Weight Loss by Month: October 2020

August:       12 pounds

September:  7 pounds

October:       8 pounds

So that's 27 in the last three months. I started 80 pounds above my goal weight which is crazy and awful to think about...but only 40 pounds above what I was in Colorado. By losing these 27, I've already gotten to the lowest weight that I've been at my current job, so that's something. 

And it's not like I have to get to my goal weight to see a difference. I'm already down a shirt size. It's a noticeable change. 

So for now, focused on two things: keeping the progress going through a season that includes my birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas and reaching that 40 pounds lost total, back to where I was when I left Colorado. 

- - -

Every month that I'm losing weight I'm gaining wisdom. A couple realizations about special occasions. 

1. The first is one that learned a long time ago. If you have a tendency to overeat and give yourself permission to do so on special occasions, you can find special occasions all the time. Just in October alone, I had an anniversary, good news from work, bad news about Rocky, Halloween, primetime Chiefs games and more. If you count Friday nights and meeting up with friends as reasons to treat yourself, well, you might have more special occasion days in a month than non-special occasions. 

2. On the other hand, when you do have a legit special occasion. Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas, it's not the one day or one meal that's going to throw you off. It's turning an anniversary into a weekend of eating or Thanksgiving into a week or Christmas into 2 weeks. I mean, I've had some good Christmas runs where I eat a ton of Hickory Farms meat cheese and crackers followed by slices of pie when I'm not even hungry all between meals. But that's where I get into trouble. In October, I was able to have a big anniversary dinner and get right back on track the next day. Gotta keep that same energy through the holidays. Easier said than done, of course. 

video game console timeline

 I did this for my cell phone history, figured I should keep track of my video game consoles too. 

NES

(released 1985)

circa 1988 - circa 1993

My first console. Started on Mario 1. Played lots of sports games like Tecmo Super Bowl, Tecmo Basketball, Nintendo World Cup, NES Play Action Football, Major League II, Blades of Steel. Mario 3 was awesome. Other notables: Tetris, Excitebike, Vegas Dream, Ducktales, Hoops, Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat. 

Sega Genesis

(released 1989)

circa 1993 - circa 1998

I remember wanting to play Mortal Kombat and my mom was not on board. We also discussed if we should buy our first computer. I remember convincing my parents that a Sega Genesis was much cheaper than a computer. The first game I got was NHL '94. An absolute classic. Bill Walsh College Football 95 was awesome. Then I got NHL '96 and it was even faster, better than the 94 version. I know I had a bunch of games, World Series Baseball (1994), NFL QB Club 96, FIFA 95. Basically I just liked sports games. 

Note: I pretty much missed out on everything from Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. Occasionally, I got to play Goldeneye at friend's house but was so inexperienced that I never really got to enjoy it. Same for Mario Kart. 

Sega Dreamcast

(released September 1999)

circa 2000 - circa 2005

My absolute favorite game from this system was Tony Hawk 2. Also played a ton of College Football 2k2. Some others I remember: Crazy Taxi, Spider-Man (2000), Sonic Adventure 2, Jet Grind Radio, NBA 2k1, Resident Evil series. 

Note: By high school I was able to visit friends and play a lot of PlayStation. In fact, because several friends had a PS1, I think that was a reason that I wanted the Dreamcast for variety. I fell in love with Metal Gear Solid, Tony Hawk 1, Driver, the Twisted Metal series, and Madden 2001 on the PS1. 

PS2

(released October 2000)

May 2005 - June 2008

So GTA3 came out in October 2001, a month after I started college. I did not have a PS2 but I wanted to play GTA3. So I did what anyone would do. Played the entirety of the game on Borello's PS2. I seriously logged 40+ sitting on his floor playing his game and system. NO REGRETS. I got through college on the Dreamcast, see above. But after I graduated, the Gamestop on campus was selling PS2 systems and games for very cheap. So I went ahead and picked one up at the end of its era. Good value. 

Got to play GTA Vice City and San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 2, College Hoops 2k5 (including the Illinois Final Four team), NCAA 06, Burnout, Guitar Hero 3, Hitman Contracts/Blood Money and more. 

Just looked it up. I paid $16 for San Andreas in 2006. Got a bunch of great games at low prices, a few years after they came out. 

PS3

(released November 2006)

June 2008 - June 2015

I distinctly remember that I got the PS3 so I could play Grand Theft Auto IV. And it was awesome. 

I feel like the PS3 was a big step up from everything before this. This is the dividing line of modern gaming to me. PS3 is when I started playing online, there were trophies, you could even download games. 

On October 9, 2008, a little independent game called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars came out. It seemed cool so I paid for it, downloaded and was uploading highlight videos to youtube by October 13, 2008. 12 years later, Rocket League has over a million active players. But more on that later. 

The PS3 is where I got started on the Assassin's Creed series with the brilliant AC2. Likewise with Portal. 

Another reason I consider this the beginning of modern gaming? I literally have a record of all the games I've played. Anyone can scroll down and see all the games I've played right here. 

Loved Portal 2, The Saboteur, NHL 11, AC3, GTAV, Driver SF, Red Dead Redemption and plenty more. I distinctly remember logging 40+ hours in AC3 trying to complete everything before our second child was born and video games would go back on the shelf for a bit. 

Played that system a ton and after 7 years of constant use, it finally died. The first time a system ever stopped working before I moved on. 

PS4

(released November 2013)

August 2015 - Present

As it turned out, the PS3 dying in June 2015 wasn't the worst timing. Rocket League launched in July 2015 so I went ahead and got a PS4 in August 2015. Also got Madden 2015 and The Last of Us with the new system. 

The PS4 has been great to me. Love Hitman 1 + 2, Far Cry 4&5, Firewatch, Just Cause 3, Mafia 3, RDR 2, Spider-Man, and Tony Hawk remastered. 

Playstation has been good to me for the last 15 years and I'm sure I'll get a PS5 one day. I'm happy to wait a few years, so it can drop in price. I'm sure there will be a game that's only available on PS5 that will make me pull the trigger...or maybe the PS4 will die one day. 

(I also got a Nintendo Switch for the kids, and I play it occasionally with them, but don't consider that my console.)

Razor Thin Fantasy Football Margin

(warning: this post is not safe for mark) 

With 1:12 to go, the Falcons trailed the Lions by 2 points. Atlanta had the ball at the 10 yard line and Detroit was out of timeouts. Lots of ways for the Falcons to win this. Take two knees and kick a chip shot. Run for a few yards, take at least 35 seconds off the clock, run again—either score or kick a chip shot. 

Instead, Todd Gurley runs it up the middle and the Lions let them score. Gurly realizes a half-second too late and tries to stop but he can't. 

 

Of course, with over a minute left that gave the Lions enough time to come down and win, or enough time for the Falcons to choke another game away. 

Great news for Mark, right?

Well, as it happened, we both had a bunch of fantasy players going head to head in this game. I had Gurley, Golladay and Hockenson. He had Atlanta's kicker, Koo.

If Gurley stops at the 1 everything changes. Here's what happened in our fantasy game that really shouldn't have:

Gurley TD = 6 pts

Pass to Hockenson = 1.5 pts

Pass to Golladay = 3.5 pts

TD Pass to Hockenson = 7.5 pts

My players got 18.5 pts in the last minute of the Lions-Falcons game because Gurley scored. But also Mark's kicker would have been the one to score if Gurley had stopped.

No FG for Koo = -3 pts

That's a 21.5 point swing on this margin:

I ended up beating Mark this week by 7 points.

5-1

After Chiefs beat the Ravens and got to 3-0, I wrote that they had three tough games coming up but then three easy ones. That if they were 4-2 after six, I thought they would be 7-2 at the bye. 

They got to 5-1 despite a suspension and injuries in the secondary. And they're adding Leveon Bell so that CEH doesn't have to take 400 hits this year. 

I think they get to 8-1 and then beat the Raiders on my birthday. 

That's 9-1 plus wins over Denver and Atlanta in December. 

That leaves 4 games against Tampa, Miami, New Orleans and Chargers. Let's say 2-2 out of those 4. 

That's 13-3. With wins over Buffalo and Baltimore already, that #1 seed is looking very much in reach. 

- - -

It's kind of funny. Mahomes hasn't been his usual sensational self all year. Kinda bad last week, kinda not much passing yesterday. 

He's 4th in passer rating and 5th in adjusted yards per attempt. 5th in yards, 3rd in td passes. So that's what not his usual self looks like. Merely top five instead of #1.

Cool Thing I Just Noticed

This was the first Chiefs score in the playoffs. Damien Williams, going from left to right, holding the ball up in the left corner of the end zone.

This was the last Chiefs score in the playoffs, Damien Williams, going from left to right, holding the ball up in the left corner of the end zone.

 

HC Housekeeping 2020

The Hoagie Central 2020 Census is complete. 

I decided not to make any new world/society predictions as my 2010 predictions were for 50 years into the future and are still pending. 

So yeah, hope we're all still alive in 2030!

2020 Census: Projecting My Future

So no joke, I've thought about this post a ton over the last ten years. Not about projecting for 2030, but about seeing how close I came to achieving what I predicted back in 2010. 

From 2010: 

Where will I be in 10 years?

Well, let's recap where I'm at right now in 2010. I'm 26, a 5-year copywriter in Chicago. I'm married, no kids, and write in my free time but have nothing published.

In 2020, I predict I will be an ACD in Denver. I'll be married, have 2 kids, and I predict I'll have at least gotten one thing published.

ACD? I did become an Associate Creative Director in late 2016, but am currently a Senior Copywriter, one step below that. 

Denver? I lived in Denver for over five years but am currently in Kansas City. 

Married? I got divorced but then remarried the same woman.

2 kids? Yep. 

One thing published? I self-published 3 different books (which probably doesn't count) and then this year got articles published in other publications on Medium (which I think does count.)

- - -

In 2016, I had a choice to make: become an ACD in Kansas City or become an ACD in Denver. I chose Kansas City and that ultimately fell through. Final score on the prediction was 3 out of 5, although I did achieve the other two at some point in the last ten years. 

- - -

Okay, so let's recap where I am right now. 

I'm 36, a senior copywriter in Kansas City. I'm married, 2 kids and I make a lot of things in my free time. 

So where will I be in 10 years?

Dang. Who knows? I guess that's the point of this exercise. Okay, fine let's say Creative Director in Kansas City. I'll be married with 2 kids and my oldest starting college at NYU. I predict I'll continue to make things, including in some form or fashion that I haven't done yet. I'll go ahead and predict I'll be under 200 pounds too, something I'm not right now. 

Year of the Fym

Back in 2016, I consciously aspired to make my 33rd year the best year of my life. That turned out pretty well.

This year, I didn't set out to do the same, but a lot of things fell into place. Here's everything that's happened in just January and February: 

The Chiefs won the Super Bowl

I won a Gold Addy for the first time

Our whole family changed our eating habits and everyone lost a bunch of weight.

Just 47 days into the year, Mark had already crowned 2020: 

Perhaps that was a bit premature. 

Just a few weeks later, a global pandemic arrived in the United States. Many people lost their jobs. My industry was hit hard and salary affected. 

March Madness (including Illinois in the tournament) was cancelled. Our family vacations to San Diego and Peoria were cancelled. I gained back 21 of the 19 pounds I had lost. (Yep, at my highest weight during the pandemic I was two pounds heavier than when I started the year.)

It didn't seem safe to send the kids to school, so they started virtual school. Our dog is on his last legs. Working from home with all of the commotion going on is quite stressful. 

And all of that is with avoiding any personal connections to people getting sick or lives being upended in the California wildfires. 

- - -

For many people, I think it's safe to say 2020 has either been the most challenging or worst year of their lives. 

It's definitely not the celebratory year I was thinking it would be in February, having just gone to a Super Bowl parade. 

But... in the middle of such a terrible year, some other good things happened. I started writing on Medium, and even wrote a post that reached #1 on the site, far exceeding my expectations. 

I got my own basketball hoop in the backyard and play all the time. 

I've now officially lost the Corona 21 and am back at the weight I was when the pandemic started. 

And my job moved from Kansas City to Overland Park, cutting my commute time in half. It's a cool new office, so whenever I'm back in there full-time, it will be really nice. 

So is this the Year of the Fym?

Well, let's see what happens on November 3 first.

November 7 Edit: Okay, getting a normal president again is actually really incredible. 

So yeah, Year of the Fym. 

2020 Census: Favorite Movies

So I don't really rewatch a ton of movies. I feel like I used to do that more. Now there's so much content that I'm always ready to watch something new. Plus, a lot of my old favorite movies I've seen so much, that I'm not in the mood to watch them anymore, with a few exceptions. So how do I treat something that I have great fondness/nostalgia for, but that I haven't watched in 15 years? How do I compare that to a movie that I liked such as Ex Machina, but that I saw once a few years and barely remember?

Last year, I defined my wheelhouse AND made an ultimate movie calendar, so some of this work has already been done. 

Alright, I'm just going to start listing movies that I like and see where that gets me:

Groundhog Day

Edge of Tomorrow

Mission Impossible franchise

Shawshank Redemption

Inside Man

National Treasure franchise

Now You See Me franchise

Ocean's 11 franchise

John Wick franchise

Back to the Future franchise

The Game, Seven, Fight Club, Social Network, Panic Room, Gone Girl

Memento, Dark Knight, Prestige, Inception, Tenet

Inglorious Basterds

Good Will Hunting

The Martian, Arrival

Anchorman

The Big Sick

Lebowski

Anything with Hanks or Denzel and just about anything with Cruise

Okay, so that's a lot of movies. And I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch. 

I saw Pulp Fiction and Fargo a few years ago and they weren't as good as I had remembered. Maybe I had just seen them too much. 

I haven't seen Adaptation or Eternal Sunshine in forever, so I don't know how to rank them. 

And what do I do with all these franchises? It's hard to make a top 5 of favorite movies with so many franchises. 

Sorry, 2030 Dave. This list is the best I could do. 

2010 version

Rocket League Hoops Comeback

Here's a online game of hoops. I'm on top half, G is on bottom half. We were down 0-2 but came back for the win.

THPS

Here's a clip where I did all four of Tony Hawk's special tricks in one combo.

2020 Census: Favorite Video Games

 With most of the categories, it's interesting to see how things evolve over time. Do the same music, movies and books that I liked in 2010 still appeal to me in 2020, that kind of thing. But video games are different. 

My favorite video games from older systems aren't going to change.

At the moment, the only consoles I play are PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Aside from that, I'll play the occasional PC game, but that's <1% of my video game time. 

So my favorite games from NES all the way though PS3 aren't going to change. The only thing I can do is list my favorite games that I've played since 2010. 

Favorite Video Games this Decade

Hitman 1 + 2 (PS4)

Rocket League (PS4)

Far Cry 4 (PS4)

Just Cause 3 (PS4)

Firewatch (PS4)

Assassin's Creed III (PS3)

Grand Theft Auto V (PS3)

Red Dead Redemption (PS3)

Portal 2 (PS3)

Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)

2010 version

not photoshopped

4-0 x 4

 

2020 Census: Favorite TV Shows

TV is hard to approach. So many different genres. Plus, some series you might only watch once, some you might watch over and over, and some like Arrested Development, I watched too much to the point where I haven't been in the mood to watch it in ten years or something. 

I guess I should start writing down shows I like and see where that gets me. 

Community
Arrested Development
Broad City
The Good Place
The Office
Seinfeld
30 Rock
Silicon Valley
Always Sunny
Veep
New Girl
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
American Vandal
Master of None
Russian Doll

Sherlock
The Wire
Breaking Bad
The West Wing

Survivor

Okay, so that's lots of shows. I bolded the ones that speak to me personally on another level.

Shows I'm Not Interested in: Game of Thrones, Schitt's Creek

2020 Census: Favorite Music

The point of this is not trying to rank the objectively best bands. It's a time capsule. What bands am I listening to the most. What bands do I want to listen to the most. 

Here are the 7 that I immediately put into my top ten, in alphabetical order:

311

Alkaline Trio

Dashboard Confessional

Motion City Soundtrack

New Found Glory

Panic! at the Disco

Vampire Weekend

(After debating about including Vampire Weekend in the 2010 top ten, they firmly belong now.)

So that leaves three spots for the likes of The Hold Steady, Seaway, Sublime, Brand New, Ozma, Third Eye Blind, The National, The Stereo, Weezer, Twenty One Pilots...

I narrowed that list down to a next four: Third Eye Blind, Ozma, Brand New, and The Hold Steady. 

I realized that I've listened to Third Eye Blind and Ozma recently, so they're in. 

So now it's down to Brand New vs The Hold Steady. Let's go with The Hold Steady. 

So my 2020 top ten Favorite Bands:

311

Alkaline Trio

Dashboard Confessional

The Hold Steady

Motion City Soundtrack

New Found Glory

Ozma

Panic! at the Disco

Third Eye Blind

Vampire Weekend

- - -

Here's my favorite album by each of my favorite bands in chronological order:

Third Eye Blind: Third Eye Blind (1997)

Alkaline Trio: Goddamnit (1998)

Dashboard Confessional: The Swiss Army Romance (2000)

Ozma: Rock and Roll Part Three (2001)

Motion City Soundtrack: Commit This to Memory (2005)

The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Panic! at the Disco: Pretty. Odd. (2008)

Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City (2013)

New Found Glory: Resurrection (2014)

311: MOSAIC (2017)

- - -

A note on 311's MOSAIC: It's not their best album, but because it's newish, I haven't played it out yet, so it's the one I want to most listen to right now. 

A note on Alkaline Trio, I almost wanted to pick Crimson or even From Here to Infirmary. 

A note on Dashboard Confessional, I almost wanted to pick A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar

A note on New Found Glory, it's not really about any one album. I could have easily picked self-titled. 

2010 bands

2010 albums

BoardGameArena

For a while I've enjoyed playing digital versions of tabletop games, because I haven't had the friends/group to play games with in person. Another nice thing about digital versions is how much faster they can go. I can play a game of Catan in under 15 minutes. I like playing against AI because of how quick their turns go as well. 

I recently just stumbled across BoardGameArena.com which offers digital versions AND lets you play against live players around the world. 

Here are the results of the first 3-round Lost Cities game I've ever played, and also the best I've ever done. (240-125). 

I bought premium for a year (it was only 24 dollars) which means that anyone reading this can play any game with me for free. So if you're reading this and want to play a game, just give me a holler. 

Here was my first game of Kingdomino on the site:

2020 Census: Favorite Hobbies

Cooking/Eating

Gaining & Losing Weight

Board Games

Video Games

Watching Sports (NFL, NHL, March Madness)

Competing in Calcutta, Fantasy and Brackets

Creative Writing

Shooting Hoops

Playing with the Kids

Watching my subscribed YouTube channels

Listening to Podcasts

2010 version

2020 Census: Favorite Books & Podcasts

This is the saddest confession, so I might as well get it out of the way. I don't really read books anymore.

The last real book I read was last year, Raised in Captivity by Chuck Klosterman. I bought Point B by Drew Magary but haven't been able to dive into it. 

The time in my life when I read the most books for pleasure was when I lived in Oak Park and commuted on the Green Line for an hour a day. It was really nice to have that dedicated reading time, before and after work. 

Now, I listen to podcasts on my commute. And I've been reading more on Medium, though these short takes don't provide nearly the substance of a book. 

Once my kids go off to college, I can see myself being bored and turning to books once again. When I do I should use Goodreads or something similar to keep track, as I end up forgetting them. 

- - -

My favorite authors are Palahniuk, Vonnegut, Klosterman, Serrano and Gladwell.

I also think Chabon is excellent, though I haven't read of him as much as I should. 

Same for Ta-Nehisi Coates. 

I still remember reading Savages by Don Winslow, and thinking the plot was just okay, but the prose itself was beautiful. 

I also really enjoyed 11.22.63 by Stephen King even if I didn't like the ending. 

Also, shout out Hemingway. 

- - - 

Seems like I should note my favorite podcasts as well, since they've replaced my leisure reading. 

The best podcast that I listen to is Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. I love the premise of diving into something that is misunderstood and the stories are usually eye-opening and thought-provoking. Even if every season, there's always one episode where I disagree with his conclusions. 

Radiolab is amazing. 

The Dollop is great too. 

From the Ringer, I'm a big fan of Rewatchables. I'm in on anything with Shea Serrano or Klosterman, which include The Connect and Music Exists at the moment. 

I think it's pretty cool that 3 of my favorite 5 authors have podcasts producing new content in 2020.

2010 version

2020 Census: Favorite Foods

I like food a lot. Too much really. 

Which explains why I write posts like these.

But since I like food so much, I think it's worth noting which foods. First, some general observations. In my opinion...

Pizza is the world's most perfect food. The way the dough, sauce and cheese all cook together at the perfect time, the way that it combines bread, cheese, veggies and meat into one bite, that it can be a snack or a meal, the way everyone can get what they want on it but also a slice of plain cheese is always delicious. There might be 100 perfect foods in the world, but pizza is the most perfect.

Warm, buttered bread is the simplest perfect food. As I just said, there are many perfect foods. But a nice piece of bread like sourdough or Italian, still warm with some butter. It's perfection at its simplest.

It doesn't get any better than a cheeseburger. Like, you can choose to go to a very expensive tasting menu and try seven chef-inspired dishes...or you can have a good cheeseburger. At minimum, it's a draw. You just can't beat a cheeseburger.

My personal favorite food is barbecue. No other food brings me as much joy. You can taste how much time was spent preparing it, you can feel the love in it, and there's nostalgia wrapped around it for me as well. Burnt ends, ribs and fatty brisket are my favorites. 

- - -

Okay, let's get into it. I'll break it down by breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Breakfast

At a restaurant, my go-to order is biscuits and gravy. 

At home, I love to make Aunt Gerties, the thin pancakes my Grandpa taught me how to make. Complete with sausage and country hashbrowns and orange juice. 

 

Lunch

When I'm eating whatever, Five Guys, Which Wich, Raising Cane's are some of my favorites. 

When I'm on track (which needs to be always), I can find good stuff at Chipotle/Qdoba, Twisted Fresh, Zoe's Kitchen. 

Dinner

I used to rave about steak, but now I'd rather eat barbecue than steak. 

I also prefer cast-iron food (like burgers) to grilled food.

The best dinner I make is probably the angel hair carbonara. 

At holiday meals, I love the white cheddar mac & cheese, twice baked potato casserole, and no-soup green bean casserole. 

Buffalo wings are a big winner for me.

For dessert, chocolate chip pie, pecan pie and dutch apple pie. 

- - -

I just looked back at my 2010 census post.

I still love Mint Milanos, Kettle chips and Tostitos with Lime. I don't get to have it much but I still love deep dish pizza and Italian Beef Combo (half italian beef, half italian sausage with hot peppers.)

Who would have known that my sports teams would change more than my tastebuds in a decade?

2010 version