Showing posts with label playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playoffs. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

CHICAGO CUBS and FORD MODEL T

Perhaps you have heard. The Chicago Cubs are threatening to dispense with a 'drought' that has prevented them from being World Series Champions for more than 100 years. The last time that the Cubs were World Champions was 1908. As a reference, 1908 was the year that the Ford Motor Company Model T made its debut off the assembly line.
In fact, the Cubs have not even appeared in a World Series Game since 1945. They are currently playing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League Pennant, and their 'ticket' to the World Series. Game 3 of the series against the Dodgers was Tuesday night and things did not go well for the Northsiders, who got shut out, six to nothing.  Nevertheless, Cubs fever has building all season and started to dominate daily discourse in my adopted hometown of Chicago. Although the Cubs are currently on the road in Los Angeles for the middle three games of the potentially seven game series agains the Dodgers, I decided to walk by Wrigley Field yesterday to help me get into the spirit of supporting the home team.

As a younger man, I had the well-earned reputation of dressing inappropriately when outdoors in cold weather. Although it is October in Chicago, the weather was completely appropriate for wearing a short sleeved shirt yesterday.  I expect that an autumn chill will be enveloping Chicago before too long - that is why it is so important to enjoy these last gasps of warm weather before it goes into its long winter hibernation.




My visit to Wrigley Field included checking out the statues of three Cub legends.

Me and 'Mr. Cub' (Ernie Banks)

Me and 'Sweet' Billy Williams
Me and Ron Santo



.

Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
Quaker - Grits - Instant - Original, 3 packet (28 g) 300 66 0 6 930 0
Post - Great Grains (Raisins, Dates & Pecans) 600 117 11 11 385 37

900 183 11 17 1,315 37
L U N C H
Vita Coco - Pure Coconut Water with Pineapple 120 30 0 0 80 30
Breaded Chicken Tenders 300 19 21 21 397 23
Carrotts 100 23 0 2 169 11
Baked Macaroni and Cheese 300 28 21 13 507 6

820 100 42 36 1,153 70
D I N N E R
Broccoli Chicken Casserole 600 38 16 62 1,392 0

600 38 16 62 1,392 0
S N A C K S
Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar, 3.81 oz 500 66 32 5 39 55
Volpi - Mozzarella and Prosciutto Roltini 120 1 8 12 790 0

620 67 40 17 829 55
Totals 2,940 388 109 132 4,689 162
Your Daily Goal 5,031 629 167 252 2,300 188
Remaining 2,091 241 58 120 -2,389 26
Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
*You've earned 3,101 extra calories from exercise today
If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 190.3 lbs in 5 weeks.

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular Minutes Calories Burned
17 MILE URBAN HIKE
240 3,101

   
Daily Total / Goal 240 / 30 3,101 / 590  
Weekly Total / Goal 507 / 210 5,915 / 4,130             







from wikipedia...

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The team plays its home games at Wrigley Field, located on the city's North Side. The Cubs are one of two Major League teams in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, are members of the American League (AL) Central division.
The team, first known as the White Stockings, was a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903.
In 1906, the Cubs won a Major League record 116 games, finishing 116–36 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 World Series, 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 108 years, and they have not won the National League pennant in 71 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 eight times. This included five trips to the League Championship Series—in 1984,1989, 2003, 2015, and 2016.
The Cubs are known as "the North Siders", a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the White Sox, whose home of U.S. Cellular Field is on the South Side. The Cubs have a divisional rivalry with the St. Louis Cardinals, and an interleague rivalry with the Chicago White Sox.

this information was lifted directly from www.history.com...

1908

Ford Motor Company unveils the Model T





Before the Model T, cars were a luxury item: At the beginning of 1908, there were fewer than 200,000 on the road. Though the Model T was fairly expensive at first (the cheapest one initially cost $825, or about $18,000 in today’s dollars), it was built for ordinary people to drive every day. It had a 22-horsepower, four-cylinder engine and was made of a new kind of heat-treated steel, pioneered by French race car makers, that made it lighter (it weighed just 1,200 pounds) and stronger than its predecessors had been. It could go as fast as 40 miles per hour and could run on gasoline or hemp-based fuel. (When oil prices dropped in the early 20th century, making gasoline more affordable, Ford phased out the hemp option.)  “No car under $2,000 offers more,” ads crowed, “and no car over $2,000 offers more except the trimmings.”Ford kept prices low by sticking to a single product. By building just one model, for example, the company’s engineers could develop a system of interchangeable parts that reduced waste, saved time and made it easy for unskilled workers to assemble the cars. By 1914, the moving assembly line made it possible to produce thousands of cars every week and by 1924, workers at the River Rouge Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan could cast more than 10,000 Model T cylinder blocks in a day. But by the 1920s, many Americans wanted more than just a sturdy, affordable car. They wanted style (for many years, the Model T famously came in just one color: black), speed and luxury too. As tastes changed, the era of the Model T came to an end and the last one rolled off the assembly line on May 26, 1927.





Wednesday, October 21, 2015

BACK TO THE FUTURE - OCTOBER 21, 2015

Many sports fans, and practically all Cubs fans, know that the Chicago Cubs were predicted to win the 2015 World Series in the movie Back to the Future II, which was released in 1989.  Did you also know that the day and date that the TIME TRAVELING DELOREAN CAR arrives in the future is October 21, 2015.  You might want to re-check your calendar.  That date is today!   Back to the Future II also predicted that the CHICAGO CUBS would win the WORLD SERIES in 2015.  That prediction was looking better a few days ago.  Unfortunately, the NEW YORK METS now lead the championship series 3 games to none.  So, while, there is still hope....THERE IS NO CHANCE!





There is an old joke...perhaps you have heard it.  What tastes better in October: a Yankee Stadium hot dog or a Wrigley Field hot dog? The answer is easy.  Of course the Yankee Stadium hot dog.  One cannot usually purchase a Wrigley Field hot dog in October. This year, this joke is not so funny to this Yankee fan.  The Yankees were eliminated two weeks ago. And the Cubs are still hanging on by a thin thread.  They trail in the Championship Series against the (hated) Mets 3 games to 0.  Still, with the Cubs in the playoffs, at least for another day, it seemed appropriate for me to walk to Wrigley Field as part of my 13.1 mile urban (half marathon) walk on Tuesday.  It is also an opportunity to highlight the haircut I treated myself to on Monday afternoon in Elgin, Illinois.  I do not shave my head, I ask for my hair (what little there is) to be cut to 1mm. (I think a shaved head would be too extreme.  I know what you are thinking... there's a difference?)


.
I also checked out three statues that are right outside the stadium.

Mr. Cub: ERNIE BANKS

.
RON SANTO


.
BILLY WILLIAMS
.
This particular walk started of by walking my daughter to school.  Sara does sometimes walk home.  She often takes the bus. Occasionally, if I am around, I will drive her to school.  I do not think that she has EVER walked to school.  That changed today.  

My daughter, for some reason, is not a fan of selfies - but I did  manage to get some level of cooperation.
.
For the third day in a row, I walked 13.1 miles (the distance of a half marathon)    The payoff has been terrific.  For the first time in months, it is crystal clear that my weight is declining once more.  For nearly one year, I have maintained the discipline to weigh myself on Saturday mornings.  (Every once in a while, I hop onto the scale to see if anything good, or bad, is happening)  Yesterday morning, I weighted 218 lbs.  I am now down a full 91 lbs from my initial weight on December 24, 2014.  Once again, the elusive goal of getting down to 200 or even 195 lbs seems possible.




TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED 2691 CALORIES
TOTAL CALORIES BURNED 3792 CALORIES
NET CALORIES 1101 CALORIC DEFECIT

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
fitbit day 48
46536 steps
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 





~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Your Food Diary For:


Tuesday, October 20, 2015 
BREAKFASTCaloriesCarbsFatProteinSodiumSugar
Kashi - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar, 2 bar240427810014
John McCann Steel Cut - Oat Meal, 1 cup60010801600
Forrelli - Rice Cakes Multigrain Thin, 18 SLICE36072003600

1,20022272446014
L U N C H
Cape May - Chopped Clams, 0.75 cup7530127500
Campbell's Chunky - Manhattan Clam Chowder, 2 cup240366101,6006
Quaker - Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar, 1 bar (24G)1001741757
Kashi - Dark Chocolate Coconut Bar, 1 bar1202144507

5357713272,47520
D I N N E R
Forrelli - Rice Cakes Multigrain Thin, 18 SLICE36072003600
Chicken Noodle - Healthy Choice Soup, 2 cup (243g)180242167804
Salmon Sockeye Burgers - Orca Bay, 4 oz11024192800
EARTHBOUND FARM - ORGANIC BABY SPINACH, 255 g (approx 3 oz, two cups)600061950

710986411,6154
S N A C K S
WHOLE FOODS - NATURAL WASABI GREEN PEAS, 0.683332634105444 cup (30 grams)24639684924

24639684924
Totals2,691436321005,04242
Your Daily Goal5,7227151902872,300214
Remaining3,031279158186-2,741171


CaloriesCarbsFatProteinSodiumSugar

Your Exercise Diary for: 

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 
CardiovascularMinutesCalories Burned
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace1752,514
Walking, 4.5 mph, very, very brisk pace27382
Walking, 5.0 mph31683
MFP iOS calorie adjustment Ic_iN/A213
Add Exercise
Daily Total / Goal234 / 303,792 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal402 / 2106,286 / 4,130










*You've earned 3,792 extra calories from exercise today