Tag / Belfast

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FB4: Week 34

The start of my vacation leads to my third highest step total of the year so far.  Things got off to a slowish start on Sunday, where a Black Cab tour in Belfast followed by a night of drinking and talking led to only 5700 steps.  Monday was a little better, thanks to a bus ride to Dublin followed by a flight to Rome, which left me with 6400 steps.  Tuesday’s trip to the Colosseum for a tour enabled me to just get over 10,000 steps.  Wednesday is when I learned about the local subway, which I took to my bus tour and helped me to 10,400 steps.  Walking to Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon on Thursday put me just shy of 15,200 steps.  Friday used a trip to the Spanish Steps and the Vatican to finish at nearly 14,700 steps.  Saturday was a low key day, but I still came in just under 11,200 steps.

Total steps: 73,712

Daily average: 10,530.3

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When Doves Cry

Earlier today, word broke that Prince had died at the age of 57.  He was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate outside Minneapolis.  His publicist confirmed the news without giving any further details.  Just last week, his plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, after which he was rushed to a local hospital.

My favorite Prince-related memory is from my trip to Belfast back in 2012.  We were spending the night in one of the local pubs when Purple Rain came over the speakers.  Drunk Jeff decided it was necessary for him to sing along, thanks to some encouragement from the rest of the group.

My second favorite Prince-related memory would be Charlie Murphy’s recollections of playing basketball and having pancakes with him back in the day on the Chappelle Show.

by jim

The 10,000 Step Club Revisited

Last spring, I took an initial look at the top 20 step days I’ve had since starting the GlobalFit program way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had only surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 31 times.  In the 8 months since then, I have managed to raise that number to 45.  With the GlobalFit program officially wrapping up earlier this week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new, and final, look at my updated top 20 step days over the past 3 1/2 years.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total came during my 2013 trip to Disney World.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.  And yes, it still bothers me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.

2: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My second highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.  These 2 days are the sum total of my days over 20,000 steps.

3: 6/8/2013 – 17,852 steps

My third highest output brings us back to Disney World, this time for a day split between Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.

4: 9/23/2014 – 15,728 steps

A new addition since my original list, this total was accomplished thanks to the Sprint & Stride 5K race that was held at work last fall.

5: 9/9/2012 – 14,957 steps

We round out the top 5 with my highest total outside of the United States.  A Sunday in Belfast spent walking from our hotel, down to the Titanic museum, and then back again.

6: 6/7/2013 – 14,940 steps

Another day of 2013’s vacation to Disney World, this day started with a morning trip to the hotel pool, followed by an abbreviated day at the Magic Kingdom.

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Concert Flashback: Star Wars In Concert

09starwarsIn 2009, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra went on tour performing the music from John Williams’ Star Wars scores, featuring edited footage from all 6 films and narration from Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO.  Given the early December date of the Chicago performance, I planned on getting Danny tickets for his birthday.  In a twist of fate, there were plans afoot to get me tickets for my birthday as well.  So, we got a set of 4 and split them up, 2 for me and 2 for Danny.

As the date of the approached, an interesting conundrum popped up.  I was offered a trip to Belfast for work, but would need to leave the day before the show, on December 5th.  Initially, I turned down the trip, but was eventually able to finagle my way into a Sunday afternoon flight, which meant heading straight to O’Hare from the United Center and arriving in Belfast Monday morning, heading straight to the office.

The concert itself was a faithful recreation of the score from the favorite films of my childhood (plus the later 3 abortions).  The mixture of the film clips worked well given they were the original source of the music, and Anthony Daniels led the proceedings with the familiar voice we had all come to know and love.  This was my first, and so far only, concert at the UC.  It doesn’t seem to be the best venue for it, but it got the job done.

It turns out that George Lucas himself was at this show, only the second time he had seen it in person and the first time in this country.

 

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10,000 Step Club

Way back in July of 2011, when I started this whole GlobalFit exercise (pun somewhat intended), I had the silly thought that since 10,000 steps was what is generally considered active, that I would use that as a guideline of something to ascribe to.  Now, nearly 3 years later, I find that I’ve actually crossed that plateau only 31 times.  As I spend today flying home from California, with the expectation that I will be adding at least one or two days to this list, I thought it would be sobering, and perhaps inspiring, to look back at the top 20 of those 31 days.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total came during last summer’s trip to Disney World.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.  And yes, it does bother me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.

2: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My second highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.  These 2 days are the sum total of my days over 20,000 steps.

3: 6/8/2013 – 17,852 steps

My third highest output brings us back to Disney World, this time for a day split between Animal Kingdom in the morning and Hollywood Studios in the afternoon.  Sadly, this also ends our collection of days greater than 15,000.

4: 9/9/2012 – 14,957 steps

The fourth best day I’ve had in the last 3 years is my highest total outside of the United States.  A Sunday in Belfast spent walking down to the Titanic museum

5: 6/7/2013 – 14,940 steps

We round out the top 5 with another day of last June’s vacation to Disney World.  This day started with a morning trip to the hotel pool, followed by an abbreviated day at the Magic Kingdom.

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by jim

GFY2 – Week 48

Y2Week48Way back in Week 10 of this year, I set my record number of steps in one day with close to 15,000 while in Belfast.  Well, apparently a trip to Disney World will top that, as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all topped that mark, with Thursday setting a new personal record of 24,988 steps, close to 10,000 steps higher than my previous high.

The week as a whole started out pretty good, with both Monday and Tuesday easily above the 5000 step mark, and averaging out to nearly the 6,667 daily average needed for the month of June to meet the challenge.  Wednesday started with a 3 AM wake-up call for the trip to the airport for a 6 AM flight, followed by a day at the Magic Kingdom.  Thursday’s mega-day started at Epcot and then back to the Magic Kingdom.  Friday started with a trip to the pool before heading out to what I guess must have been a third trip to the Magic Kingdom.  Saturday morning started with a trip to the Animal Kingdom and finished up at Hollywood Studios.

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30 For 30 – Go Somewhere Alone

BigBenThe fine folks at away.com have come up with a list of 30 Things Every Traveler Must Do Before They’re 30.  Of those 30, I’ve managed to accomplish 12 of them, or roughly 40% of them, some of which was even before I turned 30.  Today we look at #13 on their list, go somewhere alone.  I did not start off alone as I traveled to the UK for work in December of 2009.  After spending a week in Belfast, I was due to be on vacation for the rest of the year, so there was no need to rush home.  Instead, I said goodbye to my colleagues and spent the next 4 days alone in jolly old England.

I had made limited plans for my stay in London, two trips to the theatre to see Anna Friel in Breakfast at Tiffanys and Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley in The Misanthrope.  Besides that, I had nothing but time to explore the city.  I bought a 2-day ticket for a double decker bus tour, I went to the Tower of London, I took the tube out to Abbey Road to see the crosswalk outside the studios made famous by the Beatles, I saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and, of course, I saw Big Ben and Parliament.  I would love to go back and see it all again, if it weren’t for the 8 hour flight and the cost of seats that aren’t sardine can-like on the plane.

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GFY2 – Week 38

Y2Week3824 steps.  That’s how close I came to an entire week of 5000 step days for the first time since September and the trip to Belfast.  The week started with a trip to Brookfield Zoo on Sunday for Breakfast with the Bunny, despite a temperature in the lower 30s.  Nothing out of the ordinary during the week, other than a concerted effort to keep the streak going.  Saturday’s result is disappointing, considering it was the nicest weather we had all year, but it conflicted with a Dr. Who marathon on BBC America.  Honestly, I’m surprised the total was as high as it was.

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The Year In Movies – Part 1

For many reasons, 2012 was an off year in movie watching for me, which may not necessarily be a bad thing.  I managed to watch only 62 movies last year, my first year under 100 since 2005 and after having averaged just over 131 movies over the past 5 years.  Many things contributed to this, chiefly my attempts to do more exercise and read more books and the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection I have of them, if any.  The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Hatchet II (2010)
I remember thinking this was better than the first Hatchet film, but that isn’t exactly saying anything.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

Nowhere near as funny as the original, but still a worthwhile effort.

Changeling (2008)
Angelina Jolie’s search for her missing child.

Drive Angry (2011)
Nicolas Cage has some bills to pay, and schlock like this is how he plans on paying them.

Moneyball (2011)
One of the most controversial books in the world of baseball hits the silver screen, chronicling the new approach taken by the cash-strapped Oakland A’s to field a successful team.

’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card (2011)
A short about a screw-up who sells his brother’s Alonzo Mourning rookie card.

Tanner Hall (2009)
A pre-Dragon Tattoo Rooney Mara stars in this school girl drama.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
A disappointing sci-fi romp through the old west.

The Rock-afire Explosion (2008)
A documentary looking at the house band of the former Showbiz Pizza.

The Hunger Games (2012)
My first trip to the movie theater this year was for this adaptation of one of the best books I had read the year before.

In Time (2011)
Justin Timberlake continues to impress as an actor.

The Avengers (2012)
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