Thursday, November 23, 2017

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

A day to try to stay away from politics. So, if you can forgive Charles Schulz for 'cultural appropriation' (a recently discovered ill-conceived idea from those over-educated, self-righteous morons on the left) you can enjoy this 'Peanuts' cartoon wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. (I think I might have failed to keep politics out of my blog today...oops)

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	400	88	6	8	1,240	4
Kirkland - Bacon	320	0	24	24	1,400	0
	720	88	30	32	2,640	4
L U N C H
Salmon Avocado Sushi Roll	600	93	14	20	945	17
	600	93	14	20	945	17
D I N N E R
Multigrain Crispbread - Crispbread Crackers	675	165	0	30	975	0
Campbell's Chunky Soup - Hearty Beef Barley	560	96	6	32	3,160	24
	1,235	261	6	62	4,135	24
S N A C K S
Dreyer's Fruit Bars Creamy Coconut	480	80	12	16	160	72
Oreo Cookies	480	75	21	3	420	42
	960	155	33	19	580	114

Totals	3,515	597	83	133	8,300	159
Your Daily Goal	4,050	506	135	203	2,300	152
Remaining	535	-91	52	70	-6,000	-7
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,120 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today... You'd weigh 220.5 lbs in 5 weeks.

JOHN ALEXANDER LOGAN (SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS)

from bio guide.congress.gov

LOGAN, John Alexander, (1826 - 1886)

Senate Years of Service: 1871-1877; 1879-1886
Party: Republican; Republican

Courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office

LOGAN, John Alexander, a Representative and a Senator from Illinois; born in Murphysboro, Jackson County, Ill., on February 9, 1826; attended the common schools and studied law; served in the war with Mexico as a lieutenant; returned to Illinois; clerk of the Jackson County Court 1849; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1852, and practiced; member, Illinois house of representatives 1852-1853, 1856-1857; prosecuting attorney for the third judicial district of Illinois 1853-1857; presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1856; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses and served from March 4, 1859, until April 2, 1862, when he resigned and entered the Union Army; chairman, Committee on Revisal and Unfinished Business (Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Congresses); during the Civil War was commissioned brigadier general, and then major general of Volunteers, and served until 1865; elected as a Republican to the Fortieth, Forty-first, and Forty-second Congresses and served from March 4, 1867, until his resignation on March 3, 1871, at the end of the Forty-first Congress, having been elected Senator; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Forty-first Congress); one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1868 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson; conceived of the idea of Memorial Day and inaugurated the observance in May 1868; elected to the United States Senate as a Republican and served from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1877; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Forty-third and Forty-fourth Congresses); resumed the practice of law in Chicago; again elected to the United States Senate in 1879; reelected in 1885, and served from March 4, 1879, until his death; chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth Congresses); unsuccessful Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1884; died in Washington, D.C., December 26, 1886; lay in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, December 30-31, 1886; interment in a tomb in the National Cemetery, Soldiers' Home, Washington, D.C.

Hey, stupid people in Illinois... Are you aware that this statue of Senator John Logan, Senator from Illinois was a Republican? Maybe we should tear this statue down? You know, after we get around to tearing down the statues of President Abraham Lincoln. Or better yet, perhaps we can melt the statues and remold them into the statue of Mayor Marion Barry that the lefties in Washington, DC want to erect? Perhaps, New Yorkers are already planning to erect (pun intended) a statue of Congressman Anthony Wiener?

Monday, June 27, 2016

CHICAGO CUBS

As a transplanted New Yorker, I somehow still consider myself a New York Yankees fan. Although at the present time, I can only name one player on that team - and I do not admire him as he has managed to sully the game with his steroid use - Alex Rodriguez. Since I have lived in Chicago since 1993, I suppose I should have some affinity for the local teams. The thing is, I don't think I really ever 'recovered' from the last baseball strike which was 22 years ago when the entire post-season was completely wiped out. I have mostly lost interest in Major League baseball. Each year that the Yankees were in the playoffs, I would get a bit interested and start watching some games. When they were eliminated, so too, was my interest.

Lately, a quick check of the Major League baseball standings show the hapless Chicago Cubs atop their division with the best record in baseball. This 'incomprehensible' fact is in direct contrast to their 'recent' (100+ year) history as reported by wikipedia:

In 1906, the Cubs won a Major League record 116 games, and posted a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League team to play in three consecutive Fall Classics, and the first to win it twice. The team has appeared in a total of ten World Series, most recently in 1945. The Cubs have not won the World Series in 107 years, and they have not won the National League pennant in 70 years, both of which are record "droughts" in Major League Baseball. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason seven times. This included four trips to the League Championship Series—in 1984,1989, 2003, and 2015.

NL Central

PCT

HOME

AWAY

L10

Cubs

.649

25-11

23-15

4-6

Cardinals

.527

9.0

15-21

24-14

4-6

Pirates

.487

12.0

22-18

15-21

4-6

Brewers

.453

14.5

21-18

13-23

4-6

Reds

.382

20.0

18-22

11-25

3-7

As of the morning of June 27th, the Chicago Cubs have the best record in all of baseball.

What does this prove?

It proves that nothing lasts forever - not even failure. Things change. A person can have no history of eating well, no history of personal fitness, no history of good health - but one can change. It does not matter if a person has been neglectful for 1 year, 10 years, 20 years or 30 years. All it takes is the willingness and the courage to make that first huge step. It requires the willingness and courage to make a small change today. And then again tomorrow. I did this a decade ago. And then I fell back into all the bad habits that I tried to escape. Eighteen months ago, I vowed to try again. I have been on a much more steady course during this period. Clichés are clichés because they contain truth.

If I can do it, so can you.

If the Chicago Cubs can become successful after a century of failure, so can anyone!

Sunday started as a somewhat 'typical' day for me... I had two 99 minute sessions on the elliptical machine. What made the day a bit atypical was that my entire family took a late afternoon/early evening 10 mile urban hike together.

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Since yesterday's urban hike was NOT taken alone... I was able to take a few interesting photos that were NOT selfies. You see, it's not that I am a complete narcissist, it's just that there is no one else around for most of my hikes!

Mom and Daughter enjoying the view from a spiral staircase on Roosevelt Road.

Major General John A Logan

Sure, Homer Simpson's message is mildly amusing... but it is a completely unhelpful message!