Product Review: YPbPr to HDMI Converter, Component to HDMI

 

This is a converter that allows you to connect an older device that has the YPbPr component cables (such as an X-Box 360) to an HDMI input. While many newer TVs still have ports available for these cables, they generally only have one, and if you still have more than one working device that uses the YPbPr cables, then this will allow you to still use them. It is powered via a supplied cable that can be plugged into a USB port or a power adapter that plugs into the wall. It will provide an okay, but not great picture as the output, but it does work.

Supplement Review: NABUU Immunity Mushroom Supplement

 

This is a supplement that contains various different types of mushroom extracts. The blend is similar to some of the mushroom gummies that are out there, containing, among other types, Lion's Mane and Turkey Tail extract. 

The serving size is two capsules that you take with a meal. The bottle contains 30 servings in total (60 capsules). They are what I would describe as normal-sized capsules that are easy to swallow. But, they do have a pretty bad aftertaste, so it is a good idea to drink them with something flavored or take a bite of whatever you are eating after you swallow them. That said, they are good for someone who wants some of the benefits that mushrooms can provide but who hates the taste and/or texture of actual mushrooms.

Book Review: The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York

 

This is a book published in 2019 about the Windows on the World restaurant (which was actually a collection of a few different Restaurants and Bars) located at the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It would, of course, be destroyed during the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on the building.

The book basically tells the story of New York City and the World Trade Center from the perspective of the operation of the restaurant, and the various obstacles that had to be overcome to operate it. The book details events that occurred as the towers were being built, including a fight with the architect about whether to make the windows on the 106th and 107th floors wider so patrons would get a better view of the city, the fighting that went on between the staff members, the difficulties of getting the restaurant up and running after the 1993 bombing in a parking garage below the buildings, and the resurgence that the restaurant experienced in the late 1990s that lasted until 9/11.

The book does details some of the events of 9/11, first at the beginning, telling the story of the head chef who survived only because he decided to get his glasses fixed in the morning instead of the afternoon, so he was downstairs in the mall under the buildings when the plane hit the tower. Then, toward the end of the book, the author talks about the phone calls that the people trapped at Windows were making as conditions inside were getting worse, and how the handful of Windows employees who were below the impact zone heard pleas for help over walkie talkies, saw people waiving tablecloths out the broken windows, and saw people jumping. The final couple of chapters discuss the aftermath of 9/11 and provided an update on some of the survivors, as well as some of the family members of the people who died that day.

The book is 320 pages, but it is not what I would call a fast read, especially if you want to get all the details. I do think the author spent a bit too long discussing what was going on in the 1970s, but once you get through that part, it does start reading a bit faster. I would also not call it a book about 9/11 as there are really only two relatively short chapters devoted to that day, and one chapter devoted to what was going on at the restaurant on September 10th. Even so, it is very interesting to get some of the history about how the Trade Center came to be, the ups and down that NYC went through over the course of time, and Window's place in all of it.

Book Review: Red War: (Mitch Rapp Series #17)

 

Red War is the 17th novel in the Mitch Rapp series. It was published in 2018 and is the fourth novel in the series at least partially written by Kyle Mills when he took over the series after Vince Flynn's death in 2013. 

The novel starts out with the fictional Russian President, Krupin, ordering a hit on Grisha Azarov in Costa Rica. From there, the plot of the book involves an increasingly unstable Krupin planning an attack on the Baltic countries that are members of NATO. The  CIA discovers Krupin has terminal brain cancer and sends Rapp (along with Azarov) on a mission to Russia.

The book definitely includes some real-world elements, such as mentioning Russia's invasion of Crimea (and even foreshadowing (a bit) the full invasion of Ukraine by Russia), the speculation that Putin is ill, etc. It also touches on Russia's various disinformation campaigns, including those that are designed to turn Americans against each other.

The book is just over 350 pages and reads like the other books in the series. So, if you read quickly you can probably finish it in a couple of days (or less). While it is hard to predict what direction Flynn would have taken the series had he lived, I do think Mills has now captured the same tone and pacing that Flynn used so that if Flynn would have told the same story, this feels like how he would write it. While I do not think it was quite as good as the last novel in the series, Enemy of the State, it is still very good, with a nice blend of action and setup, and is definitely worth the read.

Product Review: CHARMKING Compression Socks for Women & Men Circulation (3 Pairs)

 

This is a 3-pack of knee-high compression socks. I mainly got them to give a couple pairs to my mom since her doctor recommended that she start wearing them, but I also kept a pair for myself. They do take a few minutes to get used to since they are much tighter than cotton socks (as you would expect). But, once you do get used to them, they are very comfortable. They are fine for both "normal" daily use and for working out. In fact, if you get the darker pairs, they look nice enough that you can wear them with dress shoes and nobody would be able to tell that they are not dress socks. 

Product Review: LocknLock Easy Essentials Pantry Airtight Rectangular Tall Food Storage Container, Pasta Box

 

This is a great storage option for Spaghetti or Lasagna noodles. It will keep the pasta much fresher than it will be in the box (or bag) once you have opened it. The container is not completely airtight like a vacuum seal would be, but there is a seal between the lid and the container, and there are notches on the container that the lid flaps lock onto when you fold them down. So, once the cover is on and closed, you do have to worry about it coming loose or the pasta spilling out if it falls over. Nor do you have to worry about pests getting into the container. It is definitely a good storage option.

Book Review: Star Wars: Path of Vengeance

 

Path of Vengeance is the latest book in the early High-Republic era novels. It is a follow-up to the novels Path of Deceit and Battle of Jedha. This book brings back the characters of Marda and Yarna Ro (one of whom is likely the mother of the leader of the Nihil, who are the main antagonists of the later High-Republic era) who are essentially on opposite sides of a civil war in the Path of the Open Hand. 

In this book, the Path retreats to the planet Dalna. The Mother throws The Herald under the bus for the violence on Jedha and dispatches a team to Planet X to get more Leveler eggs so that she can have an army of Levelers to fight the Jedi. The Jedi track down the Path just as the team returns with the eggs, and another battle ensues. 

The book is one of the longer young-adult novels. It is just over 500 pages, but it is a fairly easy read and the story flows very well. I am a fast reader and got through it in about five hours. The book brings a conclusion to the novels that were set before it and provides a good reset point from which to bridge the two eras of the High Republic. The only real issue I have with the early High-Republic novels is that it presents a bit of a continuity issue as the Leveler is unleashed by the Nihil on the Jedi in the novels set during the later High-Republic era, and the Jedi do not seem to have any idea what is attacking and killing them. Yet, the Jedi in this era absolutely know about the creature, and so Yoda and Yaddle should know what it is in the later books. That said, the story in this book is still very good and it is definitely one of the canon novels that you should read if you only read some, but not all, of the novels.

Book Review: Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew

 

Bringing Columbia Home is the story of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in which the shuttle broke up during reentry. It was written by a former NASA employee who was the launch director when the disaster occurred and published in 2018.

The beginning of the book goes through what was happening on the ground as the shuttle lost contact with the ground and how frantic people were becoming as the shuttle was not where it was supposed to be and then missed the landing (which is calculated to the second). Then the author goes through the mission from the beginning, detailing how much was known about the foam strike that occurred during the launch of the shuttle, and the debate that went on about whether the shuttle was actually in danger. The author goes into a lot of detail about the recovery effort, and how the focus at first was recovering the remains of the shuttle crew, and then after the remains of all seven astronauts were found, detailing the major effort made to find as much of the shuttle as they could.

The book is very harrowing. The author does a great job detailing what happened, while still being respectful to the people who were lost and their families. He also goes into a lot of detail about how the people in rural Texas (which is where most of the debris was landed) helped searchers locate the remains of the shuttle and the crew. The author does give readers a general idea of where the remains of the crew members were found, but did not go into specifics (to protect the privacy of the property owners) and did not detail the condition of the bodies (to respect the dead and their families). But, you can definitely read between the lines to know that only some remains of each crew member were found.

The substantive portion of the book is 300 pages long, then there are a couple of appendices that give the names of people who were key to the recovery efforts and a glossary of the NASA terms used. Then there are several pages of endnotes. Most of the notes just point to sources, but some of the notes are explanatory. If you are a nerd about reading the notes, it is kind of a pain to go back and see what text it was created from, so I think they would have been better as footnotes. The book is very emotional, even now 20-plus years after the disaster. While the cause of the accident was not as infuriating as the Challenger disaster, as there was really no practical rescue that could have been made either before the shuttle reentered the atmosphere or during, it was still hard to read how some people were just dismissing the fact that there was any danger to the shuttle. It is definitely worth reading.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 28

Day 28 was the midday move routine in XB. This is another routine that you do entirely standing, and it is probably the most challenging routine in the 15-minute routines. It has you doing very deep abductor stretches which can be hard to get down into (and back out of).  

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 27

Day 27 was the Restore routine in XB. I again did this one in my basement, meaning I was using the lower chair. I was able to get a little bit deeper into the hamstring stretches, but not much. And, my balance was a little bit better today than the last time I did the workout. 

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 26

Day 26 was the last day of the Job 1 workouts. This was another circuit workout, focusing on Chest, Core, and Legs, with the one-minute of three cardio moves that you do for 20 seconds each. This workout just uses weights, and you do three blocks, each block having three exercises that you do for 45 seconds. Each block has one chest-focused exercise, one core-focused exercise, and one legs-focused exercise. This was definitely the most intense of the weight-lifting circuit workouts in the program.

The XB routine was the unwind routine. Unwind was a bit easier the second time, although I was still a bit unsteady on the balance moves. This is not really a routine that you will get deep into the stretches.

Book Series Review: Vince Flynn's Novels

 

Vince Flynn was an author who lived in the Twin Cities and wrote 14 books in total, 13 of them centered around the character of Mitch Rapp, a terrorist hunter who, at the beginning of his career, worked as an off-the-books black-ops assassin. Flynn, through Rapps narratives in the books, made it clear that Rapp was not a spy. He did not gather intel or work as an analyst. He went after and killed bad guys.

Flynn's first novel was 1997's Term Limits, which was the only book he wrote that was not part of the Mitch Rapp series, although it did feature some of the characters who would become regulars in the series. It was also probably Flynn's most political book, as it had Scott Coleman killing corrupt politicians and warning the government that more would die if a law was not passed to protect the economy from cratering. The character of Coleman would be rewritten to omit his acts of domestic terrorism in the Rapp novels. 

The Rapp series started with the Transfer of Power, which was published in 1999. In that novel, Rapp had been working as a terrorist hunter for about a decade. He learns of an attack on the White House, and much of the book is set with Rapp sneaking around the White House taking out the terrorists who are trying to get the President (fictional President Hayes) out of the bunker. Fans of the series 24 (which Flynn actually consulted on for a couple of seasons) will recognize a similar storyline being incorporated into one of the later seasons of the show, and it is clear that the character of Jack Bauer was based at least in part on Mitch Rapp.

The first four books in the series were set around Iraq being the primary threat to the US, and then, after real life happened in the form of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the remaining novels would be set against the backdrop of radical Islam and many of the plotlines focused on the aftermath of 9/11. After the 10th book in the series, Pursuit of Honor was published in 2009, Flynn wrote two prequel novels, American Assassin and Kill Shot, which fleshed out the details of how Rapp was recruited into the CIA and his early career, which had only been hinted at up to that point in the books. In 2010, Flynn would be diagnosed with an aggressive form of Prostate Cancer, and, unfortunately, passed away in 2013 (almost 10 years to the day as of this writing) at the age of 47 after finishing the novel, The Last Man, which brought the series back to the present day. Flynn started working on the next book, The Survivor but had only finished a few chapters before he died. Flynn's estate and his publisher commissioned Kyle Mills (who wrote books in the same genre) to finish The Suvivior, and Mills would be brought back to write several more books in the series.

My exposure to Flynn was through his appearances on the Dan Barrerrio afternoon radio show in the Twin Cities. Flynn would come on not only to promote his books but generally talk politics and local sports with Barrerrio. Flynn actually named a minor character in one of his books after Barrerrio. Flynn was certainly a conservative Republican, and his conservative viewpoint, especially when it came to the issue of torture, and whether the enhanced interrogation techniques approved by the Bush Administration amounted to torture, was present in the books. Flynn had the viewpoint that enhanced interrogation worked, which is debatable, as people like FBI agent Ali Soufan, who had interrogated many Al-Qeada members said it did not. Flynn also did not like that the Obama administration was investigating CIA personnel (and charging some) who were told during the Bush Administration that the enhanced interrogation techniques were legal. However, Flynn made it clear both in his interviews and the books that he was not a fan of politics or politicians in general, and some of the bad guys in the novels were actually Republican politicians. 

Flynn was also pals with Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who were (and still are in Beck's case), in my opinion, two of the biggest pieces of shit in recent human history. While I never listened to his interviews on their shows, Flynn never struck me as being as nuts as Beck, Limbaugh, and their ilk. Of course, Flynn died before the whole t***p takeover of the Republican party, so we will never know if Flynn would have been one in the ranks of the sane (e.g., the "never t***pers") or if he would have become one of the cult members. But, given that he took a couple of shots at t***p in one of his books, I suspect Flynn would not have been a fan. And, I am sure that Flynn would not like the idea of book bans that we are seeing a decade after his death as I remember him saying that the Harry Potter novels (which have been caught up in some book bans) were perfectly fine for kids.

Overall, Flynn's Rapp series is a very well-written blend of action and suspense. Flynn was very much anti-political correctness and used Rapp's bluntness to present an in-your-face view of the very real threats to the US. And given that both Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh were fans of Flynn's books, they can certainly be enjoyed regardless of your political persuasion, even if you do not agree with Flynn's politics or every point of view expressed in the books. 

Product Review: PIONEER 43-inch Class LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV

 

This is a very nice, relatively inexpensive, 4K tv. At 43 inches it is a perfect size for a bedroom, a workout room, a garage, etc. It has three HDMI inputs, a coaxial input, an optical cable input, and component cable inputs. And, the inputs are located in a way that they should not be blocked if you put the TV on a wall mount. It also does have feet that screw onto the bottom to allow you to put it on a counter or a TV stand.

The TV does have Amazon Fire TV built-in. You can do a basic setup or a full setup. The basic setup is the one you would pick if you are not an Amazon Prime member, and essentially just allows you to switch the inputs, download apps, etc. The full setup is what you would pick if you are a Prime member and will allow for easier access to all of the Prime Video content. The full setup is very easy, especially if you are even relatively tech-savvy. It will put a QR code on the screen that you can scan with your phone that will allow you to log into your Amazon account with your phone and then the TV sets itself up. You will have to wait for the firmware to upload, but the TV does that automatically and there is really nothing you need to do while the TV is downloading and installing the update.

The TV itself is great. The resolution is wonderful, and finding what you want is relatively easy. It does have a Firestick remote, which has an Alexa button that allows you to do voice searching. The only thing I do not like about the remote is that it does not allow you to easily change the TV inputs via a button on the remote. You have to go to the home screen and change the inputs from there. And, when you are on the page that shows the inputs, the screen does not automatically show you what is hooked up to what input (I did figure out you can set this up manually, but it should be something that the TV can detect on its own). Those are, of course, bigger issues if you have something like a Roku (which you really do not need since you can download almost every App you can get on a Roku on this), a video game system, or a blu-ray player hooked up to this, than it is if you are just going to be streaming. Aside from those issues, however, I think it is a great TV and definitely worth the price.

Product Review: WONGJON Soap Holder Self Draining Soap Dish Holder

 

If you are one of those people who still uses a bar of soap (e.g., for washing your face, before shaving, or the like) this is a great way to store it on your sink without the inevitable mess that comes after you use it a couple of times. This has a base that sits on the edge of the sink and a dish that sits on top of the base with a lip that allows water to drain into the sink. It is not what I would call super-high-end, but it looks nice enough to put in any bathroom without clashing with the decor. 

Book Review: Enemy of the State: (Mitch Rapp Series #16)

 

This is the 16th book in the prolific series of spy/assassin novels created by Vince Flynn and continued by Kyle Mills after Flynn's death in 2013. The novel was published in 2017 and was a continuation of the prior novels, The Last Man, The Survivor, and Order to Kill. The book is just under 400 pages and like Flynn's novels and the two novels in the series that Mills at least partially wrote, it reads fairly quickly.

This book continues the storyline that was set in Saudi Arabia during the last book. We find out that the nephew of the ailing Saudi king is discovered to be funding ISIS and Rapp puts together a team to go after him. Like Flynn did in his books, Mills ties the storyline into the real world. Specifically, he ties the story to the evidence that the Saudi government at least knew a lot more about the 9/11 attacks than they let on, and at worst had a hand in the planning of it, and the US government covered it up (and continues to do so) because of our dependence on oil. The book brings back many characters from the prior novels, and yet again, sets Rapp's life on a new course.

Overall, the book is very good. It seems like with this book, Mills really found the balance between writing the story as Vince Flynn would have likely done so, yet making it his own. The prior novel, Order to Kill, felt a bit off to me, and not like a book that Flynn himself would have written. This book, however, feels like, had Vince Flynn decided to write this story, this is how he would have done it. 

Product Review: Power Strip, SUPERDANNY Surge Protector with 22 AC Outlets and 6 USB Charging Ports

 

This is a very nice, heavy-duty power strip. It has 22 AC outlets, including 10 along the sides to accommodate more oddly shaped power packs. It also has 6 USB ports so you can plug in a phone charger (without taking up one of the outlets) or a converter that is powered via USB. It also offers surge protection, so you do not have to worry as much about plugging multiple things into it. Even if you are unlikely to use all 22 outlets (and that is not really a good idea anyway), it is definitely worth the pickup.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 25

Day 25 was the last 20-min sweat session of this round of Job 1. This follows the same format of doing 4 blocks of three exercises. You do all three exercises for 30 seconds for two rounds and no rest. Then you rest for a minute and go to the next block of three new exercises. Jennifer again ratchets up the intensity of the exercises incorporating some plank work (e.g., plank to beast and a version of Shaun T's push-up jacks (basically the jack move without the push-ups) and in and out abs).  

For the stretch routine, I did Restore again. This time I did it in my basement using a lower chair (lower than my bed). So I could not get as far into the hamstring stretches as I can when I use my bed, but I don't think my flexibility level backslid at all.

Book Review: Star Wars: Path of Deceit

 

Path of Deceit is another young-adult Star Wars novel set during the early High Republic era. It is set sometime before the events depicted in the book, Battle of Jedha. In the early chapters, it seems like the book is just going to be another ancillary side story, with a bunch of new characters that are pretty uninteresting. However, by the end of the book, a lot is revealed, including exactly what the monster is that the Path of the Open Hand, and later the Nihil, use to kill Jedi (and how it actually kills them). 

The story is set on the planet Dalna, in the Outer Rim where the Path has their compound. A Jedi named Zalla Marci and her Padawan named Kevmo Zink travel to Dalna to find stolen force artifacts that they suspect the Path is hoarding. During the mission, Kevmo falls for one of the Path members, Marda Ro. They each try to convince each other that their respective views of The Force are correct while falling in love. Over the course of the book, we learn more about the Path's leader, The Mother, and get a bit more insight into her plans.

Overall, the story is good, but it takes a long time to get to the good parts. For the first 2/3 of the book it seems like it is just going to be a love story between Kevmo and Marda, and then in the last handful of chapters, the story picks up a lot, and unexpectedly. It ends up being one of my must-read canon novels, but I do only give it 4-stars because it takes such a long time to get to the good part. The book is just under 350 pages. If you read quickly, it can be finished in a day or two, even though you do have to slog through the first part of the book to get to the really good stuff. If you are tempted to stop reading it in the beginning, definitely keep going because it is worth it.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 24

Day 24 was the last Build and Burn workout, which is a Back, Legs, and Core focused workout. The first block focuses on the back, the second on the legs, and the third on the core. In each block, you use the resistance loops, and in the first two blocks, you use loops and weights together. Again, there is very little rest between the exercises in the block and between the blocks themselves. So, you will definitely get a cardio effect. 

The XB routine was the signature stretch routine. It is definitely my least favorite of the 15-minute routines, but I made it through.

Product Review: Kitchen Sink Faucet Splash Guard

 

This silicone drying mat goes around some types of faucets (e.g., the pull-down sprayer-type faucets) with an elongated base. You definitely will need to measure how much space you have on either side of your faucet, and the space behind your faucet (if you do not have a sink in an island), as well as measure the diameter of the base of your faucet to make sure this will fit around it. 

Assuming you do have the space, it is super easy to install. The "hole" is not closed, so you just pull the two sides apart and put it around the base of your faucet. There is enough room on either side to store set a sponge and one of those dish wands, as well as setting your dish soap on it. It has sloped channels that hang over the edge of the sink and drain water into the sink. So, it will help keep your counter dry and more organized.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 22

 Day 22 was the HIIT workout in Job 1 and the Restore routine in XB.

The HIIT workout, again, ratcheted up the intensity by having harder moves, including burpees as the third move. It follows the same format of doing three moves, one move during each block. You do four rounds of each move for 30 seconds and the amount of rest decreases between each round. Then, the final round has you do all three moves for 15 seconds for four rounds getting 15 seconds of rest between each round.

For the XB Restore routine, I felt like I made additional progress. I was able to get deeper into all of the stretches and hold the stretches longer.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 21

Day 21 was the start of the final week in Job 1 and was a shoulders, arms, and glutes circuit. This circuit workout used just weights and, again, the exercises got harder. There were almost no breaks (basically just long enough for Jennifer to show the next move), so you are continually moving the entire workout.

Then, the XB workout was the mobility routine which focuses on back, hip, and hamstring flexibility. In this one, you do need to use a yoga strap (or a towel) to help get deeper into some of the hamstring stretches. I do think my range of motion is getting a little better, but my flexibility is nowhere near where I want it to be. 

Product Review: WORKPRO Premium 6.5” Screw Extractor Pliers (Combination Pliers)

 

I used this to get screws off of a vent in one of my bathrooms. The screws had been painted over, the ends were very worn, and I could not get them to move with a regular screwdriver. This removed them in seconds. I just used the end of the pliers to grab each screw and turn it a few times until I could get it to the point where I could get the screw out by hand. This also has a small wire cutter that works, but it is not necessarily something that would be my go-to for cutting wire. But, for removing screws that will not move with a screwdriver, this absolutely works.

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 20

Day 20 was another off day in Job 1, and the Restore routine again in XB. Nothing really new to report about the Restore routine. I still maintained the flexibility gains that I had seen a couple of days ago, but did not make any further gains. 

Workout Update: Job 1-XB Stretch Day 19

Day 19 was the Realign routine in the XB stretch program and a rest day in Job 1. I really like Realign, even though it is challenging because it works on the lower back and hips, which is where I am extremely tight. I definitely feel that my posture is better after I do it, and I have a better range of motion when doing things around the house.