Tag / Work

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iTunes Top 200: #158

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.

We continue this week with the next batch of songs tied for 158th place with 37 plays apiece since my stats began in late 2007.

#158: Temple of the Dog – Hunger Strike
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 11/7/2024
Previous ranking: NR

Following the death of Andrew Wood, Chris Cornell joined forces with the former members of Mother Love Bone and Eddie Vedder, who was about to join their new band, to record a tribute album.

#158: The Muffs – Kids in America
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 7/24/2024
Previous ranking: NR

The cover of the Kim Wilde song, recorded for the Clueless soundtrack, picked up nine new listens over the past nine years.

#158: Mexican Cheerleader – Do the Stanley
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 12/5/2024
Previous ranking: #144

Six new plays for the track from the local punk band fronted by a former co-worker.

#158: Ludacris – Get Back
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 12/9/2024
Previous ranking: #170

The lead single from his fifth studio album, it added an additional seven plays over the past five years.

#158: LOST Soundtrack – Main Title
iTunes stats: 37 plays, most recently on 8/14/2024
Previous ranking: NR

A healthy debut for the theme song from the 2000s hit television show, which lasts a whole 17 seconds.

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Fitbit XI – Week 2

Another poor week, as work had a bad habit of getting in the way of my hourly step goals.  Sunday got the week off to an ok start, finishing with just 4000 steps.  Things fell off a bit on Monday, as I dropped to 3800 steps.  A nice improvement on Tuesday left me 38 steps shy of 4300.  Another slight drop-off on Wednesday left me 24 steps away from 4000.  Another bounce back on Thursday put me back at 4200 steps.  Friday turned out to be the high point of the week, finishing with 4800 steps.  Saturday rounded out the week needing 16 more stops to reach 4100.

Total steps: 29,268

Daily average: 4181.1

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Fitbit XI – Week 1

Year eleven on the Fitbit platform gets off to a slow start.  The week got off to a decent start on Sunday with 4100 steps.  A slight increase on Monday put me 6 steps away from 4200.  Tuesday was even better, jumping up to 4300 steps.  A 30-step increase on Wednesday still put me at 4300 steps.  A rough day at work on Thursday led to my low point of the week, coming in with 3800 steps.  Friday turned out to be the high point of the week, coming just 12 steps shy of 4400.  The week wrapped up with another 4300-step day on Saturday.

Total steps: 29,563

Daily average: 4223.3

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Fitbit Year 10

A year ago, I set a goal of 2,730,000 steps, an average of 7500 steps per day. Thanks to a combination of old age and my weight finally getting the better of me, I fell quite a bit short of my challenge, finishing well more than a million steps behind with only 1,540,581, the sixth straight year I’ve failed to surpass my yearly goal.  My average step total per week was 29,626.56, which comes out to about 4232.4 steps per day. The median weekly step total was 29,185.  My best week was Week 26, which just so happened to correspond with my trip to see Val in Amsterdam, propelling me to only 49,240 steps for the week.  My worst week was Week 28, where work woes took a toll.

For reasons I don’t completely understand, I’m going to keep things as is for the upcoming year, now that I have finally managed to stop the downward trend, if only slightly.  I am leaving my goal for steps per day at 7500, which would again bring me to a yearly total of 2,730,000 steps. Hopefully this seventh attempt is the one that sticks.

Also, as you may recall, Google, the parent company of Fitbit, has done away with the web interface completely and left the app as the only way of accessing one’s step data.  The app does not allow me to select a year period that does not match up with the calendar year, which is why there is no graphic to accompany this year’s post.

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FB10: Week 51

My streak of decent results came to an end as I headed back to work for the first time in 2025.  Sunday got the week off to a bad start, finishing with just 24100 steps.  Things picked up on Monday, as I came 14 steps away from 4200.  Things were slightly better on Tuesday, finishing with 4200 steps.  A slight drop-off on Wednesday put me at 3900 steps.  A slight improvement on Thursday left me 30 steps shy of 4200.  Friday dropped back down again, needing 18 additional steps to get to 3800.  Taking down the Christmas tree and putting it away on Saturday helped me surpass the 4000-step plateau.

Total steps: 26,756

Daily average: 3822.3

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FB10: Week 47

Yet another disappointing week as I wrapped up the working portion of 2024.  Sunday got the week off to a decent start, coming just 9 steps shy of 4100.  A trip north for a work holiday party left me with 3800 steps.  A dip on Tuesday left me with just 3300 steps.  My last day of work on Wednesday left me only 10 steps shy of 4000.  My first day off on Thursday had 4100 steps.  Friday was the high point of the week, thanks in part to a trip out for a haircut which left me with 4800 steps.  A dip on Saturday dropped me down to 3700 steps.

Total steps: 27,894

Daily average: 3984.9

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FB10: Week 46

Another disappointing week as I returned to work after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Sunday turned out to be my best day of the week, finishing 26 steps away from 4800.  Monday dropped a bit, falling 25 steps shy of 4200.  Another dip on Tuesday left me just 8 steps short of 4000.  Things continued to go south on Wednesday, as I needed 22 additional steps just to get to 3000.  Thursday was the worst day of the week, with only 1700 steps.  A rebound on Friday, thanks in part to a trip out for lunch with some fallen work compatriots, left me with 3700 steps.  Another small improvement on Saturday pushed me up to 3800 steps.

Total steps: 25,358

Daily average: 3622.6

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FB10: Week 43

An overall down week saved somewhat by one day that kept me above the 30,000-step plateau for the fourth week in a row.  The week got off to an excellent start on Sunday as I ran around Boston watching Angelina finish the Boston Half marathon before flying home, leaving me 14 steps away from 9500, my second straight day over goal.  A day off on Monday to recover dropped me down to 3600 steps.  Returning to work on Tuesday powered a nice improvement, falling 40 steps shy of 4700.  Wednesday was the low point of the week, falling down to 2900 steps.  Another improvement on Thursday pushed me back up, needing just 28 additional steps to get to 4100.  A slight decrease on Friday dropped me down to 3800 steps.  The week puttered out on Saturday with just 3900 steps.

Total steps: 32,476

Daily average: 4639.4

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FB10: Week 42

Yet another good week, as I managed to stay above the 30,000-step plateau for the third week in a row thanks to a trip out east.  The week got off to a slow start on Sunday as I finished the day with 3000 steps.  A week full of morning training started with 4000 steps on Monday.  Tuesday was better, going up to 4700 steps.  A small decrease on Wednesday left me 23 steps shy of 4500.  Another slight decline on Thursday dropped me back down to 4100 steps.  A flight to Boston after work on Friday pushed me up over 6600 steps.  A night out to celebrate birthdays with Angelina on Saturday put me at 7900 steps, my first time finishing above goal since my trip to Amsterdam this summer.

Total steps: 34,950

Daily average: 4992.9

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FB10: Week 41

Another good week, as I managed to stay above the 30,000-step plateau for the second week in a row.  The week got off to a good start on Sunday, my 50th birthday, as I finished the day with 4800 steps.  A day off on Monday and a trip into the city for lunch left me with 6800 steps.  Going back to work on Tuesday with a day full of meetings led to a steep decline that put me 10 steps away from 3400.  Wednesday saw a healthy improvement, coming 24 steps short of 4200.  A slight decline on Thursday dropped me back down to 3800 steps.  A nice increase on Friday pushed me back up again to 5200 steps.  A night out with friends to celebrate birthdays made Saturday the highpoint of the week, needing just 6 additional steps to get to 7100.

Total steps: 35.374

Daily average: 5053.4