Archive for March, 2014

March 2014 Exercise Results

The month of March has concluded and my exercise program is still going strong.

This time around it felt a little bit harder to ride my exercise bike.  I didn’t use it for as many sessions as I probably should have, and some of those sessions were for only 30 minutes instead of the usual 45-minute sessions.

While the exercise bike felt like it wasn’t up to par, the strength training machine has been going great.  I still haven’t fully upgraded to the next level of resistance, but this month I added a third set of exercises.  I also increased my total number of sit-ups for each day of exercise.

March of 2014 exercise results:

Exercise bike totals (cardio):

– 11 sessions; 30 or 45 minutes each

– 450 minutes (7.5 hours)

– 103.4 miles

– 5,187 calories

– furthest distance during a 45-minute bike ride – 10.6 miles

Total Bodyworks 5000 totals (strength):

– 13 sessions; ~ 60 minutes each

Total number of sit-ups:

– 1,760

March of 2014 was a good month of exercising for me.  It wasn’t great, but it was still a good month.  My goal is to kick the exercising up a notch for the month of April.  I might even throw in a little dieting as well to shed some of these extra pounds.

Book Review – George R. R. Martin’s “A Feast for Crows”

Last night I finished reading A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in A Song of Ice and Fire series written by George R. R. Martin.

The events in this story immediately follow the action from A Storm of Swords, the third book in the epic series.

What makes A Feast for Crows different is that the book primarily focuses on only a few of the main characters.  Apparently this book was going to be so long that it was going to be split into two parts.  Instead of splitting it, George R. R. Martin decided to have this book primarily focus on Westeros and the next book, A Dance with Dragons, focus on the Wall and the events across the Narrow Sea.  Most of the events in both books take place during the same time frame.

By this point in the story the War of the Five Kings is basically finished.  While much of Westeros is still dangerous from roving bands of outlaws and a few renegade soldiers, much of the fighting between the armies has finished.  Stannis Baratheon is with his army at the Wall, Jon Snow has been made the Lord Commander at the Wall, and King Tommen Baratheon now has the Iron Throne.  Since the eight-year-old king is so young, his mother, Cersei Lannister, supervises him and rules as the Queen Regent.

Tyrion Lannister was blamed and put on trial for the death of King Joffrey.  Tyrion chose a trial by combat in which his champion, Oberyn Martell of the House Martell in the kingdom of Dorne, had to fight against Ser Gregor Clegane.  Oberyn lost the fight but was able to poison Gregor.  Jaime Lannister arrived in King’s Landing and secretly freed Tyrion from his dungeon cell with the help of Varys.  Before fleeing the city, Tyrion uses the secret passages to find his father, Tywin Lannister, and brutally kills him.

That brings us to the next book, A Feast for Crows.  As it was previously mentioned, this book mainly focuses on Westeros including King’s Landing, Riverlands, the Eyrie, the Iron Islands, and the southern region known as Dorne.  The book briefly includes Arya Stark’s time across the Narrow Sea in Braavos.

SEVEN KINGDOMS – KING’S LANDING:

After the death of Tywin Lannister, Cersei now has complete control of King’s Landing and much of Westeros.  She’s the Queen Regent as her son, King Tommen, is too young to rule the kingdom.  It’s solely her’s to control. Read more…

The Stupidity of Today’s College Athletes

Earlier today an interesting article from the Mail Online (an online newspaper in England, mind you) exposed academic fraud at the University of North Carolina (UNC).

According to the article, a former professor came forward with proof of academic fraud favoring some of the college’s football and basketball players.  It’s part of a scandal involving fake classes for some college athletes.  These “classes” are used to boost the grade-point-average of the “students” so they can remain “academically” eligible to play their sport.

UNC isn’t the first college to have allegedly given academic short-cuts to its college athletes.  Many of today’s top college sport programs are rumored to have fake classes, fake jobs to funnel money to players, or a combination of the two.  Sadly, the academic standards for most of the football and basketball college athletes are so low that it’s an insult to all of the honest students.

The example of academic dishonesty in the article from the Mail Online shows an essay called “Rosa Parks: My Story.”  The essay, written by an unknown student athlete, clocks in at only 146 words, has several grammar errors, and isn’t even close to being properly formatted.  It’s a giant mess crammed into a single paragraph.  Kids in elementary school could have written a better essay.

The sorry excuse for an essay received a grade of an A-.

What makes the paper even worse is that it’s also been plagiarized.  Other people have pointed out that the essay was basically copied straight out of the book .  Is it a coincidence that the book has an age range of “8 and up”? Read more…

Connecticut’s Minimum Wage Increases To $10.10 By 2017

In a media event yesterday, Connecticut‘s governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) signed a bill into law that would increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017.

The state already has a minimum wage of $8.70 per hour.  This bill will increase the minimum wage each year by about forty to fifty cents, bringing it up to $10.10 on January 1, 2017.

This makes Connecticut the first state to meet President Barack Obama’s goal of a minimum wage over $10 per hour in all fifty states.

But is this really the way to go with the war on poverty?  Won’t this just further reduce the number of jobs available and drive more businesses out of the state?

It’s a common thought that simply increasing the minimum wage will put more money into workers’ pockets, and give them a better paycheck at the end of the week.  Those greedy business owners have been holding back, giving the workers a “slave wage,” and now it’s time for them to pay up, right?

I mean, why shouldn’t the business owners simply pay their lower workers more money?

The problem is that it does not work this way in reality.

For starters, minimum wage was never be designed to be a living wage as many proponents claim these days.  It was never designed to support families.  Minimum wage jobs are there for you to establish yourself in the workplace and then move up, through hard work and experience, to the better paying jobs.

So what happens when you simply increase the minimum wage in a move to give low-level employees more money? Read more…

My Spy Birdhouse (See-Through Birdhouse) – A Marketing Review

Throughout the spring, summer and fall it’s common to see birds outdoors.

Our avian friends come in a variety of species, colors and sizes.  They also make nests in a variety of places, whether it’s in a tree, in a bush, underneath an overhang on a house or other type of structure, and pretty much anywhere they can find safety.

Hell, the birds will even nest inside of airplanes.  Part of the walk-around preflight ritual involves inspecting the interior of the engine’s cowling to make sure that no birds decided to claim it as a home.  I never saw any birds nesting in engines during my flying days, but obviously it’s been a problem for other aviators, or else it wouldn’t be part of checking the aircraft before flight operations.

Bird watching is a safe and calm hobby for many people.

We watch the birds, and they keep an eye on us.  There’s this mutual agreement that as long as we are respectable to one another, then there won’t be any conflicts.  After all, we *all* know that a pissed off bird can easily strike back in the foulest of ways . . .

So what can you do to help stay on the good side of our feathered friends?

One option is to simply put a bird feeder out in the yard.  The birds will love it, but the squirrels will probably enjoy it as well.  It takes some careful planning to make sure that *only* the birds have access to the bird seed.

Another option when it comes to appeasing the birds is in the form of a house.  Bird houses come in all shapes and sizes.  Building a bird house used to be a rite of passage for teenagers in shop class and/or the cub scouts.  Do they still build those today?

Wouldn’t it be interesting to actually see into a bird house and observe the birds as they build a nest, lay eggs, and raise the hatchlings?

My Spy Birdhouse website — www.MySpyBirdhouse.com

I don’t think so, but apparently other people do.  That’s where the My Spy Birdhouse comes into play. Read more…

Movie Review – Song of the South (1946)

In our youth, many of us have heard of author Joel Chandler Harris‘s animal tales told by fictional character Uncle Remus.

The tales, initially passed down through oral folklore by the African-American slaves, often focused on trickster hero Br’er Rabbit (Brother Rabbit), and his encounters with other friendly and evil animals such as Br’er Fox, Br’er Bear, Br’er Terrapin, and Br’er Wolf down in rural parts of Georgia.  The first of Harris’s Uncle Remus books was published back in 1880.

The tales of Uncle Remus were brought to life by Walt Disney in the 1946 feature film, Song of the South.  Using a combination of live action and animated segments, Song of the South tells a story of a young boy living in Georgia during the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War.  When he runs into trouble in life, he listens to the tales told by Uncle Remus and learns the wisdom behind them.

Directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson, Song of the South stars James Baskett in the role of Uncle Remus as well as providing the voice of Br’er Fox.  Supporting him are Bobby Driscoll as Johnny, and Luana Patten as Ginny Favers.  Hattie McDaniel has the role of Aunt Tempy, the family’s chef and caretaker.

Song of the South takes place in rural Georgia during the Reconstruction Era after the War Between the States (a.k.a. American Civil War).  It’s a time period where the slaves have been freed though many of them continue to work on plantations as sharecroppers.

Song of the South (1946) – (c) RKO Radio Pictures / Disney

The film begins as seven-year-old Johnny (Bobby Driscoll) arrives at his grandmother’s plantation along with his mother, Sally (Ruth Warrick), and his father, John, Sr. (Erik Rolf).  Accompanying them on the journey from Atlanta is Aunt Tempy (Hattie McDaniel), the family’s cook and caretaker.  She watches out for Johnny as if he was her own son. Read more…

A Boy Being Bullied Over A “My Little Pony” Backpack

Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls.

That’s generally how it works in society.  Boys are normally attracted to masculine activities, while girls normally go for the feminine version.  That’s how our society has been divided for thousands of years.

Traditionally it’s the men who fight in wars, who repair cars and trucks, who deliver cargo, and who are strong and supportive fathers in the home.  Traditionally women are the cooks and school teachers, the cleaners, the gatherers, and the loving and supportive mothers in the home.  Occasionally those traits are crossed between the genders, but that’s normally how it goes.

Society knows this.  It’s part of our characteristic as human beings.  Look through history at the different civilizations around the world, and you’ll see this pattern repeated over and over.

But today’s society is different.  According to many people, it’s okay for boys to behave as girls.  Children are being indoctrinated to accepting this reversal in behavior, and to be proud of those people who choose to be different, no matter how wrong it may seem.

That brings us to the case of a nine-year-old BOY in North Carolina who is a fan of the cartoon show, “My Little Pony.”  Although it’s claimed that more and more boys are now watching the show, “My Little Pony” was developed and geared primarily for LITTLE GIRLS.

Nine-year-old Grayson is such a fan of the show that he even uses a “My Little Pony” backpack.  It’s a fuzzy, blue backpack that features the face of the character Rainbow Dash.  Now what do you think that his male classmates would do once they see him using a backpack featuring a cartoon character from a TV show designed for little girls? Read more…

Lumi Dough (Glow-In-The-Dark Modelling Clay) – A Marketing Review

Almost everybody has played with Play-Doh or other types of modelling clay when they were younger, whether it was something for art class in school or just when playing at home.

It was always fun to open a fresh can of the modelling clay and build creations.  Some people were very artistic and natural when it came to sculpting and bringing ideas to like.  For others of us it was more difficult to make anything look decent.  Most of the time we simply rolled out segments of clay, stuck them to each other, and saw what happened.

It’s similar when drawing with crayons.  Some people will draw a lifelike portrait while others could barely manage to draw stick figures.  But as long as you’re drawing and having fun, then that’s what counts, right?  Sure, until you enter the real world where people have realistic expectations and you’re expected to meet or exceed them.

Anyway, playing with modelling clay is normally fun and it helps you develop your creativity.  I’m sure that it’s also more entertaining than sitting in front of a television and playing video games.  But what if playing with modelling clay could also be done in the dark?

Really?

Lumi Dough website — www.LumiDough.com

The answer lies with Lumi Dough, modelling clay that also glows in the dark!

Lumi Dough website – glow-in-the-dark version — www.LumiDough.com

Did you say that it glows in the dark?  Holy f*ck!

Lumi Dough TV commercial

Let’s take a closer look at the advertisement and try to see if this is a real product or a scam. Read more…

Movie Review – Need for Speed (2014)

“I feel the need.  The need for speed!”

It may have been Top Gun that made that quote famous, but it was the Need for Speed racing games by Electronic Arts that connected it with racing fans of all ages.

The Need for Speed racing games began in 1994 with its first title, The Need for Speed.  After that followed over twenty sequels and spin-offs of racing action in one game after another.  The games have been hits and misses over the years, but as a whole the series has been a major success.  The same goes true for the Test Drive racing games (published by Accolade) that preceded 1994’s The Need for Speed.

It was just a matter of time before the Need for Speed series made its way onto the big screen.  The only challenge is making the film NOT look like a rip-off of the incredibly popular The Fast and the Furious racing films.

On March 14, 2014, Need for Speed was released to the theaters.  The film captures the racing spirit of the video games as well as a somewhat interesting story involving payback and revenge.

Directed by Scott Waugh, Need for Speed stars Aaron Paul as Tobey Marshall, a mechanic who specializes in street racing.  Supporting him are Dominic Cooper as Dino Brewster, and Michael Keaton as Monarch, the eccentric host of an illegal supercar race competition.  The rest of the cast is pretty much a who’s who in the world of Hollywood nobodies.

Need for Speed begins with Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) and his mechanic friends, Benny (Scott Mescudi), Joe Peck (Ramon Rodriguez), Finn (Rami Malek), and Little Pete (Harrison Gilbertson), working at Tobey’s garage in upstate New York.

That night the gang heads to a drive-in theater that’s actually the starting point for a street race.  Before the race starts Tobey is able to briefly talk to Anita (Dakota Johnson), Little Pete’s sister and Tobey’s former girlfriend.  There’s a little bit of tension between Tobey and Anita, but we don’t know any back story, so what little happens on the screen is quickly forgotten.  The important thing is that Anita is there with her boyfriend, professional racecar driver and entrepreneur, Dino Brewster (Dominic Cooper).  Dino also happens to be Tobey’s top rival in the world of street racing. Read more…

The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

It was five days ago when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777-200ER airliner with 227 passengers and 12 members of the flight crew, simply disappeared from its flight path.

What should have been an ordinary flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China has quickly turned into perhaps the biggest mystery right now in the world.

Flight 370 departed from Malaysia at 12:41 AM local time on March 8, 2014.  As far as we know, everything seemed to be normal as the airliner flew to the north-northeast on its course to Beijing, China.  When the pilots acknowledged the radio communications being handed off to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, before the aircraft entered Vietnamese airspace, that was the last that anybody heard from the aircraft.  The airliner ceased communicating with air traffic control, and there was no more signal from the Boeing 777’s transponder.

This loss of communications occurred about an hour after take-off as Flight 370 was still over the Gulf of Thailand.  The airliner was at its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, and cruising speed of 471 knots.

There was no bad weather anywhere near the vicinity of where Flight 370 disappeared.  Nor are there any reports of the aircraft’s ELT (emergency locator transmitter — a device that sends out a distress call / homing beacon after a crash landing).  There are also no signs of any wreckage despite a large, multinational task force searching for the missing aircraft.

Right now there are many theories about what might of happened to the missing airliner.  Before we take a look at some of the theories, let’s examine some of the evidence that we know for a fact.

EVIDENCE Read more…

Glow Pets (Glowing Stuffed Animal Pillow) – A Marketing Review

What do you do when your kid is scared of the dark?

One such option is called “Shut up and deal with it, or I’ll give you something to cry about!” (SUADWIOIGYSTCA).  Although SUADWIOIGYSTCA is somewhat controversial, this method of yelling and threatening the kid with violence if said kid does not stop complaining can still achieve the desired results.  Just don’t go around bragging about SUADWIOIGYSTCA or you may have to deal with Child Protective Services.  Then nobody wins.

Another option is to simply leave on a light or have a nightlight in the kid’s bedroom.  Simply leaving on a light may add up to a costly electric bill, and having just a nightlight may not provide that comfort factor that the child desires.  Unless you step in and do some parenting, then the kid is still going to be upset in the dark.

Option number three involves purchasing some sort of light up or glowing toy for the kid to play with at night.  Since this is going to regularly occur at bed time, it’s preferable that the toy be something soft and cuddly that the child can have in bed.  We don’t exactly want the kid to be playing with hard objects or sharp edges, especially when asleep.

So what’s soft and cuddly that also glows in the dark?

Glow Pets website — www.GlowPets.com

What’s this?  A Glow Pet?  Did somebody up there hear our pleas for help during such dire times?

Let’s take a closer look at the Glow Pets’ advertisement and try to see if this is honest or really a scam.  NOTE – While there are Glow Pets TV commercials on YouTube, the official website has a different advertisement.  This review is only going to examine the commercial hosted at the official website, www.GlowPets.com.

Glow Pets TV commercial – It glows!  And it looks like a pet!  Amazing!

The Glow Pets’ TV commercial begins with a quick jingle telling us that not only are the pillows fun, but apparently “. . . Glow Pets are awesome!”  We’ll be the judge of that claim. Read more…

Book Review – George R. R. Martin’s “A Storm of Swords”

Today we’re taking a look at A Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series written by George R. R. Martin.

A Storm of Swords correlates to seasons three and four of the HBO series A Game of Thrones.

This third installment immediately follows the action told in the previous book, A Clash of Kings.

As we remember in A Clash of Kings, the kingdom of Westeros had erupted into a civil war since the death of King Robert Baratheon in A Game of Thrones.  Prince Joffrey assumed the Iron Throne and declared himself king whereas Lord Stannis Baratheon and Lord Renly Baratheon each saw themselves as the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms as Joffrey was really Robert’s illegitimate son.  He’s not an heir to the throne.

Renly and Stannis prepared to fight each other, but just prior to the battle an assassin killed Renly.  Most of Renly’s army then defected to Stannis.  Stannis Baratheon lead his army against the Lannisters at King’s Landing, but they were ultimately defeated thanks to the efforts of Tyrion Lannister.  While this was taking place, Robb Stark, the King of the North, continued to battle the Lannisters and win engagements, proving to be a formidable opponent despite his youth.

Onward to book number three, A Storm of Swords.

Like the previous books, the action in A Storm of Swords primarily takes place in three areas:  The Wall, Westeros, and the East. Read more…

February 2014 Exercise Results

Here we are in March and some early Spring weather has just arrived.  We were in the upper 60s today with abundant sunshine.

Of course, this is just temporary as tonight a cold front is bringing yet another wave of cold weather down south.  We don’t have any snow or ice in our forecast for metro Atlanta, but the mere thought of more cold weather is really annoying the people down here.

This makes me wonder if the gyms and workout centers see any decrease in activity whenever the cold and miserable weather arrives.  That’s one of the huge benefits for having a home workout center, even it’s just a couple of basic machines.

Unfortunately, having home exercise machines doesn’t do much good when one comes down with a cold, especially a rather annoying one.  My cold arrived just as we were hit with a second wave of winter weather a couple of weeks ago.  As the snow and ice hit and people were having fun playing outside, I was sick in bed.

The exercising that I did in the month of February wasn’t nearly as productive as my results from the previous month.  My cold was a bit stubborn and I lost almost two weeks of not exercising.  Basically, I only had two weeks of exercising that month.

February of 2014 exercise results:

Exercise bike totals (cardio) – 8 sessions

– 345 minutes (5.75 hours)

– 78.5 miles

– 3,933 calories

– furthest distance during a 45-minute bike ride – 10.5 miles

Total Bodyworks 5000 totals (strength):

– 9 sessions; ~ 40 minutes each

Total number of sit-ups:

– 980

February wasn’t a terrible month for me, but it wasn’t anything really worth noting, either.  It’s time to put it behind and move onward to March, a month with 31 days (opportunities) to continue my exercise program.