Tag / Independence Day

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Fitbit XI – Week 24

The 30,000-step week streak extends to eight, though just barely. The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, coming 36 steps away from 3500.  Monday saw a nice increase, needing just a single additional step to reach 4700.  Tuesday was more of the same, finishing with 4600 steps.  A big drop on Wednesday left me with just 4000 steps.  I wrapped up the work week on Thursday 33 steps shy of 4500.  Celebrating Independence Day on Friday put me 6 steps short of 4800.  A 4000-step day on Saturday wrapped up the week.

Total steps: 30,162

Daily average: 4308.9

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FB10: Week 24

The holiday week saw me slip off a bit from the 30,000-step plateau.  The week got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, as I finished 30 steps away from 4200.  Monday saw a slight improvement, coming in just 33 steps shy of 4700.  Tuesday fell back down again, finishing with 4100 steps.   A trip to Palermo’s for dinner to kick off the long holiday weekend on Wednesday came just 7 steps away from 4600.  The Independence Day holiday saw a steep decline, as I rested and would need another 27 steps just to get to 2500.  An improvement on Friday pushed me back up to 3900 steps.  4200 steps ended the week on Saturday.

Total steps: 28,157

Daily average: 4022.4

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You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

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.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the five actors that have starred in exactly 16 movies that I have seen, an increase of three from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

One of the most prolific actors on my radar in the 1990s and 2000s, she has disappeared since, with the most recent of her films that I’ve seen, Music And Lyrics, coming in 2008.

Cameron Diaz

I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper.  She managed to get two films on my list in four different years, most recently in 2010.  She has mostly retired from acting, which explains why 2010’s Knight and Day, which I saw in 2019, remains the last film of hers I’ve seen.

Brad Pitt

In 1994, I saw a little film called Kalifornia, which introduced me to Brad Pitt.  While he would become a mega-star over the next few years, I was a bit of a late comer to his films.  Other than watching A River Runs Through It in 1997 during the Sports in Literature class I took during my last semester of college, it was 2000 before I saw another Pitt film.  Making up for lost time, I plowed through three films in 2000.  He had a four-year streak between in 2010 and 2013, then entered a dry spell that ended in 2020, when he reappeared with two films.  His most recent appearance was in 2022, thanks to that year’s Bullet Train.

Natalie Portman

The first starring roles of Natalie Portman’s that I saw were in 2001, when I watched a double feature of Where The Heart Is and Anywhere But Here.  Her appearances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Thor franchise have accounted for over 31% of her overall total.  2011 was a big Portman year for me, as I saw a whopping four of her films.  My last experience with her work came in 2022, when she returned to the MCU with Thor: Love and Thunder.

Will Smith

Will Smith’s transition from rapper to TV star to movie star began with 1995’s Bad Boys.  The following two year, he cemented himself as a huge star with the double feature of Independence Day and Men In Black.  The Bad Boys and Men In Black franchises have made up over 37% of his total movies that I’ve seen.  My most recent exposure to his work came in 2020, when I saw both 2019’s Gemini Man and 2020’s Bad Boys For Life.

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Fitbit IX – Week 24

Things continue to look up, as I extended my streak of 30,000-step weeks to eight.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished with just 3400 steps.  Monday saw a nice improvement, going up to 5200 steps.  The Independence Day holiday on Tuesday left me just 16 steps shy of 4000.  Wednesday saw another decline, dropping down to 3700 steps.  A double header on Thursday between the White Sox and the Blue Jays left me 15 steps away from 6800.  Another long day at the ballpark, thanks to a batting practice session, helped Friday finish with 6500 steps and another autograph and picture with Harold Baines.  I decided to take a day off on Saturday after nearly fifteen hours at the ballpark over the previous two days, but dinner out for Angela’s birthday helped me get to 4900 steps.

Total steps: 34,643

Daily average: 4949

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FB8 – Week 24

A nice bounce-back with a pretty solid week, as I posted my highest weekly total since Hawaii in February.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, as a late afternoon White Sox game on the television helped me finish just 13 steps shy of 5600.  A trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday for Independence Day put me over 6300 steps and was the high point of the week.  Tuesday saw a big drop-off, down to 4700 steps, as I used a day off work to visit my old friends at Superdawg for lunch.  Another day off on Wednesday and another White Sox game helped me jump back up to 6200 steps.  Going back to work on Thursday saw a slight drop-off, coming a single step short of 5700.  Friday saw another decline, falling down to 4700 steps.  A third trip to the ballpark on Saturday helped to end the week on a high note, finishing with 6100 steps.

Total steps: 39,456

Daily average: 5636.6

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July All Time Leaders – Through 2020

With a full year of baseball on tap after last year’s troubles due to a combination of the corona virus and needless labor squabbles, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for each month in games that I have attended.

As we continue through the summer months, the warm weather has played a part in my attending 161 games during the month of July, my largest total.  I’ve managed to see a game on every day of the month, despite the 3 day All Star break which falls around the same time every year, with 10 games on the 4th leading the way, thanks to Independence Day fireworks shows, and 3 games on the 6 different dates bringing up the rear.

Home Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 10
Paul Konerko 9
Moises Alou 8
Sammy Sosa 8

Hits

Name Total
Alexei Ramirez 54
Jose Abreu 50
Derrek Lee 44
Paul Konerko 44

Runs

Name Total
Derrek Lee 24
Alexei Ramirez 22
Jose Abreu 19
Paul Konerko 19

RBI

Name Total
Derrek Lee 28
Jose Abreu 28
Aramis Ramirez 27

Doubles

Name Total
Gordon Beckham 10
Jose Abreu 9
Aramis Ramirez 9

Triples Continue reading →

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Fitbit 6: Week 23

Week 16 of working from home due to the corona virus was still disappointing, in the grand scheme of things, but was my best showing since being stuck at home.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing 87 steps shy of 3000.  Monday saw a slight improvement, coming in just shy of 4100 steps.  Tuesday was better, coming in 29 steps shy of 6000.  Wednesday saw another improvement, ending the day with 6500 steps.  Thursday was the high point of the week, finishing above goal with 7600 steps.  Friday was a nice day off, which I translated into 5200 steps.  Saturday came a little lower, due in part to a double celebration of Independence Day and my sister’s birthday, leaving me with 4700 steps.

Total steps: 37,175

Daily average: 5310.7

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Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Major League Baseball owners have allegedly approved a plan that could see the 2020 season start around Independence Day.  With a second spring training starting in mid-June at each team’s home ballpark, an 82 game schedule would start in July and would be limited to regional opponents.  Teams would only face opponents from their own division and the same division in the opposite league.  Teams unable to open in their cities due to legal restrictions would temporarily relocate, either to their spring training facilities or major-league parks in other parts of the country.

There are some major roadblocks on the way to implementing this plan, chief among them government participation in states like California and Illinois and the pesky issue of player compensation.  The owners would like to see a revenue sharing plan implemented, since there will be no gate revenues, at least at the beginning of the season, while the MLBPA has rejected that outright, likening it to a salary cap.

Does this plan put us closer to baseball coming back?  Yes.  But, it isn’t a sure thing and it is just as likely that the 4th of July comes and goes and America’s pastime remains on the sidelines.

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FB4: Week 23

After a disappointing start to the week, a nice bounce back due to some changes at work.  Sunday got off to a slow start, as I spent all day inside the house and finished with a whopping 1900 steps.  Things improved immensely on Monday, thanks to a move to Willow and my continuing to park at South and spend some of my time there in the lab.  I finished the day with over 9200 steps.  Tuesday was also a good day, coming in 11 steps shy of 9000.  I celebrated Independence Day on Wednesday by taking off for a long walk, including a stop at the (not so) local Starbucks, which was good for nearly 15,700 steps.  Thursday and Friday finished a mere 10 steps apart, both over 7400 steps.  Saturday used a trip to the grocery store and an afternoon walk to finish over 8100 steps.

Total steps: 58,812

Daily average: 8401.7

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Fitbit III: Week 23

A good week, as I posted my highest total in a month.  Things got off to another slow start as, despite a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field, I failed to reach my daily goal on Sunday for the 5th straight week.  Monday was a good bounce back, coming in just under 9000 steps thanks to a long walk on the day off.  Tuesday was Independence Day, which, again, used a long neighborhood walk to surpass 8300 steps.  Wednesday was back to work, where I managed to surpass 9000 steps.  Another off day on Thursday, thanks to a make-up date at Wrigley Field from a May rainout, ended with 7500 steps.  Friday was the big day of the week, combining an exciting work day with an afternoon walk for a 10,000 step day.  Saturday combined a trip to the grocery store, a haircut, and going in to the city for Roscoe Village Burger Fest and an evening showing of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Total steps: 57,433

Daily average: 8204.7