Tag / Labor Day

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Fitbit XI – Week 33

A strong week of vacation helped extend my 30,000-step week streak to 17 weeks.  Things got off to a strong start on Sunday as I gathered 5600 steps thanks to a visit to Rate Field to see the White Sox battle the Yankees.  Labor Day saw me come within 23 steps of 4600 on Monday.  A small increase on Tuesday again left me 40 steps away from 4900.  A Cubs game Wednesday night left me just 27 steps shy of 7300.  Thursday saw a big drop-off, needing 13 more steps just to reach 4400.  A doctor’s appointment on Friday put me 27 steps short of 5700.  The week’s low point came on Saturday, ending the week just 24 steps shy of 3500.

Total steps: 35,857

Daily average: 5122.4

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FB10: Week 33

A blah week despite the Labor Day holiday followed by a couple of days off of work.  The week, and month, got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing with just 3000 steps.  Things improved a bit on Monday as I rose to 3800 steps.  A day off of work on Tuesday pushed me up again to 4400 steps.  Trips to the hardware store on Wednesday to look for a new toilet seat led to my best outing of the week, garnering 5200 steps.  A return to work on Thursday saw a big drop-off, leaving me 32 steps shy of 3500.  A small rebound on Friday pushed me back up to 3600 steps.  The week wrapped up with another improvement on Saturday, as I fell 2 steps shy of 3700.

Total steps: 27,280

Daily average: 3897.1

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You Ought To Be In (10) 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 start today with the 27 actors that have starred in exactly 10 movies that I have seen, even from 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of eight films in six years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 21 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with seven films in five years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet six years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Emily Blunt

Our first new entry, Emly Blunt’s first starring role was in 2007’s Wind Chill.  Thanks to three films in 2014 and another two in 2018, her latest, 2021’s A Quite Place Part II, gave her ten appearances.

Gerard Butler

The Scottish actor first appeared on my screen thanks to 2003’s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, which I saw in 2005.  The Has Fallen franchise gave him three additional appearances, in 2013, 2016, and 2020.  He last made a mark in 2022 with two films, 2016’s A Family Man and 2022’s Last Seen Alive.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

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Travelling The 50 States – Michigan

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 26th state to be added to the Union: Michigan

State: Michigan
Joined the Union: 1837
Visits: 5

Despite its proximity, The Mitten has been an infrequent place for me to visit.  Nearly all of my visits can be attributed to one of two things: baseball and ice skating.  The one outlier came during the COVID lockdown, when travel options were limited.

My first trip to Michigan came in 1999 in an effort to see a game during the final season of Tiger Stadium.  Along with my mom and my sister, we took the quick flight and then took a bus into Windsor for a pre-game meal, the first time any of us had left the country.  After some slight difficulties getting back across the border, we headed to the game, where rookie Kip Wells made his major league debut for the White Sox and picked up the victory against the Tigers.  We flew back home the following day.

Nearly a decade later, I returned to Detroit in 2010 for a Labor Day weekend clash between the White Sox and the Tigers.  This time, I booked a hotel in Windsor, so I drove from Chicago to Canada, checking in to the hotel before catching a bus back across the border and to Comerica Park.  The next afternoon, I drove back and took in the afternoon tilt before driving home with two Tiger victories under my belt.

Six years later, the synchronized skating championships were held in Kalamazoo.  The family travelled north to see Angelina and her team compete.

In 2019, the family traveled to Ann Arbor, where BU was competing in a synchronized skating competition.

My most recent visit to Michigan came over Labor Day week in 2020.  With everything locked down thanks to the corona virus, I was looking for a chance to get away and found a nice Airbnb in Holland close to Lake Michigan.  Other than a couple of trips to the lakes (both Macatawa and Michigan) and a day spent in Saugatuck, I didn’t see much of the sites, as the rona was still very much a concern.

Will I return?  I imagine so.  Neither of the boys have been to Comerica yet, so a future visit is not out of the question.

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Fitbit 6: Week 33

Week 26 of working from home due to the corona virus saw an improvement, as I headed out on vacation for the Labor Day holiday.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday, where an afternoon walk down to Holland State Park and Lake Macatawa left me with just over 5000 steps.  Monday saw a nice improvement, as we headed down to Saugatuck for Labor Day, finishing with 7600 steps.  Tuesday was the high point of the week, when, left to my own devices, I headed out on a walk to Lake Michigan, which gave me a healthy 9100 steps.  Wednesday fell back a bit to 7500 steps, thanks in part to a trip to Meijer to recharge my car.  Thursday was the low point of the week. where my first experience with newly legal substances led me to only earning 4600 steps.  Friday bounced back again, coming in with 8100 steps as I stayed local.  Saturday, I took one last walk by the lake before driving home and spending the night with friends, giving me 5800 steps.

Total steps: 48,156

Daily average: 6879.4

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You Ought To Be In (10) 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, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we start with the 27 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a slight increase from the 22 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

After a string of 8 films in 6 years in the mid 2000s, there has been nothing new for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with it going on 18 years since I last saw one of his starring roles.

Elizabeth Banks

Our first new entry, Banks first graced my screen in a starring role in 2006 thanks to The Baxter.  After a dry spell in the early 2010s, she bounced back with 7 films in 5 years, finishing up with 2018’s The Happytime Murders, which I saw in 2019.

Kate Beckinsale

It’s been a quiet 3 years for Beckinsale, who I last saw in Underworld: Blood Wars in early 2017.

Halle Berry

Another newcomer, who has racked up starring roles in 4 different decades now.  I first saw Berry in 1992’s Boomerang, which I saw in a screening at Stewart Center at school.  After notching 5 films during the 2000’s, she had been pretty quiet until returning to my screen earlier this year in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →

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2019: The Year In Travel

Once again, I thought it would be nice to look back at the many trips I took this year.  As you may recall from last year‘s wrap-up, the year began in California.

New Year’s Day was spent in Pasadena for the Rose Parade, where Danny and the Lincoln-Way Marching Band were performing.  Lucky for them, they were slotted right after the float that caught on fire and eventually mucked up the entire end of the parade.  However, they were able to march around the disabled float and keep things moving for the time being.  The next day we went to the California ScienCenter, where we were able to see artifacts from King Tut’s tomb and the space shuttle Endeavor, and the beach before heading home.

And home is where I stayed for a whole month before heading out to Hawaii in February.  I arrived that first Saturday in February, checking out my surroundings around the resort and down Waikiki Beach after the long flight.  Monday, I took a tour of the island of Oahu, with stops at Hanauma Bay, Nu’uanu Pali lookout, Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, Sunset Beach, Waimea Falls, and the Dole Plantation.  Tuesday, I took in a whale watching cruise, where we were able to see multiple whales surfacing during the excursion.  Thursday, I traveled over to Pearl Harbor and all of the associated attractions and museums.  Come the following Saturday, it was time to head home on an overnight flight that got me in town very early Sunday morning.

Come June, the whole family headed east to celebrate Michael’s graduation.  We flew into Baltimore, where Dennis, the boys, and I went to breakfast before heading to Camden Yards to see the Orioles take on the Giants.  On the way to the stadium, we stopped at the grave site of Edgar Allen Poe and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum.  After the game, we walked to the local bus depot, where we caught a bus to Washington DC for the remainder of the trip.

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2018 Final Standings

Despite holding a 5 game lead in the NL Central on Labor Day, the Cubs lost the tie-breaking game 163 on Monday to give the division title to the Brewers and then fell in the Wild Card game yesterday to the Rockies, prematurely ending their season and bringing my game-attending portion of 2018 to an end.  I made it to only 29 games this season, tied for my lowest total since acquiring season tickets in 2002.  I didn’t even manage to attend any games outside of the 2 Chicago stadiums.  Here are the final standings for those games and the 18 different teams I saw in person, through both the regular season and the Wild Card.

2018 Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Houston Astros 2 0 1.000
Colorado Rockies 2 0 1.000
Boston Red Sox 1 0 1.000
Cleveland Indians 1 0 1.000
Los Angeles Angels 1 0 1.000
Oakland Athletics 1 0 1.000
Detroit Tigers 3 1 0.750
Minnesota Twins 2 1 0.667
Chicago Cubs 4 3 0.571
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Fitbit III: Week 32

A great week, surpassing 60,000 steps for the first time in 5 weeks despite off days to start and end the week.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, finishing just over 5000 steps due in part to a solo trip to Guaranteed Rate Field.  Monday used an afternoon walk to cross 8500 days, pretty good for the Labor Day holiday.  Tuesday was another day off work and my first 10,000 step day of the week.  Wednesday was back to work, but still managed to surpass Tuesday’s total for my first back-to-back 10,000 step days since the end of July.  Thursday dropped back down to only 8000 steps, before Friday combined an afternoon walk around campus with a trip to the mini golf course with Hayley to approach 13,000 steps.  Saturday ended just over 6000 steps with another trip to Guaranteed Rate Field.

Total steps: 60,676

Daily average: 8668

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You Ought To Be In (10) 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. 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 July 1st.

Today, we start with the 22 actors that have starred in 10 movies that I have seen, a big increase from the 14 at this level 3 years ago.

Jessica Alba

There has been no change for Jessica Alba since I saw her in 2010’s Valentine’s Day in 2011.

Dan Aykroyd

No change in Aykroyd’s total, with 2002 being the last year I saw one of his starring roles.

Kate Beckinsale

Our first new entry, the comely British actress first came to my attention in 1998, when I saw her in both Cold Comfort Farm and Last Days of Disco.  Her heyday was 2006-2008, when I saw her in 4 films over the 3 year span.  2010 had been my last experience with her work, until I was coerced into seeing Underworld: Blood Wars earlier this year.

Kristen Bell

The Veronica Mars star made her first “big screen” appearance in my life with the television remake of Reefer Madness in 2005.  She’s been a pretty steady presence since, with a 2 year gap in 2015 and 2016 being her largest.  The Boss, which I saw earlier this year, is my most recent exposure to her.

Chevy Chase Continue reading →