CD/Music Review: Selena Gomez - Revival

 

This was the album that Gomez used to break out of the "Disney kid" mold. While there are certainly pop songs on the album that are probably only going to appeal to a younger audience, there are some really good songs, especially a couple of ballads, that are very good. For me, the best songs on the album are Kill Em with Kindness, Same Old Love, Sober, and Camaflouge. I would not put Gomez in the same category as someone like Adele; with this album, she shows that she is more than just a teeny-bopper pop star.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 33

Day 33 was the first Friday Fight Round 2 workout. The workout has the traditional warm-up, rotating four moves for two rounds, then it launches into the regular workout with one-minute long moves, back to back, for 15 minutes, then a break, then more moves until 26 minutes, and then it goes the final four minutes. Most of the exercises are ones that are seen in the other max-out exercises, with a couple exceptions. It is much easier to do the modified version than the regular version. I was able to make it to just under 20 minutes before maxing out, but the people doing the non-modified exercises were maxing out around the 7-minute mark.

Study Aid Review: A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations (Student's Guides) 1st Edition

 

Maxwell's equations are some of the most important things that you will learn if you are taking physics and/or working on an electrical engineering degree. They basically describe the concepts of electricity and magnetism, which apply to things like the power to our homes and semiconductor chips that are in every single device we own. Unfortunately, a lot of the textbooks (both physics and EM engineering textbooks) give them a bit of short shrift, giving a basic explanation and maybe deriving one or two of them, but do not give a good explanation of why they are useful and, thus, what they represent can be lost on students.

This is a small book (about 130 pages) that covers all four equations, one per chapter. That breaks down what each equation represents and what the variables in the equation mean and provides both the integral form of the equations and the differential form. I think the best way to use this guide is to supplement your textbook material so that when you get to the point in the textbook where one of the equations is discussed, use this to flesh out the theory behind the equations that your textbook may not cover (or cover in as much detail). To be clear, this is not something like "Maxwell's Equations for Dummies" or something like that, which assumes you have little to no background going in. You do need to have some understanding of calculus (if you have taken multivariable calculus, that will definitely help because there is a lot of discussion of surface integrals and vectors), and know some of the physics concepts you will learn before getting to the electricity and magnetism topics (which is covered in the second semester of physics). So, if you are taking calculus-based physics and/or have to take an electricity and magnetism class (electric and magnetic fields) as a part of an engineering program, this will be very useful. It is probably overkill for those who just have to take algebra-based physics because it will go way beyond what you will be exposed to in class or expected to learn.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed: Season Three

 

The third season of Charmed was one that put the series in flux. It would serve as a transitional season for the show, with a huge cliffhanger that would allow for major cast turnover. After all this time most people likely know how it played out, but I will not spoil anything here.

Season three mostly follows the freak-of-the-week format (much like the series Smallville was doing) but it did start to interweave larger story arcs. The two big ones this season involved Piper and Leo's relationship, and the second one involved a relationship between Phoebe and the new District Attorney, played by Julian McMahon, who is more than he appears to be. There are a couple of really good time jump shows, one that sends the women back into Salem at the time of the witch trials, and one that is a flashback episode that included Finola Hughes and Jennifer Rhodes (both of whom make more than one appearance this season).

For those who get the blu-ray set, it is basically an MOD set. There are no extras, but there are captions in both German and English. So, it is very, very, bare bones. The Blu-Ray transfer is okay, but it did not get what you would call a high-quality HD upgrade. Although, since these episodes were filmed in 2001, and the show had a bigger budget than it did the first couple of seasons, the CGI special effects did look a bit better. The show did get a good slate of recognizable guest stars (and included the occasional early 2000s musical guest and/or songs in the show). Some of the guests this season included Harry Groener (who played the Mayor in the best season of Buffy), Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Ron Pearlman, Kevin Weismann (from Alias), Dana Ashbrook (from Twin Peaks), Ashley Tisdale, and a handful of WCW wrestlers, who appeared in a pretty cheesy episode. The musical guests included The Coors, Orgy, and The Barenaked Ladies.

Overall, the season is good. It does have some weak points, certainly, and some of the things that they wrote into the show (like the go be with your man when your sister is in danger stuff) would probably not be done the same way today. And, I am not sure they would get away with putting Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty in skimpy cleavage-baring tops in every single episode as they did back then. I think some things about the show hold up well, but some things most assuredly do not. This was also the season where the feud between Milano and Doherty came to a head. While they have both addressed it vaguely and acknowledged it was a thing, it did not seem to actually boil over into their on-camera work together. The one big complaint that I had about the season is that the character of Daryl was rarely given anything important to do this season, and he was an also-ran character for a big part of the season. Other than that, I think that the writers did a pretty good job giving the other characters storylines with substance. The acting was always good, even when the actors did not have great material to work with, and the show and the actors could switch from comedy to drama within a couple of scenes. While I do not think it was as good a show as Buffy, the other girl-power-empowered supernatural-themed show of the time, I do think it was worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: The Complete Third Season

 

+++Warning, this contains a minor season two spoiler, but not major giveaways about season three+++

Season three of Psych actually evolved the show quite a bit. First, it branched out the storylines of having Shawn and Gus consult for the Santa Barbara police department but take on their own cases (usually with an attractive woman involved). Second, it started to incorporate serial story arcs into the show so it was not just a case-of-the-week procedural. At the beginning of the season, the tease from the last second of the season two finale is paid off, revealing Shawn's mother (played by Cybill Shepherd) has returned, and she plays a large role in the show throughout the season. Then, at the end of the season, there is the introduction of a character and a storyline that will span multiple seasons of the show. Of course, the case-of-the-week stories did remain, as did the multiple 80s and 90s pop culture references.

For those who get the DVD set, there are, again, a lot of extras, including deleted scenes for most episodes, video and/or podcast commentary tracks for many of the episodes, a hilarious gag reel, and more. The show also continues to get a ton of great guest and recurring stars including Rachael Leigh Cook, Phylicia Rashad, Kieth David (who replaced Ernie Hudson as Gus's father), Ally Sheedy, Jimmi Simpson, MacKenzie Astin, Justine Bateman, Jere Burns, F Gary Cole, Barry Corbin, Jeff Fahey, Frank Gifford, Mickie James, Jane Lynch, Christopher McDonald, Ted McGinley, Richard Riehle, Alan Ruck, Jonathan Silverman, Steven Weber, and Mykelti Williamson are among the most recognizable.

Overall, if you liked the first couple of seasons of the show, you will probably feel the same way about this one. The show does a good job of continuing to develop the characters, keeping the tension between Shawn and Juliet amped up without getting them together too quickly, and generally just being really funny. It is about 90% comedy, 10% drama, and pretty much 100% tongue-in-cheek. If you grew up in the 1980s and 1900s the jokes probably land a bit better than if you are older or younger, but that said, it is a great show that is well worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 32

Day 32 was the first Max Out Power workout. This is a tough one, especially in the middle where there are a ton of push-ups. It is another workout that is 45 seconds per move, then you get a 15-second break, and move on to the next move. So, none of the moves are repeated. There are a few 30-second breaks mixed in too, but fewer than in other workouts. I maxed out at the 13:15 mark.

Product Review: Samsung Galaxy Prevail LTE Core Prime G360 Cyber Defender Case

 

This is a good case that can definitely protect a phone against falls (within reason). It is, however, very hard to get one because of the side buttons on the phone. So, expect to take a bit of time fighting with it. But, once it is on the phone, it does a good job.

Software Review: MATLAB & Simulink Student Suite

 

I purchased this when I was working on an electrical engineering degree. My school made MATLAB available through a Citrix web portal, but that was glitchy and slow, so I decided to get this to have it on my home computer. It was a bit of a pain to install because it does not have CD, it just gives you a code. As of 2015 when I purchased this, instead of having a dedicated website to download the student version you had to poke around on the website, which was not super intuitive. Once the download started it was fairly straightforward. You do have to enter an academic email address, so you cannot use a yahoo or Gmail address, but I had no issues getting it to work once I found the download link on the website.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 2

 

The second season of Psych aired during the 2007/2008 TV season. Approximately half of the episodes aired during the summer of 2007 and half in the winter of 2007 into 2008. The season continues the procedural case-of-the-week format as the first season, in which fake psychic Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his assistant Gus (Dule Hill) consult on some particularly tricky cases for the Santa Barbara police department. The season has the same kind of witty banter and tongue-in-cheek comedy as the first season ramps up the sexual tension between Shawn and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) and the outright tension between Shawn and Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and expands the role of Cheif Vick (Kristen Nelson) promoting her to a series regular. The show almost always starts out with the young version of Shawn (and sometimes Gus) learning a lesson from Henry (Corbin Bernsen) that ties into the theme of the episode.

There are many extras for those who get the DVD set. There are multiple commentary tracks, deleted scenes for most, if not all, of the episodes, a gag reel, a find the pineapple game, a montage that shows all of the crazy names Shawn has used to introduce himself and Gus, fake scenes (called "psych outs"), and some animated adventures of Shawn and Gus as kids. A ton of stuff for those who like going through the extras. The commentary tracks are pure gold, especially those in which Roday and Hill participate.

Overall, the show continues to be great. The acting and writing are both great. While the show had not quite gotten into the homage episodes yet (those that were spoofs and/or homages to some 1980s or 1990s movie, TV show, or trend), there are plenty of pop-culture references, and the show did start getting the great guest stars that the show would become known for. They include Phylicia Rashad and Ernie Hudson playing Gus' parents, John Amos, Curtis Armstrong, Obba Babatundé, Malcolm Barrett, W. Earl Brown, Matt Cedeno, Tim Curry, Cristián de la Fuente, Amanda Detmer, Gina Gershon, Ben Giroux, Philip Baker Hall, Howard Hesseman, Telma Hopkins, Katharine Isabelle, Christopher Jacot, Bianca Kajlich, Eric Keenleyside, Melanie Lynskey, Shane Meier, Alex Meneses, Brian Doyle-Murray, Dylan Neal, Amanda Pays, Lou Diamond Phillips, Saul Rubinek, Corey Sevier, Kerry Washington, and Calum Worthy. If you liked or loved season one, you will probably feel the same about this one. It is definitely worth the time to watch.

Book Review: Star Wars: Bloodline

 

Bloodline was the first of the canon novels under the Disney umbrella to really focus on one of the legacy characters, in this case, Leia. The novel is set six years before the events of The Force Awakens. Leia, having abandoned the idea of following Luke's path to becoming a Jedi, is a senator in The New Republic. However, she is aware of something sinister happening in the background of the Republic (which ultimately ends up being The First Order) that becomes more apparent over the course of the story.

Han is in the book a bit but is not a focus, and it is mentioned that Ben is off training with Luke. But, again, Luke is just sparingly mentioned, and that is it. The novel is really about political maneuvering and backbiting, definitely using our Earthly politics as an example, but there is some action intertwined with it. Probably the biggest reveal of the book is that Leia had been able to hide her true parentage for many years after the Empire fell as most of the galaxy has no idea that Darth Vader was her true father.

Overall, the book is very well-written and has a good story. It is not as action-packed as some of the other books, but it was nice to finally have a new book that focused on a major legacy character. You could really envision Carrie Fisher delivering Leia's lines and it does set up a bit of the sequel trilogy storyline. So, if you are one of those who reads some, but not all, of the canon novels, this is a good one to read.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 31

Day 31 was the first time doing the Max Out Sweat workout. It is a very hard workout (even the modifier who is in great shape maxes out at the 23-minute mark), and follows the format of rotating through three rounds of three moves, then doing a "power move" for a minute before taking a break. Ironically, the end of the workout is probably the easiest part, especially if you are modifying, but the first 24 minutes are pretty brutal.  

Book Review: Star Wars: Aftermath - Life Debt

 

This is the second novel in the Aftermath trilogy, which are the first canon novels after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm that started filling in the story between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Like the first book, this one focuses mainly on the group of new characters led by Norra Wexley. She and her team, which includes Jom Barell, former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, her son Snap, and the bounty hunter Jas Emari, are trying to mop up the last vestiges of the Empire. But, this book does include some of the legacy characters, specifically Leia, Han, and Chewie, in a storyline that involves the liberation of the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Eventually, the two storylines merge, and we get some interaction between Han and Norra's team.

The one thing the book really still suffers from is excluding Luke. My guess is this was done so as to not give away, or inadvertently conflict with the storyline that would play out in the sequel trilogy. However, I think Wending could have and should have been allowed to include Luke in the continuing fight against the Empire without touching on his potential training of any new Jedi. Once Disney announced plans to make everything going forward canon, people wanted more stories involving the legacy characters, and I think putting the focus on them while incorporating new characters around them would have worked better for the first few new canon novels, especially since the first canon novel, A New Dawn was set before the events of A New Hope and did not include any of the legacy characters beyond mention of Vader and The Emperor. But, the storylines in this were good and flowed well. There was a lot of action that kept the story going and made it easy to stay engaged, which has not been the case with some of the newer canon novels. So, while I do not think this falls into the "must read" category, I think it is worth reading.

Product Review: Proworthy Lace Braided Solo Loop Compatible With Apple Watch Band

 

This is a fabric band for a 45mm Apple Watch and does fit on the new Series 8 watches. It is much more comfortable than the silicon band that comes with the watches. As long as you measure your wrist and get the correct size, it fits perfectly and does not slide up or down your wrist when you put it on. And, you do not end up in a situation in which you have to overtighten it to keep it in place on your wrist like some people have to do with silicon bands. Which can cause skin redness and/or peeling. One thing to note, especially if you work out, they do expand a bit after a while, so you may want to get one size smaller than the chart says you need. But, otherwise, I definitely recommend this.

DVD/TV Series Review: Psych: Season 1

 

Psych is a comedy series that ran from 2006 to 2014 on the USA network and spawned three movies in 2017, 2020, and 2021. The premise of the series is that a hyper-observant guy named Shawn Spencer (played by James Roday) calls in a tip about a crime to the Santa Barbara police department; he becomes a suspect because he knows more than he should. He convinces them that he is a psychic and ends up as a consultant for the department. The only ones who know that Shawn is not a psychic are his best friend Gus, who gets dragged along in the consulting business (played by Dule Hill), and his ex-cop father Henry (played by Corbin Bernsen), who taught, drilled in and fostered Shawn's powers of observation from the time he was a kid. The show is mostly a case-of-the-week episode in which Shawn and Gus are brought in as consultants to help some particular case, much to the chagrin of the detective that they are often paired with, Carleton Lassiter (played by Timothy Omundson), who does not believe Shawn is psychic but cannot prove that he is a fraud either. In the pilot, Carleton's partner was played by Anne Dudek (from the series House and Covert Affairs), but her character was written out of the show after the pilot, and when it was picked up as a series, Maggie Lawson was cast as Carleton's new partner Juliet O'Hara. The other main cast member is Kirsten Nelson, who plays police chief Vick.

For those who get the DVD set, the 15 episodes are spread across four discs. The extras include an international version of the pilot episode, audio commentaries on selected episodes that usually included the creator and then various cast members, deleted scenes for most episodes, audition tapes, an Inside the Writer's Room featurette, character profiles, gag reels, and a couple of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. So, a lot there if you like watching the bonus material.

The show is mostly a procedural comedy with some suspense and drama mixed in. Each episode would start out with Shawn (and sometimes Gus) as kids, learning some lesson that was taught by Henry that would be applicable to the episode's plot. The writing and acting are great all around. There are a ton of pop-culture references, especially from the 80s and 90s (which increase in the subsequent seasons). It can definitely be silly and very tongue-in-cheek, but it usually has a good message mixed in with the comedy. It is not a conventional prime-time crime drama. It actually makes fun of those types of shows and almost breaks the fourth wall on more than one occasion. So, if you have not checked out the series, it is well worth watching.

Product Review: Cool Coolers by Fit + Fresh, Slim Ice Packs

 

These are perfect for lunchbox coolers. They are small and slim so they do not take up a ton of space, and you can kind of pack them around containers to keep things that you want to keep cold cooler for a longer period of time. In an average-sized lunchbox, they can stay cool for a good portion of a workday. When I was going into the office, pre-covid, I would pack my lunch and usually an RTD protein drink in the morning at about 6 AM. All of the liquid in the blocks was still frozen by lunchtime, but by the time I got home in the evening, (usually between 5 and 6 PM) it was back to liquid. So, that gives you an idea of the time they will stay solid and cold.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 30

Day 30 was the first time doing the Max Out Strength workout.  In this workout, there is a short warm-up, just four minutes, and then there are rounds of exercises, but the difference is they do not repeat. You do a single exercise for 45 seconds, then get a 15-second break, and then move on to a different move, and repeat that until you get to a break. The format works well. The workout is challenging, especially the middle portion in which there are a ton of push-ups, including plyometric push-ups (although they are a bit different than the p90x version of plyo push-ups. I managed to make it just over 13 minutes before I maxed out. I was still a little limited by my sore shoulder, but not as much as in yesterday's workout. 

Textbook Review: Radar Systems Analysis and Design Using MATLAB 3rd Edition

 

This book was originally assigned as the textbook for a radar engineering class that I took as an elective in my Electrical Engineering program. The teacher then decided to use a different book but I kept this one for the semester to help flesh out the theory when I did not understand a concept from the other book. So, for that purpose, I found it useful. Unfortunately, I never did get a chance to try any of the MATLAB exercises or do any of the problems from the book, so I cannot say how good those are, but I did find that it explained the theory clearly and in enough detail to get a good handle on it.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Banshee: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major spoilers from the third season++++

Banshee is a show that by the third season you will know if you love it or hate it. The premise is totally preposterous but it works. It is well written and acted and is, as is the case with many Cinemax shows, not at all family-friendly. The show is basically one long serial story arc in which the various plotlines build over time. So, you really have to have seen the prior episodes to really know what is going on.

This season starts sometime down the line from the events that ended season two. All of the characters are in crazy situations, with Carrie and Gordon separated after he found out about her real life, and Carrie having a lot of "fun", Lucas being somewhat of a dad to Deva yet still being a criminal and sheriff at the same time, and Kai Proctor and Rebecca's relationship getting very cringe-worthy. The Nazi storyline from the prior season continues and expands to include Tom Pelphrey as Kurt Bunker: A former member of the Aryan Brotherhood who becomes a Banshee deputy. One of the main new antagonists in the season is Chayton Longshadow, played by Geno Segers who is out for revenge for the murder of Alex, which pits him against Proctor, Rebecca, and Lucas.

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the show looks and sounds great as it always has. The extras include another set of Banshee Origins featurettes highlighting several character backstories that runs about 25 minutes; an almost hour-long Banshee Origins Saga that has a commentary track by the series creator; Making of the Episode 2 Title Sequence; a feature titled Zoomed In, which looks closely at certain scenes and characters from the season; A Commentary for Episode 1, a feature on the Burton vs. Nola fight scene stunts; commentary tracks on Episodes 3 and 5; a twenty-minute long feature titled The Heist; and commentary tracks on Episode 7 and the Season Finale. Then there are a bunch of deleted scenes and some promos. So, if you like extras, there are a lot of them.

Overall, the season is very good. There is still a lot of violence, sex, and nudity in the show, and that has not been tamed at all from the prior seasons. The acting is very good, and the show continues to evolve the main characters. And, pretty much no character is safe on the show. The standout this season to me is Lilli Simmons who does a great job as Rebecca, playing her as a character that wants to be one of the good guys, but just likes being bad more. Honestly, very few of the characters are really "good" per se, they pretty much range from morally gray to bad. But, if you are a fan of crime dramas and do not mind more adult themes in a show, this is a very good one.

Book Review: Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists and Engineers 1st Edition

 

This was a book that was required for my Engineering Ethics class. It has some good material, but honestly, I think it focuses too much on made-up scenarios that are kind of scripted and sometimes silly and focuses too little on real-world situations. For example, in one of the early chapters, there is a discussion of the space shuttle Challenger disaster and the lead-up in which the engineers at the company that made the rocket boosters were warning NASA not to launch. There was about a page to a page and a half on the most basic details, but it left out a lot of important information. Thankfully, my professor expanded on it a lot and devoted a good portion of a class period to the topic, but that is really only one instance in which the book could have provided much more than it did.

Realistically, this is probably a book that someone is only going to read because they have to do so for a class. If you can get a used version, I would do that because it is definitely not worth more than about $20, but the price to purchase it new gets jacked up because it is technically a textbook.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 29

Day 29 was Max Our Cardio workout. I was still feeling the effects of my shots from Saturday, but not nearly as bad so I pushed through the workout. The setup is very similar to the cardio circuit workout. Each round rotates through three moves that last 30 seconds, and you do three rotations of each move. Then, instead of getting a break after the third rotation, you do another move that lasts a full minute, then get a 30-second break. So, there are fewer breaks in the workout. I maxed out at about the eight-and-a-half-minute mark, mainly because my left arm was sore enough that it was hard to hold myself in even a modified plank position. So, I am hoping to make it much farther into the workout next week.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 28

Day 28 was plain and simply a rest day. On Saturday I got my covid booster and flu shot, so by Sunday I felt like total shit and could barely raise my left arm. So, I just relaxed and tried not to bump my left shoulder into anything. 

Book Review: Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy

 

This was one of the books required for my Engineering Ethics class when I was in school. Thankfully, it is not as dense as a philosophy textbook would be, but it does distill Aristotle's teachings into very easily digestible parts. The book is pretty short (at least when compared to a textbook), just under 200 pages, and while I would not say it is as quick a read as a novel, it is not so dense that it takes a long time to get through. I think many people will get the book because it is required for a class, but it is something that someone who is just interested in philosophy without getting too bogged down in the material could enjoy reading.

Product Review: Etna 3 step dog staircase

 

This thing is kind of a pain in the butt to assemble. Not impossible, but harder than it should be. Frankly, it is something that could and should come fully assembled. Mine was not super rickety like some reviewers seem to have experienced, but it was not extremely steady or solid either. I do not think it would have caused a problem for my mom's dog, which is a 17 or so lb Schnoodle, but he was too dumb to figure out how to use it, so it was never an issue.

Product Review: Cooks Standard Wall Mounted Wooden Pot Rack, 36 by 8-Inch

 

I live in a townhouse that had an extremely small kitchen. I have since renovated the main level and the kitchen is a little bigger, but it still does not have a ton of storage space. So, I use this to store the vast majority of my pans (the most frequently used pans). The good thing about this is that you can adjust the position of the hooks so that you can hang larger or wider pans farther from the wall and the smaller pans closer to the wall. That way, the larger pans will not bang into the wall. You can put things on top of the "shelf" but, I would not put anything very heavy mostly because it will not sit flat because the top parts of the hooks will stick up through the slats. I put a couple of plastic things (a salad keeper and a colander) that will not do any damage if they were to fall off. It comes with six hooks, but could easily fit a couple more (I think they are available to buy separately).

I have not had any problem with this staying on the wall. It does come with drywall anchors, but it is best to get it into at least one stud if you can. Overall, if you are looking for a hanging pot rack, this is a good option.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day 27

Day 27 was the last back and biceps workout from P90x for this round. Starting next week, when I shift to the max workouts in Max 30, I am going to switch to Body Beast's back and biceps workout, just to keep my body from getting too used to the P90x routine. For most of the moves, I was maxing out at 8 or 9 reps, but I was able to get to 10 reps on a couple moves, and for the band pull-ups I made it from 5 reps (corn cobs) to 14 reps (towel pull-ups). So, it was a good workout.