Product Review: Chamberlain 1HP Smart Belt Drive Garage Door Opener with Battery Backup, Camera, and Motion Sensing Wall Control

 

A few years ago, I installed a Chamberlain smart garage door opener with a belt drive at my old house. When I moved, my new place had an old chain drive opener, which was loud and had the small remotes that were the size of key fobs and either had to be put on a keychain or in the center console, making them difficult to deal with, and you basically had to be right at the garage door to open it. So, I decided to get the upgraded version of the opener I had before. 

This is a belt drive, so it is very quiet. I have it on my two-car garage door, and although the door is not heavy or oversized, because I live in a region that can have harsh winters, I decided to go with the 1 HP version over the 1/2 or 3/4 HP versions. It can be controlled via the MyQ app or with the remotes (which are the kind that can be clipped onto your car's sun visor, which is much more convenient than the keyfob remotes, and they have great range as I can open the garage door when I am still down the block before pulling into my driveway. The remotes are pre-programmed, so you do not have to pair them with the opener. If you have multiple garage doors, the remotes can also be paired with another opener so you can open two doors from the same remote. 

This version has a camera and a battery backup, so if the power goes out, you can still use the opener for about 24 hours without having to pull the cord to open and close the garage door manually. And, when the power comes back on, the battery automatically starts recharging. You also get a 30-day trial of the MyQ monitoring service, which alerts you to activity detected by the camera. The app automatically alerts whenever the garage door opens and closes, which is part of the base features, and does not require an upgraded subscription. You can link it to an Amazon account for the "key" in-garage delivery service, which allows Amazon drivers to open and close the garage when delivering packages. 

I purchased the opener through Home Depot and paid for professional installation, which is handled by a local garage door service. If you can afford it, I highly recommend using that, as a pro can install it in a couple of hours, and they recycle your old garage door opener (if you already have one installed). Ultimately, this is a great garage door opener and absolutely worth the price.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Frasier: Season 4

 

The 24-episode fourth season of Frasier aired during the 1996/1997 TV season. All of the main cast members returned for the fourth season, with Dan Butler (who played Bulldog) being promoted to a series regular. The guest and recurring cast this season included Robert Prosky, Marsha Mason, James Earl Jones, Linda Hamilton, Jane Lynch, Zeljko Ivanek, Lisa Darr, Megan Mullally, Pauley Perrette, Jane Kaczmarek, and Bobby Sherman. Bebe Neuwirth made another appearance as Lilith, and Harriet Sansom Harris made another appearance as Frasier's agent, Bebe. The guest callers this season included Marv Albert, Dr. J., Bob Costas, Kieran Culkin, John Cusack, Patty Duke, and Eric Roberts. The show remained a story-of-the-week procedural, with longer story arcs mixed in. The longer storylines this season included the "will-they-or-won't-they" get-together between Niles and Daphnie (including teasing that Niles would get back together with Maris) and a new love interest for Martin. The season ends on a bit of a cliffhanger with Frasier making an impulsive decision to head off to Mexico with a woman he meets in the airport.

As of this writing, the blu-rays are only available in the complete series box set. The individual seasons are available on DVD. In the blu-ray set, the fourth season is a three-disc set that is included in its own keep case. The DVD set is a four-disc set. There is no bonus material included on the fourth season discs, just the episodes that can be played with or without English captions. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is mostly very good, and a significant upgrade from the DVDs. 

By the fourth season, the show had found the format that worked and stuck to it. Some of the jokes are definitely more adult-oriented, but the sex jokes were toned way down from what was on Cheers, especially in the early seasons. The writing and acting continued to be great, and while some things about the show are a bit dated thirty-plus years later, it holds up fairly well. In one eerie bit of coincidence, in the season finale, there is a reference to American Flight 11, which is a flight that series creator David Angell often took when he flew back to Los Angeles, including on September 11th 2001. Of course, that was the first plane hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center that day. Ultimately, if you liked the first three seasons, you will like this one, and it is worth watching. 

Book Review: The Dragons: Dragonlance Lost Histories Volume VI

 

The Dragons, written by Douglas Niles and published in 1996, is a novel in the prolific Dragonlance series of fantasy novels, which began with a story in a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaign in the early 1980s and later expanded into the trilogy known as the Chronicles series. That series spawned hundreds of other novels, including this one. This book is part of a series of novels that fill in gaps in events mentioned but not fully explored in the Chronicles and Legends trilogies. This book details the lives of a number of good and evil dragons, some of whom are first introduced in the Chronicles series, but most are new to this book. The events begin about 8500 years before the Cataclysm (the big event in the Dragonlance setting that divides time periods), making it the first novel if you read them in chronological order, and end with the conclusion to the War of the Lance (which occurred 350 years after the Cataclysm and was the story in the Chronicles trilogy). In it, we learn about the dragons' role in the original war in which Takhisis attempted to take over, their subsequent exile from Krynn, and the good dragons' decision to return to fight in the War of the Lance. 

For years, the book was only available in mass-market paperback, and is now available in electronic form. The first edition of the paperback book is 315 pages long. It does spoil some of what happens in the Chronicles series. So, if you are just getting into the Dragonlance series and have not read the Chronicles trilogy (or have not finished them) and care about spoilers, then it is best to read this after those novels. Most of the book (about 3/4) is set in the centuries before the War of the Lance. If you have read the Chronicles series, the last 1/4 of the story will be more familiar and will probably read more quickly. While I would not say that it is as good as any of the novels in the Chronicles and Legends trilogies (basically, the original six books in the Dragonlance universe) and can be slow in parts, it is worth reading if that part of the story interests you. It is not, however, integral to the storyline in the "primary" novels, so you will not miss anything vital if you do not read this one.

Workout Update: P90X Day 49

On day 49, I did yoga. I was going to try and do more of the asana portion, but I did not get started until about 9:00 at night, so I again went up through the "chair" portion of the first part of the workout, then skipped to balance poses and went up to the yoga-belly-seven portion. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 48

On Day 48, I did the final legs and back workout for Phase II. It went pretty well. I decided to swap using the pull-up assist for a chair (since I bought a pull-up stand with a bar much higher than the old pull-up bar I had attached to a door frame in my old house). I found that using a chair works much better, so I was able to get a couple more reps in during each pull-up move during the workout.

Workout Update: P90X Day 47

I used Day 47 as a rest day, but did do ab-ripper in the evening. I was just not feeling like doing a long workout today, so I shuffled my schedule again.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Incredible Mr. Limpet

 

The Incredible Mr. Limpet is a 1964 comedy starring Don Knotts, Carole Cook, Jack Weston, Andrew Duggan, Larry Keating, Paul Frees, and Elizabeth MacRae. Most of the story is set in the 1940s during World War II. Knotts plays a bookkeeper named Henry Limpet, who loves fish and often wishes he were one. He attempts to enlist to fight in the war, but is denied due to poor eyesight. He is the classic wimpy pushover who is browbeaten by his wife, Bessie (played by Cook), and is mercilessly teased by his best friend George (played by Weston). When he falls off the pier at Coney Island, he transforms into a fish, and when he discovers that he has a powerful underwater roar that he calls a "thrum," he begins helping the Navy destroy German U-boats.

The blu-ray release is a single-disc release. The A/V quality is good, but it did not receive the high-quality restoration some older films have. If you have a decent home-theater setup, the movie will look and sound okay, but it will not be as good as those that receive an extensive HD transfer. There is a little over 20 minutes of bonus content, including an introduction to the film by Knotts, a promotional short film about the film's premier in Weeki Wachee, FL, a series of short segments in which Knotts reflects on the various actors who worked on the fim, and the theatrical trailer (which is preceeded by a promotion for the songs from the film which was relased as a single).

The movie is a bit corny and cheesy, but it was one of the first (if not the first) movies to blend live-action with animation. And unlike many of today's comedies, it is absolutely family-friendly and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. There is one sex joke at the end that is pretty mild and would probably go over most kids' heads, but there is no swearing or anything that is not appropriate for young kids. It holds up fairly well, even after 60+ years. Ultimately, the movie is a fun, offbeat film that is worth watching. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bewitched: Season 5

 

The 30-episode fifth season of Bewitched aired during the 1968/1969 TV season. All of the main cast returned, including Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, and Agnes Moorehead. Erin Murphy, and/or Diane Murphy, and David White appeared in most episodes, and George Tobias and Sandra Gould appeared in a handful of episodes. Paul Lynde, Maurice Evans, and Bernard Fox also made several appearances throughout the season. Some of the guest stars this season included Isabel Sanford (best known for her role on The Jeffersons), Art Metrano (who would later star in some of the Police Academy films), and Danny Bonaduce.

As of this writing, the blu-rays are only available in the complete series release. In that set, the fifth season episodes are spread across three discs. The only bonus content is commentary tracks on a couple of episodes by Herbie Pilato and York's son. The restoration of the episodes is very good, but the HD format does show the limitations of 1960s effects. The individual season is available on DVD in a four-disc set, but does not have the commentary tracks that were done for the blu-ray release. 

The fifth season marked the start of the series' transition, as it would be the last season in which Dick York appeared due to a back injury that affected his ability to work. This season, he was absent for several episodes, and the writers found different ways to write excuses for Darrin's absence into the show. As a result, there were more appearances by characters like Uncle Author, Maurice, and Serena (with Elizabeth Montgomery pulling double duty). The writers continued to work in some real-world 1960s themes (including social themes like women's rights and civil rights) into the show from time to time (sometimes subtly, sometimes not), but mostly kept the show lighthearted and fictional. The show was definitely getting repetitive and recycling or repackaging old storylines. However, it was still very entertaining. The one issue I had with the show was that it would often reuse the same supporting actors in totally different roles. So, if you are big on continuity, there was not much in this show, as you would often see the same actors playing different characters just a few episodes apart. In one of the commentary tracks, Pilato mentioned that if Montgomery and William Asher (Montgomery's husband and one of the show's producers) liked someone, they would bring that person back multiple times. So you can definitely tell which actors they liked. 

Ultimately, the season is good, and the show continued to be funny in the fifth season, even if it was getting a bit stale. There are definitely some elements of the series that would likely not be used if it were made today, but it mostly holds up well. If you liked the first few seasons, this one is not as good as those, but it is still entertaining and worth watching.

Workout Update: P90X Day 46

On Day 46, I again swapped Yoga for Kenpo. For some reason, I just prefer keeping the yoga routine (especially that one) for the weekend. I am definitely getting faster and have more stamina during the workout, but I still have a ways to go before I am at the level I want to be with that one.

Workout Update: P90X Day 45

Day 45 was Back and Biceps again. Like the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout, I was able to increase the amount of weight I used on a couple of the exercises, and do a couple more pull-ups, but overall it was pretty much the same as last week.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 44

Day 44 was plyo. I again decided to skip the last chunk of the workout (the "sports bonus"), mostly because I got a later start to the workout than I would have liked. Ultimately, however, it went fine. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 43

Day 43 enters the last week of Phase 2, which means the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout again. No big changes from last week's workout. I increased the amount of weight I used for a couple of exercises during the workout, but for the most part, they stayed the same as last week. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 42

On day 42, I got a lot of exercise. In the afternoon, I had to shovel my driveway after we got a nice dumping of spring snow. Then, in the evening, I did yoga (which I had substituted earlier in the week) and ab-ripper. Basically, I stopped once I got to the core exercises in the yoga workout and then did ab-ripper since I generally like those exercises more.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 41

I used day 41 as the off day this week. I had a party at my house, so, since I knew I was not going to be eating all that well, I just took the day off (but I did get in a session of ab-ripper in the evening.

Workout Update: P90X Day 40

Day 40 was the Legs and Back workout. The most progress I have made was on the Bulgarian Squats. My balance was better, and I could go a bit deeper on them. All of the rest of the exercises were pretty much the same. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 39

On day 39, I switched Yoga for the Kenpo workout. It went fine, really no better or worse than the last time I did it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 38

Day 38 was the second round of the Back and Biceps workout. I again was able to increase the amount of weight I was using for a couple of the exercises. I had the same pull-up numbers from last week, probably because I was still not feeling great. I still cannot do corn-cob pull-ups for shit, but I can do a handful of the rest of them. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 37

Day 37 was plyo again. I was not feeling great and got a late start, so I ended the workout once I did the five main blocks and skipped the "sports bonus" portion. It was slow starting, but once I was warmed up, I made it through fine.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 36

Day 36 was the second round of Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. Overall, the workout went well. I was able to increase the number of reps on some of the push-up exercises and the amount of weight I used for a couple of the exercises.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 35

Day 35 was the rest day, so I just did ab-ripper (since I did not do it on Friday after the Legs and Back workout). I am still doing 15 reps of all of the exercises except Mason Twists. I will probably bump it up to 20 reps soon (maybe next week, maybe the week after).  

Workout Update: P90X Day 34

Day 34 was Kenpo X. I am getting better at it, both in terms of my cardio stamina and speed. I still skip that beginning stretching (which really should be the cool down) and use the twist and pivot and punching sequences as a warm up. That knocks about 11 minutes off the total time of the workout which makes it more palatable.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 33

Day 33 was Legs and Back. I did find that it was a bit harder after the off week than it was in the last week of Phase I (especially the pull-ups), but I was able to get through it.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 32

Day 32 was Yoga. As with the past few times I have done the yoga routine, I focused on improving the parts that I can do well or semi-well, and altering the parts that I currently struggle with. Basically, I want to get stronger and more flexible and then work in the things (like the end of the moving asanas) that give me trouble.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 31

Day 31 was the first back and biceps workout in Phase 2 of P90X. It is the second "new" workout after the first month. Like the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout, this one incorporates many of the exercises from Phase 1's Chest and Back and Shoulders and Arms workouts. And, it adds a couple of new exercises into the mix. It has two blocks of work with a one-minute rest between them. You alternate two back exercises (one that is a version of a pull-up and one that uses weights) followed by two biceps exercises. The workout ends with a strip set of bicep curls, where you do 8 reps with the heaviest weight you can use, then drop the weight (5 lbs or more), do eight reps with the lighter weight, and repeat that two more times. So, it is a challenging workout and it does get tiring toward the end, especially once you get to the point where you can do more pull-ups at the beginning.

Workout Update: P90X Day 30

Day 30 was plyo. Interestingly, I felt that I had a bit less stamina since I had not done this one for a week. Core synergistics and kenpo are the only "up-tempo" workouts that you do during the recovery weeks, but neither of them is as effective cardio-wise as plyo. But, ultimately, I go through it.