Tag / DLM

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iTunes Top 200: #19 – 27

Music.  It is a powerful thing that brings people together, creates memories, and evokes emotions.  It is the universal language that speaks to the soul.  It forms the soundtrack of our lives.

It has now been five years since we last counted down the Top 200 songs in my iTunes library, featuring he songs I have listened to the most since 2007.  It is time to do so again, seeing which older songs still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray.  So, without further ado, here are my most listened to songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2025.

With the top of the charts in sight, we continue this week with songs ranking from 27th place with 56 plays up to those with 65 plays apiece, good enough for 19th place since my stats began in late 2007.

#27: Veruca Salt – Seether
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2024
Previous ranking: #29

The group’s debut single was ranked as the 10th greatest grunge song of all time by Paste magazine in 2014.

#27: Garbage – Bad Boyfriend
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/26/2022
Previous ranking: #23

This lead track from the band’s fourth album features Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame, on drums.

#27: Foo Fighters – Monkey Wrench
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 10/28/2024
Previous ranking: #36

The first single from the band’s second album, chronicling the disintegration of singer/song writer Dave Grohl’s four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood.

#27: Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000
iTunes stats: 56 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #23

This live version of the song was recorded at Chicago’s own Metro theatre.

#26: The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 57 plays, most recently on 2/5/2023
Previous ranking: #22

A short interlude from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.

Continue reading →

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Fitbit XI – Week 11

The end of my quick trip to Dallas to see Michael helped keep me above 30,000 steps for the second straight week.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, finishing with 5200 steps after flying home from DFW.  Going back to work on Monday left me 26 steps shy of 4000.  A small increase on Tuesday put me 28 steps away from 4300.  A day filled with meetings led to my worst day of the week on Wednesday, needing 24 additional steps just to reach 2800.  A nice bounce back on Thursday had me 12 steps away from 3800.  A night out on Friday to celebrate Danny’s new job pushed me up to 4600 steps.  Powered by my first visit to Wrigley Field this season, Saturday ended up being my best day of the week, coming in 34 steps shy of 6200.

Total steps: 30,838

Daily average: 4405.4

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Remember When There Was A 10,000 Step Club?

My world was very different five years ago, as I was finishing up my fifth year using a Fitbit.  I had just added 45 new 10,000 step days, my third best year to date, and, with upcoming trips to Boston and California already on the docket, things were looking good to add a good number more and add some new tales to this list of my Top 25 step days.  Then, the corona virus happened, the world basically shut down for the next year or so, and I stopped needing to leave the house.  I’ve worked from home since March of 2020, which theoretically gives me plenty of free time to go out for walks, but, in practice, leaves me homebound more often than not.  I managed just three 10,000 step days for the just completed tenth year of Fitbit usage, which was a small improvement over last year but still tied for my second-worst total since I started this whole step tracking thing some fourteen odd years ago, leading to a total of 288 since I started keeping track back in 2011.  With that in mind, here’s the list of my Top 25 step days, which has now stayed static for five years.

1: 4/14/2018 – 27,470 steps

My best single day total is from my April 2017 trip to New York to see Angelina.  The day’s excursions included trips to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Empire State Building.

2: 7/21/2018 – 27,278 steps

My July 2017 trip to Virginia, to hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob with Jeff and Val, fell just short of the top spot.

3: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

2013’s trip to Disney World, which spent 5 years as my single day best, included excursions to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom, and yes, falling 12 steps short of 25,000 still irks me.

4: 6/3/2019 – 24,665 steps

The first full day of 2019’s summer trip to Washington DC spent most of the day at the Smithsonian Zoo.

5: 8/8/2019 – 23,866 steps

Late in the summer of 2019, I spent two weeks in San Francisco for a work trip.   On my last full day, I went out after work, walking to Pier 39 and then back the other direction to Oracle Park to see the Giants take on the Phillies.  My totals would have been even higher, but I was dead tired and took an Uber back to the hotel after the game.

6: 3/18/2018 – 23,780 steps

My first day in Las Vegas for the 2017 IBM Think conference, the day’s totals include gallivanting around town, including a late night trip up to Caesar’s Palace from the MGM Grand to see Absinthe.

7: 10/24/2018 – 23,362 steps

My October 2018 trip to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday gives us our next entry.  While she was in class, I took tours of Fenway Park and Harvard, before meeting up with her for a late lunch and then heading to the airport for the trip home.

8: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My one-time second highest day took place during the ill-fated trip to Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

9: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

Still my highest total at home in the state of Illinois, the next entry comes thanks to the 2013 BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

10: 12/29/2018 – 20,374 steps

We wrap up the top 10 with 2018’s trip to California and the trip to Disneyland to see Danny perform with the Lincoln-Way Marching Band.

11: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The next entry came in August of 2017 on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael.  After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.

12: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

Down to #12 is my 2017 trip to Disney World, a one day journey with Angelina to celebrate her high school graduation. Continue reading →

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2024: The Year In Travel

As we ring in the new year, it’s time to take a look back at the trips out of Illinois that I took last year.  Things got off to a fast start, as I traveled down to West Lafayette the first weekend of the year with Danny to see Purdue take on Illinois at Mackey Arena.  Since they were still on break, Danny was able to play with the basketball band as Purdue topped their conference rival 83-78.

I returned to campus mere days later, as the Iowa women’s basketball team, featuring star attraction Caitlin Clark, invaded Mackey Arena.  Danny was once again playing with the band, so I watched the game, which Iowa won easily, solo before heading back to my hotel.

Later in January, I made my final trip to Mackey Arena of the year as the Purdue women’s basketball team battled IU.  While the game did not go well for the Boilers, Danny did get to spend some time with his Nana for her birthday the following day.

After a quiet February, basketball again was the reason for my next trip at the end of March.  Purdue’s men’s team was in Detroit for the Sweet Sixteen.  They won Friday night against Gonzaga to advance to the Elite Eight.  Saturday night, we headed across to border to Windsor to have dinner at Caesar’s Palace.  Danny drove up on Sunday for the return trip to Little Caesars Arena, where Purdue earned its first Final Four appearance in 44 years.

We returned to West Lafayette in late April for Danny’s last band concert.  Atter lunch with him and his friends, we headed to the Elliot Hall of Music and settled in for an afternoon of music.  Thankfully, his section was first, so we were able to take our leave early and head back home.

A few weeks later, we returned to Indiana for Danny’s graduation.  First, we all met up at Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana for an early dinner and pictures before making the remainder of the journey to West Lafayette.  After the ceremony, we were allowed time to take a picture or two before Danny went off to celebrate with his friends and we headed home.

A week later, it was time for another graduation, this time in Boston.  We arrived in town on Saturday, hunkering down in a hotel just off the North End.  We eventually met up with the graduate-to-be at a local favorite called The Yardhouse, where we enjoyed a traditional Massachusetts dinner.  After a quick breakfast the following morning, we headed to Agganis Arena on the BU campus for the graduation ceremony.  After a quick lunch, we decamped to the hotel for gifts before a nice dinner in the North End.  Monday we were able to meet up with Angelina for lunch before an afternoon flight home.

With all of that out of the way, I had my first international trip since COVID in July, when I went to Amsterdam for a week to visit Val, leaving on a Tuesday afternoon and landing in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning.  After a day of rest to recover from the overnight travel, I set out to visit the local sights, including the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands, before dinner out with my hosts.  On Friday, I headed out to see some working windmills.  The next night, we headed out to the former Heineken brewery to see the Heineken Experience.  After a day of rest on Sunday, I spent Monday bumming around the museum campus before dinner and a tour of the Red Light District.  The next morning, I set out to the airport for the long flight home.

My final trip of the year was a return to Boston in November to celebrate birthdays with Angelina.  I arrived in town on Friday night, getting to the hotel late.  Saturday, we went to see Heretic before going out to dinner.  Sunday morning, I Ubered around Boston to see Angelina at various points of the Boston Half marathon.  Once she finished the race, we had lunch and then I headed to the airport to return home.

 

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Ballpark Tour: Mariners

As the calendar turns to 2025, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head to the Pacific Northwest for a look at the Seattle Mariners. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with T-Mobile Park.

Stadium Name: T-Mobile Park

Years in Service: 1999 – Present

Visits: 2

After 22 plus seasons of indoor baseball at the Kingdome, the Mariners moved partially outside midway through the 1999 season, when the stadium then known as Safeco Field, with a retractable roof, opened in 1999 following the All-Star break.  The Mariners dropped that first game 3-2 to the visiting Padres.  The name changed to T-Mobile Park prior to the 2019 season.  The park has seen two perfect games, both in 2012.  The first, by Phillip Humber of the White Sox, came in April and was followed four months later by the Mariners’ own Felix Hernandez.  The park has hosted two All Star games, first in 2001 and again in 2023.

My first and only trip west to Seattle came in the summer of 2023, when Danny finally cashed in his high school graduation trip.  We arrived in town on a Friday afternoon and, following a trip to Pike Place Market for lunch, we headed over to the stadium, where the Mariners bested the White Sox.  Having upgraded to the special all-inclusive section behind home plate, we returned on Saturday with better results, as Zach Remillard made his major league debut and led to the White Sox to an extra-inning victory.