Product Review: If You Care Aluminum Foil

 

This is a good, inexpensive roll of Aluminum foil. It is comparable in quality and durability to the brand-name rolls of foil. Meaning that it is not flimsy, and, unlike some generic rolls of foil, you have to put in some effort to tear it, and it does not tear down the middle of the sheet as you are trying to move it across the teeth on the package. I definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Protect and Defend: (Mitch Rapp Series Book 10 Chronological Order; Book 8 Publication Order)

 

Protect and Defend is the 10th book in the Mitch Rapp series of spy/terrorist hunter novels by the late author Vince Flynn (if you read the books in chronological order) and the 8th if you read them in publication order. This book was published in 2007 and set about a year after the events of the prior novel, Act of Treason. The first few chapters are spent alternating between wrapping up the storyline from the prior novel and introducing the main storyline of this book, namely, the destruction of a nuclear facility in Iran. Of course, Rapp (and Irene Kennedy) get brought into the Iran storyline as the events of the novel play out.

As is the case with his other books, Flynn included some real-world concepts into the largely fictional storyline. For example, working the Abu Ghraib prison story and the effect that it had on the intelligence community into the storyline. The book has a good blend of action and suspense and flows very well. And, this time, the political intrigue storyline did not involve members of the US government, but members of the Iranian government. 

The book is a moderate length, at just over 400 pages but is a pretty easy read. If you are a fast reader you can easily finish it in a few days or less (depending, of course, on how much time you have to devote to reading). 

Overall, if you have liked the other books in the series you will probably like this one. Unlike some of the prior novels in the series, the story in this one is totally resolved by the end of the book, although it is possible that events from this book could influence future books. It is definitely worth the read.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 30

Day 30 was Define Upper in PIYO and Dynamix in X3. Dynamix is another workout that really does not have (or need) a warm-up and cooldown because you are constantly moving the entire time, but relatively slowly. The best way to describe Dynamix is that it is a cross between yoga, regular stretching, and pilates, but you are not doing any static moves where you are holding a pose or stretch for a long duration. Instead, you are doing a lot of moves where you are pulsing or flowing from one move to the next like front lunges (in which you step forward) and then immediately into back lunges (in which you step backward with the same leg). There are different levels of intensity for each move, so you can modify as necessary.

DVD/TV Series Review: Baywatch Season 2

 

The second season of Baywatch sees a lot of turnover for the show. First, it had been canceled after one season (the 1989-1990 tv season) on NBC and off the air for over a year. It was revived and aired in syndication starting in the 1991-1992 TV season with many cast departures including Parker Stephenson and Holly Gagnier (about 2/3 of the way through the season we find out that they moved out East and Craig returned to practicing law full time), as well as Brandon Coll. Jeremy Jackson was cast as Hobe and the character was de-aged from 13 years old to 10 years old. Gregory Alan Williams was brought back as a recurring character and John Allen Nelson basically left the show (making only a single appearance in season two). Tom McTigue and Richard Jaekel joined as series regulars and Monte Markham did return along with Billy Warlock and Erika Elaniak. And, of course, Hasselhoff returned as the lead and an Executive Producer.

Aside from the cast changes, the format of the show pretty much remained the same. It is the quintessential procedural drama with a weekly story (some were okay others were very bad) that was resolved by the end of the episode. There was very little continuity between the episodes with new characters coming in that the regulars were good friends with who were never previously mentioned and were never to be seen again and you really did not have to see a prior episode to know what was going on in the episode you were watching. 

The show did have many recognizable guest stars again this season including Vanessa Angel, Danny Trejo (in his first-ever acting role in which he still looked older than everyone else on the show), a young Nikki Cox (who would eventually go on to star in the show Unhappily Ever After), Shannon Tweed (who basically played a version of her 80s and 90s b-movie characters without showing her tits), and Wendy Malick (who returned as Mitch's ex-wife for an episode). Bob Denver and Dawn Mitchell also guest starred in a Gilligan's Island tribute episode playing Gilligan and Mary-Anne in a clever twist of writing.

Overall, you know what you get with the show. The writing is mostly bad, and a lot of what they did would never fly in 2023, and as a result, the acting is not all that great either. You still get the silly music montages that randomly spring up throughout the episodes that are mainly there to show off the good-looking cast members and extras. I did not watch the show when it was originally on the air, so I do not know what songs were used when it was broadcast, but given the age of the show, it is very likely that some of the music had to be replaced because of licensing issues. And, there are no extras, just the episodes themselves. Ultimately, if you do not expect award-winning material the show is entertaining, but if you are expecting it to be a well-written and well-acted drama, then you will probably be very disappointed. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 29

Day 29 was the first day of the second transition/recovery week in X3, and a self-created transition week in PIYO (so I can sync up month two of PIYO with the last block of X3). The X3 workout was isometrix again, which is basically a yoga workout with all balance moves. You alternate between plank-based moves and standing moves, holding each for 45 seconds. There is no warm-up or cooldown, which is actually kind of nice. The workout is a bit easier after doing the three-week yoga program and then a month of PIYO. For the PIYO workout, I did define Lower again, which is the 21-minute lower-body focused flow workout. I do not really have anything new to say about that workout as it went about the same as it did the last time. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 28

Day 28 was a rest day in X3 and the sweat workout in PIYO. Nothing much new to say about the Sweat workout. I do not like it as much as the Define Upper and Lower workouts or the Strength Intervals workout, but it is shorter than Drench, so it does have that going for it.  

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 27

Day 27 was MMX in X3 and the strength intervals workout in PIYO. This is actually a good mix of workouts, and the intervals workout (which is mostly a lower-body workout) is short enough that it can be done back-to-back with MMX and almost act as a cool down for MMX. MMX is still a very challenging workout (even more so if you do not have any martial arts experience). Because it has crescent kicks in it you have to be very careful to avoid being flat footed when you are kicking (especially during the crescent kicks) because your can hurt your knees if you do not pivot correctly. The original Kenpo workout in P90x had almost no pivoting (except on the punching combos), I am sure to prevent people from damaging their knees, but that is definitely not the case in this workout. So, be careful, watch what the two black belts in the group are doing and go slow.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 26

Day 26 was the incinerator workout in X3 and a rest day in PIYO. I was pretty tired during the workout and was not feeling as strong in some of the moves, so I dropped the weight a little bit on some of them (mostly on the shoulder moves). I love the pace of the workout with minimal down time between each exercise. It is tough, but it definitely keeps your heart rate up.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 25

 Day 25 was Eccentric Lower in X3 and Drench in PIYO. As I mentioned in the last update, I am definitely able to get lower in the squat moves, which makes this workout more intense, even when using the same weight. The lunges are still very much my weak point in this workout.

Drench is nearly an hour-long workout in PIYO that really combines a little bit of everything from the prior workouts. There is not as many balance moves as in some of the other workouts (really the only balance move is warrior 3, which is not held all that long), so you do not really need to use a chair. Even though it is a longer workout, it does flow very well and does not seem like it is overly long.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 24

Day 24 was Yoga in X3 and Buns in PIYO. The yoga workout went pretty much the same as it did the past couple of weeks. I did not really have any new flexibility gains at all. The buns workout is basically squats and lunges the entire time. I can definitely get a bit deeper in the squats, not so much in the lunges yet, however. Doing lunges with proper form that gets my knee close to the floor has always been difficult for me, even when I was in much better shape than I am now. 

Product Review: HDMI Switch 3 Port, avedio links 4K@60Hz HDMI Splitter 3 in 1 Out

 

This is a good three-way HDMI splitter that will allow you to run three devices to one HDMI port. My living room TV is mounted above my fireplace and I have a high-speed HDMI cable running through the wall so that I can put the devices connected to the TV (in my case, a blu-ray player, a Roku, and a PS4) to the TV without having cables running up the wall. Plus, my TV mount partially blocks some of the HDMI ports on the TV itself, so this was the best solution.

The splitter is powered through the HDMI cables and does not have (or need) a separate power source. I have not noticed any issue with lag or latency through any of the devices hooked into it, aside from one time when one of my PS4 games was loading. But, aside from that, the audio and video from all three devices has been fine.

The only thing that would make this better is that if it came with a remote that would allow you to switch between the channels without having to push the button on the box every time. That is not, however, a big issue, just something that would be a slight improvement. Otherwise, it works as advertised.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Dark Knight

 

This is, of course, the second movie in the Christopher Nolan directed and Christian Bale led live-action Batman trilogy which not only revived the live-action Batman franchise from near death, but arguably paved the way for the historic run of superhero movies that is still going strong today. The fact that Nolan took these movies seriously, coupled with the fact that the first Iron Man movie (which came out the same year as this) was so well done really took superhero movies out of the "cult following" that had been the majority of their fanbase and opened the genre up to wider appeal.

This movie is set about a year after the events of Batman Begins with Batman having terrorized the city criminals and inspired lackluster (to say the least) copycat vigilantes. Gordon (played again by Gary Oldman) is now the head of the major crimes unit (cleverly nicknamed MCU) which is trying to take down the mob and "capture" Batman. Joker (played brilliantly by Heath Ledger) offers his services to the mob to kill Batman and get the heat off of them put on by Gordon and new Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart). Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman also reprise their roles as Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox, and Eric Roberts joins the cast as mobster Sal Maroni.

Aside from Ledger's casting, which was controversial when it was announced, the other big casting change from the first movie was replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes with Maggie Gyllenhaal. At the time, it was speculated the Holmes' marriage to Tom Cruise and participation in Scientology was the reason, but Nolan has gone on record saying that she was simply not available to do the sequel. Whatever the reason, while I personally would have preferred for Holmes to return (mainly because I am not a fan of recasting).Gyllenhaal does a good job with the role. 

This set has three discs, the 4K-UHD disc that has just the movie itself, a regular blu-ray disc with just the movie, and a second blu-ray disc with most of the special features. The regular blu-ray disc does include a making-of documentary called Gotham Uncovered, and the movie can be played with a picture-in-picture option that includes some of the material from the Gotham Uncovered documentary. The rest of the features are on the second blu-ray disc and include a featurette on Batman's tech, the psychology of Batman, a series of Gotham Tonight episodes, hosted in-character by Anthony Michael Hall's character from the movie and featuring some of the other cast members, and the trailers, and a gallery of the different Joker cards.

Overall, the movie is great. One of the best superhero movies of all time in my opinion. While Ledger was only in the movie for a minimal amount of screen time (all totaled), he dominated pretty much every scene he was in, and his appearances were spaced out well so it seemed like he was in the movie much more than he was. The only thing I would have done differently is [SPOILERS AHEAD] kept Two-Face for the next movie. Maybe make him disappear and then exact revenge in the third movie instead of killing him off after only four scenes. From what I had read, the plan was originally to bring Joker back for the third movie in some capacity. Of course, Ledger's death shortly after filing wrapped made that impossible and by that point, the movie was finished and it would have been too expensive to go back and totally change the ending.

Regardless, the movie is great and the A/V quality of the UHD disc, especially in the IMAX scenes is wonderful.  It is definitely worth the upgrade to the 4k blu-ray. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 23

Day 24 was Triometrix in X3 and Core in PIYO. Triometrix was tough, but each time gets a little better, but I still hate Core (almost as much as Sweat). Nothing really new to say about either of the workouts aside from the fact that I got them out of the way.  

Book Review: Star Wars: Convergence

 

Convergence is, for the moment, the first (chronologically) in-canon Star Wars novel. It is still set during the High Republic era, but a generation or so before the novel Light of the Jedi and the conflict with the Nihil. So, there is an entirely new crop of characters in this book, and again, the one character that everyone is familiar with, Yoda, is only referred to in passing but is not directly included in the storyline.

The plot of this book involves warring neighboring planets Eiram and the E'ronoh, and the Jedi being dispatched to help negotiate a peace treaty during a cease-fire between the two planets. As you would expect, things do not go smoothly, and the Jedi must stop an attack that threatens to plunge the planets back into war.

The book is good, but not one that I would call a must-read.  It is a moderate length at just over 350 pages, but it is a fairly quick read. If you are a fast reader you can probably finish it in a day or two. I think it suffers from what the other High Republic novels do, namely too many characters that have no real backstory or setup that fans are just supposed to be invested in. I think that the books would be a lot better if Yoda was a lead character and then introduce the other characters around him. The story does have a good blend of action and mystery/suspense and does set up some of the elements that are used in the later High Republic novels. It is one of those books that I would say is worth reading once, but it is not one that a lot of people are likely to read more than once. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 22

 Day 22 was the start of the 4th week of the PIYO and X3 doubles, which meant the Eccentric Upper workout in X3 and the Sweat workout in PIYO.

Both workouts really went about the same. I was still under a time crunch dealing with the family medical issue from last week, so I think the X3 workout in the morning went a bit better than the Sweat workout in the evening. I think that was also due to the fact that I am not a huge fan of the Sweat workout. But, I go them done and did the best I could with each one.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 21

Day 21 was the rest day in X3 and the Strength Intervals workout in PIYO. 

In the interval workout, you basically do a cardio move and then some version of a squat or a lunge. So, in a way, it is more like one of the Chalean Extreme workouts than it is any of the previous PIYO workouts. It is very short, just over 20 minutes, and the workout flows well so it does not get boring. The moves are again modified (mostly the burpee exercises) so you can do them with less impact and/or slower if you need to.  

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 20

Day 20 was MMX in X3 and was scheduled to be the Sweat workout in PIYO.  I did do the MMX workout, although very modified because I was going without almost any sleep the night before but skipped the Sweat workout. I will probably make it up on the Friday rest day this week depending on how much time I have. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 19

Day 19 was the rest day in PIYO and Incinerator in X3. Incinerator was still hard, but I found it to be a bit easier than it was last week. I really like the pace of the workout as there is very little rest and very little wasted time between the moves. This is not one in which Tony chats for an extra 30 seconds to give people an extra break. Even though you are lifting weights the entire time, it does test your cardio fitness as well. 

Book Review: Compromised: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. T***p

 

This book is partly a memoir that spans the course of Peter Strzok's career as a counterintelligence officer for the FBI, but it is mostly focused on the investigations (which he led) before and after the 2016 election. The book is a moderate length, about 350 pages, but it is not what I consider a quick read because it can be a bit dry. 

Strzok was the lead investigator on both the Clinton email investigation and the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which morphed into an investigation of the Orange Genital Wart's ties to Russia and that interference, and which then morphed into the Mueller investigation. Strozk was initially a member of the Mueller team but was kicked off when text messages between him and an FBI lawyer whom he was having an affair with showing potential bias against t***p were revealed. Strozk, for the most part, does not get into the lurid details of his personal life but explained what he meant in the most controversial messages, and rightly points out that if he wanted to hurt t**p's campaign he could have leaked the fact that the campaign was being investigated before the election (which he did not), and that actions he took in the Clinton email investigation probably hurt her campaign and helped t***p (which was not his intended effect, but the likely outcome). Of course, the pussy grabber has no qualms about referring to Strozk and "his lover" over and over again, as if he had not cheated on all of his wives, which Stozk rightly points out. 

A couple of the more interesting tidbits from the book is that while the FBI did refer to the Steele Dossier (which Strozk was not really a dossier, but a collection of reports) when obtaining their warrants during the Russia investigation, they did not rely on the information as they thought a lot of it was not well-sourced and could not be corroborated. But, they felt that it should be brought the to judge's attention and the purpose for which it was put together. Second, not only did agent orange become a target of the investigation, but the FBI also started an investigation into whether Jeff Sessions perjured himself during his confirmation hearings. Unfortunately, Strozk does not go into much detail about that, and it seems that the investigation just flamed out. 

This book is basically a way for Strozk to tell his side of the story and defend his actions and those of the FBI. He recites as many of the facts as he could at the time he wrote it, and did not hold back his opinions of the former president or the people around him. He also criticizes some of the decisions that were made by the FBI leadership but also details the process through which those decisions were made. It is definitely worth reading.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 18

Day 18 was Eccentric Lower in X3 and Define Lower in PIYO. 

Eccentric Lower is a pretty fun (but still challenging) workout with a good selection of moves, some of which are in other P90x workouts and some of which are new. That workout went a bit better than Define Lower did, but I go through each of them.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 17

Day 17 was yoga in X3 and Core in PIYO.

I don't really have a ton to say new about either workout. Core is probably my least favorite of the early PIYO workouts, mainly because it is the hardest one for me to do. And, I have not been super motivated to work out this week dealing with family issues. But, I did what I could for each one and got them done. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 16

Day 16 was Triometrix in X3 and Buns in PIYO. The buns workout is a 28-minute workout that includes mostly all squats and lunges, or some variation of those. There are no Vinyasas or triceps push-ups in this workout.  As is the case in the other workouts, you are moving almost the entire time, except for a few seconds in the Pigeon pose, so you will probably burn quite a few calories.

Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11

 

This is a group of stories collected by the author, Damon Dimarco who started collecting the stories within months of the 9/11 attacks. The book was originally published a few years after 9/11 and then updated for the 20th Anniversary to add a new forward by the former NY governor, George Pataki, and provide some updates on some of the people that he originally interviewed. 

The book exclusively details the experiences of people who were in or around the towers that day as well as people whose lives were affected in the aftermath, such as a woman who basically became the organizer who made sure workers at "the pile" were fed daily, got supplies, etc. The people whose stories are told in this book are generally not the more well-known people who have been interviewed many times, but that does not lessen the impact at all. The author does a very good job of conveying the emotion of the people who he interviewed, which was sometimes very raw, and did a good job of introducing who that person was and what they were like during the interview.

My only nitpicky point about the book is that it does contain a number of errors, mostly about the timing of events on 9/11, both in the timeline at the beginning of the book (e.g., saying that Flight 93 took off at 8:01 AM when it took off at 8:42 AM and that it crashed at 10:10 AM when it really crashed at 10:03 AM), and in the footnotes (e.g., in one he said the south tower was hit first by Flight 175). Even if these made it into the initial printing, they should have been corrected in the update. However, those do not really take away from the rest of the book, and since the point of the book is not to detail the overall events of the day, but to tell the stories of the people affected, it is still a five-star book in my mind. 

The book is fairly long, just under 500 pages, but it does read fairly quickly. Most of the stories span about 5 pages, give or take, but there are a couple longer ones that span about 20 pages, so there are a lot of natural stopping points. It is definitely one that I consider a must-read.

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 15

Day 15 was Eccentric Upper in X3, and Define Upper in PIYO. I would say that both workouts went about the same as they did the last time I did each one. Eccentric Upper is challenging, but not impossible, and Define Upper is the same. I am still doing the push-ups on my knees until I can get my chest to the floor for 20 reps then I will switch to doing them on my toes. 

Workout Update: P90X3 and PIYO doubles workout- Day 14

Day 14 was a rest day in X3, and the core workout in PIYO.

Core is a mix of easy (or at least easier) core-focused exercises and some hard (to very hard, depending on whether you modify) exercises. What is nice is that it has a mix of standing, lying down, and seated exercises, and like the other workouts, you are moving the entire time. So, you burn a lot more calories than just doing crunches and leg lifts.