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. 

Friday, May 3, 2024

Book Review: Black List (Scot Harvath Series #11)

 


Black List, published in 2012, is the 11th book in Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series of action-thrillers. The book picks up immediately after the end of the prior novel, Full Black when Scot and Riley are attacked at the safe house overseas. Harvath learns that he and the members of The Carlton Group (the private intelligence and security agency Scot has been working for since he left his government job) were put on a kill list. There are a couple of plotlines in the book that mostly stay parallel until the end. One involves Harvath trying to get back to the US and then teaming with Nicholas to figure out the plot (and dodging assassins). The second involves Reed Carlton (aka, The Old Man) trying to figure out the plot (and also dodging assassins) in the Washington DC area believing that Scot has been killed along with the rest of the team. The book deeply ties into the revelation that the US government spies on American citizens and discusses some of the technology that is used to do so.

The hardcover version of the book is about 370 pages long. The style and tone are similar to those of the prior novels in the series, with a good blend of action, suspense, and drama. Although there are a few new characters in the book, many of the characters have appeared in the prior novels (including members of The Athena Project). The book tells a good story and allows for the subsequent books to go in a lot of different directions. So, if you are a fan of the prior novels, this one is worth the time to read.

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