Product Review: Ironclad General Utility Work Gloves

 

I used these to demo part of my townhome for a remodel, including tearing down drywall/sheetrock and pulling up carpet. They were very comfortable, with no tears or punctures, even when handling tack strips and the like. I still use them when doing something around the house and want to protect my hands. I definitely recommend them.

Product Review: Premium Foam Packing Sheets (50 Count)

 

These are foam packing sheets that work much better than using newspaper to keep glass dishes and small fragile items protected when you are packing them up. They have pouches so you can place a bowl or plate inside, then stack them inside a box, so you basically have two layers of foam protecting your dishes. I definitely recommend them.

Book Review: Dune: The Butlerian Jihad (Dune #1)

 

The Butlerian Jihad is a prequel novel to the classic sci-fi novel, Dune, written by Frank Herbert in the 1960s. This book, published in 2002 was written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian, and is co-authored by Kevin J. Anderson. It is the first novel if you read the books in chronological order, and it tells the story of events that were referred to in the original Dune Trilogy of novels.

This book (and the other two books in the trilogy) is set thousands of years before the events in the Dune novel (and movies). At the time, machines had enslaved humans on Earth and many planets that would eventually make up the guild. The machines were a combination of artificially intelligent thinking machines and cyborgs who used to be human but were able to preserve their brains in canisters that they could transfer from one mechanical body to the next. This book details the start of the war between humans and machines that was referenced in Dune and also details the beginnings of the relationship between House Harkonnen and House Atreides.

The hardcover version of the book is a little over 600 pages. That consists of about 612 pages of the actual story and then a character glossary that is about another 20 pages that gives a short explanation of the characters in the book. The story is very good but can be a bit hard to follow at times. The story jumps around from planet to planet, and shifts from the point of view of one character to another. Since there are a ton of characters in the book until you can keep straight who everyone is, it can get confusing. As you get deeper into the book, the story really focuses on just a handful of characters and the story is easier to digest. I have not read the original Dune trilogy yet (as of this writing) as I am reading the books in chronological order. So, I cannot say how this book compares to those written by Frank Herbert, but, it is a very well-written story that blends action, suspense, and drama. If you are a fan of the Dune movies or even just Sci-Fi books, movies, or TV series, this is worth the time to read.

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 60

For day 60 I did the lower body flexibility routine in XB, and the 645 workout was the first upper body strength workout of Phase 3. 

The 645 workout goes at a faster pace, and like the other workouts this week, mixes new moves in with moves that have been in prior workouts (or variations on them). There are some exercises that use body weight only and one at the end in which you basically use the heaviest weight you have available that you can hold for 25 seconds on each side. Again, the focus of the exercises is not on the "show" muscles like the biceps, but on the functional muscles of the shoulders and back. You do get some bicep and tricep work, but that is usually because they are being worked along with the other areas the workout is focusing on.

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 59

Day 59 was the flexibility day. In XB I did the lower back routine, and of course, in 645 it was the flexibility and mobility workout.

The 645 workout had quite a few new stretches mixed in with some that have been in prior workouts. The focus is again on hip, shoulder, and hamstring flexibility. It is not hard, but it definitely builds on the prior versions of the workout and is more challenging than in prior weeks.