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. 

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

Book Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance

 


Fatal Alliance is a Star Wars Legends Novel set in the Old Republic era, which was introduced in a video game, then expanded in a series of novels, of which this is the first. The story involves a starship called the Cinzia that was intercepted by a smuggler named Jet Nebula. Nebula was intent on capturing the cargo contained in the Cinzia, but the ship self-destructed. The ship was carrying something valuable (we do not find out what until late in the book), and it is now in the hands of the Hutts, who intend to auction it off to the highest bidder; either from the Republic or Empire. Once the Jedi and the Sith figure out what it is, they have to team up to prevent the destruction of the galaxy.

The story is told on multiple worlds including Coruscant, the Sith homeworld Dromund Kaas, Nal Hutta, and even Tatooine. Of course, the story is set thousands of years before the events of A New Hope, so not even Yoda is around at this point in the story, but even so, the characters in the book are very well developed, and you do not really miss the absence of the more recognizable characters from the Skywalker Saga. The story is a good mix of action and intrigue, including a lot of backbiting among the Sith that was really their hallmark before the "rule of two" was instituted. Of course, the book is no longer a part of the Star Wars canon now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, but there is always the possibility that some part of the story may end up as canon if Disney decides to revive the Old Republic era. So, if you are one of those who reads some, but not all, of the Star Wars novels, this is a good one to check out.

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