It’s April Fools Day! Hopefully, you tricked someone close to you, but you didn’t piss them off too much? I told my wife that my daughter got an “F” on her math test and she sat up and said, “What?” I had to tell her right then and there, “April Fools!“

The Chili’s finally released their long-awaited 12th album, Unlimited Love. I’m hoping the deep cuts prove better than the first three singles. “Not The One,” and “Black Summer,” did not grab me right away, but I will give this 17 song album it’s due this weekend. Per The Ringer, “…friend-of-the-band Chris Rock inducted them (RRHOF) in 2012, and only Flea’s bass strings were slapped.”

Japanese Breakfast put out one of the best albums of 2021, and “Be Sweet” is the single that propelled them into the spotlight. This, live, Spotify Session is really good and will give you another reason to go back and revisit.

Foals have perfected this dance-rock thing, and “Looking High” is another great release in a long line of pulsating jams. The band is prepping some incredible vinyl, including this bundle that contains LIFE IS YOURS (June 17th) on clear/dark green marbled vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve, with a picture book, and a bonus album containing seven exclusive demo tracks. Plus, the clincher is, that you get Antidotes on limited edition recycled colored vinyl. It might be the right time for me to grab that debut record!?

Delta Spirit ramp up the drums on their latest single, “What’s Done Is Done.” They come out of the gates firing with their precise, math rock and it’s just what the doctor ordered. Their arc as a band has been extraordinary, really something to watch.

Soccer Mommy is hit or miss for me, but this new single, “Shotgun,” is very interesting. It’s completely original, which is what I’ve been waiting for. No, it’s not Hatfield, Liz Phair, nor is it Lush, this time around, it is completely The Mother Of Soccer. Ok, so maybe it speaks of Madder Rose? Moving on…

“I don’t really know where my heads at,

I just know my hearts not there yet.”

Still Woozy returns with, “Pool,” and Remi Wolf sidles up alongside Sven for this intricate number, that embodies their friendship. I am a huge fan of this collab, thinking they should take it a step further on a bunch of different material.

Your Jazz Cut Of The Week is “Joyful Strut,” from The Snowman Band. This is the first time I’ve heard these guys and I look forward to hearing more.

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Star Trek at McCormick place? Make it so! (Sorry I had to!) Well, Star Trek Mission Chicago DID make it happen this past weekend, April 8th through the 10th at McCormick place in downtown Chicago. 

I walked into the convention and was immediately greeted by lots of nerds just like me! There were red shirts (no casualties phew), and blue shirts, and my favorite, yellow shirts. There were also alien cosplays, people in dress uniforms, and even people dressed as iconic character races like Ferengi and Vulcans. I attended donning my “I survived the Delta Quadrant and all I got was this lousy teeshirt” shirt, and my Star Trek Next Generation sweater – that I just bought at the show, and my Trekkie mom wore her Janeway shirt so we fit right in!   

I admit I was disappointed at the small number of vendors that were at the show. I would say there was less than 50 there. The ones that were there though didn’t disappoint! They came supplied with artwork, toys, collectables, homemade creations, clothes, and other cool stuff. I bought some stuff from as well, including some tea from Apothecary Tea. You could even get ink down at Ink Fusion tattoos! In fact I saw a couple people get an autograph done on their arm from their favorite actor then go and get it permanently inked onto them. I wish to strive to that level of awesome nerdism.

What lacked in vendors was made up for in celebs! There were lots of actors at Star Trek Mission Chicago from all shows, and some from multiple shows. The big names this year were William Shatner (Original series), Kate Mulgrew (Voyager), George Takai (original series), and Walter Koenig (OS). Will Wheaton (Net Gen) and Doug Jones (known for lots of things!) were also some big draws this year, and all were super nice, especially Doug Jones  🙂 There were a ton of others there as well and I can’t list them all here, but they were all very nice and all clearly love their fans! Oh and keep an eye open for my really nervous interview with Chase Masterson (Leeta Deep Space Nine) and her anti bullying campaign!       

If you didn’t have money to spend but still wanted to have fun, there were a lot of panels as well. These panels gave the actors a way to not only get info out to their fans (like book promotions!) but also allowed fans to ask questions that they might not have had a chance to do when they were getting a photo or autograph. 

Star Trek Mission Chicago had a couple exhibits to experience as well. One exhibit allowed fans to step inside a booth and experience a surround 4D star ship experience without needing to wear those annoying headsets. There were four different views, allowing fans to feel like they are looking out the window of an actual Starship. They also premiered the new costumes and props from the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Very cool to see! And Photo Ops! You can sit in a real (replica) of a captain’s chair and take a picture in front of a green screen to have your own Starship captain picture!

One gripe I had about Star Trek Mission Chicago was it was a tad expensive. I thought that charging $40-$60 to cover such a tiny convention was a lot. I understand that there are fees and such that the convention has to pay, but I managed to do everything I wanted to do in just one day, so there was no way I would’ve needed to buy a whole three day badge.    

Overall I thought Star Trek Mission Chicago was a great attempt at bringing people back into the convention scene after all this Covid stuff. I loved all the celebs, I loved the photo ops and exhibits, but I really would’ve liked to see more vendors  but there were fun panels, interactive exhibits, and lots of celebs. I give it 3 ½ outta five baby dragons. 

If you missed Star Trek Mission Chicago you have another chance to check it out in Seattle! Road Trip!! For more information on Star Trek Mission conventions, check out their website https://www.startrekmissions.com/en-us.html. Live long and trek on all! 

Do you wish to give your employees a thoughtful gift this year for Easter? Gifting your team something special is a great way to communicate your appreciation for their hard work. Make your employees feel valued this year with these Easter gift ideas below.

1. Easter Baskets

While Easter baskets are typically for children, this gift can be versatile in customization to suit your employees. Although traditionally filled with easter eggs, toys and candies — you can try making it more adult-themed. 

For example, businesses can fill a basket with fresh fruit, quality chocolates, premium coffee or tea, luxury cheeses, organic nuts, etc. You could even brighten up the basket with a bouquet of colorful spring tulips to let your team know that sunnier days are here.

2. Personalizing Items

Although water bottles and t-shirts make a thoughtful gift, you can make them more meaningful by customizing them. For instance, a water bottle with an employee’s name will allow them to appreciate it even more. Or, if you know someone who is a car enthusiast, a corvette t-shirt or leather jacket will make Easter feel even more special.

3. Coffee Mug

Work feels incomplete without a cup of coffee to start the day. Surprise your employees by setting a coffee mug on their desks. Go for the Easter theme by purchasing mugs with a bunny design or Easter quotes. You could also include the gift with dark chocolates and other goodies that go great with coffee. 

Do you see your employees taking several trips to the kitchen to heat their coffee back up throughout the day? Save your team the time and gift them with an Ember mug. This neat cup allows people to set temperatures so their coffee remains hot. 

4. Easter Desk Decor

Everyone enjoys personalizing their desks with decor. Consider a thoughtful gift like an Easter bunny vase to make it their latest addition. A classic white rabbit vase makes the perfect gift for this holiday. Or, help them keep their schedule organized by gifting them with a spring-colored desk pad planner. You know your employees could always use something that keeps their day intact.

5. Easter Mason Jars

Get your creativity flowing and craft your Easter gift. If you have time to make something, all the more reason to jump on the opportunity. Crafts are a fun and excellent way to get your team to smile. Consider gifting your employees with a mini mason jar succulent that says Happy Easter. Succulents are simple to care for, making the perfect gift this Easter.

You could also craft your own Mason jars and fill them with cookies or candy treats. The options are endless when you can afford to make something special.

6. Easter Egg Gift Box

Easter egg-shaped chocolates never get old around this time of year. Consider gifting your team with an assortment of chocolate Easter eggs that come in a gift box. A sweet and delicious treat is all you need to keep things simple and inexpensive. Plus, a gourmet gift box will certainly bring delight to your entire workforce.

In addition, the various flavors will suit every type of craving there is in the office. These savory flavors will make anyone’s mouth water, from peanut butter to caramel and dark chocolate.

7. Greeting Card with Personalized Note

At times, the most authentic gift you can give an employee is a thoughtful card with a beautiful note inside. Plus, the more personalized the message is, the more impact you make on your employees’ morale.

Make your team feel recognized for their efforts and let them know how much you appreciate their outstanding work. Ensure you point out the results of their contributions and thank them for sticking through the tough times.

A personalized message an employee receives will deliver your gratitude.

Giving the Perfect Easter Gift

A great boss knows that a simple way to make employees feel appreciated is to make them feel recognized. So, what better way to achieve this than gifting them with an Easter treat. Hopefully, this gift guide gave you good ideas for your team to enjoy this year.

Nelson Maldonado by Rikk Carlson

This will be a condensed recap of yesterday’s action without much commentary from me. I had family in town this weekend and wasn’t able to watch any of the games on Sunday.

AAA

Buffalo 2, Iowa 1

Game Recap

Jared Young homered for the second time in two days, and the piggyback duo of Cory Abbott and Matt Swarmer held the Bisons offense to one run through seven innings. In the bottom of the 8th Ben Leeper looked to be in line for a 1-2-3 inning, but a fielding error by Robel García gave Buffalo another chance, and they took full advantage. A hit batter, a single and a walk followed, and the I-Cubs found themselves down one heading to the 9th. Brennen Davis walked with one out to give García and Greg Deichmann a chance with the tying run on, but as has happened often throughout the opening series, the Iowa offense came up short.

Jared Young in play run(s) @IowaCubs pic.twitter.com/AXGu5Ecwz4

April 10, 2022

Top Performers

Jared Young: 1-3, HR (2), R, RBIBrennen Davis: 1-3, BBCory Abbott: 3.1 IP, H, R, 0 BB, 4 K (4.50)Matt Swarmer: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K (0.00)

AA

Chattanooga 9, Tennessee 5

Game Recap

Riley Thompson took to the mound for the first time since dominating in the South Bend Cubs deciding game in their 2019 MWL Championship series. He struck out five batters in three innings, but he also allowed two runs. Still, just getting him back and throwing multiple innings after sitting out all of 2021 is a big first step. He’s got a big arm and pair of promising secondaries, with a changeup that showed plus in 2019 and a new curveball for this year. The bullpen struggled behind him as well, with the first three arms up each allowing at least two runs as well.

The big story on the day was Nelson Maldonado. He’s long possessed one of the best hit tools in the org (.321 career AVG, .378 OBP), but with a limited defensive profile (1B/DH), and limited power (career high 6 HR in 67 G during 2021) it has been difficult to classify him as a true prospect. To make matters worse, he is also a right handed bat, so he wouldn’t even have the platoon advantage a guy like Alfonso Rivas possesses.

Nelson Maldonado hits a 2-run HR to give ⁦@smokiesbaseball⁩ a 4-2 lead. pic.twitter.com/w76TgbCMeP

April 10, 2022

However, I noted during spring training the 25-year old Chicago native appeared noticeably bigger and stronger. If Maldonado can add 15+ HR power to his profile he becomes very interesting as a potential bench bat. So far, so good on the power returns in 2022. Maldonado doubled in his first start this weekend, and then blasted a pair of homers Sunday. Most impressive was the one he drove out the opposite way. I’m not sure Maldonado would have been capable of that earlier in his career.

Maldonado with 2 blasts today! Here’s his second pic.twitter.com/GVCR11cpoi

April 10, 2022

Top Performers

Nelson Maldonado: 3-4, 2 HR (1, 2), 2 R, 3 RBIChris Morel: 2-4, 2B, R, BB, SB (2)Chase Strumpf: 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, BBBryce Ball: 1-4, 2B, R, RBIEury Ramos: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K

High-A

Quad Cities 8, South Bend 2

Game Recap

Thompson wasn’t the only arm making his first start since 2019. The starting pitcher who arguably received the most spring buzz this year was Kohl Franklin. A raw project selected in the 6th round a few years back, Franklin was inexperienced against top competition and also had limited experience with throwing breaking balls. He showed well in short season ball in 2019 thanks to improving velo (usually topping out around 94) and a advanced changeup for his age (thanks to limited breaking ball usage in HS it forced him to develop the changeup).

We heard reports last spring of Franklin filling out his frame to add even more velocity (to 97-98), and having reworked his curveball, but a series of setbacks ended up keeping him out of game action. This spring the reports have been even more glowing. He’s hit triple digits on the gun and his new curve has the makings for a potential third plus pitch. Many evaluators marked him as the top pitching prospect in the system.

Sunday saw us catch our first glimpse of the new and improved Franklin, and there were certainly flashes of greatness. The velo was upper-90s, the curve buckled some knees. It was difficult to get a full read though as it was a limited outing (1.1 IP, 43 pitches). The Cubs will be careful and ease him into action this year in the cold weather after missing all of last season. I’d expect him to have to kick off some rust early, with the hopes of seeing him go full out sometime in May.

3 pitches 3 strikes 1 K for @kohlrf!!! LETS GO!!! pic.twitter.com/gBkCAHd6MR

April 10, 2022

2 up 2 k’s 97 on the punch out pic.twitter.com/xfJ0BY0wm1

April 10, 2022

Top Performers

Ed Howard: 2-4, RBIKohl Franklin: 1.2 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K (L, 0-1)Didier Vargas: 2 IP, H, R, 0 ER, BB, 3 K

Low-A

Myrtle Beach 7, Charleston 6

Game Recap

A five run 3rd propelled the Pelicans to their first win of the season. They scored their initial run on a wild pitch, James Traintos drove in the second on a sac fly, then another scored when Reginald Preciado reached on an error. The final two runs of the inning were courtesy of the big bat carries by big man Felix Stevens. Possessing some of the best raw power in the system, Stevens hit one a mile high, and still got it out beyond the wall in LF.

Felix Stevens hit a moonshot for Myrtle Beach pic.twitter.com/A6vsTnqzUY

April 10, 2022

Charleston would fight back from an eventual seven run deficit to make it close. They scored two in the 6th off Chase Watkins, and then plated three more in the 9th against Johzan Oquendo, but Jarod Wright managed to keep things together just enough to close it out.

I don’t know about you, but I think Felix Stevens is pretty fired up about to play Reggie Preciado just made to end the game pic.twitter.com/Bo17S095By

April 11, 2022

Top Performers

Jacob Wetzel: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (1, 2)Felix Stevens: 1-4, HR (1), R, 2 RBI, BBRichard Gallardo: 4 IP, 4 H, R, BB, 3 KAdam Laskey: IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (W, 1-0)

Every so often, I think that I should cut back on caffeine. The Food and Drug Administration recommends a limit of 400 milligrams a day. The problem for tea drinkers is difficulty figuring out how many milligrams of caffeine we consume. Counting milligrams of caffeine in tea is not as simple as consulting the label on a package to count calories.

I drink black tea, hot and iced, throughout the day. I could count the number of cups on an average day, but translating that number into milligrams of caffeine is tricky. A cup of black tea can have between 40 and 120 milligrams of caffeine, according to thespruceeats.com. The amount varies with the variety and grade of tea, the age of the tea leaves, where and how the tea was grown and processed, how long it is steeped, and how hot the water is. Plus, I drink loose-leaf tea, which releases caffeine more slowly than bagged tea, and I reuse the tea leaves. (More on that below.) 

Considering that a tablespoon of loose-leaf black tea averages 50 milligrams of caffeine, and that’s all I add to the pot on any one day, it seems I’m well under the recommended limit. The answer about whether I’m overdosing on caffeine may be whether I feel any side effects. I can drink tea before bed and fall asleep readily. When I’m irritated or nervous, caffeine isn’t the reason.

Every time I’ve looked into the risks of caffeine, I’ve concluded that it’s not something to worry about. Yet I haven’t been able to shed the thought that it’s a bad habit. Caffeine is a stimulant, a drug, to which I’m addicted. Don’t the healthiest people drink only herbal teas, fruit juices, and water? The best I can tell myself is that it’s one vice I don’t have to cut out. 

Maybe I could try to think of caffeine as healthy. Some studies have found benefits beyond improving cognition and alertness and relieving fatigue. According to Medical News, these include protection against cataracts, kidney stones, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, and certain kinds of cancers. 

However, there are also arguments for cutting out caffeine. Medline lists more efficient absorption of some vitamins and minerals, better balance of hormones and brain chemistry, healthier digestion, whiter and healthier teeth, and better skin, along with lower blood pressure, less anxiety, and better sleep.

It’s a wash. I’ve been mixing a loose-leaf herbal tea into black tea, but I don’t expect to give up caffeine entirely.

*****

Of course, caffeine isn’t only in tea. If you’re a coffee drinker, you’re likely consuming more caffeine than a tea drinker. Caffeine is also in chocolate, cola, and a growing number of other products such as energy drinks and snacks. 

Scientific American has reported that the increasing number of products with caffeine, and the increasingly large doses of caffeine in those products, has the FDA considering whether it should regulate the drug. 

*****

I learned a few new things about tea in my latest look into caffeine:

• Loose tea leaves can be reused up to a half-dozen times. I thought it was a cheapskate’s habit of mine, but Asians have reused loose tea for centuries, and restaurants do it. There are differences of opinion about reusing teabags, but frequent tea drinkers who don’t let bags dry out should be able to use a bag two or three times.

• When all types of real tea — tea from the tea plant – are brewed under similar conditions, they generally extract similar amounts of caffeine. The reason green and white teas are thought to have less caffeine than black is that ideally they are not brewed in boiling water, and black tea is. 

• It’s largely a myth that you can decaffeinate tea by throwing away the first brew after 30 seconds. That technique is particularly ineffective for loose tea, which releases caffeine more slowly than bagged tea. True, there is less caffeine (and less flavor) with each steeping, so each subsequent cup or pot should be steeped longer. I read the suggestion to steep the first pot five minutes and subsequent pots two to three minutes longer than the previous one, but as with all things related to tea, judge by your own taste preferences.