Product Review: OneNote 2007

 

I used OneNote because I was looking for a way to digitize the class notes that I had handwritten on paper and get them in electronic form without having to scan thousands of pages. This can do that, and once you figure out how to set everything up, it can do it well. However, it can be a pain (at least it was for me) to figure out how to have just continuous pages without having to add a new page every single time I ran out of room. It is much easier to just have a bunch of pages under each other that would start new when you get to the end of the current page. The notebooks, however, default to having to manually go to a new page almost like flipping through a book. That works great for some things, like daily journaling, but does not lend itself well to writing a lot of material at one time.

DVD/TV Series Update: Hart of Dixie - Season One

 

Hart of Dixie is a show that premiered in 2011 that takes a twist on the themes of the series Northern Exposure and Doc Hollywood. The premise of the show is that a doctor from NY named Zoe Hart (played by Rachel Bilson) fails to get a fellowship at the hospital in which she was interning. She ends up taking the offer of a stranger who attended her graduation from med school to work at his practice in the small town of Bluebell Alabama. When she gets there, she discovers that the stranger was her biological father and left her with half of the medical practice he shared with Tim Mattheson's character, Brick Breeland. What follows is a pretty typical fish-out-of-water story in which Zoe has to adjust to life in small-town Alabama and while being an outsider. The show has a fairly large ensemble cast including Cress Williams, Jamie King, Scott Porter, and Wilson Bethel. It does get soap-opera-like with multiple love triangles going on between the various characters. It has a good blend of drama and comedy (mostly about how the north views the south and vice-versa) and ultimately tells a good story.

The DVD set spreads the 22 episodes over five discs. The extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a behind-the-scenes documentary that runs just under twenty minutes. A decent amount of material for those who like the extras. The show is pretty well written and acted. It is a bit formulaic and predictable and does not really do anything that is extremely new. It is definitely more of a prime-time soap opera than it is a straight prime-time drama. but it has likable characters played by a good cast, so it works. It is definitely worth picking up.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 71

For day 71 of CE, I just did the Recharge workout. I was very late getting to my workout tonight and had considered just taking an off day, but I wanted to get some movement in, so I just did Recharge without doing abs. 

Product Review: Burt's Bees Retinol Alternative Facial Moisturizer, Anti-Aging Sunscreen with SPF 30

 

This is a good facial moisturizer that offers some SPF protection. I would not rely on just it if you are, for example, going to be outside on a lake, on a beach, or in a situation like those where you will be in the sun for an extended period of time. However, for everyday situations where you will be outside for a short period of time, the level of protection it will give you from the sun is fine. It is great if you have dry skin on your face, especially if you use things like acne pads or other facial cleansers that can dry out your skin. It does not have any overpowering scent like many hand lotions do and as someone who has relatively sensitive skin, I do not find it irritating at all. I definitely recommend it.

Workout Review: Beachbody Insanity Fast and Furious DVD Workout

 

Insanity is a very intense cardio-based workout program released by Beachbody, which also released the massively popular P90x, which would ultimately become its second most popular program (at least for a time). The regular Insanity workouts ran about 45 minutes, give or take, and this was released as a scaled-down version of those workouts. It does not include the full cast and is not shot in the gymnasium where the regular workouts were shot. It just has a couple of cast members, Anna who was in many of the main workouts, a new guy, and Shaun T. It runs about 20 minutes including the warm-up and cool-down, and all the moves in the workout are moves that were in the regular videos. So, if you have done the Insanity program already, there is nothing new in this workout.

This is definitely not something that you just want to jump into if you are not in good shape and/or if you have not done any of the Insanity workouts. It is definitely not for beginners at all, and there are no modified moves in this. If you have done the Insanity Max 30 which does have modified moves, you can figure out how to modify the moves in this (as many of the same moves are used in the Max 30 program as were used in this), but this workout assumes that you have done the first, regular, Insanity workout program and are in good enough shape to get through it. Ultimately, if you are looking for a great cardio workout that is also short, this is a good option for you.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Snow White & the Huntsman

 

Chances are, most people are aware of the Snow White story from the Disney cartoon. This is a much different take on the story. The movie stars Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, the evil queen who can drain the life from people to stay young and beautiful. Kristen Stewart is Snow White, the "fairest of them all" who, if Ravenna can kill her, will allow Ravenna to stay young and beautiful forever. Ravenna gets the Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth) to track Snow White down after she escapes the castle Ravenna has had her imprisoned in since she was a child. He ends up helping her and along with the seven dwarves (who are not a large focus of the story), help Snow White fight Ravenna.

The movie looks and sounds great in HD. There are a ton of great visuals, and the movie makes great use of CGI to, among other things, transform actors like Toby Jones, Nick Frost, and Bob Hoskins, into dwarves. The movie is well written and acted, with Theron basically stealing the show. Stewart gave a good performance as well. Probably not as good as in some of her lower-budget and indie roles, but better than she did in Twilight (although the source material she had to work with there was not exactly stellar).

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the extras include a commentary track on the movie by the director, the visual effects supervisor, and one of the editors of the movie. Then there are several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that range from just over a minute in length to just over twenty minutes. Around an hour's worth of material, give or take.

Overall, the movie is very good. Theron is definitely the highlight of the film, but all the actors gave good performances, and it told a good, original, version of the story. It definitely had set up for more stories to be told in that universe, but because of the controversy that came out after the movie was released with Stewart and the married director being caught making out, the movie only got Huntsman focused spinoff that largely ignored Snow White's existence. Even so, it is still a good movie that had a good blend of action and drama and is definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Family Guy: Season 17

 

This is the DVD set for the seventeenth season of Family Guy, and is, as of this writing, the last season that is available on DVD. That is a bummer for those of us who prefer physical media to streaming, but not all that surprising given that DVD and Blu-Ray sets for TV series have very low sales numbers and are pretty much going extinct, especially Fox series as Fox is notorious for wanting their stuff exclusively on their various streaming platforms. In fact, this season includes an episode, "You Can't Handle the Booth" in which the characters from the show do a DVD commentary on an episode, and joke about how a lot of people (especially young people) have no idea what DVDs are.

The episodes are split over three discs, and they are uncensored. They definitely use jokes that cannot be used on the broadcast versions and drop multiple f-bombs. The extras include deleted scenes for most of the episodes, a commentary free track of the You Can't Handle the Booth episode, and a traditional commentary track on You Can't Handle the Booth that includes the writer, producers, and editor in which they discuss the process of making the episode and the layers of doing a regular episode, having the characters do a fake commentary track, and then including dialog by the actors talking to their characters (and including Sarah Paulson as a guest commentator). The episode seems to be either loved or hated by the fans, but it was very complicated to pull off, so the "regular" commentary track is actually pretty insightful.

Realistically, the show has been on long enough now that you will know if you like it or not. The show has definitely evolved over the years, but for those of us who have been watching from season one up to now, it is actually nice that the show does some callbacks to the early episodes (including a return of Lacy Chabert, who voiced Meg for the first thirteen episodes before Mila Kunis took over the role), and making fun of how characters (especially Stewie) has changed over the years. If you are a fan of the show and have the other DVD sets, this is worth picking up to keep your collection complete. But otherwise, you may just want to stick with streaming it.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 70

Day 70 was the Lean Circuit 1 workout again. I am still finding it challenging, even using the same weight as the first couple of weeks for most of the exercises. I have been able to bump up a couple of them, but mostly I am working with 15 pounds. I have been able to do the plank kickbacks on my toes and can do more of the triceps pushups on my toes (but I cannot go super deep when I do them on my toes). 

Study Aid Review: Ultimate Physics 2 Tutor Vol. 2 - Oscillations and Waves

 

This is a continuation of Jason's series of physics tutors. Where the material falls in your particular class sequence (if you are taking classes and not just learning on your own) will depend on how your school sets up the courses. I took two semesters of calculus-based physics at the community college level, and my teacher barely covered this material, right at the very end of the first semester. I think we had two lectures and one bonus question on the Doppler Shift on the final exam.

The set covers harmonic motion, different types of waves (transverse, standing, interference), speed and intensity of waves, and then ends with a lesson on the Doppler Shift. So, pretty much everything on the subject of waves that is likely to be covered regardless of what type of class (algebra-based or calculus-based) you are taking. The examples he goes through in the set are more geared toward algebra-based classes as they tend to be easier problems than are assigned in calculus-based classes. If you have a teacher that does not cover this material in a lot of detail, then what Jason covers here may be way more than you need to know. Unfortunately, it is hard to get an idea of what your teacher may focus on before you take the class. But, if you have a hard time following what your teacher is saying or if you are just trying to teach yourself the material, this is a good resource if you are an audio/visual learner. If you learn better through reading, however, this is not likely to be of much help to you.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Reunion

 

American Reunion is the final (thankfully) nail in the American Pie franchise that started out nearly perfectly with the 1999 original movie that was the 1990s iconic coming-of-age comedy. It spawned two sequels with members of the original cast and many direct-to-DVD spin-off movies that only managed to get Eugene Levy and Chris Owen.

The setting for this movie is (for some reason) the 13-year class reunion of the East Great Falls High class of 1999. It brought back many, but not all, of the original cast members and did the very predictable here is where everyone is in their lives thing. It has some funny moments, but nothing rivaled the original film, or even American Pie 2 or American Wedding, which were themselves not as good as the first movie. The best was when it was kind of breaking the fourth wall and making fun of itself. Some of the original cast members like Shannon Elizabeth had a blink and you will miss them cameos which were pretty pointless. Unfortunately, the movie tended to gravitate toward the raunchy gross-out comedy that worked in the original movie, but not so much with characters that are nearly thirty years old.

The Blu-Ray extras include an audio commentary on the movie with the writers/directors and a video commentary in which pop-ups with the actors appear sporadically to discuss different things from the movie. There are about thirty minutes of deleted and extended scenes, some alternate takes, and a gag reel. Then, there is a making-of documentary and a few short behind-the-scenes featurettes. Some of the extras are pretty good, others not so much, but there is a decent amount there if you like watching them.

Overall, the movie is okay and did finally put an end to the franchise which should have probably just ended with American Wedding. Thankfully, it pretends that the stupid spin-off movies do not exist and just focused on the main group of characters. I think they would have been better off just making the setting the 10-year reunion and having all of the original cast members more involved with more mature humor than the juvenile humor the movie was still using.

Product Review: rooCASE Multi-Angle Black Leather Folio Case Cover with Elastic Hand Strap for Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 Wi-Fi

 

If you still have the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, this is a good case to use (assuming that you do not already have one). Chances are by now there are only a few of us who do so because it was discontinued pretty quickly because of the Apple/Samsung lawsuit so they are hard to come by and nothing on them gets updated anymore so most people who did have one probably scrapped it long ago. But, if you did hang onto yours, this is a very sturdy case that protects it well. The only drawback is that you cannot close the case (meaning it cannot be folded into the closed position) when you are charging the tablet. It can still lie flat, but you have to keep the screen exposed as it is charging. It is only a small point (for me) but could be more irritating to some people. Overall, however, it is a good case and is a good value.

Book Review: Everything T***p Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever

 

The subject of the book is evident from the title. It is one of the most accurately titled books ever. Wilson, who was a behind-the-scenes Republican strategist who never got on the t***p train, either at the beginning or after he won the nomination, excoriates everyone involved in the former administration and everyone who supported the prior administration. He goes scorched earth on t***p and anyone who supported him, for whatever reason they did so, and definitely does not wear kid gloves as he criticizes anyone. For the MAGATs out there excoriates basically means to verbally bitch-slap, and verbally means using words. 

There is no doubt about Wilson's feelings toward any person or group of people he discusses in the book. Wilson openly mocks anyone who supported the orange shitgibbon, whether they were the inbred hillbillies with three teeth and even fewer IQ points, the opportunists like Paul Ryan and Bitch McConnell who only supported t***p to get the tax breaks they wanted to pass signed into law and/or to stack the courts with conservative judges, or the evangelicals who actually seem to believe that ol' pussy-grabber is anything close to a good Christian (despite not being able to quote one bible verse or properly pronounce 2 Corinthians). Wilson blends satire in the form of a five-part tragedy of being a White House staffer with comments on real events (like Tillerson calling the orange genital wart a "fucking moron") and uses a lot of snark. And, he backs up his assertions with over 200 footnotes citing different sources.

Wison does not shy away from the fact that he did a lot to stoke the fire under what ultimately became of the t***p base, and fully admits he did a job to make them believe in much of the crazy shit they believe. He also slams the Democrats and their strategists for being so bad at politics as a reason he was able to do what he did as effectively as he did it. He basically says, rightly in my opinion, that Democrats have no idea how to punch back and as a result, the Republicans just roll over them. Refreshingly, he does not try to do some bullshit pandering or mea-culpa trying to claim that he was wrong the entire time, sees the error of his ways, and is now a tree-hugging liberal. He admits that he is still a small-government conservative, and makes no apologies for it. Although he interestingly admits that a lot of the lines and talking points that small-government conservatives have been spewing for decades it total bullshit, so he kinda-sorta admits he was wrong about some things (or just went along with making some shit up). At any rate, he is not exactly a liberal darling and does not want to be one, but he makes no bones about the fact that the Republicans are a threat to democracy. And this was all before the whole January 6th riot and the attempt to steal the election came out. The book was actually released before even the Mueller report was issued. So, hopefully, there will be a follow-up that gets into the even more batshit crazy stuff that came out after this book was released. 

It has a much different tone than other books written about the former administration, but I think that is a good thing because he does not sugarcoat his opinions or try to spare anyone's feelings.

DVD/TV Series Review: American Dad!: Volume Seven

 

By now, anyone reading this very likely knows what American Dad! is a show and has already formed an opinion of it, good or bad. The show continues to have the same format, basically, individual storylines each week (sometimes there are two-part episodes, and the show does refer back to previous episodes from time to time) that get resolved in that episode and the show moves on. By this season the focus of the show has shifted away from Stan's CIA job (although it is still an element in the show) and to the more character-themed story of the week (usually involving Roger and/or Stan, but not exclusively). And, the episodes that involve things like time travel, battling Santa, etc., which become the norm for the show in later seasons start popping up this season.

The show continues to include a lot of good guest stars, some of whom are easy to recognize and others, no so much. This season, the guest lineup included Jason Alexander, Sarah Chalke, Anthony Michael Hall, Hector Elizondo, Lucy Lawless, Hayden Panettiere, Lou Diamond Phillips, Burt Reynolds, Edward Asner, and Carl Reiner.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include commentary tracks on selected episodes, deleted scenes, a feature on Patrick Stewart, who voices Stan's boss at the CIA, and a portion of the 2010 comic-con panel. So, a good amount of material if you like watching the extras.

Overall, the show is good. While not every show is great, most of them are clever and there are a lot of funny moments. It is much different from Family Guy, which in the long run is good, but it definitely has a similar brand of humor. So, if you like the prior seasons, this is definitely worth picking up.

Product Review: CAP Barbell Workout Bar, 5-Pound

 

I purchased this to use with the P90X2 workout, which incorporates the use of a weighted bar into some of the workouts. It is definitely useful beyond the exercises that are in that workout, for example, you can do squats with it across your shoulders as you would do a barbell squat, you can use it for skull crushers, or even a bench press if you get a version that is heavy enough). I definitely think using one of these is a bit safer than loading up a bar with plates, especially if you are working out at home by yourself. It is definitely a good addition to a home gym.

Product Review: Gaiam Pressure Point Muscle Roller Massage Stick

 

As someone who has very tight hamstrings and hip flexors I love foam rolling to work out knots, pressure points, etc., but it can be a bit of a pain because you always have to get down on the floor and devote probably a half an hour (or more) to doing it, in order to really have it be effective. This is something that you can use for a few minutes at a time, it is small enough to take pretty much anywhere, and you can get the same kind of benefit you can get from a full-sized foam roller. Like with foam rolling, it will probably be uncomfortable the first few times you use it, but the more you do, the better you will feel. It is mostly for use on the legs and hips (because those are really the only areas you are going to be able to use it on yourself very effectively) but if you have someone else around to help you, it can also be effective on your back and arms. I definitely recommend it.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 69

 Day 69 was the recharge workout. I again had to work most of the day so I was not able to get to the workout until later in the evening so instead of doing x-stretch I just did recharge. Not ideal, but it worked out. 

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 68

Day 68 of CE was Burn it Off. I had very little energy or desire to do the workout today (and I got to it much later than I intended). But, I did manage to make it through, modifying the moves quite a lot. I cannot say it was the best workout I have ever had, but I got through it. 

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 67

Day 67 oF CE was the Lean Circuit 3 workout again. It was easier than the first time around, and it is generally an easier workout for me than Lean Circuit 2. While there is a lot of shoulder work, the moves are shoulder raises, not the variations of the flys which are difficult for me. Even so, it was still a very challenging workout and I was pretty gassed by the end of it.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 66

Day 66 of CE was the burn intervals workout. For some reason, I was very tired during the workout today. I really had to find the motivation to start it and had to push through once I did start, but I managed to get through it with some heavier modifications than usual. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Dexter Season Six

 

Season six of Deter finds many of the characters at various crossroads. LaGuerta is promoted to Captain, Deb is promoted to Lieutenant, which affects her relationship with Quinn, but also makes for an even more tenuous relationship between LaGuerta and Bautista, as Bautista thinks that it is LaGuerta's fault that he was passed over. Dexter meanwhile, befriends a minister named Brother Sam, whom he initially believes to be a new serial killer, and Deb begins to confront her feelings toward Dexter. There is also a bookend to the Trinity storyline that puts a nail in that arc.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the series looks and sounds great in HD. The extras, which are only available through BD live (meaning your blu ray player has to be connected to the internet to watch them) include cast interviews, a couple of episodes from the series House of Lies, Californication, and The Borgias. So, very light on Dexter-specific extras which is disappointing.

Overall, the season is good. Better than season five, but not as good as seasons one through three. The season ends on a cliffhanger that definitely changes things for season seven. The writing is definitely not as good under the new showrunners as it was under the direction of Clyde Phillips, but the acting is always great. This season sports a strong supporting and guest cast including Mos Deg, Collin Hanks, Edward James Olmos, and includes Aimee Garcia as a new recurring cast member. I cannot say that people who loved the first 3-4 seasons will definitely like this one, but I think, generally, if you have liked the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. The only real disappointing thing about the Blu-Ray set is the lackluster extras, so if you only get the physical discs when the extras are extensive and good, then you may just want to stream this.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 65

Day 65 of CE was Lean Circuit 2. This is another very challenging workout, even two weeks into the Lean phase. The upper-body moves are shoulders (the various shoulder flys) and back (doing a bunch of rows) while you are unbalanced doing hamstring curls, leg lifts, etc. I found that I had to use very light weights for most of the upper body moves. It was tough, but rewarding to get through.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed Season 2

 

Season two of Charmed took the show in a slightly different direction. It still used the "monster-of-the-week" format but did things like incorporating music much more into the show, largely by having notable bands and musicians like The Cranberries, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Paula Cole (not signing the Dawson's Creek Theme Song) perform at the sisters' club, P3. So, if you are a fan of the late 1990s/early 2000s music, the show will really give you nostalgic flashbacks. The show also introduced two new characters, Dan Gordon (played by Greg Vaughan) and his niece Jenny (played by Karis Paige Bryant) as the sister's new neighbors. Dan was a series regular the entire season and used to introduce a love triangle into the Piper-Leo relationship, and Jenny was billed as a series regular for a handful of episodes, then was dropped to a recurring character, then written out of the series partway through the season. Dorian Gregory's role was also expanded as the sisters would help Darryl solve various supernatural crimes.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks okay in the HD format. Sometimes it looks great, and sometimes the HD format really highlights just how bad the special effects still were back then. The CGI was a bit better in season two than it was in season one, but only slightly and you can really tell how fake things were when watching in HD. As far as extras go, there are none. There are no deleted scenes, no gag reel, and no behind-the-scenes material. Just the episodes themselves. And, unlike the season one Blu-Ray set, the episodes are not captioned at all which is a pain for people who are hard of hearing and rely on the captions.

Overall, the show is good, even if a bit cheesy at times. Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano had great chemistry together, and if any of the tension that has been rumored between members of the cast had started during the filming of season two, it was not evident in any of their performances. The show also included a great set of recognizable guest stars including Dean Norris (who would go on to be a co-star on Breaking Bad), Misha Collins (who would go on to star in Supernatural), Arnold Vosloo (from the Mummy movies), Amy Adams, Billy Drago (the wonderful character actor who played mostly bad guys throughout his career), and French Stewart. If you were a fan of the first season, the second season is definitely worth watching.

Book Review: 11/22/63

 

11/22/63 is a book that is about trying to stop the assassination of JFK. In it, the main character, Jake Epping is told of a portal that can transport the traveler to the past. He learns of the portal from the owner of a diner he frequents who seems to mysteriously age every time Jake sees him. Al, the owner of the diner tells Jake the rules for traveling through the portal, namely that the portal sends the person back to September 9th, 1958 and if the person returns from the past through the portal they come back two minutes in time after they left, with whatever changes made in the past taking hold. Going back through the portal again wipes out anything that was previously changed and returns the person back to September 9th, 1958. Al tells Jake that he was trying to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy, and tries to get Jake to take up the mission. The "main" aspect of the novel is that the past can be changed, but the larger the event someone tries to change, the more the "past" pushes back and tries to prevent the change from happening. As you can expect, Jake does go into the past and tries to figure out how to stop the assassination while also having to live his life in the late 1950s in the south coming from living in Maine in 2011, and dealing with the fact that nearly everything he does, large or small, potentially changes something in the past.

While I would not say I am an aficionado of King's works (I have read a couple of his books and seen some of the movie adaptations of his works) I really liked this book. Even though it is pretty long (over 800 pages) it is a fairly easy read with a reasonable amount of characters in it and good character development. So, I was able to get through it fairly quickly (in about a week and a half) despite the size. The book was based on the premise that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing JFK and did not get into the various conspiracy hypotheses, although in the afterward, King did say that while he does not believe in a massive conspiracy, he does concede the possibility that more people than just Oswald were involved, but he chose to approach the story on the belief that there was none and that Oswald was a lone wolf. I cannot say that everyone who is a fan of King's other works will like this book, and cannot say how similar or different it is from his other novels, but I found the book to be a great read with an engaging story and definitely recommend it.

Workout Update: Chalean Extreme Day 64

Day 64 of CE was recharge and abs. Nothing too much to say about either of them. They basically went the same as last week. 

Workout Update" Chalean Extreme Day 63

Day 63 of CE was the Lean Circuit 1 workout again. Honestly, it was just as challenging as it was last week and I was still maxing out on the reps at 10 (most of the time) using relatively light weights (about 15 lbs for most exercises). Being off balance when doing the upper body exercises is very tough and really makes 15 lb seem heavier than it is.  While I still like the Push Circuit workouts more, this is definitely a good workout.