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Fitbit Year 3 – Half Year Checkpoint

Last week marked the midway point of year 3 of using the Fitbit, so it is time to check in on my progress towards my goal of 2,366,000 steps, or an average of 6500 per day. One half of that total would be 1,183,000. So how did I do?

In a word, tremendously.  I put up 59.7% of my goal for the year in the first six months, finishing with 1,412,837 steps.  That translates to a nearly 722 miles, which is a little mind-blowing.  Along the way, I also managed to climb 1754 steps.  I also managed to complete 34 10,000 step days, which is 1 less than all of the previous year and just 2 off my personal best total of 36 in the first year of the Fitbit.

Other than one down week in the beginning of May, every week has surpassed my weekly goal of 45,500 steps.  Hopefully things continue at this pace, especially once the weather starts to cool down.

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#17 – Scott Podsednik

Name: Scott Podsednik

Rank: 17

Position: LF

Years With White Sox: 2005-2007, 2009

Scott Podsednik was traded to the White Sox, along with Luis Vizcaino, from the Brewers for Carlos Lee on December 13, 2004.  He moved in to the leadoff spot as part of manager Ozzie Guillen’s grinderball philosophy.  After putting up a .294 average with 44 steals in the first half, he earned his first All Star game nod, getting elected in the Final Vote.  Injuries slowed him in the second half, but he was back to full strength when the regular season came to an end and the White Sox embarked on their first post-season appearance in 5 years.

After going the entire regular season without a home run, Podsednik went deep against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS, helping the White Sox to a 14-2 victory on their way to a 3 game sweep of the defending champions.  Podsednik continued his steady play during the ALCS, hitting .294 with a triple and 3 stolen bases in the 5 game series.  The shining moment of his career came in Game 2 of the World Series, thanks to a walkoff home run against Brad Lidge in the 9th inning, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead on their way to a sweep and their first world championship in 88 years.  For his efforts, Podsednik finished in 12th place for MVP voting.

As the White Sox looked to repeat in 2006, Podsednik found it difficult to duplicate his efforts from the year before.  His average was down 29 points, to .261, and his stolen base total was off by 19.

Injuries limited Podsednik to 62 games in 2007.  His offensive production continued to be lacking and, after the White Sox fell completely out of contention for the first time in years, the team decided to change their approach and gave Podsednik his release.

He returned to the White Sox organization in 2009, signing a minor league deal.  Injuries to Brian Anderson, Dewayne Wise, and Carlos Quentin gave him plenty of opportunity with the big league club, and he responded by hitting .304, his highest total since 2003.  Following the season, he became a free agent.

Podsednik’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Civic Duty

Last week, I was scheduled to do my part in our democratic society by showing up for jury duty.  Where I live, jury duty is a week long commitment, though you may not be required to attend each day.  You do need to check in twice a day, to see if you are needed in the morning and again in the afternoon.  For someone with a 50+ mile commute to work, it didn’t make sense to go in even if I wasn’t needed in the morning, on the off chance I would be needed in the afternoon, which happened to me last time I had jury duty in 2003.

The whole experience was a bit of a bust, though it did enable me to keep up with my busy plans for the week.  I went in Monday morning, one panel was called, which I didn’t make, and then they let us go by 11:30, which gave me enough time to go home and change before heading out to Wrigley Field for exciting crosstown action.

And… that was it.  Every night, I either called or checked the website and was told I wasn’t needed.  Every afternoon, I would do the same before lunch and got the same response.  A week of working from home, with the occasional baseball game sprinkled in.   I had prepared for the week by stocking up on books, but only made it through one.  All in all, a complete waste of time.  We’ll see if it takes another 14 years to get called again.

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Fitbit III: Week 26

Another great week, as I surpassed 60,000 steps for the second time in the last 3 weeks and extended my streak of days over goal to 14.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday, where morning brunch led to just surpassing my daily goal of 6500 steps.  Monday started at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet for what was supposed to be a week of jury duty, but an early exit brought me to Wrigley Field for day 1 of crosstown action, finishing well over 7000 steps.  Tuesday was the big day of the week, thanks to a return trip to Wrigley followed by my first trip to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in 21 years to see Sir Paul McCartney.  Wednesday was my down day of the week, with no plans and a mere 12 steps above goal.  Thursday, the crosstown action moved down to Guaranteed Rate field and I notched my second 10,000 step day of the week.  Friday was the first day I made it to the office all week, which I followed with a trip to Miller Park in Milwaukee, scoring my third 10,000 step day of the week.  After sleeping in on Saturday, I took a trip to the car wash, followed by exciting Sox/Indian action.

Total steps: 63,225

Daily average: 9032.1

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You Ought To Be In (14) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we look at the 7 actors that have starred in 14 movies that I have seen, an increase of 1 over the past 3 years.

Keanu Reeves

After a 7 year hiatus, Keanu Reeves returned to my screen last year in 2016’s John Wick.

Winona Ryder

The last films of her’s that I saw is still 2002’s Mr. Deeds, which I finally got around to watching in 2011.

Adam Sandler Continue reading →

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Hall Of Fame Batting Leaders

baseballhof

Today, former White Sox outfielder Tim Raines joins long time Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell and well travelled catcher Ivan Rodriguez in taking their place in Cooperstown.  With 3 new hitters joining the list of Hall of Famers I’ve seen play live, let’s check back in with the new leaders on the offensive side of the ball amongst Hall of Famers for all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2017.

Home Runs

Name Total
Frank Thomas 15
Ivan Rodriguez 4
Carlton Fisk 2
Craig Biggio 2
Mike Piazza 2
Ken Griffey Jr 2
Eddie Murray 2

Hits

Name Total
Frank Thomas 54
Ken Griffey Jr 32
Ivan Rodriguez 16
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#18 – Carlos Quentin

Name: Carlos Quentin

Rank: 18

Position: LF/RF

Years With White Sox: 2008-2011

Carlos Quentin was acquired by the White Sox in a December 2007 trade with the Diamondbacks for Chris Carter.  He earned 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 they battled the Twins for the AL Central title before 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.

Quentin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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Book 15 (of 52) – Heat Storm

Heat Storm – Richard Castle

Heat Storm, the latest from Richard Castle, offers the first full-fledged team up between his two breakout characters, Nikki Heat and Derrick Storm.  When the case of Heat’s supposedly dead mother converges with Storm’s case of Chinese counterfeiters, the two join forces to find out why Heat’s mother faked her death and how it all ties in with the upcoming presidential election.

With Castle off the air for over a year now, it seems likely that this will be the last offering from Richard Castle.  The final chapter even wrapped everything up in a bow, insinuating that this was the end.  If so, it’s been a hell of a run.

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Fitbit III: Week 25

Another good week, as I was above goal for all 7 days and finished above 50,000 steps for the 5th consecutive week.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, where I was still recovering from the trip to Disney World but still managed to finish a whole 6 steps above goal.  Monday was a big improvement, as I finished above 8500 thanks to some work day trots around the building.  Tuesday was back down near goal again, with an impressive 36 step cushion.  Wednesday was the high point of the week, clocking in at nearly 9000 steps thanks to an after work trip to Guaranteed Rate Field to see the White Sox debut of Yoan Moncada.  Thursday used a trip out to dinner after work to surpass 7500 steps.  Friday was back down closer to goal, but still managed to surpass it by over 100 steps.  Saturday was another big day, thanks to a trip to Ravinia to see Garbage and Blondie.

Total steps: 53,181

Daily average: 7597.3