Day 23 of CE was the recharge workout again. I have done it in place of the rest days for the entire first month, and am glad I did. It is not quite as good a stretch workout as x-stretch, but it is also about 1/3 of the time. It is definitely more lower-body focused, which is good if you have tight hips and hamstrings. I did not get much sleep last night, so having the non-impact workout was very nice today.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Product/Book/Study Aid Review: Student Solutions Manual for Precalculus: Enhanced with Graphing Utilities 5th Edition
This is a decent solution manual. Of course, unlike the instructor's solution manual, this does not have all the problems in the book worked out. It mostly just works out the odd problems, but it definitely helps you if you get stuck on a problem. It works out enough of the problems that even if you are assigned one that is not worked out, one of the problems that are worked out will likely help you. The textbook this corresponds to is one of the better math textbooks that I had when I was taking classes, but even so, I did have to use this from time to time because the examples in the book were not always helpful for all of the problems we were assigned.
Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Twilight
Twilight is a movie that is adapted from a series of books that are mainly aimed at teens or young adults, setting teenage love drama in the world of vampires and werewolves (although the wolves are only hinted at in this movie). It stars Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, a vampire who is over 200 years old but perpetually stuck as a 17-year old, and Kristen Stewart who plays Bella Swan, a teenager whose parents are divorced, who just moves in with her dad in the Pacific Northwest, and ends up going to school with Edward and his "siblings" played by Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, and Jackson Rathborne. Of course, Bella and Edward fall for each other, and chaos (and sappiness) ensues. Taylor Lautner plays Jacob Black, a member of the local Native Americal tribe who also falls for Bella. His role in this movie is limited but gets more extensive over the course of the series.
The movie is decent to good in some parts and bad in others. Despite having a cast with people who have proven acting chops (including Anna Kendrick, Peter Facinelli, Sarah Clarke (whom fans of the show 24 will recognize), and Billy Burke, it definitely suffers from some of the clunky dialog carried over from the books or made worse by the screenplay. And, the special effects have (at times) a lot to be desired for a big-budget movie. That said Pattinson and Stewart have very good chemistry (they would actually start dating while filming the movie) and did their best with sometimes very limited material to work with. They were both still pretty young when the movie was filmed (especially Stewart) and each has grown into being very good actors beyond what was shown in this film. Another issue with the film is that the ancillary characters truly do feel ancillary. They were always trying to get to the next scene between Edward and Bella and so the other characters (especially the other high schoolers) really did just feel like filler. Kendrick had a couple of good snarky lines, but beyond that, those characters were pretty useless.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great. Especially the cinematography. As I said, some of the special effects left a bit to be desired, especially when the vampires were moving fast (superseded is done a lot better on the Flash TV series), but still I think the movie is worth seeing in the HD format. There are actually a ton of extras, including a commentary track on the film with the director, Pattinson, and Stewart, deleted and extended scenes, music videos, an almost hour-long making-of feature, a feature on the movie at comic-con, the trailers, some promotional material. All in all a good amount for people who like going through extras.
Overall, the movie is good, but not great. Obviously, anything that is adapted from a series of novels that are aimed at teens is going to have a lot of people that love it and a lot of people that hate it. I think that the movie can be enjoyed even if you are not in the target audience if you know what to expect. It is mostly a love story, and one set in high school at that, and while it does have some action and a bit of violence, it is not a gory horror movie. That said, it is worth a look.
The movie is decent to good in some parts and bad in others. Despite having a cast with people who have proven acting chops (including Anna Kendrick, Peter Facinelli, Sarah Clarke (whom fans of the show 24 will recognize), and Billy Burke, it definitely suffers from some of the clunky dialog carried over from the books or made worse by the screenplay. And, the special effects have (at times) a lot to be desired for a big-budget movie. That said Pattinson and Stewart have very good chemistry (they would actually start dating while filming the movie) and did their best with sometimes very limited material to work with. They were both still pretty young when the movie was filmed (especially Stewart) and each has grown into being very good actors beyond what was shown in this film. Another issue with the film is that the ancillary characters truly do feel ancillary. They were always trying to get to the next scene between Edward and Bella and so the other characters (especially the other high schoolers) really did just feel like filler. Kendrick had a couple of good snarky lines, but beyond that, those characters were pretty useless.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great. Especially the cinematography. As I said, some of the special effects left a bit to be desired, especially when the vampires were moving fast (superseded is done a lot better on the Flash TV series), but still I think the movie is worth seeing in the HD format. There are actually a ton of extras, including a commentary track on the film with the director, Pattinson, and Stewart, deleted and extended scenes, music videos, an almost hour-long making-of feature, a feature on the movie at comic-con, the trailers, some promotional material. All in all a good amount for people who like going through extras.
Overall, the movie is good, but not great. Obviously, anything that is adapted from a series of novels that are aimed at teens is going to have a lot of people that love it and a lot of people that hate it. I think that the movie can be enjoyed even if you are not in the target audience if you know what to expect. It is mostly a love story, and one set in high school at that, and while it does have some action and a bit of violence, it is not a gory horror movie. That said, it is worth a look.
Product Review: Neutrogena Rapid Clear Maximum Strength Acne Face Pads
Luckily, I am past the stage in my life of getting frequent acne (and thankfully, I never got it as severely as some, even when I did get it frequently) so I am not sure how well these would work for that. My guess, however, is pretty good. I do have pretty sensitive skin, and these do not irritate much at all (although it does dry out the skin under my eyes a bit). But, when I do get a breakout (usually on my nose or on the back of my head, these get rid of them in a day or two. So, I definitely recommend it.
DVD Review: The Ultimate Physics Tutor
As most are likely aware, physics classes range from very introductory, with little to no math (usually in a college class called something like physics for poets or something like that), then algebra-based/high-school physics, where you use math but the equations are pretty much given to you and the problems are easier, and then calculus-based or high-school AP physics, where the equations are derived using calculus, but the problems are harder. Even in calculus-based physics (which is the one you have to take if you are going into any of the engineering disciplines) you only use calculus on a very limited basis in the problems. I think when I took calc-based physics I had two exam problems that required using calculus and maybe 4-5 homework problems between the two semesters. But, the problems were a lot harder than in the algebra-based physics class (or so my professor told our class).
At any rate, the problems in this, while geared more toward the algebra-based physics level, still helped me get through the first semester of calc-based physics with an A. And, there were actually a couple of problems worked out in this set that was very similar to the "easier" homework problems we were assigned (when our professor occasionally assigned us a level-1 problem). The set covers the major topics from the first semester of physics, which is basically the semester on Newton's laws of motion. It starts out with motion in one dimension, then discusses the equations of motion in one dimension (which you will have to memorize), scalars and vectors, projectile motion, Newton's laws of motion, Newton's Laws with friction, kinetic, and potential energy, impulse and momentum, work, collisions, angular speed, and acceleration, totational motion, tangential speed, and centripetal force, gravitation, torque, and then ends with the physics of liquids.
Like Jason's math sets, it is just him in front of a whiteboard working out problems. He takes you through the process of breaking down problems, writing a picture and creating force diagrams, and then working out the steps. He also shows how he does unit conversion/dimensional analysis (which makes way more sense than reading it from the first chapter of the book) to make sure to get the problem into the correct units before you solve it. He gives enough of the theory to understand the equations but focuses on solving problems. Really the only topic he did not go as deeply as I would have liked is the problems involving static equilibrium. He did have some, but those were the bane of my existence in first semester physics, and I hated Statics class (although my teacher for that was better than my physics teacher, so I understood it a bit more) with a passion.
I definitely recommend getting this set no matter what level of physics you are taking (unless it is a physics class with no math, then this is probably overkill). Jason makes a lot more sense of the material than a lot of professors do (certainly better than mine did), and he walks through each problem step-by-step never assuming the person watching knows more than they do. Really, the only thing he assumes is that you know algebra, which anyone taking a class with this material should know. So, if you are a visual learner, then this will probably be very helpful for you and I highly recommend it.
At any rate, the problems in this, while geared more toward the algebra-based physics level, still helped me get through the first semester of calc-based physics with an A. And, there were actually a couple of problems worked out in this set that was very similar to the "easier" homework problems we were assigned (when our professor occasionally assigned us a level-1 problem). The set covers the major topics from the first semester of physics, which is basically the semester on Newton's laws of motion. It starts out with motion in one dimension, then discusses the equations of motion in one dimension (which you will have to memorize), scalars and vectors, projectile motion, Newton's laws of motion, Newton's Laws with friction, kinetic, and potential energy, impulse and momentum, work, collisions, angular speed, and acceleration, totational motion, tangential speed, and centripetal force, gravitation, torque, and then ends with the physics of liquids.
Like Jason's math sets, it is just him in front of a whiteboard working out problems. He takes you through the process of breaking down problems, writing a picture and creating force diagrams, and then working out the steps. He also shows how he does unit conversion/dimensional analysis (which makes way more sense than reading it from the first chapter of the book) to make sure to get the problem into the correct units before you solve it. He gives enough of the theory to understand the equations but focuses on solving problems. Really the only topic he did not go as deeply as I would have liked is the problems involving static equilibrium. He did have some, but those were the bane of my existence in first semester physics, and I hated Statics class (although my teacher for that was better than my physics teacher, so I understood it a bit more) with a passion.
I definitely recommend getting this set no matter what level of physics you are taking (unless it is a physics class with no math, then this is probably overkill). Jason makes a lot more sense of the material than a lot of professors do (certainly better than mine did), and he walks through each problem step-by-step never assuming the person watching knows more than they do. Really, the only thing he assumes is that you know algebra, which anyone taking a class with this material should know. So, if you are a visual learner, then this will probably be very helpful for you and I highly recommend it.
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