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. 

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Book Review: State of the Union (Scot Harvath Series #3)

 


State of the Union, published in 2004, is the third in the long-running series of thriller novels by author Brad Thor set around the character of Scot Harvath. The plot of the book involves a threat from Russia, specifically, to detonate a series of suitcase nukes hidden in the United States unless President Rutledge announces a series of concessions during the State of the Union address. The events of the book are set in Germany, Russia, and the United States. Some of the characters from the two previous novels appear in this book, and a couple of new characters are introduced. We also get more character development and backstory for both Harvath and Gary Lawlor.

The hardcover version of the book is a moderate length, coming in at just over 330 pages. This book has a very similar tone and style to (and is a similar length as) the first two books, and has a good blend of action and drama with some humor mixed in. Thor balances the action with plot development well and as a result the book has a good pace. The chapters are kept relatively short so there are a lot of natural stopping points for those who take more time to read. If you are a fan of the first two books, or generally a fan of the genre, this is absolutely worth the time to read.

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