Day 45 marks the halfway point (roughly) of the hybrid workout. Tonight's workout was the Push Circuit 2 workout, which is my least favorite of the Push circuit workouts. This has a lot of shoulder work in it. A couple of the exercises were easier this week, but all the various delt raise exercises were still very tough.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 44
Day 44 was the Burn it Off cardio workout again. I was able to do a bit more of the jumping exercises in this one since my back was feeling a little better than it was on Saturday. So, this ended up being a better workout than it was the last time.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 43
Day 43 was the Push Circuit 1 workout again. I did not hit the 8 rep max on any of the exercises, but some of them were definitely getting easier than they were last week. This is the second hardest workout of the Push circuit workouts because it hits the arms hard, then has a set of push-ups at the very end. I was able to hit the arms hard enough that I did have to do more of the push-ups on my knees than last week.
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition)
This is the first of what would be a trilogy of movies based on Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, again directed by Peter Jackson, who also directed the Lord of The Rings trilogy. The challenge was how to make a relatively short book into three movies. So, unlike LOTR, where much was cut out to focus the story, here, a lot is added from Tolkien's other writings to flesh out the story. This movie is the one that is the most faithful to the book, with more detail being added to the second and third movies in the trilogy that were not in the book. An Unexpected Journey was released in 2012 and starred Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Grham McTavish, Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Mark Hadlow, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Peter Hambleton, William Kircher, James Nesbitt. McKellan and Serkis reprise their roles from the LOTR movies, and Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchette, and Christopher Lee all reprise their roles in cameo appearances.
This movie focuses on the first part of the story, Gandalf introducing the dwarves to Bilbo, the trek through the mountains, and Bilbo's confrontation with Gollum (intercut between the dwarves battling the Goblins). The movie ends with the group escaping from the goblins and setting up the encounter with Smaug, which is the focus of the second movie.
This movie focuses on the first part of the story, Gandalf introducing the dwarves to Bilbo, the trek through the mountains, and Bilbo's confrontation with Gollum (intercut between the dwarves battling the Goblins). The movie ends with the group escaping from the goblins and setting up the encounter with Smaug, which is the focus of the second movie.
This Extended Edition Blu-Ray is a three-disc set. The extended version is an 182-minute cut of the film, which adds about thirteen minutes to the 169-minute theatrical cut. The additions are less extensive than the added material in the extended versions of the LOTR films, most likely because much was added from the novel to make a trilogy of movies. Among the additions in the Extended Edition is an extended prologue about the dwarves and elves, a scene where young Bilbo Baggins first meets Gandalf, and several extensions to scenes introducing the dwarf clan (which makes the opening sequence drag a bit). And, there is a new scene in the Goblin caves involving the Goblin King.
In the movie, Martin Freeman plays the younger version of Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen reprises his role as Gandalf, Richard Armitage plays Thorin II Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, and of course, Andy Serkis as Gollum. We also do see some characters/actors from LOTR in cameos (or extended cameos) including Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Ian Holm as old Bilbo.
The real reason to get this set is the bonus material. On the first disc, there is a commentary track on the movie with Jackson and the co-writer and then a short featurette on shooting in New Zealand. Disc 2 contains Part 7 of The Appendicies, and like in the LOTR extended edition, there are several segments that you can watch individually or all at once. In all, they total well over two hours of material. Then, on disc 3, there is Part 8 of the appendices which has another nearly five hours of material. The appendices amount to two very long making-of/behind-the-scenes documentaries that cover pretty much all aspects of production (pre, filming, and post) and how the movie got made, how it was adapted from the source material, etc. So, if you are a fan of the books and/or the prior movies, they provide a ton of information. And, of course, the A/V quality is top-notch, with the special effects even better than what they were in the LOTR movies.
Overall, the movie is very good, even if it is a bit long. I personally think the opening sequence in which all the dwarves are introduced does get a bit long, but once they start out on their journey, the movie is well-paced and does not ever really seem to drag. If you are not a die-hard fan this set is probably overkill, but if you are, and love watching all the extras, this is definitely worth the pickup.
In the movie, Martin Freeman plays the younger version of Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen reprises his role as Gandalf, Richard Armitage plays Thorin II Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, and of course, Andy Serkis as Gollum. We also do see some characters/actors from LOTR in cameos (or extended cameos) including Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, and Ian Holm as old Bilbo.
The real reason to get this set is the bonus material. On the first disc, there is a commentary track on the movie with Jackson and the co-writer and then a short featurette on shooting in New Zealand. Disc 2 contains Part 7 of The Appendicies, and like in the LOTR extended edition, there are several segments that you can watch individually or all at once. In all, they total well over two hours of material. Then, on disc 3, there is Part 8 of the appendices which has another nearly five hours of material. The appendices amount to two very long making-of/behind-the-scenes documentaries that cover pretty much all aspects of production (pre, filming, and post) and how the movie got made, how it was adapted from the source material, etc. So, if you are a fan of the books and/or the prior movies, they provide a ton of information. And, of course, the A/V quality is top-notch, with the special effects even better than what they were in the LOTR movies.
Overall, the movie is very good, even if it is a bit long. I personally think the opening sequence in which all the dwarves are introduced does get a bit long, but once they start out on their journey, the movie is well-paced and does not ever really seem to drag. If you are not a die-hard fan this set is probably overkill, but if you are, and love watching all the extras, this is definitely worth the pickup.
Product Review: Hoover SmartWash Pet Automatic Carpet Cleaner
I had to use this much quicker than I intended when my mom's dog had an accident in the house on a brand new carpet. I had to use the spot treatment and go over the area with a few passes, but it got all of the mess out, did not leave any residual odor behind, and I could not tell the mess was ever there, after it was cleaned up.
It is pretty easy to set up, there is a tank for fresh water, a tank on the back for the solution, and a small tank on the handle for the spot solution. You use it like a vacuum, when you push forward it washes the carpet and when you pull back it dries the carpet. The carpet will not dry completely but you can get it from wet to damp. One thing to be aware of, it can be operated even if the water tank is not seated 100% correctly which will cause water to go into the carpet, but not be pulled back out and into the waste water tank. So, if water is not going into the waste water tank (which is above the clean water tank) you need to stop it and make sure everything is connected correctly, otherwise, you will just have dirty water sitting in the carpet. It does come with a small bottle of the spot chaser and the cleaning solution, but there is really only enough to do one or two cleanings of a single room. So, you definitely want to purchase more if you plan on using this on a regular basis.
It is pretty easy to set up, there is a tank for fresh water, a tank on the back for the solution, and a small tank on the handle for the spot solution. You use it like a vacuum, when you push forward it washes the carpet and when you pull back it dries the carpet. The carpet will not dry completely but you can get it from wet to damp. One thing to be aware of, it can be operated even if the water tank is not seated 100% correctly which will cause water to go into the carpet, but not be pulled back out and into the waste water tank. So, if water is not going into the waste water tank (which is above the clean water tank) you need to stop it and make sure everything is connected correctly, otherwise, you will just have dirty water sitting in the carpet. It does come with a small bottle of the spot chaser and the cleaning solution, but there is really only enough to do one or two cleanings of a single room. So, you definitely want to purchase more if you plan on using this on a regular basis.
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Dexter: The Complete Final Season
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major spoilers from the final season.+++
Season 8 of Dexter picks up months down the road from the events that ended season seven. The first part of the season started out pretty good and then went downhill as the season progressed. As most have pointed out, the overall ending was pretty bad, so the season just gets a worse reputation than it really deserved. Jennifer Carpenter is definitely the highlight of the season. She plays Deb spiraling out of control wonderfully. She feels enormously guilty over killing LaGuerta to protect Dexter and is mad because he does not feel the least bit guilty about it. Of course, there is a new serial killer that Dexter has to contend with, as well as the psychiatrist who helped Harry come up with "the code", whose intentions are murky, to say the least. I will not spoil how the season ends, although chances are anyone reading this now is already aware. I will just say that I would have chosen a different ending to the series than was done for this one. Obviously, this was meant to be the end of the series and was for many years until the series was resurrected as a limited event miniseries in 2021.
The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is very good, but the extras are pretty lame. There are just a handful of very short (2-3 minutes at most) featurettes and the first two episodes of the series Ray Donovan. Not nearly as much as a show that had an eight-season run should have received. Overall, the season was decent to good, with a band ending. The acting was great, but the writing most definitely was not. With those provisos, I do think it is worth watching but know that you will probably not enjoy the season as much as you did the first 3-4 seasons.
Season 8 of Dexter picks up months down the road from the events that ended season seven. The first part of the season started out pretty good and then went downhill as the season progressed. As most have pointed out, the overall ending was pretty bad, so the season just gets a worse reputation than it really deserved. Jennifer Carpenter is definitely the highlight of the season. She plays Deb spiraling out of control wonderfully. She feels enormously guilty over killing LaGuerta to protect Dexter and is mad because he does not feel the least bit guilty about it. Of course, there is a new serial killer that Dexter has to contend with, as well as the psychiatrist who helped Harry come up with "the code", whose intentions are murky, to say the least. I will not spoil how the season ends, although chances are anyone reading this now is already aware. I will just say that I would have chosen a different ending to the series than was done for this one. Obviously, this was meant to be the end of the series and was for many years until the series was resurrected as a limited event miniseries in 2021.
The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is very good, but the extras are pretty lame. There are just a handful of very short (2-3 minutes at most) featurettes and the first two episodes of the series Ray Donovan. Not nearly as much as a show that had an eight-season run should have received. Overall, the season was decent to good, with a band ending. The acting was great, but the writing most definitely was not. With those provisos, I do think it is worth watching but know that you will probably not enjoy the season as much as you did the first 3-4 seasons.
Blu-Ray/Movie Collection Review: The Hannibal Lecter Collection (Manhunter / Silence of the Lambs / Hannibal)
The Hannibal Lecter collection contains three original movies featuring the character Hannibal Lecter- 1986's Manhunter, 1991's Silence of the Lambs, and the 2001 sequel to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal. Manhunter was made in 1986 and starred Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter and William Petersen as Will Grahm. It is basically the Red Dragon story that would be remade years later with Hopkins in the role of Lecter with a much different tone and feel. There are some that think Manhunter is the best movie adaptation of any of the Thomas Harris novels, but I generally prefer the Hopkins movies, probably because I saw Silence of the Lambs first. Silence of the Lambs was the classic 1991 film that starred Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent who used Lecter's knowledge to help capture a serial killer named Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine. It was definitely more of a thriller than it was a horror movie. There are some gory parts, but nothing akin to say the Saw franchise. It is much more of an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller than it is anything else. Hannibal is the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, with Julianne Moore taking over the role of Clarice trying to track down Lecter, as was his last surviving victim, Mason Verger, played by Gary Oldman. While this does have the psychological thriller element to it, it is much gorier than Silence of the Lambs was. While Moore did a good job as Clarice, it was definitely not the same without Jodie Foster in that role, and I think the movie suffered somewhat because of it.
The Blu-Ray set is a three-disc set containing one disc for each film. The A/V quality of the movies is good, but none of them got a high-quality HD upgrade. Regarding extras, there are trailers for Manhunter and Hannibal, but that is it. Silence of the Lambs carries over the extras from its initial DVD release, including a picture-in-picture commentary track on the movie that includes interviews with the cast members as the movie plays. Then there are several behind-the-scenes and making-of documentaries that range from about 8-minutes to over an hour. Then you get a bunch of deleted scenes, outtakes, trailers, and TV spots for the movie. So, there are a lot of good extras for that movie, but little to nothing for the other two, which is a shame.
Overall, this is a good collection. Of course, Silence is largely considered one of the best movies of all time. It is interesting to see the original Manhunter movie given that it was never a widely acclaimed movie, especially for those of us who were way too young to see it when it first came out. Hannibal is a good movie, but nowhere near as good as Silence. So, those are things that you should take into consideration when deciding whether to get this set or just get Silence on its own.
4k-UHD/Movie Review: Marvel's The Avengers
This is, if you watch the MCU movies in chronological order, the seventh, after Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Hulk, and Thor. If you are watching them in release order, it is the sixth, after Iron Man, The Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America. It is, in part, a sequel to both Thor and Captain America, with the Mcguffin of Captain America (the Tesseract) and the villain of Thor (Loki) being front and center in the story. Basically, Loki is tasked to use the Tesseract to open a portal through which an army of aliens called the Chitari can come through and take over Earth. The Avengers have to team up to stop him, leading to what would be referred to in the subsequent movies as "The Battle of New York" and have reverberations throughout the other movies and the tv series that the MCU would spawn.
The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the movie in UHD is excellent. I do not count myself as an A/V expert so I cannot really tell you whether the 4k UHD disc is a huge upgrade over the initial Blu-Ray release (there are certainly sites out there that can do that), but as a novice, it does look like, when watching it on a big screen 4k TV playing on a 4k Blu-Ray player, the UHD disc does look better than the Blu-Ray version. The extras include a director's commentary track on the movie, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a Marvel One-Shot short film starring Lizzy Caplan set after the events of the movie. As is the case with many UHD releases, the UHD disc just has the movie itself and then the regular Blu-Ray has all of the extras. I listened to the commentary track years ago when I purchased the original Blu-Ray release before everything all the allegations about Joss Whedon being a raging asshole came to light. From what I remember it is a pretty standard director's commentary, but I refuse to listen to him talk about anything, but it is there if you want to listen to it.
Overall, the movie is wonderful. I think Marvel did a good job by introducing the characters in stand-alone films first and getting the origin stories for most of them (all but Black Widow and Hawkeye) out of the way and developed (at least to an extent) before they started doing the big team-up movies. It seemed like the cast had great chemistry, and worked well together. Of course, the big casting change from the prior movies was the fact that Mark Ruffalo was brought in to play Bruce Banner/Hulk, replacing Edward Norton who seemingly wore out his welcome very quickly when filming The Incredible Hulk. Even though Ruffalo was kind of shoe-horned in, given that this was the first movie in which all of the major actors worked together, it worked out well. The movie is, as you can imagine, mostly an action movie, but does have some comedy and even drama mixed in. It also started the tradition of having both a mid-credits scene that advances the storyline (this one introducing the "big bad" of the initial phases of the MCU, and a post-credits scene that is meant to be more fun or tie back into the movie you just watched. So, if you are a fan of superhero movies, this one is definitely worth watching and pays off on the prior movies quite well.
The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality of the movie in UHD is excellent. I do not count myself as an A/V expert so I cannot really tell you whether the 4k UHD disc is a huge upgrade over the initial Blu-Ray release (there are certainly sites out there that can do that), but as a novice, it does look like, when watching it on a big screen 4k TV playing on a 4k Blu-Ray player, the UHD disc does look better than the Blu-Ray version. The extras include a director's commentary track on the movie, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a Marvel One-Shot short film starring Lizzy Caplan set after the events of the movie. As is the case with many UHD releases, the UHD disc just has the movie itself and then the regular Blu-Ray has all of the extras. I listened to the commentary track years ago when I purchased the original Blu-Ray release before everything all the allegations about Joss Whedon being a raging asshole came to light. From what I remember it is a pretty standard director's commentary, but I refuse to listen to him talk about anything, but it is there if you want to listen to it.
Overall, the movie is wonderful. I think Marvel did a good job by introducing the characters in stand-alone films first and getting the origin stories for most of them (all but Black Widow and Hawkeye) out of the way and developed (at least to an extent) before they started doing the big team-up movies. It seemed like the cast had great chemistry, and worked well together. Of course, the big casting change from the prior movies was the fact that Mark Ruffalo was brought in to play Bruce Banner/Hulk, replacing Edward Norton who seemingly wore out his welcome very quickly when filming The Incredible Hulk. Even though Ruffalo was kind of shoe-horned in, given that this was the first movie in which all of the major actors worked together, it worked out well. The movie is, as you can imagine, mostly an action movie, but does have some comedy and even drama mixed in. It also started the tradition of having both a mid-credits scene that advances the storyline (this one introducing the "big bad" of the initial phases of the MCU, and a post-credits scene that is meant to be more fun or tie back into the movie you just watched. So, if you are a fan of superhero movies, this one is definitely worth watching and pays off on the prior movies quite well.
Product Review: Amazon Brand - Presto! Flex-a-Size Paper Towels, Huge Roll
The pros of getting this are:
1. The rolls are large, much larger than most you will find in a regular store, and much less expensive than an equivalently sized roll you would get in a regular store.
2. There are only six rolls, so unlike buying paper towels in a warehouse club, you do not have to find as much space to fit them all.
3. They have good (but not great) absorbency.
4. They are "select a size" so you are not stuck always using a large one if you do not need to.
5. You can set them up as a Subscribe and Save item and get them delivered at whatever frequency works for you.
The cons:
1. They are not all that soft. Some people really like soft paper towels, and these are not that. I would definitely not blow your nose on them unless you have no other choice.
2. A minor con, the perforations are not all that easy to see, so it is hard to tell where to tear them.
1. The rolls are large, much larger than most you will find in a regular store, and much less expensive than an equivalently sized roll you would get in a regular store.
2. There are only six rolls, so unlike buying paper towels in a warehouse club, you do not have to find as much space to fit them all.
3. They have good (but not great) absorbency.
4. They are "select a size" so you are not stuck always using a large one if you do not need to.
5. You can set them up as a Subscribe and Save item and get them delivered at whatever frequency works for you.
The cons:
1. They are not all that soft. Some people really like soft paper towels, and these are not that. I would definitely not blow your nose on them unless you have no other choice.
2. A minor con, the perforations are not all that easy to see, so it is hard to tell where to tear them.
Product Review: Panasonic RPHC200K Headphones
These are okay for an inexpensive pair of noise-canceling headphones. There is a bit of "you get what you pay for quality" to these. They do not have nearly as good noise cancelation and sound quality as a pair of $300 plus dollar headphones, and as others have said, they have durability issues. Plus, they are wired so you have to plug them into a computer, an mp3 player, etc., to listen through them. As the push has been to go more and more to Bluetooth, those are kind of a dinosaur. I would say that they are best for light use, like sitting at your desk listening to music, that sort of thing. I would not use these in a situation where you would be taking them on and off a lot, because the pads that go over your ears (which are comfortable) will split open after a while. I would say the sound quality is okay, as is the noise cancellation ability, but you definitely can still hear some ambient noise through them and the sound is not as rich as you would get in a pair of Bose headphones. But, then again, you are not paying anything near the same cost for these. So, with those qualifications, these are okay as long as you know what you are getting.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 42
Day 42 was the Recharge yoga/stretching workout. The only big thing of note is that I can get all the way down into a crouch now, but I do have to stay on my toes during the crouches. I cannot get my feet totally flat yet, but it is progressing well. I was a bit tired today from a long weekend of moving stuff so I definitely had to will myself to do it, but it was a much needed respite and did help me recover.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 41
Day 41 was the second Burn it Off workout of the week. It pretty much went exactly like the workout on Tuesday did. I made the same modifications and felt about the same during the workout. Nothing else really to report about that one.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 40
Day 40 was Push circuit 3. Overall it went well. I was able to easily hit 8 reps on a couple of exercises, but for most of the 9 exercises, I was doing 6 or 7 reps. I was able to do 30lbs on the bench press and chest flys which are both personal bests. Even when I was in much better overall shape than I am now I could not do either of those exercises using 30lb dumbells.
Friday, July 8, 2022
Circuits 1 Chapter 5 (The Operational Amplifier Terminal Currents and Voltages, Inverting, Summing, Non-Inverting, and Difference Amplifiers) Notes and Examples
Here are the links to the notes and problems for the Chapter 5 material which covers the Operational Amplifier, Terminal Currents and Voltages, Inverting, Summing, Non-Inverting, and Difference Amplifiers.
DVD/TV Series Review: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - Season 3
+++Warning, this will contain spoilers from season two, but no major season three giveaways+++
The 22-episode third season of Lois and Clark aired during the 1994/1995 TV season. It picks up immediately after the screen faded to black at the end of season two, with Clark proposing to Lois. Her answer to the question has reverberations throughout the rest of the season. It is not really a spoiler to say that she does not give an immediate yes or no answer to the question. The season has some self-contained episodes, but even those do have some of the serial arcs that run throughout the season. The big one is Lois and Clark's relationship status (of course things cannot go off without a hitch) and then toward the end of the season a version of the "new krypton" storyline in which Clark finds out he is not, in fact, the last Kryptonian. There are a lot of notable guest stars this season, including Peter Boyle, Bruce Campbell, Jessica Collins, Julian Stone, Jonathan Frakes, Genie Frances, Shelly Long, Fred Willard, Tony Curtis, and Justine Bateman. This is also the final season in which John Shea physically appears as Lex Luthor in a multi-episode story arc in the second half of the season. During the season, there was a mild controversy about Teri Hatcher cutting her hair (not nearly as big a deal as Kerri Russell cutting her hair during Felicity). That was kind of dumb. Although, I admit that I liked her hair better in the first two seasons than I did the shorter hairstyle.
The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include a featurette on the romance story between Lois and Clark, a trivia game hosted by Dean Cain, sporting a ridiculous-looking hairdo (speaking of haircuts), which is quite hilarious now that he does everything he can to pass himself off as a buttoned-up conservative commentator, and an excerpt of the documentary "Look, Up in the Sky" that was produced by Bryan Singer and Ken Burns, telling the history of the Superman character that was made when Singer was making Superman Returns. It is a portion of the same documentary that is an extra feature with the Superman Returns DVD and Blu-Ray (and the Superman Collection disc release) the same except that it was included as an extra on one of the Smallville season sets.
Overall, the season is good, but not as good as the prior seasons. I don't think the villains were as good in this season (aside from Tempus, Luther, and the Church gang) as they had been in the earlier seasons. I think a lot of the tension that the writers were trying to keep in the Lois and Clark relationship (to keep viewers interested) was a bit forced. That said, it was still Superman and was the only live-action superhero show on the air at the time. Because it was on ABC and tried to appeal to as broad an audience as possible to keep ratings up, it is a bit more of a soap opera than it would have been on one of the smaller networks. That said, it is still worth watching.
The 22-episode third season of Lois and Clark aired during the 1994/1995 TV season. It picks up immediately after the screen faded to black at the end of season two, with Clark proposing to Lois. Her answer to the question has reverberations throughout the rest of the season. It is not really a spoiler to say that she does not give an immediate yes or no answer to the question. The season has some self-contained episodes, but even those do have some of the serial arcs that run throughout the season. The big one is Lois and Clark's relationship status (of course things cannot go off without a hitch) and then toward the end of the season a version of the "new krypton" storyline in which Clark finds out he is not, in fact, the last Kryptonian. There are a lot of notable guest stars this season, including Peter Boyle, Bruce Campbell, Jessica Collins, Julian Stone, Jonathan Frakes, Genie Frances, Shelly Long, Fred Willard, Tony Curtis, and Justine Bateman. This is also the final season in which John Shea physically appears as Lex Luthor in a multi-episode story arc in the second half of the season. During the season, there was a mild controversy about Teri Hatcher cutting her hair (not nearly as big a deal as Kerri Russell cutting her hair during Felicity). That was kind of dumb. Although, I admit that I liked her hair better in the first two seasons than I did the shorter hairstyle.
The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include a featurette on the romance story between Lois and Clark, a trivia game hosted by Dean Cain, sporting a ridiculous-looking hairdo (speaking of haircuts), which is quite hilarious now that he does everything he can to pass himself off as a buttoned-up conservative commentator, and an excerpt of the documentary "Look, Up in the Sky" that was produced by Bryan Singer and Ken Burns, telling the history of the Superman character that was made when Singer was making Superman Returns. It is a portion of the same documentary that is an extra feature with the Superman Returns DVD and Blu-Ray (and the Superman Collection disc release) the same except that it was included as an extra on one of the Smallville season sets.
Overall, the season is good, but not as good as the prior seasons. I don't think the villains were as good in this season (aside from Tempus, Luther, and the Church gang) as they had been in the earlier seasons. I think a lot of the tension that the writers were trying to keep in the Lois and Clark relationship (to keep viewers interested) was a bit forced. That said, it was still Superman and was the only live-action superhero show on the air at the time. Because it was on ABC and tried to appeal to as broad an audience as possible to keep ratings up, it is a bit more of a soap opera than it would have been on one of the smaller networks. That said, it is still worth watching.
DVD/TV-Series Review: The Killing: Season Two
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major season two spoilers.+++
Season two picks up shortly after where season one ended, with Mayoral candidate Darren Richmond being arrested for the murder of Rosie Larson. The arrest, however, drives a wedge between Linden and Holder, with Linden convinced he had nothing to do with the murder. Of course, they figure out that there is a larger conspiracy at play, and manage to solve the case, after having to navigate a few more twists along the way. The murder is solved, although the actual murderer is somewhat non-sensical, and I think done for shock value. The show also does very subtly set up the storyline for the next season, with an almost throwaway conversation between Linden and her boss.
For those who get the DVD set, it is mostly just a MOD release, with the episodes and one short extra, Rosie's video blog that she made shortly before her murder. Given that season one got a Blu-Ray release that included some decent extras, the DVD release is a definite step down. But, if you prefer physical media, it is the only option.
Overall, the season was good but not as good as the first. As I said, the killer reveal was a bit dumb, but up to that point, the writers did a good job interweaving a bunch of different story arcs. Of course, when a show is built around one central mystery, solving the mystery can mean the death knell for the show, so they have to make it as dramatic as possible. So, I would say that the season was mostly well-written and very well acted. I liked the fact that it felt like it was grounded in the real world and you did not have a bunch of characters that looked like models. The characters looked like real people and had depth, flaws, and the like. So, if you like crime dramas, this is a good one to check out.
Season two picks up shortly after where season one ended, with Mayoral candidate Darren Richmond being arrested for the murder of Rosie Larson. The arrest, however, drives a wedge between Linden and Holder, with Linden convinced he had nothing to do with the murder. Of course, they figure out that there is a larger conspiracy at play, and manage to solve the case, after having to navigate a few more twists along the way. The murder is solved, although the actual murderer is somewhat non-sensical, and I think done for shock value. The show also does very subtly set up the storyline for the next season, with an almost throwaway conversation between Linden and her boss.
For those who get the DVD set, it is mostly just a MOD release, with the episodes and one short extra, Rosie's video blog that she made shortly before her murder. Given that season one got a Blu-Ray release that included some decent extras, the DVD release is a definite step down. But, if you prefer physical media, it is the only option.
Overall, the season was good but not as good as the first. As I said, the killer reveal was a bit dumb, but up to that point, the writers did a good job interweaving a bunch of different story arcs. Of course, when a show is built around one central mystery, solving the mystery can mean the death knell for the show, so they have to make it as dramatic as possible. So, I would say that the season was mostly well-written and very well acted. I liked the fact that it felt like it was grounded in the real world and you did not have a bunch of characters that looked like models. The characters looked like real people and had depth, flaws, and the like. So, if you like crime dramas, this is a good one to check out.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 39
Day 39 was the Burn Intervals workout. It was not as good a workout as the past couple of Burn it Off workouts were, but I managed to get through it. I did have to slow down and pause a couple of times however.
Workout Update: Power-90/Chalean Extreme Hybrid: Day 38
Day 38 was the second go-around with Push Circuit 2. This one was a bit better than last week. As anyone who reads my workout updates on a regular basis knows, I am not a huge fan of shoulder exercises because I struggle with them and it takes me a long time to make significant progress. But, I was able to hit the 8 rep max on a couple of the exercises so I will be able to bump up the weight a bit next time.
Textbook Review: Statics (Engineering Mechanics) 13th ed. Edition
Statics and its horrible sibling Dynamics were my two least favorite engineering subjects. They take the worst physics problems, make them harder, and then use them in an entire semester-long course. This book just covers the Statics material. There is a different edition that covers both Statics and Dynamics and one that just covers Dynamics.
How helpful the book will be to you depends on i) how good a teacher you have and ii) the kind of homework problems he or she assigns. Overall, I found that the theory was explained reasonably well, and the examples gave you a good idea of how to approach solving many of the problems in the problem sets. But, as pretty much every math, science, and engineering textbook does, this one does have problems in the problem set that are much harder than the examples in the chapter text. If your professor assigns the harder problems and/or is not easy to follow, you will probably need to get a study guide to supplement the textbook. But, if you have a pretty decent teacher who assigns problems from the chapter that are similar in difficulty to the examples in the chapter text or that are shown during lecture, then the book will give you a pretty good understanding of the material and you can probably understand it without any additional supplements or study guides.
How helpful the book will be to you depends on i) how good a teacher you have and ii) the kind of homework problems he or she assigns. Overall, I found that the theory was explained reasonably well, and the examples gave you a good idea of how to approach solving many of the problems in the problem sets. But, as pretty much every math, science, and engineering textbook does, this one does have problems in the problem set that are much harder than the examples in the chapter text. If your professor assigns the harder problems and/or is not easy to follow, you will probably need to get a study guide to supplement the textbook. But, if you have a pretty decent teacher who assigns problems from the chapter that are similar in difficulty to the examples in the chapter text or that are shown during lecture, then the book will give you a pretty good understanding of the material and you can probably understand it without any additional supplements or study guides.
DVD/TV Series Review: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: Season 2
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season 1, but no major spoilers from the second season+++
The 22-episode second season of Lois and Clark aired during the 1994/1995 TV season. In my opinion, this is the best season of the series and definitely the high point after which the show started to decline. It picks up down the line from the events of the first season finale in which Lex had jumped off his building, and Clark told Lois he just wanted to remain friends. Of course, even though John Shea had left as a series regular, Lex still had a presence in the storylines. Several episodes involve him and introduce new characters, such as his ex-wife, played by Emma Samms, and his doctor, played by Denise Crosby. There was more cast turnover, with Michael Landes leaving the show and Jimmy and Justin Whalen taking over that role. I don't think Whalen did a bad job, but I preferred Landes.
This season also introduced new characters such as The Prankster (played by the wonderful Bronson Pinchot) and Professor Emil Hamilton (played by John Pleshette). One of the season's best episodes involves H.G. Wells and a fugitive from the future named Tempus, who knows that Clark is Superman and involves a trip to the past to save Superman as a baby. There is also an incredible slate of recognizable guest stars, including Raquel Welch, Sherman Hemsley playing the Toymaster, Isabel Sanford as his assistant, Cindy Williams, Peter Scolari, Melora Hardin, and the great Bruce Campbell. The season ends on a massive cliffhanger that sets up season three.
The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include a commentary track on the episode "Season's Greedings" by Dean Cain (who also wrote the episode), a making-of featurette on the making of season two, and a featurette about the series' fans. So, there is a good amount of material if you like watching the bonus features. The season is very good, even with the cast departures like Landes, Shea, and Tracy Scoggins. To me, Hatcher really carries the show as Lois, even more than Clark/Superman does. Lane Smith is great in almost every scene, and K Callan and Eddie Jones are wonderful as Clark's Earth parents. So, if you are a fan of the Superman story, this is definitely worth watching.
This season also introduced new characters such as The Prankster (played by the wonderful Bronson Pinchot) and Professor Emil Hamilton (played by John Pleshette). One of the season's best episodes involves H.G. Wells and a fugitive from the future named Tempus, who knows that Clark is Superman and involves a trip to the past to save Superman as a baby. There is also an incredible slate of recognizable guest stars, including Raquel Welch, Sherman Hemsley playing the Toymaster, Isabel Sanford as his assistant, Cindy Williams, Peter Scolari, Melora Hardin, and the great Bruce Campbell. The season ends on a massive cliffhanger that sets up season three.
The DVD set is a six-disc set. The extras include a commentary track on the episode "Season's Greedings" by Dean Cain (who also wrote the episode), a making-of featurette on the making of season two, and a featurette about the series' fans. So, there is a good amount of material if you like watching the bonus features. The season is very good, even with the cast departures like Landes, Shea, and Tracy Scoggins. To me, Hatcher really carries the show as Lois, even more than Clark/Superman does. Lane Smith is great in almost every scene, and K Callan and Eddie Jones are wonderful as Clark's Earth parents. So, if you are a fan of the Superman story, this is definitely worth watching.
DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Fight: Season Five
The Good Fight is, of course, the spin-off of the series "The Good Wife" but is pretty far removed from the parent series. This season starts with tying up the prior season's storylines with the episode titled "Previously On" which shows how the events of 2021, including Covid, the election, and the attack on the capital, affected the characters, including a great long-haul Covid storyline involving Jay that makes him hallucinate throughout the season. It also provides a proper sendoff for Cush Jumbo and Delroy Lindo, both of whom intended to leave the show after season 4, but came back for the premiere since the prior season was cut short by the pandemic.
The main serial story arc this season involves a fake court run out of a copy shop, run by Mandy Pakankin's character "Judge" Hal Whackner. Marissa (who somehow goes to and graduates law school in a year) ends up becoming his court clerk (and tries cases in front of him). It is an amusing, but totally unrealistic storyline that gets silly by the end of the season. Another new addition to the cast is Charmaine Bingwa, who plays a first-year associate named Carmen Moyo, who ends up being the only lawyer one of the firm's sketchier clients will work with. This also allowed for a couple of appearances by Wallace Shawn in his role as Charles Lester, the fixer for bad guys. Unfortunately, there was no Princess Bride reunion between Shawn and Patinkin. The show does continue the STR Laurie conglomerate storyline, but John Larroquette left the show and his role was taken over by David Lee (played by Zach Grenier, the other carryover from The Good Wife) who is always great.
For those who get the DVD set, it is pretty bare-bones. The ten episodes are spread over three discs. There are deleted scenes for some of the episodes, but not all of them. There is not an extras menu on any of the discs, so if you want to watch the deleted scenes you have to go onto the menu for each individual episode. If you use the "play all" function, you will not see which episodes have deleted scenes available.
Overall, the show is one that you will either love or you will hate, probably depending on your political leanings. Unlike what some people seem to think, the show did not "go political" it was always political and has always been critical of the former guy. Although the show does portray conservative characters, including Diane's (Christine Baranski) husband, played by Gary Cole, and Michael Boatman's character Julius. But, the writers and producers most definitely have a liberal bent. The show is a combination of drama and comedy, but mostly very dark comedy. Because it streams on Paramount Plus there is a lot of swearing, including f-bombs. There is some sexual content, but it is not too over the top. There was one pretty hilarious bare butt shot, however, but that was the extent of the nudity. So, it is definitely not going to appeal to everyone. There has been a lot of cast turnover, with three main characters from the start of the show now gone. I'd say, in general, if you were a fan of the prior seasons, unless you were really invested in one of the characters who are no longer on the show, you will probably like this one. But, if you did not like the prior seasons, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind.
The main serial story arc this season involves a fake court run out of a copy shop, run by Mandy Pakankin's character "Judge" Hal Whackner. Marissa (who somehow goes to and graduates law school in a year) ends up becoming his court clerk (and tries cases in front of him). It is an amusing, but totally unrealistic storyline that gets silly by the end of the season. Another new addition to the cast is Charmaine Bingwa, who plays a first-year associate named Carmen Moyo, who ends up being the only lawyer one of the firm's sketchier clients will work with. This also allowed for a couple of appearances by Wallace Shawn in his role as Charles Lester, the fixer for bad guys. Unfortunately, there was no Princess Bride reunion between Shawn and Patinkin. The show does continue the STR Laurie conglomerate storyline, but John Larroquette left the show and his role was taken over by David Lee (played by Zach Grenier, the other carryover from The Good Wife) who is always great.
For those who get the DVD set, it is pretty bare-bones. The ten episodes are spread over three discs. There are deleted scenes for some of the episodes, but not all of them. There is not an extras menu on any of the discs, so if you want to watch the deleted scenes you have to go onto the menu for each individual episode. If you use the "play all" function, you will not see which episodes have deleted scenes available.
Overall, the show is one that you will either love or you will hate, probably depending on your political leanings. Unlike what some people seem to think, the show did not "go political" it was always political and has always been critical of the former guy. Although the show does portray conservative characters, including Diane's (Christine Baranski) husband, played by Gary Cole, and Michael Boatman's character Julius. But, the writers and producers most definitely have a liberal bent. The show is a combination of drama and comedy, but mostly very dark comedy. Because it streams on Paramount Plus there is a lot of swearing, including f-bombs. There is some sexual content, but it is not too over the top. There was one pretty hilarious bare butt shot, however, but that was the extent of the nudity. So, it is definitely not going to appeal to everyone. There has been a lot of cast turnover, with three main characters from the start of the show now gone. I'd say, in general, if you were a fan of the prior seasons, unless you were really invested in one of the characters who are no longer on the show, you will probably like this one. But, if you did not like the prior seasons, nothing about this season is likely to change your mind.
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Circuits 1 Chapter 4 (Techniques of Circuit Analysis Matrix Math, Node Voltage, Mesh Current, Source Transformation, Thevenin and Norton Equivalent, and Superposition) Notes and Examples
Here are the links to the Chapter 4 materials:
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Circuits 1: Chapter 3 (Simple Resistive Circuits Parallel and Serial Connections, Voltage and Current Divider, and Delta-to-Wye Equivalent) Notes and Examples
Here are the links to my notes and homework problems for the Chapter 3 material.
Product Review: Lavish Home Storage Bench Ottoman Large Folding Tufted Foot Rest Organizer with Removable Bin
I purchased this to put in front of my couch to use as a footrest and to store blankets that I would otherwise have draped over the couch. The pros are that there is no assembly required, you just unfold it, put the insert in the bottom and it is ready to go. There is also a small basket (that also unfolds and has a bottom insert for stability) that you can put inside it which is great for holding remotes or any other small items you that can easily get lost in couch cushions. It is also very sturdy. While I would not sit on it for hours, you can easily sit on it to put your shoes on or something like that and it does not feel like it would collapse under you.
The only con is that there is definitely an "industrial" smell to it when it is open. You do not really smell it when it is closed (at least I cannot smell it when the lid is on it), but it could definitely irritate some people. So, overall, if you are looking for a reasonably priced storage ottoman that does not have to be assembled, this is a very good option.
The only con is that there is definitely an "industrial" smell to it when it is open. You do not really smell it when it is closed (at least I cannot smell it when the lid is on it), but it could definitely irritate some people. So, overall, if you are looking for a reasonably priced storage ottoman that does not have to be assembled, this is a very good option.
DVD/TV Series Review: Hart of Dixie: Season 2
+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the first season, but no major spoilers from season two.+++
Hart of Dixie is a serial prime time soap-opera set in the fictional small town of Bluebell Alabama. Season one focused on the fish-out-of-water storyline with Rachel Bilson's character Zoe Hart, leaving NY and taking over her father's portion of a medical practice that he shared with Tim Mattheson's character, Brick Breeland, and trying to assimilate to life in a small southern town. Season two picks up immediately after the events that ended the first season, with George calling off the wedding to Lemon Breeland and walking out on her because of his feelings for Zoe. The repercussions of this event ripple through the entire season and result in major shifts in character arcs as Lemon has to grow on her own without George (and Jamie King does a great job this season), and Zoe having to decide between George and Wade, as well as continuing to acclimate to the town. In another side arc, Lavon's ex played by Golden Brooks returns to town and decides to run against him for mayor.
The show continues to be a good blend of comedy and drama. Because it is a prime-time soap it can get sappy and a bit much with all the various love triangles going on. That said, it is pretty well-written and very well-acted. The only disappointing thing about the DVD release is that it has no extras, just the episodes, so it is basically a MOD release. But, the second season of the show aired just when physical releases for TV series were getting scaled way back, so the fact that it got any physical media release is nice. If you were a fan of the first season, I definitely recommend season two.
Hart of Dixie is a serial prime time soap-opera set in the fictional small town of Bluebell Alabama. Season one focused on the fish-out-of-water storyline with Rachel Bilson's character Zoe Hart, leaving NY and taking over her father's portion of a medical practice that he shared with Tim Mattheson's character, Brick Breeland, and trying to assimilate to life in a small southern town. Season two picks up immediately after the events that ended the first season, with George calling off the wedding to Lemon Breeland and walking out on her because of his feelings for Zoe. The repercussions of this event ripple through the entire season and result in major shifts in character arcs as Lemon has to grow on her own without George (and Jamie King does a great job this season), and Zoe having to decide between George and Wade, as well as continuing to acclimate to the town. In another side arc, Lavon's ex played by Golden Brooks returns to town and decides to run against him for mayor.
The show continues to be a good blend of comedy and drama. Because it is a prime-time soap it can get sappy and a bit much with all the various love triangles going on. That said, it is pretty well-written and very well-acted. The only disappointing thing about the DVD release is that it has no extras, just the episodes, so it is basically a MOD release. But, the second season of the show aired just when physical releases for TV series were getting scaled way back, so the fact that it got any physical media release is nice. If you were a fan of the first season, I definitely recommend season two.
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