitney Cummings offers a helping of the different issues she has faced, both physically and mentally, to get where she is today.

Truth be told, I really didn’t plan on reading this, but, after a recommendation from Val, I’m glad I did.  Some of her mental issues really hit home with me, and hopefully some of her coping mechanisms will as well.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 43

A disappointing week, with my lowest total since early August of 2016.  Things got off to a telling start on Sunday, as I barely managed to surpass 2200 steps.  Things bounced back with good days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, thanks to unseasonably warm weather and vacation.  Thanksgiving caused things to fall off again on Thursday, as I failed to hit 4000 steps.  Friday saw a small increase, coming in at just over 4500 steps.  Saturday was another failure, getting only 2600 steps to end the week.

Total steps: 36,229

Daily average: 5175.6

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Book 23 (of 52) – The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye

The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye – David Lagercrantz

The fifth installment in the Millennium Trilogy (can it still be a trilogy when you get to book 5?). The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye has David Lagercrantz taking his second shot at Lisbeth Salander, Mikael Blomkvist, and gang.  In this go around, Salander spends most of the book in prison, while Blomkvist investigates a story about identical twins and experiments that were done to them years ago.

If that doesn’t sound too exciting, that’s because it really wasn’t.  After his first outing, I wasn’t exactly sold on Lagercrantz’s takes on Stieg Larsson’s world and characters.  This effort just further cemented my thoughts that the series should have ended with Larsson’s last work finished before he died.  Or, with the rumored fourth book that was mostly finished on his laptop, controlled by his girlfriend.

I’m sure that this book will be successful enough that there will be another one sooner or later.  Whether or not I return is up in the air at this point.

 

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Fitbit III: Week 42

A bit of a down week, just barely surpassing my goal for the week.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday, as I came close to 10,000 steps while gallivanting around Southern California.  Monday was a big down day, with my flight home coming in at 6 AM local time, followed by a day of rest.  Tuesday bounced back to just over my 6500 step goal as I went back to work.  Wednesday and Thursday came in with nearly identical totals, with Friday falling back down again.  Saturday was another down day, falling well short of my goal.

Total steps: 45,820

Daily average: 6545.7

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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

baseballhof

The BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 on Monday.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July.  After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.  Once again, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.  And that doesn’t even take in to account Joe Morgan’s letter.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Today, it’s time to look at the newcomers and who may be thankful come January.

Chris Carpenter

He put together some monster seasons, but lost nearly 4 1/2 seasons due to injury, leaving his numbers well short of enshrinement.

Johnny Damon

Probably would not get anywhere near enough support, but he spent many years in a Red Sox or Yankees uniform, so who knows.

Livan Hernandez

The Cuban ex-pat may get a vote or two, but it should be one and done for him.

Orlando Hudson

I can’t imagine a world where Orlando Hudson, who finished out his career with the White Sox in 2012, earns a Hall of Fame vote.

Aubrey Huff

Not that he was going to garner any support anyway, but his recent social media posts, falling for the worst of the right wing conspiracies, certainly aren’t helping.

Jason Isringhausen

This has been a weak batch of newly eligible players. no?

Andruw Jones

Now here is an interesting conundrum.  If we stick to his first 11 seasons, it seemed like he was destined for the Hall.  His last 7 seasons, though, were so bad that it makes it hard to consider him.  This would be a tough choice.

Chipper Jones

Ah, there we go.  A sure-fire, first ballot selection for the long time Brave.

Carlos Lee

The former White Sox outfielder may get a little support, but not enough to keep him on the ballot for a second go-around.

Brad Lidge

Lidge was on the mound when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, but that won’t erase the memories of the huge home runs he gave up in the 2005 post-season, to Albert Pujols and Scott Podsednik.

Hideki Matsui
Continue reading →

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2018 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Holdovers

baseballhofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2018 yesterday. The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 24th, with induction taking place next July. After Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 14 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may continue the logjam caused by the current BBWAA rules which limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10 and the ongoing refusal by some writers to vote for players tainted by PEDs, leaving too many qualified candidates fighting for limited spots.

Let’s take a look at the returning candidates today before moving on to the newcomers.

Barry Bonds
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 53.8

The all time home run champion saw his vote percentage rise for the third straight time last year, so the PED bias holding him back may be subsiding.  Having hit the halfway point in his election cycle, whether he has enough time to get up to 75% remains to be seen.

Roger Clemens
Years on ballot: 5
2017 Percentage: 54.1

Roger Clemens, he of the 354 career victories and 7 Cy Young awards, also found himself with a third consecutive rise after his fifth run through the voting process.  For some odd reason, perhaps by having played for more teams, Clemens continues to get marginally more support than his fellow PED poster child Barry Bonds.

Vladimir Guerrero
Years on ballot: 1
2017 Percentage: 71.7

The former Expo and Angel should have no issue getting in this year, considering he was only 15 votes short last year.

Trevor Hoffman
Years on ballot: 2
2017 Percentage: 74.0

One of only 2 pitchers with over 600 saves, Hoffman missed election last year buy a mere 5 votes.  I would expect him to break through this year.

Jeff Kent
Years on ballot: 4
2017 Percentage: 16.7

The 2000 NL MVP managed a slight increase in vote percentage last year, but has a long way to go and not a whole lot of time left, so the future does not look good for him.

Edgar Martinez
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 58.6

The longtime DH for the Mariners saw another big jump last year, but has only 2 elections left and may not have enough time to build up to the necessary 75%.  His long career as a DH in the Pacific Northwest may be holding him back.

Fred McGriff
Years on ballot: 8
2017 Percentage: 21.7 Continue reading →

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Book 22 (of 52) – Promise Not To Tell

Promise Not To Tell – Jennifer McMahon

Promise Not To Tell, the debut novel from Jennifer McMahon, tells the story of a girl murdered in 1971 and a similar murder in 2002.  A nurse from Seattle tries to figure out who’s behind the current murder while dealing with her guilt from the old murder.

While this was McMahon’s first book, it was my fourth experience with her work.  You could see the beginnings of the talent that would shine through in her later works.  Not to say this wasn’t good, but it wasn’t her strongest work.  As a debut, though, it worked out pretty well.