Tag / Corona Virus

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Fitbit 6: Week 13

Week 6 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus saw my upward trend come to a stop, despite improved weather.  Things got off to a rough start on Sunday, thanks to residual pain from my long walk the day before, so I ended up 6 steps shy of 2900.  Monday I bumped that total up to 5000 steps.  Trips to Jewel, Target, and Meijer on Tuesday gave me my highest total of the week, with nearly 6400 steps.  Wednesday dropped down considerably, to 3100 steps.  Thursday saw a slight improvement, going up to 4000 steps.  Friday fell off a ledge, coming in with only 2400 steps.  Saturday used another trip to the grocery store to get back up to 4400 steps.

Total steps: 28,372

Daily average: 4053.1

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Braves All Time Leaders – Through 2019

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

The Braves began life in Boston, moving to Milwaukee in 1953 and landing in Atlanta in 1966.  I’ve seen them play 19 times, including games 3 and 4 of the 2003 NLDS against the Cubs.

Home Runs

Name Total
Chipper Jones 3
Freddie Freeman 3
Brian McCann 2
Jeff Fancoeur 2

Hits

Name Total
Chipper Jones 10
Vinny Castilla 9
Brian McCann 8

Runs

Name Total
Chipper Jones 6
Andruw Jones 6
Freddie Freeman 4

RBI

Name Total
Chipper Jones 7
Brian McCann 7
Freddie Freeman 7

Doubles

Name Total
Brooks Conrad 2
Gary Sheffield 2
Freddie Freeman 2
Nick Markakis 2

Triples Continue reading →

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200 Things To Do In Illinois – Superdawg

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.  With the state still shut down due to 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 kick things off with one of the entries from the Food category: Superdawg, from Chicago, IL.

A Chicago-style hot dog with all the trimmings comes with a heaping side of nostalgia at Norwood Park’s 70-year-old Superdawg Drive-In.  No need to leave the car; place your order via the intercom and wait for a server to emerge with your order in a retro cardboard box filled with stubby crinkle-cut fries.

Another north side tradition that I was unfamiliar with growing up, but was introduced to after starting to work up north in 1997.  I don’t remember the first time I went to Superdawg, but my most memorable trip would have been on September 11, 2001.  There weren’t many cars in the lot that day, but it was a nice opportunity to catch up on the radio news of the events of the morning.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been down to the original location, thanks to the Wheeling location opening in 2010.  It may be worth a trip, once this whole shelter-in-place business is over with.

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Take My Money, Please


Reports broke on Monday that both the White Sox and the Cubs have come up with a plan to compensate season-ticket holders who already have paid for the 2020 season that has been delayed due to the corona virus.

Both teams are offering the option for season-ticket holders to let the teams keep their money for unplayed games or games played without fans.  In exchange, they will receive a 5% interest payment and the money already paid would roll over for a 2021 season-ticket payment.  Season-ticket holders will also have the option for a complete refund, without the interest payment.

There has been no official word from either team on the plans or the fine details, as we come up to a month after the scheduled start of the season.  There has also been no word yet on the plan for single game tickets, of which I have a couple of hundred dollars tied up.

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Phillies All Time Leaders – Through 2019

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

The Phillies began life in 1883, and are the oldest continuous franchise that hasn’t moved cities or changed names.  I’ve seen them play 19 times, including three times in the city of San Francisco.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jimmy Rollins 4
Mike Lieberthal 2
Bobby Abreu 2
Aaron Rowand 2

Hits

Name Total
Jimmy Rollins 20
Ryan Howard 11
Pat Burrell 8
Shane Victorino 8

Runs

Name Total
Jimmy Rollins 6
Ryan Howard 5
Pat Burrell 5
Carlos Ruiz 5

RBI

Name Total
Jimmy Rollins 15
Ryan Howard 5
Aaron Rowand 4

Doubles

Name Total
Jimmy Rollins 6
Ryan Howard 4
Pat Burrell 3
Jayson Werth 3

Triples Continue reading →

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Fitbit 6: Week 12

Week 5 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus saw my upward trend continue, despite the return of winter weather.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, thanks to a trip to the grocery store that helped put me over 5000 steps.  Continued cold weather on Monday left me with only 3700 steps.  Tuesday was a little better, as I surpassed 4200 steps.  Snow covered the area Wednesday morning, leading to a disappointing 3090 steps.  Another trip to two grocery stores on Thursday put me back up over 5700 steps.  Another snow covered morning on Friday kept me inside most of the day, leading to only 2200 steps. shy of 3200.  The weather improved on Saturday and so did my results, notching my first 10,000 step day since January 3rd thanks to a long walk through the neighborhood.

Total steps: 34,068

Daily average: 4866.9

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Padres All Time Leaders – Through 2019

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

The Padres began life in 1969, joining the National League along with the Montreal Expos.  I’ve seen them play 19 times at 5 different ballparks, first in 1985 at Wrigley Field and, most recently, in 2017.  I was supposed to take in the 3 game series between them and the White Sox next month at PETCO Park.

Home Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 2
Ramon Hernandez 2
Mike Cameron 2
Khalil Greene 2

Hits

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 9
Sean Burroughs 9
Brian Giles 8

Runs

Name Total
Adrian Gonzalez 7
Mark Loretta 5
Ramon Hernandez 4
Mike Cameron 4

RBI

Name Total
Khalil Greene 8
Ramon Hernandez 6
Ryan Klesko 6

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Klesko 3
Adrian Gonzalez 3
Will Venable 3

Triples Continue reading →

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200 Things To Do In Illinois – The Second City

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.  With the state still shut down due to 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 Culture category: The Second City, from Chicago, IL.

Profoundly influential in American comedy, this nearly 60-year-old theater retains its edge by putting on a regular schedule of new, sketch-based shows that skewer politics and contemporary life.

It’s like Saturday Night Live, but right in front of you, and with sketches that know how to end.

I made my one and (so far) only trip to The Second City on November 4, 2017, in the midst of what turned out to be one of the worst weekends of my life.  Without getting too much into the drama of the beginning of the end of (at least what I thought was) an important friendship, a night out with my college friends was a nice respite from everything else that was swirling around me at the time.  I’d certainly like to go back sometime, perhaps to see what they make of this whole shelter-in-place craziness.

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Fitbit 6: Week 11

Week 4 of sheltering in place due to the corona virus again showed slight improvement over the previous week. better results.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, with only 3600 steps.  The weather turned for the better on Monday, which led to a marked improvement, as I surpassed my daily goal for the first time since March 13th and got nearly 8500 steps.  Tuesday was even better, as I surpassed 8600 steps.  Afternoon rains and lots of early meetings made Wednesday a disappointment, as I fell back down to 3700 steps.  Thursday was down again, with just over 3000 steps.  I spent 2 hours on hold with AT&T on Friday, which ate up my walking time and left me 25 steps shy of 3200.  Saturday was a bit of a bust, coming in with only 2300 steps despite decent weather during the day.

Total steps: 33,009

Daily average: 4715.6

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Rockies All Time Leaders – Through 2019

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

The Rockies began life in 1993, joining the National League along with the then-Florida Marlins.  I saw them for the first time in 2002, as they came to town to battle the Cubs.  Since then, I’ve seen them 15 additional times, most recently in the 2018 Wild Card game.

Home Runs

Name Total
Preston Wilson 2
13 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Matt Holliday 9
Brad Hawpe 8
Willy Taveras 8

Runs

Name Total
Brad Hawpe 4
Garrett Atkins 4
Todd Helton 4

RBI

Name Total
Troy Tulowitzki 4
Preston Wilson 3
Jamey Carroll 3
Jay Payton 3
Luis Gonzalez 3
D.J. LeMahieu 3

Doubles

Name Total
Jamey Carroll 2
Willy Taveras 2
Todd Helton 2
Charlie Blackmon 2
Matt Holliday 2

Triples Continue reading →