Product Review: Tomcat Kill & Contain Mouse Traps (2-pack)

 

Back before my townhouse was renovated in 2020 I had a family of mice in the walls, and they would occasionally get into the living areas. I used these with peanut butter as the bait and placed them on the side of the refrigerator. I caught a mouse in each one the first night, and neither escaped nor was left alive. I got a couple more and was able to get rid of all of the mice and have not had any in the house since (thanks to sealing up holes and cracks in the walls). These are very preferable to the open traps or the sticky kind. I would definitely recommend them.

Book Review: Assignment Oswald

 

Assignment Oswald is mostly a first-hand telling of the events surrounding the assassination as the author, James Hosty experienced them. It is written in an almost journal-like tone with him referencing time and dates for everything. The major points/themes in the book are:

1. The note that so many have made so much of (especially Oliver Stone in JFK) amounted to Oswald being mad that Hosty had interviewed Marina when they ended up in Dallas. Oswald basically told Hosty to leave them alone and if he did not Oswald would take action against the FBI. After Kennedy was killed and Oswald was arrested Hosty's boss told him to get rid of the note (for fear of incurring Hoover's wrath) and Hosty stupidly (which he admits) destroyed it. Of course, it eventually was uncovered, Hoover did find out about it, and Hosty was pretty much hung out to dry by the FBI.

2. Hosty was very critical of Hoover, the FBI in general, the Secret Service, Dallas Police, the Warren Commission, and the House Committee on Assassinations (who he felt were wasting their time trying to find a mob connection to the Assassination) and the CIA. At various points in the book, he skewers every one of them.

3. Hosty believed that Oswald acted alone in the assassination but believes that the Cubans and/or Russians either knew and possibly tacitly approved of Oswald's intention to kill Kennedy. This is mainly centered around the fact that when Oswald, after being given the run around in Mexico City while trying to get a travel visa to Cuba to get back into Russia, yelled that he was going to kill Kennedy, and only then got to meet with a KGB agent who was a part of the KGB group that took part in assassinations. Hosty then speculates based on circumstantial evidence that there may have been an agreement along the lines of an "if you can kill Kennedy and get back to Mexico City we will let you back into Russia" between the Soviets and Oswald. He further claims that the CIA knew this, never informed the FBI (claiming he did not know when he was investigating the Oswalds before the Assassination and never learned of it until the late 60s or early 70s), and that the Warren Commission knew of the evidence but did not pursue it and/or whitewashed (on the Orders of the White House) it in order to avoid a war that could have ended up in nuclear Armageddon.

The book is definitely an interesting read, although somewhat dry in parts and it is not likely to change anyone's mind about what happened and whether Oswald acted alone. For his part, Hosty lays out the evidence for why he believed Oswald was the lone assassin and provides some evidence for the Cuba/Russia link. Given that it is almost impossible to follow up on that thread after all these years, they will likely remain forever unverifiable unless Castro decides to fess up or there is something in the records that have yet to be unsealed which admits that connection was covered up. He staunchly defends himself against any accusation that he knew of Oswald's plan, assisted him in any way, or had any prior information that Oswald was capable of carrying out the assassination. No matter what side of the conspiracy fence you sit on, I think the book is worth reading.

Textbook Review: Modern Control Systems

 

This book is very mixed. It does some things well and some things very badly. What it does well is give a lot of real-world examples and great explanations of the theory/concepts and definitions. What it does horribly however is actually teach you how to do the problems. The approach the authors took to writing this would be much better for a masters level control systems class where you presumably already know the basics and are more interested in designing systems than you are trying to figure out how to actually work through the problems by hand. The only solutions it gives are for the multiple choice problems (which are mostly testing whether you know the concepts). There are no solutions for the problems you actually have to work out. The examples in the text itself are basic to intermediate, but provide little to no help for how to get through the harder exercises. They also have mistakes and the examples sometimes omit very critical steps in showing the solutions to the examples. And it does not just steps like taking a derivative or doing integration, which by the time you get to the point in an undergrad degree when you are taking control systems you will use MATLAB, Wolfram, or your calculator to do anyway, but actually omitting steps in setting the problems up.

Like most of the other reviewers, I think it is way too dense to be of much help in an introductory undergraduate class. The authors seemed more concerned about showing how much they know about control systems than they do actually teaching students how to do the work. If they took about half of the explanatory material out and put in more useful examples then it would be a much better book. Given that this thing is the size of an old-school phone book, it should be much more helpful than it is. If you have a good teacher you can get around some of this book's limitations. If not you will probably need to look on YouTube or do some Google searching to figure out how to do problems.

I debated between giving this two or three stars. Honestly, I see it as a 2.5 overall. If you are in an undergrad class just learning the material it is definitely closer to two stars. Once you actually understand the topic though, and are not as concerned with how to do the problems by hand, then I could see this book being more useful.

Product Review: Helping Hands Soldering Station

 

This is a good inexpensive soldering station and is definitely worth the price. The soldering iron is fine but would have been better with an assortment of tips and being able to adjust the temp. The helping hand station is very helpful to identify resistor values by bands or read the value of capacitors if you do not have great eyesight. It is also very useful if you ever have to solder wires together.

Product Review: CAP Barbell Flat/Incline/Decline Bench

 

This is a very nice bench for beginning lifters. It is lighter weight (just under 30 lbs) so it is not as heavy as those you would see in a gym (which are north of 50 pounds or so). Two people can get it together probably in under 30 min. I did it by myself and was around an hour. You will at least need two adjustable wrenches to tighten down all the bolts. All the bolts and washers are labeled. The diagrams and descriptions in the instructions give you a good idea of how to assemble it. There is a weight limit (250 lbs + 100 lbs worth of dumbbell weight). So for very experienced lifters, it will probably be too flimsy, but if you are using dumbbells in the 10-30 lb range mostly, you will be fine.

The great thing is the back goes from a full upright position to a decline so you can do decline flys and decline presses as well as decline crunches. The only thing I would be leery of using it for is doing step-ups. You are better off using a plyo box or something like that. For everything else you can use a bench for, it will work fine, especially for those who are beginner to intermediate lifters.

Workout Kit/Program Review: P90 Base Kit

 

This is a program designed to get you ready for the more intense workouts that Beachbody offers. It is mostly tailored to get you ready for the P90x series, but it could, for some people be a lead-up to a program like Insanity, if you get to the point where you can really push yourself in the cardio workouts. It is great for absolute beginners or for people who have fallen too far out of shape to jump right back into a higher-intensity workout.

Like the P90X workouts, this is a three-phase program. A, B, and C. The great part about this program is that all the workouts for one phase are on a single disc, so you do not have to keep swapping discs in and out, aside from the Saturday Special disc, which is the last workout of the week. Each phase has a resistance workout (Sculpt A, B, and C), a Cardio workout (Sweat A, B, and C), and an Ab ripper workout. In every workout there is a low impact modifier that you can follow if you are a true beginner or very out of shape, and a higher impact/intensity modifier that you can follow if you are in great shape, then one person doing the "regular" workout.

One good thing about this program is that if you hate all the pull-ups in P90x, this one has no pull-ups at all. Everyone, including the higher intensity modifier, uses bands for the pull-up type moves. The low-impact modifier uses bands for every non-pushup resistance move, whereas the others use free weights. There is no stretch or yoga DVD with this set (although depending on where you get it, it may come with the P90X3 Dynamix workout which is kind of a moving stretch workout, but there are some yoga moves incorporated into the program itself. The workouts in the first month are all very short, under 30 min including the cool-down. The ab ripper program in the first month is about 8 minutes.

In the second month, the workout times increase to just over 30 minutes each including the cool down. The ab ripper program in the second month adds 5 more moves to the original 10 from month 1, so you are doing the same moves as in Ab Ripper A, with just a few more added in. In month three the workouts are about 45 minutes including cool down. The Ab Ripper program adds a couple more moves on the end so it ends up being just under 15 minutes.

You have the option of following a strength program which basically means doing the Sculpt workouts 3 times a week, or a more cardio-based program where you to the Sweat workouts 3 times a week. The final Saturday special workout is a more cardio-based program that works in some flexibility and ab work as well. In the resistance programs, every move set is 16 repetitions, so you will be using lighter bands or weights for the most part. The max amount you would likely need in terms of free weights is 25 lbs if you are very strong, to do some of the bicep and shoulder exercises. My weight range went from about 10 lbs for some of the shoulder exercises, to 25 lbs for the arc presses. Mostly though I stayed in the 10-15lb range and a medium band for most of the band moves and was still able to get a very good workout.

The big con for the program is that it does not stick with the shorter (30 min max) workouts that most of their recent programs have been. But when compared to the length of the original P90X workouts, this is still far under the time commitment required for most of those. It also comes with a pretty easy meal plan guide for those who want to follow the meal plan and not go with their own nutrition plan. Finally, on the Sculpt workouts, every move is shown for about 23-30 seconds before the set starts so you can see proper form both for the modifier and the "regular" version.

All in all, it is a very good program that anyone, of any fitness level can use. It may be a little too easy for those who are ultra-fit, but you can tailor it to some extent. For those who are a beginner and/or out of shape, I would highly recommend it.

Product/Workout Kit Review: T25 Gamma Cycle

 

This is a very good continuation of the T25 workouts. It is designed to be a third cycle after finishing Alpha and Beta, This cycle is more focused on strength training than in the first two cycles. However,  it focuses on muscular endurance (high reps with lighter weights) than it does bulk. For most of the weight training moves there are so many reps that even if you are in great shape and strong you will probably not be able to use more than 15lb dumbbells (which is what Shaun T is using in the workouts).

Like in the Alpha and Beta cycles, this has Tonia doing modified moves, and there is someone using bands for all the resistance exercises. The cardio workout (speed 3.0) does not however have any modified moves in it. Although most of the moves were contained in the other speed workouts so if you have to modify you can. But it is much more of an "insanity light" workout than the others. In fact, if you want to try insanity but cannot do it yet, working your way through the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma cycles of T25 is a good way to do it. Many of the same moves that are done in the insanity workout show up in the Speed 3.0 workout so you get a taste of what that is like.

Like in the other workouts, there is no traditional warm-up. The workout just starts and does kind of ease you in before the harder moves. The cooldown comes after the workout ends, but you have to wait a few moments until after they do all the high fives if you want to do the cooldown. All in all the workouts are very good. I personally think this should be sold with the Alpha and Beta rounds as opposed to separately, but it is different enough from the other rounds I can see why they did it (besides just to make more money). There are some higher-impact moves in this one if you do not modify them, but unlike Insanity, you can adapt almost everything to your skill level if you need to.

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.