Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 27

For Day 27, I just did Pilates abs and core and took a total rest day from Lift 4. Again, I am seeing very slight progress in my flexibility and the moves are getting a bit easier. But, I do have to take some breaks here and there. I also like the fact that this workout is very short, just 23 minutes, which makes it much easier to get through without feeling pressed for time. 

Study Aid Review: Schaums Outline of Thermodynamics for Engineers, 3rd Edition

 

Thermodynamics is a class that many engineering students end up taking either because it is required for the particular branch of engineering they are majoring in, or because it is a part of a group of a few electives that they have to pick from, and it is the least-bad option. I was in the latter group, as it was one of three classes I had to pick from when getting my electrical engineering degree, and it was the best of the bunch. 

Thermodynamics is a class that is basically a blend of physics and chemistry. Thermo basically, combines what you learn in the thermodynamics chapters in chemistry and the thermodynamics chapters in physics, makes the problems a bit different than those in either class, and then gives you an entire semester of that. If you have a really good teacher who goes through a lot of examples and makes everything clear, then you may not need this to really teach yourself the subject. But, even in that situation, you will probably come across a homework problem or two that you get stuck on, and there are enough example problems in here that you can probably find a pretty close example to use as a guide. 

This is one of the outlines that does teach you some of the theory but does not go into it as much as a textbook will, and then has a decent amount of worked-out examples and some problems in which you are just provided the answer. I did notice that the chapters were laid out a bit differently than they were in my particular textbook, and this definitely included material that we did not cover in class. But, I was always able to find what I was looking for, and did not notice a bunch of mistakes (although I did not look at or try to work through every problem). So, overall, I think it is a good resource that can help you get through a thermodynamics class as painlessly as possible. 

Book Review: Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back

 

This is the second in what is likely to be a trilogy of books released in 2020 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Like the first book, which had stories told during the events of A New Hope, this one has a collection of 40 short stories that are set during the events of The Empire Strikes Back. The twist is that most of the stores are told from the point of view of an ancillary or background character or creature, like that of the Space Slug, a Stormtrooper who decided to defect in the chaos of Cloud City during the evacuation, the Ugnauts on Cloud City, the Wampa on Hoth, one of the Tauntauns on Hoth, etc., There are a couple of stories that are told from a main character's point of view, such as from Yoda's point of view as he was sneaking up on Luke, or Obi-Wan's point of view when he and Yoda were trying to convince Luke to stay on Dagobah, and Palpatine's point of view just before he made Vader contact him during Vader's pursuit of the Millennium Falcon.

The stories are mostly very good, although like pretty much every book that has a collection of stories in it, some are better than others. The stories range in length from just a few pages to about 20 pages, give or take. The book is fairly long (at just under 550 pages), but it is a pretty quick read, especially because for most people, the story is not entirely new. The final "story" in the book is from the point of view of The Whills, who are writing the opening crawl to the movie and arguing about what to include, which is pretty humorous. So, if you are a fan of the original trilogy, this is definitely one of the must-read books. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 26

Day 26 was the Hips, Buns, and Thigh workout in Pilates and Leg day in Lift-4, which was another HIIT day. In this one, you do four HIIT moves back-to-back with just enough rest to catch your breath for three rounds. It follows the same 1-minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds format with the easiest move going for a minute and the hardest move going for 15 seconds. After the three rounds, you have two burnout rounds that consist of doing the same four moves for 30 seconds with no rest between them. Then you do three rounds of two core-focused moves to finish the workout. So, it is another workout in which you are going to be gassed at the end, even if you are in great shape.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Bones: Season 4

 

+++Warning, this contains the major spoiler from the prior season, but no major reveals from the fourth season+++

By the fourth season (which aired during the 2008-2009 season), Bones had really hit its stride as a show that is a mix of a case-of-the-week procedural, in which Booth (David Boreanez), Brennan (Emily Deschanel), and the team of "squints" solve a murder, while also mixing in serial arcs or at least callbacks to earlier episodes. This season also sees more cast turnover as Eric Millegan had mostly left the show, being written out as Zack being put in a psych ward after being revealed as the serial killer "Gormagon's" apprentice. There is also a callback to the Gravedigger storyline, this time putting Booth in jeopardy. We also get the rotating stable of interns (because Brennan cannot settle on just one), so Eugene Bird (who plays Clark), Ryan Cartwright (who plays Vincent Nigel Murry), Michael Grant Terry (who plays Wendell Bray), Carla Gallo (who plays Daisy Wick), Joel David Moore (who plays Colin Fisher), Pej Vadaht (who plays Arastoo Vaziri), and Michael Badaluuco (who plays Scott Starret) have recurring roles throughout the season. The season starts with a two-part episode set in London, which includes an appearance by Stephen Fry, reprising his role as Gordon Wyatt. And, Seth McFarlane makes a voice cameo appearance as Stewie from Family Guy in a funny scene with David Boreanez. The season continues with the will-they-won't-they-get-together tension between Booth and Brennan, and the season ends on a major cliffhanger that puts Booth and Brennan's personal and professional relationships up in the air going into season five.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the show looks and sounds very good in HD. This is actually the first season that the show was released on Blu-Ray and the A/V quality is definitely an upgrade over the standard-definition DVDs. The extras include extended versions of some episodes, a gag reel, a featurette on the new interns, and an interview with Ally Maki about the character she played in one of the episodes. If you get the DVD set, the first four episodes that were broadcast as season four episodes (including the episodes in London) are not included. They were actually shot during season three and were included in the Season 3 DVD release. However, they are included on the Blu-Ray, so you get all 26 episodes that aired during season 4 if you get the Blu-Ray set. 

Liking a show, or not, is always very subjective. Bones is definitely not a show that will appeal to everyone, but I would say that if you liked the prior three seasons, you will probably like this one (unless Zack was your favorite character). The cast seems to get along very well and has great on-screen chemistry. This season sees the first appearance of Booth and Brennan's undercover characters, Wanda and Buck, who are hilarious, mostly because of Emily Deschanel. The writers do a good job balancing the large ensemble cast, even giving the interns some valuable screen time. While you can mostly just jump into the show and follow along without watching the prior seasons, I do think watching it from the beginning to see the character development is best. 

Book Review: Revenge

 

Revenge is essentially a follow-up to Cohen's first book, Disloyal. It expands somewhat on events he discussed in the prior book about why he ended up taking the plea deal, his testimony before Congress, and what happened to him after he was sent to prison. 

In his first book, Cohen gave up a lot of juicy tidbits about t***p and the inner workings of the t***p organization. There is a little bit of that in here (like reiterating that t***p hated Obama, but he hated him before the roasting Obama (and Seth Meyers) gave him at the White House Correspondent's dinner, mainly because he was jealous of Obama, but not as much of that as there was in the first book. This was likely due to the fact that Cohen was persona non-grata by the time he wrote this one. One interesting topic that he does get into, and even vindicates t***p a bit relates to the "Steele Dossier". Cohen asserts that almost everything, including the existence of the pee tape, in the Dossier was bullshit, and that everything Steele detailed about Cohen, which was really what the department of justice used to come after him in order to garner his help to take down t***p, was not true. Cohen excoriates the DOJ, many times naming names, by basically saying that they thought he knew more about what t***p was up to than he actually did, and when that became clear they charged him with bullshit charges and threatened to charge his wife for the tax crimes he was being charged with, which led Cohen to take the plea deal. And once he agreed to rat t***p out, t***p was more than happy to let the DOJ throw him in a hole. 

While in his previous book, Cohen went out of his way to say he did not hate t***p, that is totally out the window in this book. Early on he calls t***p a huge piece of shit and basically alleges that t***p ordered him sent back to prison after he was released early due to the Covid pandemic. Cohen does not spend the whole book bitching about his treatment but more exposing how the DOJ treats people that it is out to get and that if he, a rich, privileged white male, can get treated the way he did, anyone can. He also takes a victory lap when it comes to Michael Avenatti, whom he also calls a huge piece of shit, and relishes in Avenatti's downfall given all the crap Avenatti said about him on TV while pulling shit that would land Avenatti in prison. 

Overall, this book is a good follow-up to the first book. Cohen has to walk a fine line, admitting his faults and the fact that he was not a good guy, but trying to convince readers that he did not deserve what happened to him. And, of all of the "bad guys" that are trying to distance themselves from t***p, Cohen seems to be sincere in his mea-culpa and is genuinely trying to become a better person. He explains why, after getting jerked around at nearly all levels why he still cooperated and said he will continue to cooperate with any investigations of t***p. While I do not think this is necessarily a must-read, I think it is worth reading. 

DVD/TV Series Review: The Librarians: Season 3

 

The 10-episode third season of The Librarians aired during the 2016-2107 season. The show followed the same format as the first two seasons, having both a serial arc that involved a "big bad" character (which this season was Apep, the Egyptian god of chaos) and story-of-the-week procedural episodes in which the main storyline was resolved by the end of the episode. The show does a good job balancing the ensemble cast, giving each character a lot of good material. One of the best episodes is one that almost exclusively involves Jake and Cassandra, who are stuck at a lodge hosting what looks to be a corporate retreat (which is also one of the episodes directed by Noah Wyle this season). Jane Curtin also returns to reprise her role as Charlene in a great werewolf-themed episode. As usual, Noah Wyle only has a recurring role in the series, but since the other series he was filming at the same time, Falling Skies, ended the previous season, he does appear in more episodes (seven of the ten) and directs two of the episodes this season. 

As far as extras go this season, there is a commentary track on each episode, usually including the series creator, the director of the episode, and one or two cast members. Then, there is a director's video blog for each episode. So, you get a lot of bonus content if you like watching/listening to it. 

Overall, the series continues to be strong. It has a good blend of action and comedy, with some dramatic moments mixed in. The writing and acting continue to be good, and the actors seem to have very good chemistry with each other. The show also continues to get a good slate of guest stars this season, including Sean Astin, Felica Day, Ernie Reyes Jr., and Vanessa Williams. So, if you liked seasons 1 and 2, then you will probably enjoy season 3 as well. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed Season 7

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major giveaways from Season 7+++

This is the second to last season of the original Charmed series. This season ran during the 2004-2005 season and has 22 episodes. The show continues to be a blend of a monster or demon-of-the-week procedural combined with a serial arc that runs the course of the season. The serial arc is again about a demon who is attempting to get the sister's powers. There is some carryover from the prior season with Leo still reeling from the death of adult Chris and we get to find out how Wyatt turns evil. Both Drew Fuller and Wes Ramsey make appearances as the adult version of the kids during the season. There is also a bit of closure on Cole's storyline via an appearance by Julian McMahon. 

For those who get the blu-ray, this is yet another region-free set with German and English audio and captioning options. There is, like with the releases of seasons 1-6, no bonus content of any kind. The show does look better in HD this season than it has in the prior seasons, and the cheesy special effects are a little better and do not look as fake in HD as they did in the earlier seasons. Of course, they are all fake, but in the earlier season releases, they looked hilariously fake at times. 

Overall, the season is good, although it did reach the point at which it was getting long in the tooth. This season had a good slate of guest and recurring stars, many of whom are recognizable (especially now that some have gone on to wider popularity). Some of them include Nick Lachey (from 98-degrees), Elizabeth Dennehy, John De Lancie (who played Q on Star Trek), Charisma Carpenter (from Buffy and Angel, who appeared after she was fired from Angel for the transgression of getting pregnant by Joss Whedon, and appeared basically in a bra the entire time to show off how great she looked after having a child), Kerr Smith (from Dawson's Creek), Ian Anthony Dale (who would go on to star in the Hawaii Five-0 reboot), Oded Fehr (from The Mummy movies), Billy Zane, James Avery (uncle Phil from Fresh Prince), Billy Drago, T.J. Thyne (who would go on to star in the series Bones), Anne Dudek (who would have a major guest starring role on the series House a few years later), Corey Stoll (from House of Cards), John Hamm (from Mad Men), David Anders (from Alias), Seamus Dever (who would be a secondary character on the series Castle), the great character actress Michelle Hurd (in an episode that was a total ripoff of Buffy), Kathleen Wilhote (who had a recurring role on ER), and Glenn Morshower (from the series 24). The show did cut back on the musical appearances, with probably the biggest band appearing this season being Collective Soul who had a couple of hits in the early to mid-2000s. 

The show follows the format that made it a success in the earlier seasons, and yes, Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan are put in skimpy outfits from time to time, although less than they were in the prior seasons. The writing is still so-so, sometimes very good, and sometimes incredibly cheesy and even cringe-worthy when Phoebe and Paige are pining for a man. The season finale does have a bit of a series finale type of feel to it, so it's likely that the writers were not sure whether the show would be renewed for a final season (which it was) when they wrote the finale. But ultimately, if you have liked the show from season 4 forward, you will probably like this season as well. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 25

Day 25 was Fundamentals 2 in Pilates and Shoulders in Lift-4. I actually really like Fundamentals 2, even though it is the harder of two Fundamentals workouts. It is getting easier as time goes on, but as I have said in prior posts, my hips, hamstrings, and back are all very tight, so a lot of the moves are extremely hard for me, and I get almost no range of motion. But, I can tell that it is making my core stronger, especially when I get to the core exercises in Lift-4.

Speaking of Lift-4, today's workout was shoulders, and it was an intervals workout. So that means, three blocks, with each block having two resistance exercises and then a 30-second HIIT exercise. And, of course, you do each round three times. Then you finish with three rounds of two different core exercises. The workout goes very quickly, mostly because you get very little break time between the individual exercises or between the rounds.    

Book Review: Star Wars: Canto Bight: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi

 

This is a canon novel that, to me, should have been one of the young-adult ancillary novels. It is basically a collection of four short stories set on the gambling/gaming planet, Canto Bight. It is the planet that Finn and Rose go to in order to find the slicer in The Last Jedi, which was a part of the storyline that many people at the very least thought was stupid, and/or hated with a passion. 

None of the stories in the book involve any of the main characters, either the original, legacy characters, or the new sequel trilogy characters. They are set from the point of view of members of the various alien species that were seen in that part of the movie. The first story, written by Saladin Ahmed, involves a salesman who is taking a dream vacation on Canto Bight and gets mixed up with a criminal who causes him nothing but trouble. The second story, written by Mia Grant, involves a deal over a priceless bottle of wine. The fourth story, written by Rae Carson, involves a servant who is caught in a power struggle between members of the Canto Bight Elite, and the fourth story, written by Jonathan Jackson Miller, involves a deadbeat gambler trying to turn his luck around. 

For the most part, the stories are self-contained, although there is some slight overlap between a couple of them. I do think the lack of including any main character hurts the book a bit, and why I think it should have been released as a young adult novel as opposed to a main storyline novel, but I think the stories are entertaining enough. This is not what I would call a must-read canon novel and is probably not a book that I would read multiple times. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 24

Day 24 was the rest day in Lift-4, so I did the two recovery workouts in the morning, and then I did Fundamentals 1 again in Pilates for the evening workout. I can feel the flexibility in my back and hamstrings getting a little better (very slowly) as time goes on. I still have very, very tight hips, hamstrings, and low back, so all of those forward fold moves are tough as hell, but I am getting through it.

CD/Music Review: Pink: Beautiful Trauma

 

Beautiful Trauma is the 2017 album released by Pink. The album is similar in tone and style to her past few albums, having a mix of hip-hop and dance-oriented songs (including a duet with Eminem) and then the ballads she has become known for as she has gotten older. The album has a lot of songs about growing up (like Barbies) as well as songs about relationships, good and bad. The best songs are, in my opinion, Beautiful Trauma, But We Lost It, Barbies, Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken, and You Get My Love. 

There is a version of the album with explicit lyrics and a clean version. On the former, about half of the songs have explicit lyrics, including a few instances of the f-word. Personally, I hate censored versions of albums, but if you have kids or are offended by swearing, that is an option. Pink has been around long enough now that people generally know if they like her music or not. I always thought that she would be a flash in the pan when she put out her first album back around 2000/2001, but she has continued evolving musically, and getting better over the course of time. So, if you are a fan, this is definitely worth listening to.  

Product Review: Haitronic 120pcs 20cm Length Jumper Wire/Dupont Cable Multicolored(10 Color) M to F, M to M, F to F

 

This is a set of jumper wires that will get you every possible connection type. If you are just connecting components on a breadboard, you get a set of wires with M-to-M connections. If you are connecting to an Arduino or Raspberry Pi, you get a set of wires with M-to-F connections, and you also get a set of wires with F-to-F connections for the times you need those. You get 40 wires of each connection type, which will be plenty for most people's needs. If you are an electrical engineering student and have to do circuit labs, especially at home, these are invaluable and much better than the jumper wires you will get with most kits. I definitely recommend them.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 23

Day 23 was fundamentals 2 in pilates and back and biceps in Lift-4. The pilates workout again is a little easier each time I do a workout, although there are definitely some exercises that I can barely do, like the side double leg lifts. And stretching forward is still very much a challenge.

The back and biceps workout in Lift-4 was another 50/50 workout, with three circuits of lifting, each lasting three rounds, then three rounds of HIIT cardio, cycling through three cardio exercises for 1 minute, 45 seconds, and 30 seconds, and three rounds of two different core exercises. Both the lifting portion and the cardio portion were very hard today. There are not really any new exercises, it is just doing them back-to-back with little to no rest in between is tough, even for the very fit people in the videos. And, it does not take living a lot of weight to get tired. You can easily, especially if you are a beginner or are getting back in shape, get by using 10 to 25-pound dumbells, depending on the particular exercise. 

Product Review: Amazon Basics Ultra Thin Indoor TV Antenna

 

I have this connected to the TV in my basement for the handful of times when I am not streaming something or watching a DVD or blu-ray. I live in a townhouse that is at a fairly low elevation, and even with this in my basement, it can pick up all of the local broadcast channels and some of the over-the-air HD channels. Some channels come in better than others, and the feed does get interrupted from time to time. I think that is more about placement, however than the performance of the antenna. So, if you use a streaming service that does not have your local channels, this is a good option for the times when you want to watch something that you cannot otherwise. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle

 

This is the 2017 sequel to the 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service. At the beginning of the movie, The Kingsman are attacked and information from their computer database is passed along to the head of the world's largest drug cartel called The Golden Circle, led by Poppy Adams (played by Julianne Moore). Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) end up in America, at the American equivalent of the Kingsman, run out of a Bourbon Whiskey distillery, whose agents are named after beverages like Whiskey, Tequila, Ginger Ale, Jack Daniels, Champagne, etc. The two groups must team up to defeat the Golden Circle and save Elton John (playing himself) who has been kidnapped by Poppy. Like the first movie, this one involves a larger plan that threatens millions of people and is a part of a vast conspiracy. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set. The UHD disc just has the movie and the regular blu-ray has the movie and the extras that are included. Those include a nearly two-hour-long, five-part making-of documentary, a featurette on the opening car chase, concept art, a stills gallery, and the trailers. So, there is quite a bit there if you like watching the extras. And, the A/V quality of the UHD disc is great, with near-reference-quality audio and video transfers. 

Chances are, if you liked the first movie, you will probably like this one. It has a very similar tone and style as the first movie. It is very violent but in an over-the-top almost tongue-in-cheek way. There is a ton of action and a bit of humor mixed in. The additions to the cast include Hallie Berry, Pedro Pascal, Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bridges, all of whom do a great job in their roles, as does all of the returning cast. While you do not have to have seen the first movie to really follow the story in this one, having the character development from the first movie does help. If you have seen the first movie and did not like it then you are probably not going to like this one. But, if you are a fan of action movies and do not mind violence, swearing, and some sexual innuendo, then this is worth checking out.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 22

Day 22 was a return to Fundamentals 1 in pilates. I decided that instead of just doing the three weeks over again, I am going to do what I think would have been a better setup for the program. That is two weeks of the fundamentals workouts, and then two weeks of the core workouts. That will take me to the end of the first round of Lift-4, at which point I will reassess what I want to do. 

The Lift-4 workout was the chest and triceps workout. This week it is a circuit workout in which you do two blocks of four resistance exercises that alternate between chest and triceps exercises, doing three rounds of each block. Then you have a burnout block in which you do wide push-ups for 30 seconds and then triceps push-ups for 30 seconds, repeating for three rounds. Then you finish with three rounds of two core exercises that you do back-to-back for 30 seconds. This is a very rough workout that will have your muscles very fatigued at the end. You keep the same amount of weight on the resistance exercises that you used last week because you are doing the exercises with no rest between them. 

Book Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Expanded Edition

 

+++Warning, this assumes that you have already watched the movie, so there is some slight spoilerish material in the review+++

This is a fairly standard novelization of what was probably the most controversial of the sequel trilogy movies, The Last Jedi. Meaning, it tells the same story that the movie does, it just fleshes out some of the details that we saw in the movie, and has some additional content that was not included in the movie, but does not dramatically change the storyline. Some of the additional material includes a dream sequence that Luke has at the beginning shortly before Rey arrives, a funeral for Han, more of Luke and Rey's interactions on Ahch-to, including the revelation that Luke was going to actually come with Rey before he walked in on her communing with Kylo-Ren, and more scenes on the Supremacy involving Finn and Rose. 

Ultimately, how you felt about the movie is likely going to be how you feel about the book. Whether you loved or hated the movie, the book does not alter the story in any significant manner, it just expands on what was already there, and includes more of the ancillary characters. Luke is still bitter, something even Mark Hamill took issue with when filming the movie, although I think he is more like the original trilogy character at the end of his story in the book than he was in the movie. The side stories still make as much or as little sense in the book as they did in the movie, and the controversial elements from the movie like not filling Poe in on the plan, Snoke, etc., are not any better or any worse in the book. So, if you liked the movie you will like the book. If you hated the movie, the book is probably not going to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 21

Day 21 was a rest day from pilates and was the recovery workout from Lift-4. So, I did the flexibility workout first, followed by the foam roller workout, for a total of about 20 minutes of flexibility work.  While I would be fine if either or both of the workouts were a little longer, like 15 minutes each, by the end of the foam roller workout I do feel pretty good. 

Product Review: GemRed Plastic Multi-Function Angle Finder

 

This is marketed as usable for physical therapy to figure out range of motion. What I used it for, and what I personally think is the best use for it is for math and/or engineering students who want to use it to draw accurate angles in their notes or on homework. If you are in geometry, trigonometry, or engineering classes like statics or dynamics or any similar classes in which you are going to be working with angles a lot, it is very helpful to keep the lines and angles in your work looking nice. I would not describe it as something that is absolutely necessary for a student but definitely can come in handy.

Workout Update: Lift 4/Beginner Pilates Doubles Day 20

Day 20 was the end of the three-week cycle of beginner pilates, doing the abs and core-focused workout. I am going to restart the program tomorrow, going back to fundamentals 1, and essentially redo the three weeks. And then for the final 2 weeks of Lift-4, I will alternate between the various pilates workouts, adding in the shorter routines here and there. I did not do the Lift-4 recovery workouts on Saturday. I just took a break altogether since the pilates workout had a lot of hamstring, hip, and back flexibility work in it anyway. 

Book Review: September 11: An Oral History

 

This is a collection of oral histories/narratives from people who lived through the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some of the accounts were from people who were in the buildings at the time the planes hit, and others were by people who were nearby and caught up in the aftermath. Most of the stories in the book come from people who were in New York, either working in or doing something around the World Trade Center. Of the 247 pages of the book, about 200 of them are devoted to stories from people who were in NY. The last handful of stories are from people who were in the Pentagon when it was hit and their experience trying to get out or trying to get people to safety.

Some of the stories that are included in the book are fairly well-known, especially if you have watched the 9/11 documentaries, such as that of Brian Clark, who worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower and was one of just a handful of people who were above the point of impact who managed to make it down and out.  Other stories are probably not as widely known but are no less harrowing. The author also managed to interview some of the first responders, including an EMT who was performing triage on the injured people coming out of the towers who came across a woman who had either jumped or fallen from the North Tower, but who did not die instantly and was telling him that she was not dead, despite the lower-half of her body being destroyed, and witnesses such as a man who was working on the roof of a nearby building when Flight 11 flew so low overhead that he could see people sitting in their seats. There are also a handful of stories about close calls and near misses, such as a man who worked for Marsh Mclennan, which lost hundreds of employees who worked on the 100th floor of the North Tower, but a series of events that morning caused him to be a few minutes behind schedule so that he was only on the 79th floor, below the impact zone when the plane hit, or a man whose family was originally booked on Flight 11 to fly back to California, but changed to a later flight.

The book is not overly long, just under 250 pages. The stories are separated into different chapters. First, people who were in the North Tower are in one chapter, stories from people in the South Tower is another chapter, then there is a chapter about people who were outside the towers and witnessed the events, then a chapter for first responders, and then a chapter on the Pentagon. The author did not include any interviews with family members of the people on Flight 93. The stories in the book are very emotional, even twenty-plus years after the attacks. The descriptions of the devastation can get graphic, so be aware of that if you do decide to read this. The stories range in length from just over a page to 5-6 pages, depending on how much detail the particular person went into. It is a very emotional read, and you can tell that the experience for the people telling the stories was still very raw at the time they were talking to the author.  

 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Fall: Complete Collection

 

The Fall was a series that ran for three seasons, from 2013 to 2016, starring Gillian Anderson (best known for her role in The X-Files) and Jamie Dornan (probably best known for the Fifty Shades movies). Dornan plays Paul Spector, a bereavement counselor who is married with two young kids, and who is also a serial killer known as the "Belfast Strangler" (which is not a fact that the show tries to hide). Anderson plays police superintendent Stella Gibson who is brought to Belfast to take over the investigation of a murder that has been unsolved for over a month. She figures out that the murder is the work of a serial killer and leads the investigation to take him down. Each of the seasons is short. The first season has just five episodes, and the second and third seasons have six episodes. Season one focuses on establishing the characters and the investigation into the killings. Season two focuses on finding proof of Spector's guilt and taking him down, and season three focuses on the fallout. 

This collection is just a repackaging of the individual season releases. As far as I can tell, the discs are exactly the same as what you would get if you purchased the seasons individually (each season has two discs), and all of the extras carry over. The show looks and sounds great in HD. Of course, there is no CGI or a lot of special effects, but the location shots look great, especially if you have a large screen tv. The extras are fairly sparse, but for each season you get some trailers, and a making-of featurette focused on that season, and the second and third seasons have some deleted scenes. Not a ton of bonus features, but what is included is good.

The series is very good. It is not overly gory like, for example, Dexter. It focuses more on the psychological aspect, especially the cat-and-mouse game between Spector and Gibson. The writing and acting are both great, and the series gets in and out of the story for each season well. So, if you are a fan of crime dramas, this is a very good one to check out.

Book Review: Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp Series Book 3 Chronological Order; Book 1 Publication Order)

 

Transfer of Power is the first novel in the series of spy novels centered on the character of Mitch Rapp, written by Vince Flynn in 1999. It was actually his second book, a quasi-follow-up to the novel Term Limits, which features some of the characters that would appear throughout the Mitch Rapp series, but not Rapp himself. In chronological order, this is the third book in the series, following American Assassin and Kill Shot, which were prequel novels that Flynn wrote after having written several novels involving the older, more experienced Rapp. In this book, Rapp is 31 years old and a seasoned terrorist hunter, so the events in this book are probably set around 6-7 years, give or take, after the events of the novel Kill Shot.

The book starts out with a team of CIA agents led by Mitch Rapp capturing a terrorist in Iran, only to discover a potential terrorist attack on Washington D.C. The attack involves a terrorist named Rafique Aziz and a team of terrorists capturing the White House, with the intention of taking the President (a fictional President named Hayes) hostage. Rapp has to infiltrate the White House which is under terrorist control and attempt to save the President and several other people being held hostage, all while having to deal with the political machinery with politicians, the military, and law enforcement all trying to figure out how to resolve the crisis.

For those who read American Assassin and Kill Shot first, this novel does not resolve things that were left open at the end of Kill Shot. Of course, at that time Flynn had not come up with those stories (just Rapp's backstory) and there is no mention of Stan Hurley and some of the other characters that appear in the first two novels. Although Irene Kennedy and Thomas Stansfield are prominently featured in this book. And we know that Rapp has been single for several years, so something happened to end his relationship with Greta. I have not read the novels that were written after Kill Shot (that resumed the story with an older Rapp), so I am not sure if there are tiebacks to either American Assassin or Kill Shot to fill in a bit of that time jump, but if you are reading the novels in publication order, it is not really an issue.

The book is a moderate length, just under 400 pages, but like American Assassin and Kill Shot, it reads fairly easily and quickly. It has a good blend of action and suspense and even a new love interest (new if you have read American Assassin and Kill Shot) for Rapp. It does seem that Flynn was still developing his writing style (which makes sense since this was the second novel he had ever written), but it is similar in style and tone to the later books.

And for those who may be curious, while Flynn was a fairly prominent conservative, his political leanings (beyond his general dislike for politicians as a whole) do not really come through in the book. In real-life Flynn was friends with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, two of the most worthless pieces of shit ever in my opinion, but having heard Flynn interviewed on a local radio station here in the Twin Cities on a show that he appeared on regularly with a guy who was not a right-wing nut job, Flynn came off as a reasonable, more moderate conservative than the whack jobs that have taken over the Republican party. But, like I said, the book is more of an action and suspense thriller than it is a political novel (although there is some political intrigue and backbiting in the book). Unfortunately, since the American Assassin movie flopped, this story will probably never make it to the big screen, but a version of the storyline was adapted in the seventh season of 24. Even though Flynn was no longer a consultant on 24 at that point, it is clear that this novel served as inspiration for that storyline, as the character of Mitch Rapp did for the character of Jack Bauer, overall. So, if you are a fan of spy novels, this is a good one and is even a bit prophetic given things that happened in the lead-up to, and including the 9/11 attacks.

Product Review: Rocketbook Smart Reusable Notebook - Dot-Grid Eco-Friendly Notebook with 1 Pilot Frixion Pen & 1 Microfiber Cloth Included

 

This is a reusable, paperless notebook. The idea behind it is good, but I do think that with the advent of E-Ink tablets, in a few years, this will end up going the way of the mini-disc which gave the best of cassette tapes and CDs, but was ultimately rendered irrelevant when electronic recorders, mp3 players, and ultimately smartphones were invented. The idea behind Rocketbook is to provide a notebook that can be written on with special pens or markers (basically the Pilot Frixion line of pens and markers, or things similar to those) that can be washed off the pages. At the bottom of each page is an icon that corresponds to a delivery method so you take your notes, and then put an x over the icon that corresponds to how you want the notes to be delivered. The options are to save them to the Rocketbook app, send them to Dropbox, send them via email, etc. When you take a picture of the pages in the Rocketbook App, the notes are sent as a PDF file to whatever delivery method you choose. Then you can take a damp cloth and wipe the pages clean.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, the pages are made from a specially coated material, and while it is similar to the feel of writing on paper, it is not exactly the same. Second, you can only write on the pages with erasable ink pens/markers, which run out of ink very quickly. If you accidentally write on it with a regular pen, then the ink will not come off and the page (or the part you write on) is essentially ruined. And because the pens run out of ink much faster than regular pens, if you are using this for something like taking school notes, then you are going to be spending a lot of money on refills for the pens. Finally, even when you do use the correct pens, the coating on the pages does degrade over time, so the ink does not erase as well after you have used it. Also, the pages have grid dots as opposed to lines, so it is kind of hard to write in a straight line like most people try to when taking notes.

This is the first generation of the notebook so some of those issues may have been resolved in subsequent upgrades, but if you get this one, keep that in mind. Ultimately, I would look into getting a digital E-ink writer that has templates and allows you to do everything this can do, plus a lot more. But, if you are looking for a less expensive way to go paperless, at least for the short term, this does work.