For the eighth straight season, the Cubs are using digital tickets through the MLB Ballpark app, which were uploaded on last Wednesday. This was a much more exciting day back when physical tickets were delivered, getting a big, fancy box filled with ticket books and extras in the mail.
Book 9 (of 52) – The Case of the Baited Hook
The Case of the Baited Hook – Erle Stanley Gardner
When a mysterious, late-night meeting with a man and a disguised woman, who may eventually become a client, puts Perry Mason in a bind after a trustee is found dead, he tries to figure out which of the many possibilities surrounding the case the disguised woman may be. Once he is personally charged with aiding and abetting the homicide, but before he is officially arrested, he manages to track down the truth, both of his mystery client and who actually committed the murder, clearing hiw own name.
Originally published in 1940, The Case of the Baited Hook is 16th entry in Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series. This case, though heavily modified, was featured as the fourteenth episode of season one in the Raymond Burr version of the show. Since this is a little further along in the series, the characters align more closely with those we are familiar with from television. Thanks to a sale in the Kindle store to celebrate the new year, I was able to pick up a couple additional stories from Gardner’s oeuvre, which I hope to work through over the coming months,
Fitbit 12 – Week 4
A warming trend, plus an unplanned trip to Iowa to wrap up the week, put me back above 30,000 steps after a brief blip. The week got off to an ok start on Sunday, falling 23 steps away from 4000. A morning visitation and funeral for my aunt on Monday led to 4200 steps. A slight drop on Tuesday left me with 4100 steps. Another drop on Wednesday put me at 3900 steps. An increase on Thursday bumped me up to 4400. Friday fell back down to 3900 steps. I headed to Iowa on Saturday to take in some more exciting Purdue basketball, which wrapped the week up with 6400 steps.
Total steps: 31,026
Daily average: 4432.3
All Time Batting Leaders – Through 2025
Last week, we took our annual look at the all-time leaders in pitching stats for the now 1,149 games I’ve attended (and identified) between 1984 and 2025. With the first full squad spring training workout in the books, it’s time to move over to the other side of the ball and take a look at the offensive stat leaders for those games, starting with our first category:
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 92 |
| Jose Abreu | 49 |
| Sammy Sosa | 42 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 41 |
| Derrek Lee | 40 |
| Jermaine Dye | 40 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 363 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 300 |
| Jose Abreu | 273 |
| Derrek Lee | 255 |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 239 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 199 |
| Derrek Lee | 140 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 134 |
| Jose Abreu | 129 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 120 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Paul Konerko | 234 |
| Jose Abreu | 159 |
| Aramis Ramirez | 158 |
| Alexei Ramirez | 140 |
| Derrek Lee | 134 |
Doubles Continue reading →
iTunes Top 200 Artists: #138-150
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 artists in my iTunes library, featuring the songs I have listened to the most since 2007. It is time to do so again, seeing which performers still resonate and if any newer ones have joined the fray. So, without further ado, here are my most listened to artists, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2026.
We continue today with our next batch of ten artists, covering the genres of pop, alternative rock, and rap, stretching from the 1970s through 90s.
#150: Nine Inch Nails
iTunes stats: 75 plays
Previous ranking: #143
A 27% increase for Trent Reznor and company was fueled by 16 additional listens spread across three of the four songs I have in my collection.
#148: Billy Idol
iTunes stats: 76 plays
Previous ranking: #148
The 70s punk, who was a leader of the MTV-fueled second British Invasion in the early 80s, added 19 new listens to the three tracks in my collection, allowing him to stay perfectly even on the chart.
#148: Sponge
iTunes stats: 76 plays
Previous ranking: #140
The 90s alt rock band from Detroit added 16 new listens to the three tracks in my collection over these past five years.
#147: Led Zeppelin
iTunes stats: 77 plays
Previous ranking: #133
Originally formed in London in 1968, the quintessential rock band of the 1970s and noted musical thieves score fifteen new listens, a 24% increase.
#144: Janet Jackson
Continue reading →
Brewers All Time Leaders – Through 2025
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. With a little more than a month until spring training camps open, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers began life in 1969, joining the American League as the Seattle Pilots. After one year, they moved to Milwaukee and were re-christened the Brewers. In 1998, the Brewers became the first team to switch leagues when they moved to the National League as the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the American League. I’ve seen 260 players don the Brewers uniforms in the 48 games of theirs that I’ve attended live, first in 1993 battling the White Sox at their old home of Milwaukee County Stadium and most recently last fall, battling the Cubs in the NLDS.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Richie Sexson | 4 |
| Prince Fielder | 4 |
| Ryan Braun | 4 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Ryan Braun | 29 |
| Prince Fielder | 23 |
| J.J. Hardy | 19 |
| Corey Hart | 19 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Ryan Braun | 14 |
| Prince Fielder | 14 |
| J.J. Hardy | 11 |
| Rickie Weeks | 11 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Ryan Braun | 23 |
| Prince Fielder | 17 |
| Richie Sexson | 13 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Prince Fielder | 9 |
| Corey Hart | 6 |
| Ryan Braun | 6 |
Triples Continue reading →
Astros All Time Leaders – Through 2025
To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball. As we head into 2026, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the Houston Astros.
The Astros began life in 1962 as the Colt 45’s, joining the National League along with the Mets, and became the Astros three years later. In 2013, they moved to the American League, becoming just the second team to switch leagues. I’ve seen 223 players don the Astro uniform in the 52 games I’ve seen them play live, including Game 2 of the 2005 World Series and the final games of the 2021 ALDS.
Home Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 7 |
| Carlos Lee | 4 |
| Jose Altuve | 4 |
Hits
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 30 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 19 |
| Jose Altuve | 18 |
Runs
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 15 |
| Jose Altuve | 15 |
| Craig Biggio | 11 |
| Chris Burke | 11 |
RBI
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 26 |
| Jose Altuve | 13 |
| Morgan Ensberg | 12 |
Doubles
| Name | Total |
|---|---|
| Lance Berkman | 7 |
| Mike Lamb | 6 |
| Hunter Pence | 5 |
| Chris Carter | 5 |
Triples Continue reading →
Book 8 (of 52) – Don’t Let Him In
Don’t Let Him In – Lisa Jewell
When a mysterious new man enters her mother’s life too quickly following her father’s death, Ash gets a bad feeling in her gut. The more she digs, the more she realizes that this man, who claimed to be an old acquaintance of her father, is not quite what he seems, despite having ready answers for any of her probing questions or concerns. A deeper dive leads her to the truth. and the scores of women he has scammed and families he has abandoned over the years.
Lisa Jewell’s latest, Don’t Let Him In, was a 2025 nominee for the Goodreads Choice award for Favorite Mystery & Thriller, which is somewhat surprising since there isn’t much of a mystery here and the thrills are rather light as well. It is obvious fairly quickly that the men with the different names making time with the different women are all the same man and, once the jealousy was first introduced, it wasn’t much of a surprise to learn what role he played in the death of the protagonist’s father, which kicked the whole story into motion. I was more in tune with the previous work of hers I had read, so hopefully this was more of a blip in the road.
I Don’t Want To Wait For Our Lives To Be Over
James Van Der Beek, titular star of the iconic teen soap series Dawson’s Creek, passed away yesterday at the age of 48. Van Der Beek announced he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer in November of 2024.
Van Der Beek rose to fame starring as Dawson Leery on the WB hit drama. He would later play a fictionalized version of himself on Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23. On the big screen, he was known for his starring role in Varsity Blues.
Van Der Beek is survived by his wife and their six children.
Fitbit 12 – Week 3
Despite a good start to the week, more sub-freezing temperatures combined with a bad week for meetings brought my streak of 30,000 step weeks to an end at nine. The week got off to a good start on Sunday thanks in part of birthday celebrations for my mother, finishing the day just 8 steps away from 4800. A post-work wake on Monday propelled me to 5300 steps. Multiple back-to-back meetings on Tuesday kept me glued to my chair and left me 3 steps shy of 2800. Wednesday saw a nice improvement but still needed 34 more steps to reach 4000. Thursday was a near duplicate, finishing exactly 100 steps behind the day prior. A nice increase on Friday, the first time the Chicago area broke above freezing in nearly 3 weeks, left me with 4300 steps. A trip for a haircut on Saturday wrapped up the week 32 steps shy of 3700.
Total steps: 28,722
Daily average: 4103.1