Product Review: (25) CR2025 Lithium Cell 3V Batteries

 

I have a heart rate monitor watch and a couple of other devices that use these batteries. These are definitely the best price around, basically $7 for 25 batteries when buying a two-pack in a store can be upwards of $4. So far I have not had any problems with any of them being low or dead. 

Textbook Review: Electric Circuits 9th Edition

 

There are worse textbooks out there than this one (for example the textbook I had to use for multivariable calculus) but not many. The problem is that the authors seem to want to skimp on explaining the theory and providing examples and get right to the problems. As a result, you get very little guidance and background on key concepts, a couple rather basic examples, and then a bunch of problems only a few of which the examples provide guidance in solving. If you have an instructor who goes through a lot of examples you can get around some of these deficiencies, but if not you will be lost. In fact, even some of the instructors at my school complain about this book and its lack of guidance.

If you do not find your instructor all that helpful I recommend looking into the MathTutor DVD circuits lessons. Those are DVD sets that do a far better job of explaining the concepts from the course, and more importantly, the instructor goes through many many examples of problems. You can tell that he used a version of this book to select problems from because some of the examples he worked through are number-for-number problems from this book. In all those 6 DVDs cover about 90% of the material in a first-semester circuits class (with the exception of the material on Op-Amps and the complex power material). If you need the book in order to do your homework problems you will not have much of a choice but to get it, but I would not spend a ton of time trying to do any in-depth reading of it because it probably will not help much.

Workout Kit/Program Review: Focus T25

 

T25 is one of the BeachBody (now BODI) workout programs created by Shaun T, who also created the wildly popular program, Insanity. I own a lot of Beachbody workouts, like P90X, P90X-2 Chalean Extreme, and Insanity. But with many of those others, you have to find at least 45 min in the day to work out. And as many of us have very busy schedules can attest to, that is not always the easiest thing to do. That is where this helps a lot. Here are the pros and cons:

PROS:

1) They are short. From warm-up to end is 25 min. It is not 25 min plus an extra 10 for warm up and cool down. There is no traditional warm-up like in other sets. The first couple of moves start out slow to get you moving and progress quickly. The cooldown comes after the regular workout stops all the way and they do the high fives, so it actually tacks another few minutes onto the end of the workout should you desire to do it.

2) Even though the workouts are short, they are very intense. You are not getting cheated by a short workout. If you put as much effort as you can, it is as intense as programs like P90x or Insanity.

3) There are modified versions of all the moves. So if you are not in the best shape, or cannot handle the higher impact variations you can follow the modifier when you need to.

4) Minimal equipment needed. In the first 5 weeks, you just need a mat, a pair of shoes, and space to work out. In the second 5 week phase you will need bands or weights, but not as much as you would with a program like P90x.

5) Lots of variety. There is a different workout for each day, and each phase has its own set of workouts. So it does not become as repetitive as say the P90X legs and back, plyometrics and Kenpo and Yoga workouts which you do at least 9 and in some cases all 12 weeks.

6) Almost every workout is a total body and incorporates some cardio. Even though there are workouts that focus on particular areas of the body like upper, lower and core, almost every workout has some form of cardio in it, and even though the focus may be on the upper body, you will still have to do some squats and lunges too.

CONS

1) The shakeology commercial before each workout is annoying, but you can skip past it so it is barely a con.

2) The camera does not always show the modifier except for a brief flash. Most of the time the camera does pan around the room and shows everyone doing the moves. But there are a couple occasions when they forgot to show the modifier for more than just an instant so you could see what she was doing. It is not a big deal after you have done each workout a few times, but I would suggest watching them through once first if you are going to be modified so you make sure you know what she is doing.

3) A minor point that really does not have anything to do with the workouts themselves, but having to wait for the "consult your physician" warning at the beginning of every video. As a lawyer, I know why they do it, but it is a pain not being able to skip past it.

4) There are no built-in breaks like there are in the other programs. As is the case with Insanity, however, you can take your own breaks when you need to, but the workouts all go straight through for 25 minutes.

In this set, there is an alpha and beta round that each last 5 weeks. There is also a separate gamma phase that you can do if you want to keep going with it. It is a perfect workout to start with if you want to do a program like Insanity or Asylum but do not feel in good enough shape to tackle them. Shaun T actually uses a lot of the same or similar moves that you find in those other programs, but you have the option of the less intense modification and the shorter time to build your way up to the point where you can get through 40-55 min. It is also a good program to use as a doubles hybrid workout. For example, I have been doing T25 in the morning before work, then the Chalean Extreme weight workouts in the afternoon when I get home. Not that you have to do that, but it is a workout that lends itself to that kind of thing well.

Ultimately the best workout for you is the one you can stick with. But if you have seen the infomercials of Insanity or Asylum and they look appealing but intimidating to you, this is definitely something to consider as it will help you build up to those harder programs. And if lack of time is your big excuse for not working out, then this pretty much removes that completely.

Product Review: Samsung BD-FM57C Blu-Ray Player with Wi-Fi Streaming and HDMI Cable

 

I bought this as a new primary blu ray player since the Vizio player I was using is no longer doing firmware upgrades. I do not use the apps, but they are quite limited. Netflix, Pandora, and a couple others. Just as a player, however, it is fast loading for both DVDs and Blu Rays.

The initial firmware update that I had to do after set up (which is very quick and easy) took somewhere between 5-10 min total from download to install. I have played a range of older and newer blu rays on it, and I have no complaints. The blu ray discs that my Vizio player could not play, do just fine on this one. I have had no audio or video playback problems with the unit at all. The price on Amazon is a little high, so you may want to price shop, but overall I am very much satisfied with the purchase.

Product Review: Heavy Duty Metal Wall Brackets

 

I got these to help stabilize very large floating shelves. The townhouse I live in has horrible wall studs, so anything that needs to be supported must have drywall anchors. The problem with the set of shelves I got was that they were so large that even with very long screws and using drywall anchors on the frame that attaches to the wall and holds the shelves themselves, the shelves still would fall when something even moderately heavy was put on them.

These are very heavy-duty and come with two sets of screws. Longer ones to go in the wall, and shorter ones to attach to the underside of a shelf, should you want to. The only drawback is that they are sold only in a pack of four and do not come with drywall anchors. So if you have a situation like mine where you need anchors (and these are very heavy so chances are you will need them) you need to buy some if you do not have any on hand. Once you get them up, however, they are very sturdy. I definitely recommend them.

Product Review: Marilyn Monroe 2018 Wall Calendar

 

This calendar has a  great selection of black-and-white pics of Marilyn Monroe (there are no color pics in this one). What I liked about the selection of pictures is that there are not really any of the well-known, more iconic pictures of Marilyn in this calendar, so they are not pictures that most people have seen hundreds of times. And, the pictures that are included are all very gorgeous shots of her so it really does not matter if they are lesser-known.

Book Review: My Heart is a Chainsaw

 

My Heart is a Chainsaw is a novel written by Stephen Graham Jones and published in 2021. The book is set in a lake town in Idaho called Proofrock, with a story centered around a character named Jade Daniels. Jade basically sees life through the lens of every horror movie ever created and compares all of her life experiences to her favorite horror movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th. 

Most of the book deals with the development of the character Jade. The book starts out with a mysterious murder on the lake. Then, about 2/3 of the novel is just about Jade's life, dealing with finishing High School, dealing with her abusive father, and avoiding most people. Toward the end of the book, it basically becomes a slasher/horror story as the plot circles back to the murder at the beginning of the book and reveals many more.

The hardcover version of the book is what I consider a moderately long book at just over 400 pages. My only criticism is that the story gets very slow in the middle. I think that the character of Jade could have been built up and developed the same amount in fewer pages. Had the climax of the book come a little sooner, I do not think that anything from the story would have been lost, or the quality of the book compromised. That said, once you do hit the climax of the story it is very good and very entertaining. It is definitely worth the time to read it. 

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 47

Day 47 was the lower back routine in XB and the total body tempo workout in 645.

I really like that lower back routine (which is why I have been doing it so much), because it really works what is probably the tightest part of my body, even moreso than my hamstrings. And, I always feel better after doing it.

The total body tempo workout again repeats the week five exercises, with the idea of making them harder. The workout goes at a very quick pace, so you are getting in some cardio as you do the workout too. I was definitely gassed by the time I was finished with it. 

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 46

Day 46 was upper body strength in 645 and lower body flexibility in XB.

Again, I really did not get any closer to doing a split on either side in XB, but I was able to get a little deeper into the stretches.

The 645 workout again used the same moves as we did in week 5, just making them more intense by increasing the amount of weight and decreasing the number of reps. The workout again mainly works the shoulders, but you do some triceps kickbacks (as the EMOM block) and you also do some core work. Amoila does a good job explaining why he works on the smaller, non-glamour muscles so much in the program as opposed to doing a bunch of bicep curls and bench presses. Basically, he does so to fix imbalances that will make doing those other exercises easier and improve your ability to function outside of the gym.

Product Review: Re-Fuel Power Bank

 

I purchased this a couple years ago, and use it for when my phone is low on power and I do not have access to a plug. Most recently I used it while driving with my phone in GPS mode (my car outlets are spotty on their ability to charge my phone when using the GPS). It took it from empty to about 50% charge after driving for about an hour to my destination and completely depleted the power bank. Since this is an older model the more recent versions of this probably will work better, but if you can get this at a good price, it charges quickly and does what it is supposed to do.

Product Review: Sensi ST55 Programmable Thermostat

 

I got this back in 2017 to replace my non-programmable thermostat. The installation was very easy, just download the Sensi app onto your smartphone (or you can print off the instructions from their website if you do not have a smartphone). If you use the app there is a selection to install and configure a new thermostat (for the DIYers) or to just set the thermostat up if you have it professionally installed. I did it myself and it was very easy. The advantage of using the app to install is you can enter the wiring configuration on your old thermostat and it tells you exactly how to label the wires in the new one, and you just connect the wires to the corresponding ports. It is an easy enough install that those who have limited DIY experience when it comes to home maintenance/repairs can install it. As long as your heating/cooling system is relatively modern you should not run into any issues. The thermostat is powered by 2 AA batteries, but you can use the C-wire to hardwire this if you have one.  It is also compatible with the Amazon Echo, although the skill only allows you to turn the temp on the thermostat up or down. It does not let you adjust or set a programmed schedule.

Once installed you can control and/or program a schedule for the thermostat through the app or via the Sensi website. I found it easier to set a schedule through the website than on the app itself. Either of those options seems easier than doing it on the thermostat itself. One thing I really love so far is that with my old thermostat once it reached the set temperature the heat or AC would turn on and off every few minutes, ultimately wasting a lot of money, so I found myself having to set it 5 degrees lower or higher once it reached the temperature I wanted so it was not constantly turning the furnace or AC on and off. With this, once it hits the desired temp, the thermostat turns the heat off and it stays off. Part of that can be attributed to the weather getting warmer (I live in MN which has had a very warm winter overall this year), but it seems to have a much better range that it allows for before turning the furnace back on. Since I am probably 2.5 to 3 months away from having to use the air conditioning, and a few weeks away from being able to not use the heat at all, I will update my review later should the need arise.

I am still using this as of 2023, and it still works fine. If the battery power gets low enough (even if there is still plenty of power left in the batteries) it will lose the Wi-Fi connection. If you replace the batteries it will (most of the time) reconnect on its own without you having to do anything else. Sometimes, however, you will have to go through the steps in the app to get it connected, which is a pain. But, it has to be connected to the Wi-Fi in order to set up or change a heating or cooling schedule in the app. 

Overall I am very satisfied with it, although it is very early on. The installation could not have been easier, and as long as it does not die quickly it seems like it is a very good, less expensive alternative to some of the other WiFi-enabled thermostats out there.

Product Review: Fitbit Alta

 

This is an older model Fitbit and did not have all the bells and whistles of the higher-end models (especially the newer models), but it does the step and sleep tracking. You can also track food through the Fitbit app, or pair it with an app like My Fitness Pal to log your meals (which is what I do). It can also detect when you are doing a workout on an elliptical or something comparable. It has notifications you can set for inactivity alerts or when you reach your daily step goal. 

The display is turned off normally to save battery power, but you can turn it on by either tapping the fact of it twice or just turning your wrist. My only complaints are that the display turns off after a couple seconds, and the fasteners on the strap are a pain to close. It would be nice if they gave it a little longer on time for the display and a normal watch-like band. And, it does not use a regular USB-C charger. It has a charger with a clamp-like end that clips on to the back of the device. Of course, if you lose the charger you have to get a new one and you will have a non-functional device until you do. Overall, however, I am very satisfied with it.

Product Review: Epson Perfection V19 Color Photo & Document Scanner

 

I mostly used this to scan documents to upload when I needed to turn in my homework when I was in school. When I initially set it up, it was a fairly easy install, even on an outdated desktop computer (that is running Windows 10). I would not call that experience true plug-and-play, which would very likely be on a newer machine, but I was able to get it set up. You can either scan by first opening the Epson scan application on your computer or pushing one of the buttons on the front. I use the PDF button which automatically opens the app and scans to a pdf file. It scans documents very fast (around 30 sec give or take) and they come out very well. I have not tried scanning pictures or anything like that at this point, so I am not sure what the quality of those is.

It is much lighter and more compact than old-school flatbed scanners. It also has a built-in stand that you can flip down which allows you to have it sit on its side so it is taking up less desk/table space. It does not have a power cord, just powers itself through a USB connection to your computer. In all, it does what I need it to do so far, and I have not had any issues with it after getting it set up.

Product Review: Amazon Echo (1st Generation)

 

I have one of these (which I ordered from another site that was offering them at a lower cost at the time) and one echo dot. I keep this one in my bedroom and mainly use it to play music since it has a better speaker than the Dot. It is not high-end Bose quality, but much better in quality than old-school low-end computer speakers, and some Bluetooth speakers.

This is (in my opinion) very handy, and has more and more functionality being added all the time. The Echo can do anything from playing music from Pandora, iHeart, Amazon music, etc, to updating a grocery list, turning lights on and off, ordering a pizza, accessing Wikipedia, getting weather and traffic updates, etc.

I see them as being as useful as you want them to be. Some of the skills that can be enabled are pretty useless or just for fun, but others like the alert my buddy app (which can alert a list of people if you need help, which can be great for seniors) can be very useful. I have found that it responds to and understands commands most of the time very well. It mainly only has problems when there is background noise like from a TV. Although it occasionally understands a question but does not know the answer. You can give it feedback through the app which you have to download to a phone or tablet to get it set up, by telling it whether the unit did what you wanted next to what it heard.

The setup is very easy, just plug it in, connect it to wifi via the app, and then read off a list of 25 commands so it can configure to your voice. It is definitely not something that everyone will find useful or see as a must-have, but if you have seen the commercials or looked into it and are intrigued by at least some of the things it can do then I definitely think it (especially at the reduced holiday price) is worth the expense. Even if you are looking for a reasonably priced Bluetooth speaker this will give you that functionality and a lot more.

Product Review: Kasa Smart (HS100 KIT) Plug 2-Pack

 

I bought a pair of these along with the Echo (not through Amazon). I found them to be fairly easy to set up. You do have to download an app to your phone or tablet and verify your email address when you register through the app. After that, it is a matter of plugging them in and walking through the steps on the app. Depending on your wireless connection, it may take a couple tries, but if you are in any way tech-savvy, it should take no more than about 10-15 min.

Once it is set up you can turn them on and off just by pressing an icon on the app or telling the Echo to do it if you have one. You can even schedule the lights to turn on and off at specific times, or set a timer to turn them off (helpful if you have a bedroom lamp plugged into it and you want to use it almost as a sleep timer). I am very happy with the purchase and will probably get more. My only gripe about it is it takes up a lot of room pm the outlet and makes it hard to plug anything else into the second plug of an outlet that the unit is not plugged into. That aside, they work great and I would highly recommend them.

Product Review: Polar A300 Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Tracker

 

I received this as a gift last Christmas back in 2015. I have been mostly satisfied with it, aside from a couple of issues I will highlight below.

Pros:

I find that the battery life lasts a long time, I can go about a week and a half (or more) of workouts every day when it is connected to the heart rate monitor strap, plus the general use before the battery gets low enough to recharge it.

The menus and setup are very easy and user-friendly. If you have ever had a prior version of a polar heart rate monitor, then you should have no problems getting this configured.

Some of the setup, like the alarm (which causes the unit to vibrate on your wrist as opposed to beeping) can be set up through the watch or the polar flow app on your phone or tablet.

When the device connects to the polar flow app (see below) it is very useful to see your progress.

The watch band can be replaced easily. I have tossed many heart rate monitors simply because the band broke and it was easier to get a new one than have the band fixed. Now the unit itself pops out of the band, and you can get a replacement band should you need one and not have to replace the entire thing.

+++Update+++ The watch band that came with it originally finally broke in January 2018, after pretty much daily workouts from the time I purchased it.

It has an inactivity warning which causes the unit to vibrate if you have been sitting for too long (usually around an hour of being inactive), telling you to get up and move around.

It can pair with the polar balance scale to easily track your weight.

Cons:

It does not have a removable battery in the watch itself, so once it loses its ability to retain a charge then you presumably have to send it to Polar or take it to some authorized Polar retailer to have it replaced. It is not as easy as unscrewing the back and replacing a 2025 or 2032 battery.

The watch and the app (at least on my phone) do not always connect. When I Samsung Galaxy Core Prime, I constantly had to unpair the watch and phone and re-pair them to get the Bluetooth connection to work so the data syncs with my phone. I have not, aside from one time after downloading a firmware update, had an issue with syncing data to my desktop computer (when the watch unit accurately captures the data) via the USB cable the unit plugs into in order to charge. I ended up doing a factory reset (which did lose all my data up to that point) and then it worked okay again. I have updated the firmware since then and have not had the issue with it not syncing via the cable, but the issue pairing it with my phone continues to this day and is the reason I took a star off. I should note that I have never had a problem pairing it with the polar balance scale. It takes a few seconds to make the connection via Bluetooth but has never failed to pair with it.

+++Update+++ I have since bought an iPhone, and have much fewer issues with the syncing than I had with the Android phone. There are times when the watch does not connect to the app, but I just have to restart the process to get them to connect. I have not had to unpair and re-pair the watch and phone ever.

The sleep tracker is spotty. Most days it will work, but there are other days where even when it captures the other data just fine, it will have no data for the sleep monitor.

This is a fairly good, reasonably priced heart rate monitor. It does not have all the bells and whistles that some of runners or triathletes will want, like GPS, but you are not paying for that. If it were more consistent with the pairing with the phone app and never had issues syncing data I would not hesitate to give it 5 stars, but there are enough glitches like that I could not give it 5 stars. Overall, however, even despite the cons it does have I am satisfied with it.

Book Review: Star Wars: Lords of the Sith

 

This is one of the first, in time and chronology canon novels (aside from the existing novelizations of the six movies) to be released under the Disney helm post-purchase of the rights to Star Wars. It is set 8 years after the events of Revenge of The Sith, with Vader installed as the Emperor's right hand/weapon. The Emperor himself is still hiding the fact that he is a Sith Lord from the masses, playing a public role of a weak old man who is just a politician. The Jedi are essentially gone (with Obi-Wan and Yoda in hiding) and it seems the galaxy is beginning to forget about them. Vader is known by reputation as having powers most do not understand, and it is a world where very few know of his true identity as Anakin Skywalker.

The book also focuses on the beginnings of what would become the Rebellion, set around the planet Ryleth and Twi'lek freedom fighters led by Cham Syndulla who was a character in the Clone Wars television series. The organization who have a local imperial in their pocket learns that Vader and the Emperor are going to be coming to the planet with the Senator for the planet. They see an opportunity to take out the head of the empire and the local Moff and hatch a plot to bring down their Star Destroyer. I will not spoil the rest of the plot although everyone knows that Vader and the Emperor survive, but the story of how is really well done and suspenseful.

To me, the best part of the story is the focus on Vader and the Emperor's relationship, and what we get of Vader's state of mind. He has lost everything he loves, and is fueled by rage, and does not care for anyone besides his master, whom he is already considering overthrowing. We learn that he is still haunted by the memories of his past life as Anakin, and uses those to enable his anger and make himself more powerful. We also get a reminder of just how powerful Palpatine is when he wants to be and a sequence where he and Vader take out an entire colony of predatory insect-like creatures native to the planet. It does a lot to set up the characters we eventually see in the original trilogy.

While I do not think the book is perfect, I think it is well done for what it was. I would have liked it to be a novel that gave more post-prequel trilogy check-in on all the major characters. Even just cameos for Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa raising Leia would have been a nice touch. Those novels may, of course, come down the line, but given what the focus of this book was, it was done well. I would definitely recommend it to get more of the canon storyline.

Book Review: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization

 

This is, probably the best novelization of any of the Star Wars films. While Episode III is probably considered the strongest of the prequels, given how much they were despised, it is saying something to say the book turned out great. It is far superior to the movie, mainly because the author was able to flesh out the story by adding scenes and changing some of the weaker dialogue from the screenplay. Although some of the movie's limitations are still present, it does clean up a lot of the problems.

Ultimately the story is how Palpatine/Sidious has been manipulating events from the beginning, using the Clone Wars to turn the republic into an empire, with him at the helm. There is a great scene between Palpatine and Dooku, just before the rescue, that really crystallizes that whole theme. The first third of the book, in fact, tells the events of the rescue, while also reintroducing the Anakin and Obi-Wan characters and how they became heroes during the Clone Wars. Of course, everything sets up for Sidious turning Anakin, which is done in a much slower manner in the novel than it was in the movie, which made it much more believable and made Anakin seem much less like an easily duped rube, which is what he ended up looking like in the movie where he was basically turned in two or three scenes. By telling the story of the Palpatine-Anakin friendship that evolved during the Clone Wars, it made things much more believable. Another aspect I really liked was the author almost splitting Palpatine and Sidious into two separate entities, with Sidious being an all-powerful shadow that could defeat any Jedi.

The book, while longer (about 420 pages) reads relatively fast. It is pretty easy to finish in a couple days if you are a fast reader and how many breaks you take. Even if you were not a huge fan of the movie, it is still worth reading if you are a fan of the novels, as it is one of the better ones both in the canon and expanded universe sets.

Book Review: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Novelization

 

The novelization of Episode I, while it does suffer from some of the same issues that the movie did (Jar Jar, 9-year-old Anakin's dialogue, etc) it was able to flesh out more things and set up the characters a bit more, and not drag out some of the political story that the movie seemed to focus on. This novel set out a little bit of the Sith backstory, bringing Darth Bane into the canon as instituting the rule of two. However, the brief summary of Bane does diverge quite a bit from the story told in the non-cannon trilogy of novels. Here Bane was said to be more on the sidelines of the Sith destruction as opposed to orchestrating it, and taking a male apprentice when he was old. Not that it was a big part of the book or the overall story, but it was nice to include. The larger inclusion that worked very well in the book for the overall story was introducing Anakin long before Qui Gon and Padme ran into him in the shop. He is introduced during a podrace that occurs before the one we see in the movie, and more of his skill and caring for others is fleshed out. In fact, there is an interaction with a Tuskin Raider which contrasts well with his actions in Episode II. It also helps that the readers get to know Anakin's feelings for Padme and to an extent her feeling for him through dialogue not in the movie as well as the thoughts of the characters.

I do think the political subterfuge story works much better in the book than it did in the movie. The author was able to cover it enough without going into a ton of detail and focused more on the various character relationships. The book gives more detail on the Qui Gon-Obi Wan relationship than the movie did, and even though Jar Jar was still annoying in the novel, he did seem to be at least a bit less useless than he was in the movie (although not much). Darth Maul was still very underutilized in the book as he was in the movie, with his only real significant appearance being the battle at the end (which was altered a bit from the version that was shown in the movie).

Ultimately your feelings toward the book will largely depend on what you thought of the movie. If you loved the movie, you will likely love the book. If you hated the movie, while you may not hate the book as much, it is not so different that you are likely to love the book. And if you are somewhere in between, then you will find good and bad in the story. It is a fairly quick read and can easily be finished in a day or two if you are a fairly fast reader.

Book Review: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Novelization

 

As was the case with the Episode I novelization, this ends up being much better than the movie. While there are still elements of Lucas' screenplay in the novel, and we all have opinions as to the quality of that, the book is able to flesh out and expand upon things that the movie either just glossed over or skipped altogether. The first few chapters fill in the decade-long gap (somewhat) between Episodes I and II. Then it starts getting into the events that start off the movie. There is much more about how the relationship between Padme and Anakin develops and her conflicted feelings for him. We also get much more of the Shimi Skywalker/Laars family storyline that only gets a few minutes of screen time in the movie. And Anakin's destruction of the Tusken Raider camp is detailed a lot more.

Certainly, some of the issues with the movie are still present in the book. Anakin still comes off at times as just a whiny, bratty teenager. The author even gives him a line in the book that he is not whining when he clearly was. Given that much of what people disliked about the movie is that Lucas wrote Anakin as a whiny brat, it was a pretty funny line. There is also a lot more detail about the separatist movement, and how the Sith are manipulating everything behind the scenes, as well as more detail about Jango and Boba Fett. The only thing it does not really do is flesh out how Sidious ended up taking on Dooku as an apprentice.

Ultimately it does what a good novelization should. It tells the story from the movie but is also made it's own by adding detail that the movie could not because of time restraints. If you hated the movie outright, then chances are you are not going to like the book. If you liked or even were lukewarm to the movie, chances are you will like the book as well, maybe even a bit more than the movie. It is certainly not perfect, given that the source material it was created from was not (in my opinion anyway), but it is enjoyable nonetheless. And, It is a fairly easy read, especially if you are a fast reader.

Book Review: Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

 

This is another novel fleshing out the story just prior to the events of The Phantom Menace. One of the Nemoidians is willing to sell (to the highest bidder) information that the Sith still exists. Palpatine/Sidious tasks Darth Maul with tracking him down and killing him, and anyone else he may have told, so the Jedi do not discover the existence of the Sith before their plans can be set into motion. It then becomes a cat-and-mouse chase novel between Maul, a Jedi Padawan on assignment to become a full Jedi knight, and an information broker who is no fan of the Jedi, but knows enough to know the Sith coming back would not be a good thing, so helps in trying to get the information to the Jedi. Most people who are reading the book already know the story that plays out in the movies, so while you can guess how this story is going to turn out, it gets there in a very satisfying way.

Most of the main characters from the prequels are not in the book, although Mace Windu, Qui Gon, and Obi-Wan Kenobi do make an appearance. Palpatine is in the book as well, but more in the background. It is very much like many of the ancillary novels in terms of pacing, but not as bogged down with the political maneuvering that Cloak of Deception was. It is, of course, relegated to the legends (non-canon) novels post-Disney buy out to the rights to Star Wars, but given when it was set that is not likely going to be much of an issue.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 3

 

This is where Jason's statistics series really gets into the meat of a statistics course. The first two volumes and his old course were really going through the basics of the material. This one covers The Central Limit Theorem and Confidence Intervals, and how to use the various concepts to estimate population means both for large and small samples. As was the case with the previous sets he does not derive any of the formulas or use calculus to solve the problems. He explains how to use the various tables in the book, gives a lot of example problems, and explains how to interpret the problems so you know what is being asked. When it comes down to it, the math in statistics is relatively trivial (just some basic algebra at most) but realizing what the problem is asking and the approach to solving the problem is where the difficulty lies. Jason does a good job of cutting through that.

Like is the case for most of his newer sets, he spends one chapter (sometimes two) introducing a concept and giving some background, then subsequent chapters showing example problems on the concept. This keeps the chapters relatively short (anywhere from 5 to 35 minutes), and has a really good flow to the DVD. Also like the other DVD sets, he is not touching on everything from class (especially in multi-set series like this) so you cannot assume just because you have this you can skip class. But if you use it as intended, as a supplement, this will make your life much easier when you are doing homework or taking quizzes or exams.

There are three other sets to this series that Amazon does not have. Volume 4 finishes confidence intervals and introduces hypothesis testing. Volumes 5 and 6 are devoted entirely to hypothesis testing and variations of it. I am not sure at this point if that will be the end of the series, but given that hypothesis testing is a very large part of any statistics class you will probably want to check those out too.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 2

 

This is set 2 in, as of this writing, a 6-volume set of mastering statistics volumes Jason has put out, with possibly more to come down the line. It is still covering basic material, and expanding on the core concepts that were introduced in the first volume, and there is still some overlap with the older set Jason put out years ago,  The Probability and Statistics Tutor - 10 Hour Course - 3 DVD Set - Learn By Examples! .

He starts out discussing discrete and continuous probability distribution, then basically spends the rest of the sections on Normal Probability Distribution (bell curves), finding the area under the bell curves using z-values and the tables in the back of most books. It should be noted that while he does mention that finding the area can be done with calculus and doing integration, he left that out and just focused on using the tables in the book, how to interpret the information in the problems, and look them up in the table. If you are taking a statistics class in the math curriculum that may be okay, but if you are taking something like an engineering data analysis class you will probably have to do the integration. But the integrals will end up being relatively basic and easily done with a graphing calculator so it should not cause most people in that situation a lot of problems.

If you have ever seen Jason's material, either because you own another set, or because you have seen sample videos on his site or on Youtube, it follows much the same format as his more recent DVDs. He introduces a concept in one or two lecture sections, then he does problems. Sometimes he does a couple problems in one chapter of the DVD, and sometimes just one. So overall the chapters are shorter, but he still packs a lot of information into the entire disc set. This is still the material that you will see early on in any statistics course, and would probably not cover all the material that you would get in a first exam. It probably translates to the material in the first 2 to 3 weeks of a course. Luckily the later volumes cover material like confidence intervals and hypothesis testing which make up the bulk of what any of the courses will cover.

I personally find that Jason's teaching style meshes with my learning style a lot. He explains things in a way that I find very easy to follow and I have used his DVD sets from algebra through advanced calculus and engineering. While none of his sets cover everything you will need to learn in the classes, and not even all the material you will likely be tested on, he goes through the big, main concepts that you have to know in order to be able to handle any other material. So while this is not a substitute for going to class or reading the book and doing homework, it will help you understand the material much more, so what is in the book is not so hard to follow, and if you have a teacher that is not so great, can make up for what you may not understand from him or her. They have been a great tool for me, and I cannot recommend them more if you are a visual and/or auditory learner.

Study Aid Review: Mastering Statistics Volume 1

 

I own most of Jason's DVD sets (aside from the very basic math sets and his Java programming sets). Some I have purchased through Amazon, and some through his website directly. I am back in school to get an electrical engineering degree. Next fall I have to take data analysis, which is basically applied statistics, with a teacher who does not have a great reputation, so I purchased all the volumes in this set, plus his original probability and statistics tutor  The Probability and Statistics Tutor - 10 Hour Course - 3 DVD Set - Learn By Examples! , to get the basics down before I take the class.

This volume covers the basics/core concepts of statistics. There is a little bit of overlap with his older DVD set, because while that one focused on probability some of the principles from statistics are used in probability and vice versa. So things like histograms, mean and standard deviation and variance will all be refresher concepts if you have the old set. But he does get into a lot of new material, some are definitions like Sample and Population which he did not really get into before, the various types of plots and charts, and things like Quartiles and the various theorems that are applicable only to statistics. So it is definitely not a double dip if you have the older set.

Like all his other DVD sets, Jason covers everything in a step-by-step manner. The new layout for his DVDs has been to introduce the concept in one section and then do example problems in the subsequent section(s) on that topic to keep the individual sections of the DVD shorter. In his older sets it was not uncommon to have hour-plus long sections, which could get to be a bit much if you attempted to watch the entire thing at once. In this set the longest overall section was right under a half hour. He rarely, if ever skips any steps in the problems he works through (I don't think he ever skipped any in this set), and even when he does he warns you ahead of time.

Learning style is different for everyone, but I find the way he explains concepts be it in math, physics, chemistry or engineering are very easy to follow, and much better than some of the free material that you can find out there. It is basically a video lecture though, not unlike sitting in a class lecture, but generally more condensed and focused on problems more than it is on the overall theory. So if it is a fit for your learning style, and you are taking any kind of statistics class, I would highly recommend this.

Study Aid Review: The Probability and Statistics Tutor

 

Probability and statistics can be very easy or extremely frustrating depending on how you are taught. I can be the bane of any college algebra student if your class tacks a few weeks of it onto the end of class because it looks like nothing else that was studied the entire semester, and if you have a teacher that is not great at explaining it, it can seem like complete nonsense. It was certainly the hardest part of my college algebra class, and really the only material I never could grasp, so much so that I answered one of the bonus questions on my final "I don't care".

Jason however does a great job breaking the problems down and making sense out of them. Far better than any of the books do, and better than my teacher did. As is his style, he goes through a ton of examples, breaks down what each question is asking for, and how to interpret them so you can easily spot the difference between a permutation and combination, and when using a particular solution method is needed versus another one. Given that the math in many of the problems is extremely easy, at least at the level of the kind of problems encountered in this set (he has since released several more volumes under the title The Statistics Tutor) which tackle more complex problems than this set has, even in the more advanced problems knowing the kind of question it is and the process used to work through it is 95% of the complexity.

I have not taken a regular statistics class so I am not sure how much of that material this covers. I do know it will show you how to do most, if not all, of the problem types you would see in a college algebra class that tacks probability onto the very end of the semester. I will be taking an engineering data analysis class (which is basically just applied statistics) this fall, with a teacher that does not have a great reputation, so I am using this and Jason's other statistics sets to get the basics of the material down. I do however have enough experience with Jason's other DVD sets to know he never covers every topic that a class will expose you to, but goes through the big topics you are most likely to see on exams and quizzes. So while it is not a substitute for going to class, it will give you a good handle on the material and I highly recommend it.

I have used many of Jason's DVD sets. I have been going back to school for an electrical engineering degree. I have used, and reviewed almost all of Jason's courses, from basic algebra, to the advanced engineering material. You have to know whether a DVD will fit your learning style. He basically gives example heavy lectures. He rarely works through any kind of proof material, just focusing on problems, but at the end of the day, it is still him standing in front of a whiteboard doing problems. So if you are a visual and audio learner, it is great. He works through everything step by step and explains everything he is doing for every problem. He rarely ever skips steps and when he does it is only because it is the same thing he has shown in multiple problems up to that point and makes a point to at least tell you what steps he is skipping so you are not lost, unlike a lot of times when books skip them.