Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Monday, September 27, 2021

Book Review: Here, Right Matters

 


"Here, Right Matters" is a memoir by Alexander Vindman, who was the only person who was actually listening in on the phone call between t***p and the President of Ukraine which led to the first impeachment to publically testify. The title of the book comes from what is probably the most famous line of his opening statement telling his father not to worry about the fact that he is testifying in the impeachment case. It alternates back and forth between Vindman's early life, first growing up as an immigrant in America with his father, twin brother, and older brother, and then detailing his military career, meeting his wife, and having his own child, with the events that would thrust him into the national spotlight. It details his reaction to the call, why he felt he had to report it (and that he never thought it would become public), and why he testified even over the objections of his own father (who was an ardent t***p supporter at the time). The book also provides some behind-the-scenes details of both Vindman's closed-door and public testimony and finishes with a recounting of the end of his military career.

The book is fairly short (less than 250 pages) and is a fairly quick read. I like that it gives some insight into who Vindman is as a person and what caused him to do what he felt was right in reporting to his superiors what he believed to be misconduct on the part of t***p. While it is clear that he was no fan of t***p even before the impeachment mess and the fallout that stemmed from it, he saw himself as apolitical when it came to his job and his duty and unlike the boot-licking toadies that ran rampant in the t***p administration, Vindman was going to do what he felt was right regardless of his personal politics (which seemingly did have a more conservative bent, at least until t***p came along). 

Overall, the book is a good read. It can be a bit dry, but not overly so, and I, for one, was happy to support a guy who did what was right for his country. I definitely recommend it.


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