February 9, 2016February 7, 2016 by admin

FB2: Week 1

We enter the second year of Fitbit use with a strong week, though one that got off to a slow start, with a Sunday total that barely cracked the 4000 step mark. Monday sparked a big bounce back, crossing 9000 steps thanks to morning meetings in North Plaza and the return trip in the afternoon for coffee. The rest of the week was pretty solid, until Friday, which lacked a coffee run and barely surpassed 6000 steps, my new daily goal. Saturday had huge numbers thanks to trips to numerous stores for groceries and carbon monoxide detectors.

Total steps: 49,427

Daily average: 7061

February 8, 2016February 7, 2016 by admin

iTunes Top 200: #167 Part The Third

Music
Almost Famous, Billboard, Elton John, Eric Cartman, Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Garbage, Garfunkel and Oates, iTunes, Kate Micucci, Riki Lindhome, Rolling Stone, South Park, Styx, The Donnas
2 Comments

itunes_image 3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

After a brief hiatus, we continue today with the third grouping of 10 songs tied for 167th place with 17 plays apiece since late 2007, 2 more than what would have qualified for the top 100 3 years ago.

#167: The Donnas – Take It Off
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 8/16/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

The lead single from the band’s major label debut.

#167: Elton John – Tiny Dancer
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 8/4/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

Peaking at #41 on the Billboard charts in 1972, the song experienced a renaissance after being featured in Almost Famous.

#167: Eric Cartman – Come Sail Away
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 11/7/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

This cover of the classic Styx hit was featured in a second season episode of South Park.

#167: Fiona Apple – Shadowboxer
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 8/3/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

Apple’s debut single, it spent 6 weeks on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, peaking at #34.

#167: Foo Fighters – Times Like These
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 9/10/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked

A live version of the 2003 hit from the band’s 2006 concert in London’s Hyde Park.

#167: Garbage – Breaking Up The Girl
Continue reading →

February 7, 2016December 29, 2015 by admin

Tigers All Time Leaders – Through 2015

With 2 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers began life in 1894 as part of the Western League and became a charter franchise of the American League in 1901, making them the oldest one city, one name franchise in the American League. I’ve seen them play 38 times, including the second game ever, and my first game, at the new Comiskey Park.

Home Runs

Name	Total
Miguel Cabrera	5
Ryan Raburn	3
Jhonny Peralta	3

Hits

Name	Total
Ryan Raburn	19
Austin Jackson	15
Brandon Inge	15

Runs

Name	Total
Miguel Cabrera	13
Austin Jackson	10
Ryan Raburn	9
Brandon Inge	9

RBI

Name	Total
Ryan Raburn	13
Miguel Cabrera	10
Tony Clark	9

Doubles

Name	Total
Alex Avila	4
Ryan Raburn	3
Brandon Inge	3
Johnny Damon	3

Triples Continue reading →

February 6, 2016February 5, 2016 by admin

#114 – Mike LaValliere

Baseball
1994 Strike, ALCS, Blue Jays, Carlton Fisk, Mike LaValliere, Pirates, Ron Karkovice, White Sox
61 Comments

Name: Mike LaValliere

Rank: 114

Position: C

Years With White Sox: 1993-1995

After being released by the Pirates just days into the 1993 season, Mike LaValliere signed a minor league deal with the White Sox. He was recalled in June when Ron Karkovice landed on the disabled list. He became the primary catcher after Carlton Fisk was released on June 28th, and moved back into a reserve role once Karkovice returned. He finished the year with a .258 average in only 97 at bats. LaValliere made two appearances during the ALCS against the Blue Jays, picking up 1 hit in 3 at bats.

LaValliere returned to the White Sox in 1994, again as a backup to Karkovice. He hit a robust .281 in only 139 at bats before the season came to a premature end due to the player’s strike.

When baseball resumed in 1995, LaValliere was back behind the plate for the White Sox. He again was used sparingly, ending the year with a .245 average in a scant 98 at bats. Following the season, he became a free agent and retired.

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

Continue reading →

February 5, 2016February 4, 2016 by admin

Book 4 (of 52) – The Devil’s Teardrop

The Devil’s Teardrop – Jeffery Deaver

The Devil’s Teardrop, my 6th outing with the work of Jeffery Deaver and the 1st outside of the Lincoln Rhyme series, focuses of former FBI agent Parker Kincaid, a forensic document examiner, who is called back in to duty when a gunman is let loose on Washington DC on New Year’s Eve. Kincaid teams with the enigmatic Agent Margaret Lukas to track down the gunman and figure out who is behind his attacks before the clock strikes midnight.

This is Deaver’s lone outing about Parker Kincaid, though he has shown up in bit parts in some of the Lincoln Rhyme books. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of him and Agent Lukas in the future if Deaver ever wishes to revisit the characters. In the meantime, this was a good adventure, a nice change of pace from wizards and the like.

February 4, 2016February 3, 2016 by admin

Fitbit Year 1

A year and a half ago, I set a goal to average 5500 steps per day, which would bring me to a yearly total of 2,002,000 steps. When the GlobalFit program came to an end last February and I switched over to the Fitbit, I kept the same goal. A year later, I have far surpassed those expectations, finishing with 2,604,933 steps. My average step total per week was 49,568.8, which comes out to about 7081.3 per day. The median weekly total was 48,978. My best week was Week 32, which was my week in Toronto and upstate New York this past fall. My worst week was Week 1, which fell victim to missing days due to not getting the Fitbit until a Wednesday night.

For the upcoming year, I plan to up the ante a bit. I am upping my goal for steps per day from 5500 to 6000, which would bring me to a yearly total of 2,184,000 steps. Seeing as I surpassed that total this year, with over 420,000 steps to spare, I expect I will have no issue with this. As a stretch goal, I’ve joined up with some friends for 5K February, where I will surpass 3.1 miles (or a 5K) per day. So far, so good.

February 3, 2016January 31, 2016 by admin

Fitbit Week 52

The last week of my first year using a Fitbit got off to a decent start, with an above average day on Sunday, thanks, mostly, to a trip to the grocery store. Things got ratcheted up on Monday, with two trips to North Plaza leading to nearly 9000 steps. Tuesday fell back down to Earth, though it did manage to surpass my daily goal. Morning meetings in North Plaza helped push both Wednesday and Thursday above the 8000 and 9000 step mark respectively. Friday fell back down a bit to nearly 7500 steps. Things went south on Saturday, as I barely managed to break 4000 steps, ending the week (and the year) on a down note.

Total steps: 49,898

Daily average: 7128.3

February 2, 2016January 24, 2016 by admin

Fitbit Week 51

Once again, the week gets off to a disappointing start with a substandard Sunday, centered around a trip to Danny’s basketball game. Things pick up slightly on Monday, though no coffee trip leaves me south of 6000 steps for the day. Tuesday featured the return of the coffee run, pushing my total near 8000. Wednesday was down again, with a big rebound on Thursday and Friday, thanks to two trips to North on the former and a post-work trip to Mariano’s on the later. Saturday was once again back down below my goal, as I spent the day sitting around doing very little.

Total steps: 44,707

Daily average: 6386.7

February 1, 2016December 13, 2015 by admin

A Time For Love

02-Feb February has arrived, and with it, a photo of Angelina from Christmas 2014 after opening her Doctor Who Blu-Ray set, featuring the adventures of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctors.

January 31, 2016December 29, 2015 by admin

Reds All Time Leaders – Through 2015

With 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds began life in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association, joining the National League in 1890. I’ve seen them play 38 times, at 4 separate stadiums across 2 states.