Sarge's Blog

Music Review: Jeff Martin - Seven Deadly Sins album

Created: 7/10/2023 8:46:53 AM

Jeff Martin's Seven Deadly Sins (amazon link) was a random click on a recommended YouTube video and, in a moment of fate, it was a good one. Opening with Sehvet Nora (gluttony) Jeff Martin layers in an unplugged barrage in a Zeppelin-like dirge. It's like a ramped up Wonderful One with a banging chorus. Instrumentally, this thing is wild and the music is a mystery best enjoyed over several listens. 


Reading the bio and Martin has been in the industry and the studio for a long time. I think it shows best in Down on Your Knees. The way the drums are mic'd, the layering, and the all the different sounds show that he a great deal of experience, which he puts to use in the best ways. Sorted and Sold really stuck in head for a while and I found myself repeating it around the house. Send Her My Love is solid. A rhythmic 12-string dominates this fun piece reminiscent of Extreme's Hole In My Heart and the lyrics are really catchy. And finally, the mysterious You Move So Slow is an excellent and haunting ending to the album.

This album feels like is a distillation of everything rock, from Zeppelin to Ozzy and a bit beyond. It's like finding a timepiece in the ruined fields of all the artists that have gone before and it's a great walk through those fields.

Tags: Music, Review, Jeff Martin, Seven Deadly Sins album, Led Zeppelin, Rock, Country

Review: Inexpensive Jump rope

Created: 1/29/2023 12:32:55 PM

I'm a big fan of simple, inexpensive exercises. Body weight exercises like pushups and situps are the cheapest, but my go-to equipment-based exercise for years has been jumping rope. I've read that it doesn't help everyone, but it definitely helped my plantar faciatis. It also strengthened my legs and helped me keep somewhat lean. In my view the skipping rope removes fat and excess in the little areas like the places where the muscles are naturally small.

I had cheap one from Walmart, but with consistent use against concrete you will wear away the plastic surrounding the rope. There is really no way around this as over time any material will be worn away. But this year I needed one for myself and a few as inexpensive stocking-stuffers for other. I ordered these jump ropes from amazon and after trying them out, I really like them. First, they are FAST. Second, they are really easy to adjust the length as it only took me about 30 seconds for each side; unscrew and remove the cap, pull the excess through, then retighten and rescrew. Third, the weight feels evenly placed on both sides and the grips help keep them firmly in place. My kids seem to like them too although the speed on these really whips them around, so it may take some time to adjust. Overall, I'd get them again.

Tags: exercise, jump rope, skipping rope

Review: Jarrow L-Tryptophan

Created: 1/24/2023 6:32:08 PM

Tryptophan is, of course, the chemical that makes you sleepy after a eating the Thanksgiving turkey. But to our question - can they bottle that feeling up in a pill? Well yes, they can actually. However, tryptophan as well as making you sleepy is also known as a relaxant.

Have to pass on this review. It's crazy or sane enough to be legit.

"To do that, you want to reduce the level of the brain chemical that focuses your attention, that keeps your attention on whatever you're currently thinking about so that your mind doesn't wander. Ordinarily you want plenty of that chemical. As you might guess, when it's low, you get ADD symptoms, and boosting the chemical will treat the distractibility of ADHD. That chemical is norepinephrine (NE). (I actually figured all this out in 1998, several years before Eli Lilly stumbled on the role of NE in attention by developing Strattera)."

Jarrow is in my experience a good brand and they make good supplements.

Tags: supplement, vitamin

Review: Organically Derived Vitamin C Supplement

Created: 1/24/2023 1:15:41 PM

After a bit of study I realized that not all vitamin C is the same. Some vitamin C is made from natural resources such as berries and organic food sources, while others are derived chemically, in the form of ascorbic acid. A chemist may disagree, but I have only my experience to go by, and I feel better when taking naturally derived vitamin C. The other problem is that, just like near everything else, the ascorbic acid based vitamin Cs are made from corn. Corn is in just about everything and I think our bodies have had enough of it.

The one I order, the Pure Synergy brand vitamin C, is naturally derived and it comes in powder form so in the link you'll see that it doesn't come in capsules. I like dropping a teaspoon full in my water or tea. The taste of it can be rather tart, but I've grown to like it.

Tags: vitamin c, supplement, vitamin

Review: JBL nailed it with inexpensive wired earbuds that hold up

Created: 1/24/2023 1:14:42 PM

Kids can be very tough with earphones, earbuds, and anything electronic. They tend to pull them, yank them, and crush them without thinking about it. I wanted a sturdier set of earbuds that didn't cost too much, sounded good, and could take a beating. So when I came across JBL Endurance Run wired earbuds with good reviews I thought it was worth a try. 

So I ordered some for me...then another pair for work...then another pair for the kids, then another for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. I've probably ordered 4 or 5 of these at this point. They're pretty much all I order when it comes to wired earbuds. Overall they stay in my ears when I exercise. If I happen to yank them they don't break and on top of that they sound really good.

Tags: earbuds, wired

Instrumental Music for Workouts - Zane Alexander's Death by Space

Created: 1/24/2023 6:18:42 AM

When we find music we like, we also like to share it with others. In this case, I've found something really wonderful. I don't know how many times I've listened to Zane Alexander's Death by Space instrumental (ambeint, synthwave, chillwave?) album, but it's certainly in the hundreds. I let it play in the background while I'm working or working out and it doesn't get in the way. It actually pumps me up at times.

It's not often that an artist can meld a theme, a tone, and an idea together to create art that's refreshing. Take the track Orion's Belt. It opens with a soft intensity, then picks up with a groove that the listener doesn't want to end, then somehow melds that into yet another idea that carries the listener along to another idea.

Check out the whole album and his youtube channel. You wont' be disappointed.

Tags: music, exercise, work

Review: Saw Palmetto Supplement

Created: 1/24/2023 5:51:10 AM

Saw palmetto was one of the first supplements I found that was supposed to help boost testosterone naturally and help with hair loss. After some research I started taking it a few years ago and I think it has made a difference in quality of life. I never try just one brand, but when I find something good I try and stick with it. So after trying this brand, then another, and coming back to it I've found that this one works the best for me. I feel better overall and notice a difference when I take and also when I don't.

One of the reasons I like it is that saw palmetto isn't the only ingredient. It has 10 other ingredients that target different areas as well: Ashwagandha Root, Turmeric Curcumin Root, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Black Pepper, Shilajit Powder, Nettle Leaf, Ginger Powder, Green Tea, Tribulus Terrestris, Maca Root.

Of course, everyone has different a physiology so it may not work as well for you, but with as many ingredients as this one has there is certainly something in there to help with something.

Tags: saw palmetto, hair loss, testosterone