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. 

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Book Review: David Copperfield

 


David Copperfield is a novel by Charles Dickens that was first published in the mid 1800s. It is a fictional coming-of-age story of a boy named David Copperfield who survives a traumatic childhood dealing with a cruel stepfather, being sent to a horrible boarding school, forced to work in a factory, etc. He eventually begins to study law, becomes a successful author, and marries his lifelong friend. Although it is a fictional story, it is based on elements of Dickens' own life. 

The Easton Press version of the book, which is included in Easton Press' 100 Greatest Books Ever Written collection, is just over 820 pages and leather-bound. It is, honestly, a very hard book to read. The pace is slow, there is no tight central plot, and the main character is just recounting what he observes. Unlike some of Dickens' other novels, such as A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations, this one was hard for me to get into, and I often found my mind wandering while reading it.  I never connected with any of the characters, and just found it a slog to get through. While it is interesting because it is based on aspects of Dickens' life, and I wanted to like it more than I did, I would not say it is a must-read. 

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