CUBS GO TO THE WORLD SERIES

CUBS go to the World Series. The last time that a person could have made this declarative statement would have been 71 years ago. The Chicago Cubs made it look easy in Game 6 of their Championship Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. I am willing to bet that Cubs fan felt a bit of unease when the first batter for the Dodgers hit the first pitch for a single to right field. He was immediately 'erased' on the next pitch which resulted in a double play. That was the last time that the Dodgers threatened the Cubs' march to the the World Series. The City of Chicago is buzzing in a way that it has not buzzed before. Every local station interrupted their regular programming to broadcast post game festivities. This has been the biggest even in Chicago since nearly forever.  If the Cubs are to fulfill their destiny, they must win four more games agains the Cleveland Indians. Anything less will be a disappointment, but nothing will erase their accomplishment this evening.
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Once again, the liberal news media shows their bias! Sports Illustrated predicted the Cubs will win the World Series in the year 2105. The 2016 edition of the Chicago Cubs will have the opportunity to improve the timeline of this prediction if they can win four games in the coming week against the Cleveland Indians.

Comedy legend, Bill Murray proudly wearing a T-Shirt during the Cubs Playoffs with the slogan: I ain't afraid of no goat.  This of course, is referencing the curse that has afflicted the Cubs for nearly a century, and a reference to hilarious film, Ghostbusters, from the 1980's.

This photo is so obviously a fake! Everyone knows that when the Chicago Cubs last won the World Series, the brand-new 1908 Ford Model T's were already flying out of automobile showrooms across America! There now remains a good chance that the next World Series parade will be within 10 days! Preparations are already underway...The City of Chicago has had 108 years to plan for this event.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, October 22, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Chewy Dipps Choc Chip, 5 bar	700	115	25	5	300	65
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 3 packet	300	66	0	6	930	0
	1,000	181	25	11	1,230	65
L U N C H
Doritos - Nacho Cheese 49.6 Grams	240	28	14	3	360	1
Stadium - 6" Hot Dog With Bun (3)	870	0	0	0	0	0
Medium Hot Chocolate	400	55	15	13	200	51
	1,510	83	29	16	560	52
D I N N E R
Taco Bell - Hard Shell Taco (3)	510	36	30	24	930	3
	510	36	30	24	930	3
S N A C K S
Nestle - Milk Chocolate Bar, 1 bar	210	27	12	2	20	25
Post Great Grains (Raisins Dates Pecans	400	78	8	8	257	25
	610	105	20	10	277	50
Totals	3,630	405	104	61	2,997	170
Your Daily Goal	3,810	476	127	191	2,300	143
Remaining	180	71	23	130	-697	-27
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,880 extra calories from exercise today

Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
STAR TRAC ELLIPTICAL	97	1,050
Daily Total / Goal	97 / 30	1,050 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1105 / 210	12,571 / 4,130

I timed my 97 minutes elliptical machine workout with the start of the Cubs Game, so instead of passively sitting on the couch and watching the game, I was burning some calories.

I accumulated steps by walking in place during the day while working the concession stand at a Northwestern NCAA Football Game as a volunteer with the High School Cheerleaders from Payton College Prep High School.  The Cheerleading Squad and three adult volunteers earned money for the high school Booster Club as we received a percentage of all the sales (and all the tips) during the Saturday afternoon game.  Everyone worked very hard, to keep the lines short and moving. It was great fun. No hiking on Saturday, but plenty of activity, including a 97 minute workout on the elliptical machine.

We did not sell all these items at our concession stand... Among our sales, we sold over 300 Hot Dogs and nearly 200 cups of Hot Chocolate.  None of the Payton Cheerleaders will be candidates for the US Post Office - they were much too efficient, worked too quickly and expressed gratitude to their customers. Those three attributes disqualify anyone for government work, and particularly for the Postal Department!

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Perhaps soon, Cubs fan will be able to sing along...!

I wonder how many of these were required to buy a beer at Wrigley Field during the last World Series game?

RAIN DELAY

I have hiked, walked, marched, stepped, traipsed, strolled, rambled, sauntered, and schlepped on  trails, beaches, hills, mountains, valleys and roads for the past many weeks and months. Mostly I have been lucky and avoided rain. Remarkably, during my epic Half Dome Hike in Yosemite last October, our group actually did manage to catch rain, which was no small accomplishment since it more or less, 'never' rains in California and rains even less during droughts. On that hike we beat the odds. On my hikes closer to home I have been very lucky and mostly avoided getting wet other than from own sweat which is not inconsequential on days when the temperatures are north of 90°F.  I was caught in real thunderstorm during a recent hike in Wisconsin, but that was memorable as it was so rare for that to happen to me. So, is there a point to any of this preamble? Yesterday when I woke up, the skies somehow managed to look darker after the dawn than they had during the actual night. This is an optical illusion of course, but it is still very unsettling to see such darkness when a new day is first unwrapping itself. Still, I thought I might take a little walk. Sometimes, dark skies, are blown away and rains don't come. Yesterday was not one of those days. An early morning hike was curtailed when the rains started when I was only 1 mile from home. I took refuge in a grocery store thinking I could wait out the storm, but the forecast was for a few hours of continuous rain - so I simply walked back the one mile in the pouring rain.  In the late afternoon, the rains had completely dissipated, although the threat for more had not. Still I ventured out, managed an eight mile hike which was marred only by a mild drizzle towards the end. When the day was done, I still had managed to walk ten miles. Always an accomplishment, no matter how dubious. 

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rain-shortened early morning walk, not even three miles.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar	380	58	14	6	270	22
Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal	600	108	10	16	0	4
	980	166	24	22	270	26
L U N C H
Home Made - Garden Salad, 1 bowl	100	6	0	4	400	4
Fried Chicken Tenders	300	17	20	14	766	2
Hash browns - Hash Browns	200	46	0	6	86	3
Quaker Chewy - Chocolate Chunk	180	38	4	2	160	14
	780	107	24	26	1,412	23
D I N N E R
Curry Chicken With Rice	800	233	23	46	1,740	9
	800	233	23	46	1,740	9
S N A C K S
Generic - Hersheys Dark Chocolate	500	28	38	9	100	11
Roundy's - Honey Nut Tasteeos, 3 cup	440	88	6	8	560	36
	940	116	44	17	660	47
Totals	3,500	622	115	111	4,082	105
Your Daily Goal	4,298	537	143	215	2,300	161
Remaining	798	-85	28	104	-1,782	56
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,368 extra calories from exercise today

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
2.6 mile rain-shortened hike	34	512
EIGHT MILE afternoon hike	96	1,770
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	130 / 30	2,282 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	400 / 210	6,436 / 4,130

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WELCOME TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

My journey to Yosemite began nearly 6 months ago when I was asked by my brother to join him and a group of guys on a hike up to the top of Half Dome.  Yesterday, our group drove from San Francisco to Yosemite National Park.  We are here.  We are ready.  We are hiking today, Thursday October 1st.  At about 6:00AM PACIFIC TIME this morning I will be at the base of Half Dome making the first steps in this 16 mile round trip hike up (and down) this mountain.

We arrived at Yosemite National Park yesterday afternoon at approximately 2PM.  We had lunch. We checked into our hotel rooms. We met for dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel. We bought last minute provisions. We walked around a little bit. And we went to bed early.  The plan is to gather together at 5:30AM to get going. We all went to sleep last night knowing that the weather forecast was not looking so great. Somehow, we have managed to schedule a hike in a state that is experiencing a historic drought - but we have rain in the forecast.  Go figure.

Arrival at Yosemite.  Half Dome looms large in the background.

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 Wednesday MENU

breakfast  cheese omelette, whole wheat toast     740 calories
lunch        PIZZA, RICE CAKES                       1085 calories
dinner      Ahwahnee Tuna, salad, rye bread         960 calories  

total calories consumed  2795 calories                                                              

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CALORIES BURNED
NO EXERCISE, not even much walking

WEDNESday net calories 2795 calories

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fitbit day 28

16138 steps

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I expect, that my blog entry tomorrow will have lots and lots of pictures.  The weather forecast for the hike is not the best... I will be happy if we all succeed in getting up and down this mountain.  If we get wet while doing it, so be it.  See you tomorrow!
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I found the following from the website of Mr. Half Dome (Rick Deutsch) author of the only Half Dome hiking guide, ONE BEST HIKE: YOSEMITE'S HALF DOME. This guy has climbed Half Dome more than 30 times.

How many calories does the Half Dome hike burn?
Posted on 10/08/2014 by Mr Half Dome - Rick DeutschI’m not a nutritionist, but I estimated 4,000 up. I looked up the tables for exercise and used the walking numbers. That is, for straight and level. I added a lot for the 2 mile uphill. Then multiplied for a 12-hour round trip.

Now we know. This device is on a client of Lasting Adventures on a 12-hour round trip recently. 9,800 calories burned by this man. We all differ, but I’d go with this number.
Sounds like we now have permission for that banana split at the Curry Village Ice Cream parlor. Or stick to the crackers and water if you want to shed pounds.
MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.comOne Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

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For the hike, I have packed hard-boiled eggs, four oranges, two apples, almonds, date pieces, mango slices, granola, raw pumpkin seeds, Kale Crunch, toasted coconut, 3 CLIFF bars, Le Noir chocolate bar and a Firecracker Dark chocolate bar.  I have already entered all of this into the MyFitnessPal calorie counter application on my phone.  If I ate everything I brought - I am scheduled to consume 5442 calories today.  I guess if I am also scheduled to 'burn' 9800 calories - I would be apparently working on a calorie defecit.  I know myself very well...I am guessing that I will consume everything that I brought...
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There is one mildly amazing thing about me thinking about consuming nearly 6000 calories today.  That is that prior to my lifestyle change on December 24, 2014, I consumed 5000-6000 calories EVERY DAY.  (And on none of those days did I climb Half Dome!) 
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Hi Marc, here are your weekly stats. Sep 21, 2015 toSep 27, 2015 WEEK'S MOST ACTIVE DAY Mon, Sep 21 WEEK'S LEAST ACTIVE DAY Tue, Sep 22 TOTAL STEPS 180,754  DAILY AVERAGE 25,822 steps BEST DAY 50,013 steps TOTAL DISTANCE 86.81 miles DAILY AVERAGE 12.40 miles BEST DAY 23.95 miles TOTAL FLOORS CLIMBED 136  DAILY AVERAGE 19 floors BEST DAY 47 floors TOTAL CALS BURNED 38,660  DAILY AVERAGE 5,523 cals BEST DAY 8,330 cals CALORIES IN VS OUT -29340 WEEKLY TOTAL 38663 cals burned 9323 cals eaten WEIGHT CHANGE 0.0 lb LIGHTEST 226.6 lbHEAVIEST 226.6 lb AVG SLEEP DURATION 5 hrs 39 min  AVG TIMES AWAKENED 5 AVG TIME TO FALL ASLEEP 0hrs 7min Last week's step winners 1 Marc  180,754steps 2 Bobby 96,819steps 3 Andrew J. 87,990steps See current leaderboard Last week's badges See all of my badges