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. 

Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Book Review: World Book Encyclopedia of Science: Plants

This is another volume of the World Book Encyclopedia of Science set, first published in 2014 and updated in 2019. This volume is devoted to plants. It covers many common plant types, including where they grow, how they spread, and their various traits. It also provides information on broader scientific processes, such as photosynthesis and evolution (and how plants were used to study evolution), and bios of some of the scientists (such as Darwin) who used plants in their research. 

The plant volume is a bit longer than the volume on space (which as of this writing is the only other volume I have read). This one is just under 300 pages, excluding the index. Like that volume, this one lists the content in alphabetical order and includes instructions for experiments that can be performed at home to study some of the concepts listed in the book. While the set is geared more for school-aged kids (middle school on up), it has enough detail that adults can learn from and enjoy the content without getting bored or lost. If you are interested in plant life, biology, or just science in general, it is absolutely worth reading if you can track down the set or the individual volume.