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When I got the U by Kotex Security Maxi Pads, Long Super, Unscented, 44 Count by U by Kotex in the mail, I was flabbergasted on how large the packaging was. Granted, you get a 44 count of Long, Super Maxi pads, but these came and they were about 1' x 2'. No hiding these in the linen closet, that's for sure.
Every since I stopped taking the pill, my periods have been way more heavy than when I was on the pill. I can no longer just wear tampons, and it becomes such a mess, I forgo the tampons altogether and go with pads. I have never used this brand in my 25 + years of having my period, but I purchased them because they were on sale, and they were 1 of the 5 products I could purchase to get free panty shipping. So I went for it.
Like I said, when they arrived I thought about the first pad I had to wear, the huge bulky ones they gave you at the hospital. My mom had tons of them. It didn't feel like you were wearing a diaper, I felt like you used a bike seat as a maxi pad, then threw on some pants. You could hear the squishing and squashing when you walked. How embarrassing. Well, that's kind of what I thought when I saw these. I really like that they are super long, and can take a heavy flow, but they are a bit bulky. Being overweight, I have some big thighs that impede on the much needed space for this super maxi pad, so it tends to scrunch up in the middle, where you need the most protection.
They not uncomfortable to wear, but I can't say they're comfortable either. You definitely know it's there. Some people like that, it gives them a sense they are covered and don't have to check and readjust often. I am not one of those people. Feeling it's presence reminds me on my period, which adds to my disgruntledness.
I'll use the package til it's gone, but I don't plan on purchasing these again. | 1 | neutral | [
"When I got the U by Kotex Security Maxi Pads, Long Super, Unscented, 44 Count by U by Kotex in the mail, I was flabbergasted on how large the packaging was.",
"Granted, you get a 44 count of Long, Super Maxi pads, but these came and they were about 1' x 2'.",
"No hiding these in the linen closet, that's for sure.",
"Every since I stopped taking the pill, my periods have been way more heavy than when I was on the pill.",
"I can no longer just wear tampons, and it becomes such a mess, I forgo the tampons altogether and go with pads.",
"I have never used this brand in my 25 + years of having my period, but I purchased them because they were on sale, and they were 1 of the 5 products I could purchase to get free panty shipping.",
"So I went for it.",
"Like I said, when they arrived I thought about the first pad I had to wear, the huge bulky ones they gave you at the hospital.",
"My mom had tons of them.",
"It didn't feel like you were wearing a diaper, I felt like you used a bike seat as a maxi pad, then threw on some pants.",
"You could hear the squishing and squashing when you walked.",
"How embarrassing.",
"Well, that's kind of what I thought when I saw these.",
"I really like that they are super long, and can take a heavy flow, but they are a bit bulky.",
"Being overweight, I have some big thighs that impede on the much needed space for this super maxi pad, so it tends to scrunch up in the middle, where you need the most protection.",
"They not uncomfortable to wear, but I can't say they're comfortable either.",
"You definitely know it's there.",
"Some people like that, it gives them a sense they are covered and don't have to check and readjust often.",
"I am not one of those people.",
"Feeling it's presence reminds me on my period, which adds to my disgruntledness.",
"I'll use the package til it's gone, but I don't plan on purchasing these again."
] |
Now I want to first say I am glad I got the beads because I am sure I can use them later down the line.
However, the problem I find is that i ordered peach and from the image left up for the product that looks like a peach color, to me any ways.
The beads I got in fact actually look to be more pink in color than what the image shows.
See here: [...]
So now I can't work on my designs at the moment because I need a skin tone color that matches more.
Again, the image matched the color I "NEEDED" but the product I got doesn't match the image.
My advice, go to [...]
They have a broad color selection and even have them coded so it'd actually be easier to keep a catalog of what you'll need.
I don't blame the seller, I mean when a photo's work different on different computer resolutions.
But I would argue as a seller there should be a warning label stating.
*Warning: Color may not be exact do to difference in computer screen resolution.
So I give it a neutral it's okay.
For what it's worth the seller did ship them and they arrived, save, secure and in good condition and for that I am appreciative. | 1 | neutral | [
"Now I want to first say I am glad I got the beads because I am sure I can use them later down the line.",
"However, the problem I find is that i ordered peach and from the image left up for the product that looks like a peach color, to me any ways.",
"The beads I got in fact actually look to be more pink in color than what the image shows.",
"See here: [...",
"]\n\nSo now I can't work on my designs at the moment because I need a skin tone color that matches more.",
"Again, the image matched the color I \"NEEDED\" but the product I got doesn't match the image.",
"My advice, go to [...",
"]\n\nThey have a broad color selection and even have them coded so it'd actually be easier to keep a catalog of what you'll need.",
"I don't blame the seller, I mean when a photo's work different on different computer resolutions.",
"But I would argue as a seller there should be a warning label stating.",
"*Warning: Color may not be exact do to difference in computer screen resolution.",
"So I give it a neutral it's okay.",
"For what it's worth the seller did ship them and they arrived, save, secure and in good condition and for that I am appreciative."
] |
Papadinis' annotation of the Shakespeare classic is one to appeal across the veins of bookworms and non-bookworms alike, not to mention those who cringe at attempting the antiquated language with just the mere mention of the original author's legendary name.
As You Like It: A Frankly Annotated First Folio Edition opens with a pregnant introduction offering a behind-the-scenes look at the language, grammar and editing process. The play-script follows as it is paralleled with the modern definitions and explanations of each line. Concluding the book are informative notes among which are stage directions, grammatical layout and intriguing appendices that include corrected typographical errors between the current folio and the one of 1623.
The cover accurately states that this version is a frankly annotated edition. There should be a strong parental advisory on the cover. However, if the reader is open to this type of exposure and insight, Papadinis' work provides a very addicting, albeit quick read. It is a very useful tool for those studying the bard's masterpieces in school as well as those Shakespearean aficionados who snub at the easy way out...they will still most likely, if even secretly, want to reach for this one.
This book was provided free for review by the publisher. | 1 | neutral | [
"Papadinis' annotation of the Shakespeare classic is one to appeal across the veins of bookworms and non-bookworms alike, not to mention those who cringe at attempting the antiquated language with just the mere mention of the original author's legendary name.",
"As You Like It: A Frankly Annotated First Folio Edition opens with a pregnant introduction offering a behind-the-scenes look at the language, grammar and editing process.",
"The play-script follows as it is paralleled with the modern definitions and explanations of each line.",
"Concluding the book are informative notes among which are stage directions, grammatical layout and intriguing appendices that include corrected typographical errors between the current folio and the one of 1623.",
"The cover accurately states that this version is a frankly annotated edition.",
"There should be a strong parental advisory on the cover.",
"However, if the reader is open to this type of exposure and insight, Papadinis' work provides a very addicting, albeit quick read.",
"It is a very useful tool for those studying the bard's masterpieces in school as well as those Shakespearean aficionados who snub at the easy way out...",
"they will still most likely, if even secretly, want to reach for this one.",
"This book was provided free for review by the publisher."
] |
Here is another "Heads up" warning for bad sound.
I HAVE THE LASER DISK AND THE DVD AND BOTH HAVE GREAT BASS. The Blu Ray has the bass way low.
The best bass comparison is in the song tradition. I even turned UP the bass all the way to see if it was on my end - still low quality bass. What crap.
I think most people critique the VISUAL quality over the SOUND quality and that may be. People like Scott Bosco (See The Ten Commandments) and others who really KNOW and remember sound effects need to be thanked. he is 100% correct.
mike | 1 | neutral | [
"Here is another \"Heads up\" warning for bad sound.",
"I HAVE THE LASER DISK AND THE DVD AND BOTH HAVE GREAT BASS.",
"The Blu Ray has the bass way low.",
"The best bass comparison is in the song tradition.",
"I even turned UP the bass all the way to see if it was on my end - still low quality bass.",
"What crap.",
"I think most people critique the VISUAL quality over the SOUND quality and that may be.",
"People like Scott Bosco (See The Ten Commandments) and others who really KNOW and remember sound effects need to be thanked.",
"he is 100% correct.",
"mike"
] |
After reading the first few chapters of <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Wheat-Belly-Lose-the-Wheat-Lose-the-Weight-and-Find-Your-Path-Back-to-Health/dp/1609611543/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health</a> and after years of joint inflammation (and now difficulty losing weight), I decided to ditch wheat from my diet. Being desperate to get started, I picked up a bag of this flour at a local store as it was the only one available. My husband and I like our pizzas on Saturday night and since the frozen aisle didn't have anything good in gluten free, I decided to make my own crust. As some reviewers said, the bean flavor really ruined the taste! The pizza crust actually came out well and is one of the best I've ever made with any flour texturewise. But I just didn't like the flavor. I plan to use up the rest in another pizza, but this time will add spices like garlic and oregano plus a little more salt and sugar to the crust itself to mask that taste. My advice would be to get Pamela's or Bisquick gluten-free. Both are good and don't have weird aftertastes. | 1 | neutral | [
"After reading the first few chapters of <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Wheat-Belly-Lose-the-Wheat-Lose-the-Weight-and-Find-Your-Path-Back-to-Health/dp/1609611543/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health</a> and after years of joint inflammation (and now difficulty losing weight), I decided to ditch wheat from my diet.",
"Being desperate to get started, I picked up a bag of this flour at a local store as it was the only one available.",
"My husband and I like our pizzas on Saturday night and since the frozen aisle didn't have anything good in gluten free, I decided to make my own crust.",
"As some reviewers said, the bean flavor really ruined the taste!",
"The pizza crust actually came out well and is one of the best I've ever made with any flour texturewise.",
"But I just didn't like the flavor.",
"I plan to use up the rest in another pizza, but this time will add spices like garlic and oregano plus a little more salt and sugar to the crust itself to mask that taste.",
"My advice would be to get Pamela's or Bisquick gluten-free.",
"Both are good and don't have weird aftertastes."
] |
Oh how I was wrong. The screen on this french press does a far better job of keeping the grinds out of my coffee cup. The 12 cup capacity is great. My wife and I get about three mugs full every day. The fact that every part can be run in the dishwasher means I will gladly buy one of these again (if I need it, I hope that's not for a long time).
UPDATE 2013-01-25:
I had to make this product three stars. After owning it for about 2 months we had broken two of the carafes. One while someone was washing dishes and the other setting it in the sink. I ordered a Bodum replacement right away after the first one, thus adding to the overall cost. After the second one I found the <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/BonJour-French-Press-Replacement-Glass-Carafe-12-Cup-Universal-Design/dp/B000ZMDQ2M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">BonJour French Press Replacement Glass Carafe 12-Cup Universal Design</a> replacement carafe which has been going strong for a few months at this point. It's much stronger and thicker glass. For the cost of the Bodum I'm disappointed in the glass quality. I still love the press as a whole, but more now that we have an alternate carafe. | 1 | neutral | [
"Oh how I was wrong.",
"The screen on this french press does a far better job of keeping the grinds out of my coffee cup.",
"The 12 cup capacity is great.",
"My wife and I get about three mugs full every day.",
"The fact that every part can be run in the dishwasher means I will gladly buy one of these again (if I need it, I hope that's not for a long time).",
"UPDATE 2013-01-25:\nI had to make this product three stars.",
"After owning it for about 2 months we had broken two of the carafes.",
"One while someone was washing dishes and the other setting it in the sink.",
"I ordered a Bodum replacement right away after the first one, thus adding to the overall cost.",
"After the second one I found the <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/BonJour-French-Press-Replacement-Glass-Carafe-12-Cup-Universal-Design/dp/B000ZMDQ2M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">BonJour French Press Replacement Glass Carafe 12-Cup Universal Design</a> replacement carafe which has been going strong for a few months at this point.",
"It's much stronger and thicker glass.",
"For the cost of the Bodum I'm disappointed in the glass quality.",
"I still love the press as a whole, but more now that we have an alternate carafe."
] |
So far so good. Outperforms Norton, which is what I had before. I am running it in a Dell computer with an I-7 X980 6 core processor, 12 GB memory, Windows 7 Ultimate, and a RAID-1 configuration. Not a gaming system, this is a work computer, and Norton used to bog it down to the point that it took up to 5 minutes to start Excel and email processing became painful, not to mention that I had problems with the renewal last year and had no way to get my money back, Symantec's help desk is by far the worst that I have come across. I have not had to get support for Kaspersky, and I don't think I will as everything in my computer is working top notch. The protected Browser feature works very well, and in spite of some of the reviews I have read, the full system scan takes less than 20 minutes, Norton used to run for 2-1/2 hours.
Reduced the rating to 3 starts, I've had the following problems:
1. Even though I scheduled a scan when it is convenient for me, once a week, it scans at any time, sometimes slowing down response.
2. Prevented a backup job to complete. Backups are more important than the scan.
3. When a USB drive is connected it scans the drive, and then I have to open it manually, not the way I have it setup.
4. Very difficult to set up the pop-up blocker, it either blocks all or none. Some tasks that I perform require a pop-up for signing in and to enter information. This is a nuisance and should not work that way. | 1 | neutral | [
"So far so good.",
"Outperforms Norton, which is what I had before.",
"I am running it in a Dell computer with an I-7 X980 6 core processor, 12 GB memory, Windows 7 Ultimate, and a RAID-1 configuration.",
"Not a gaming system, this is a work computer, and Norton used to bog it down to the point that it took up to 5 minutes to start Excel and email processing became painful, not to mention that I had problems with the renewal last year and had no way to get my money back, Symantec's help desk is by far the worst that I have come across.",
"I have not had to get support for Kaspersky, and I don't think I will as everything in my computer is working top notch.",
"The protected Browser feature works very well, and in spite of some of the reviews I have read, the full system scan takes less than 20 minutes, Norton used to run for 2-1/2 hours.",
"Reduced the rating to 3 starts, I've had the following problems:\n1.",
"Even though I scheduled a scan when it is convenient for me, once a week, it scans at any time, sometimes slowing down response.",
"2.",
"Prevented a backup job to complete.",
"Backups are more important than the scan.",
"3.",
"When a USB drive is connected it scans the drive, and then I have to open it manually, not the way I have it setup.",
"4.",
"Very difficult to set up the pop-up blocker, it either blocks all or none.",
"Some tasks that I perform require a pop-up for signing in and to enter information.",
"This is a nuisance and should not work that way."
] |
There are some projects where have the Dremel tool at 90 degrees makes the job so much easier. This tool makes that possible. With it I had no problems grinding and cutting at high speeds.
My biggest complaint is the way it attaches to the Dremel. It's too many steps and involves little pieces that can get lots. It takes me 2-3 minutes to take this on and off.
Steps to add this adapter (forgive me, I don't know the technical names for the parts)
1. remove metal bit holder from Dremel
2. remove pastic cap from Dremel
3. add bit holder to right angle tool
4. Add right angle adapter to Dremel
5. Screw on right angle adapter to Dremel | 1 | neutral | [
"There are some projects where have the Dremel tool at 90 degrees makes the job so much easier.",
"This tool makes that possible.",
"With it I had no problems grinding and cutting at high speeds.",
"My biggest complaint is the way it attaches to the Dremel.",
"It's too many steps and involves little pieces that can get lots.",
"It takes me 2-3 minutes to take this on and off.",
"Steps to add this adapter (forgive me, I don't know the technical names for the parts)\n1.",
"remove metal bit holder from Dremel\n2.",
"remove pastic cap from Dremel\n3.",
"add bit holder to right angle tool\n4.",
"Add right angle adapter to Dremel\n5.",
"Screw on right angle adapter to Dremel"
] |
This is another example of Orson Scott Card's admonishment of science fiction as info-dump. At its outset offering much promise, as early as the chapter entitled The Alchemist the narrative elements have become increasingly subordinated to didactic discourse on early metallury and technology, as well as ruminations upon Eastern philosophy. The end result, as John Deakins suggests, is tedium, with the already peripatetic and episodic storylines assuming all the narrative interest of an instruction manual.
A darling of the critics and techies, this is the fourth novel that I have read by Robinson in which the narrative elements have been subsumed by the author's over-riding desire to inform or incorporate discussion or speculation that would be better served by nonfiction. Bottom line, those books that I have read by the author are narratively boring, as he often confuses story with text. In this case, without even being aware of Mr. Deakins' warnings, I abandoned the work three quarters in, based upon prior experience with Robinson certain of what was coming as well as what was not.
This will be the final novel I pick up by this author. If I wished a lecture in metallurgy, alchemy, theories of history, or Eastern religion and philosophy, I would be far better served -- as well as likely more intellectually stimulated -- by any number of college courses, or the more comprehensive and at times insightful writings of scholars. At least I wouldn't have to put up with nonfiction masquerading itself as story. Those of you who like this sort of pseudo-pedagogy, or find fictional legitimacy lent by technical detail or ongoing discourse, are welcome to it, though I question the author's approach to fiction is compelling, either as narrative or as instruction. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is another example of Orson Scott Card's admonishment of science fiction as info-dump.",
"At its outset offering much promise, as early as the chapter entitled The Alchemist the narrative elements have become increasingly subordinated to didactic discourse on early metallury and technology, as well as ruminations upon Eastern philosophy.",
"The end result, as John Deakins suggests, is tedium, with the already peripatetic and episodic storylines assuming all the narrative interest of an instruction manual.",
"A darling of the critics and techies, this is the fourth novel that I have read by Robinson in which the narrative elements have been subsumed by the author's over-riding desire to inform or incorporate discussion or speculation that would be better served by nonfiction.",
"Bottom line, those books that I have read by the author are narratively boring, as he often confuses story with text.",
"In this case, without even being aware of Mr.",
"Deakins' warnings, I abandoned the work three quarters in, based upon prior experience with Robinson certain of what was coming as well as what was not.",
"This will be the final novel I pick up by this author.",
"If I wished a lecture in metallurgy, alchemy, theories of history, or Eastern religion and philosophy, I would be far better served -- as well as likely more intellectually stimulated -- by any number of college courses, or the more comprehensive and at times insightful writings of scholars.",
"At least I wouldn't have to put up with nonfiction masquerading itself as story.",
"Those of you who like this sort of pseudo-pedagogy, or find fictional legitimacy lent by technical detail or ongoing discourse, are welcome to it, though I question the author's approach to fiction is compelling, either as narrative or as instruction."
] |
Philippines says police might have shot hostages
The new details of the investigation emerged as Philippines President Benigno Aquino III said he's through apologizing for the attack and will focus instead on easing tensions with China and Hong Kong where officials have criticized the handling of the daylong crisis.
"Let me just say that this incident will not define this administration " Aquino said in a nationally televised news conference. He added that he will wait for a report from a fact-finding committee before he fires any officials for the fiasco.
Aquino facing his first major test barely two months after taking office said he will now focus on preventing a repeat of the incident. The public and the media have questioned why the president wasn't more visible and involved.
"The first thing I will admit is I am not perfect and I can learn " said Aquino who said he was following the developments from his office. Later he went to a restaurant near the downtown Manila park where the hostages were held to meet with officials but he did not want to be "back seat driving" or looking over the shoulders of those handling the crisis he said.
Aquino said that there was a point when he was piqued by police commandos in their haphazard assault on the bus. "I lost my patience " he said. "Every mistake that I saw I pointed out. That was perhaps my way of being 'hands on.'"
He said a police Special Action Force trained for hostage rescue that had held a training exercise earlier that day was not deployed as promised. Instead a local Manila police SWAT team was used in the assault. | 1 | neutral | [
"Philippines says police might have shot hostages\nThe new details of the investigation emerged as Philippines President Benigno Aquino III said he's through apologizing for the attack and will focus instead on easing tensions with China and Hong Kong where officials have criticized the handling of the daylong crisis.",
"\"Let me just say that this incident will not define this administration \" Aquino said in a nationally televised news conference.",
"He added that he will wait for a report from a fact-finding committee before he fires any officials for the fiasco.",
"Aquino facing his first major test barely two months after taking office said he will now focus on preventing a repeat of the incident.",
"The public and the media have questioned why the president wasn't more visible and involved.",
"\"The first thing I will admit is I am not perfect and I can learn \" said Aquino who said he was following the developments from his office.",
"Later he went to a restaurant near the downtown Manila park where the hostages were held to meet with officials but he did not want to be \"back seat driving\" or looking over the shoulders of those handling the crisis he said.",
"Aquino said that there was a point when he was piqued by police commandos in their haphazard assault on the bus.",
"\"I lost my patience \" he said.",
"\"Every mistake that I saw I pointed out.",
"That was perhaps my way of being 'hands on.",
"'\"\n He said a police Special Action Force trained for hostage rescue that had held a training exercise earlier that day was not deployed as promised.",
"Instead a local Manila police SWAT team was used in the assault."
] |
This product has a smooth feeling, and is absorbed quickly; in fact, my skin actually felt just a little dry (though it wasn't) after applying it. I am thrilled at the almost undetectable scent. I am also happy that it is free of preservatives. I haven't found a difference in the little lines on my skin, but will see what happens over time. I found that a small amount of the product is enough to moisturize. and smooth my skin. In addition to peptides and niacinamide, the ingredients include tea tree oil, vitamins C and E, selenium, and a host of other ingredients, with long names, one with ""polymer" as part of the name. Instructions say that for best results, this product should be used after the corresponding TiZO Foaming Cleanser, though that may be a financial challenge for some. My sensitive skin did not have a problem with this product.
I will continue to use this product and report back if and when I (I hope!) see greater improvements in my skin. Seems to be a good moisturizer for those not too fussy about getting organic ingredients. The price is a bit out of range for some of us, but I imagine the 1 fluid oz. package will last a good long time. Recommended to those who like a kind of dry texture and woh can handle the price. | 1 | neutral | [
"This product has a smooth feeling, and is absorbed quickly; in fact, my skin actually felt just a little dry (though it wasn't) after applying it.",
"I am thrilled at the almost undetectable scent.",
"I am also happy that it is free of preservatives.",
"I haven't found a difference in the little lines on my skin, but will see what happens over time.",
"I found that a small amount of the product is enough to moisturize.",
"and smooth my skin.",
"In addition to peptides and niacinamide, the ingredients include tea tree oil, vitamins C and E, selenium, and a host of other ingredients, with long names, one with \"\"polymer\" as part of the name.",
"Instructions say that for best results, this product should be used after the corresponding TiZO Foaming Cleanser, though that may be a financial challenge for some.",
"My sensitive skin did not have a problem with this product.",
"I will continue to use this product and report back if and when I (I hope!",
") see greater improvements in my skin.",
"Seems to be a good moisturizer for those not too fussy about getting organic ingredients.",
"The price is a bit out of range for some of us, but I imagine the 1 fluid oz.",
"package will last a good long time.",
"Recommended to those who like a kind of dry texture and woh can handle the price."
] |
I really like the idea of a humane way to exterminate the mice that have made their way into my cabinets. These traps suggest placing peanut butter along the back wall of the trap, where there a dozen holes which pass to the outside wall of the trap. The holes are supposed to allow the mice to smell the peanut butter and entice them to enter the trap. The problem with them is that the holes are apparently large enough to allow the mice to eat some of the peanut butter without having to enter to trap. The next day, after setting the trap, I looked in the cabinet to find a trail of droppings all around the back wall of the trap. When I looked inside, there was no mouse, but there were a bunch of holes in the peanut butter where the mice had licked through the holes. I have used these traps to great success in the past, and never had this problem before......maybe they are making the holes larger? I would like the holes to be too small to allow the mice to get to any peanut butter without entering the trap. So, I haven't been successful in getting the mice yet, but I am holding out hope. The last two traps were ruined when they caught a mouse and I didn't notice it for several days. By then, the dead mouse had become.......well......there just isn't any other way of saying this.....it had become juicy with decay and the "liquids" ruined the circuitry. I had been checking them daily for the first several weeks, and hadn't ever gotten a mouse, and then I sort of forgot about it until I came home one day and smelled what I thought was rotten chicken in the garbage can.....but there was no smell coming from the garbage. That was when I thought, "Maybe I should check the traps." As soon as I opened the cabinet door, I knew I had found the source of the foul smell. So.....these work very well when the mice can smell (but not access) the peanut butter. And you can reused them over and over so long as you routinely check the trap to see if there is a flashing light. If so, you must remove the dead mouse immediately (I flush them). Check these every day, and you will eventually have success......... | 1 | neutral | [
"I really like the idea of a humane way to exterminate the mice that have made their way into my cabinets.",
"These traps suggest placing peanut butter along the back wall of the trap, where there a dozen holes which pass to the outside wall of the trap.",
"The holes are supposed to allow the mice to smell the peanut butter and entice them to enter the trap.",
"The problem with them is that the holes are apparently large enough to allow the mice to eat some of the peanut butter without having to enter to trap.",
"The next day, after setting the trap, I looked in the cabinet to find a trail of droppings all around the back wall of the trap.",
"When I looked inside, there was no mouse, but there were a bunch of holes in the peanut butter where the mice had licked through the holes.",
"I have used these traps to great success in the past, and never had this problem before....",
"..",
"maybe they are making the holes larger?",
"I would like the holes to be too small to allow the mice to get to any peanut butter without entering the trap.",
"So, I haven't been successful in getting the mice yet, but I am holding out hope.",
"The last two traps were ruined when they caught a mouse and I didn't notice it for several days.",
"By then, the dead mouse had become....",
"...",
"well....",
"..",
"there just isn't any other way of saying this....",
".",
"it had become juicy with decay and the \"liquids\" ruined the circuitry.",
"I had been checking them daily for the first several weeks, and hadn't ever gotten a mouse, and then I sort of forgot about it until I came home one day and smelled what I thought was rotten chicken in the garbage can....",
".",
"but there was no smell coming from the garbage.",
"That was when I thought, \"Maybe I should check the traps.",
"\" As soon as I opened the cabinet door, I knew I had found the source of the foul smell.",
"So....",
".",
"these work very well when the mice can smell (but not access) the peanut butter.",
"And you can reused them over and over so long as you routinely check the trap to see if there is a flashing light.",
"If so, you must remove the dead mouse immediately (I flush them).",
"Check these every day, and you will eventually have success....",
"....",
"."
] |
Post Alive! era is still going well with the release of this album. This has some good songs but nothing terrific. Love 'em....wow...hide your daughters. This song is probably the purest reason any guy would want to be in a band. Who am I to complain with this? Again, go Peter! Another really bad song! How many lives has he used up with baby driver? | 1 | neutral | [
"Post Alive!",
"era is still going well with the release of this album.",
"This has some good songs but nothing terrific.",
"Love 'em....",
"wow...",
"hide your daughters.",
"This song is probably the purest reason any guy would want to be in a band.",
"Who am I to complain with this?",
"Again, go Peter!",
"Another really bad song!",
"How many lives has he used up with baby driver?"
] |
My dad, ever the moralist, never allowed me to watch Freddy Krueger movies as a kid. He said that they led to the discrimination against burn victims, and that he would take no part in that. So I'm in catch up mode with this series. This is the second that I've seen in the series after I watched the original a few months ago. Overall, it is a step down, though not a massive one. Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) from the original is brought in as a savior of sorts to a bunch of kids in a psych ward placed there because of "suicide" attempts. Patricia Arquette, looking surprisingly hot in her younger days, takes on the role of Kristen who is our main character here. From there everything else is pretty much predictable. Kids try not to fall asleep, they eventually do, Freddy slices and dices. Only in this chapter the goofiness factor is turned up full blast. Look, there's Freddy up in the sky playing the role of puppet master, oh and now he has turned into a TV set, and now a creepy little doll. There is also this terrible little twist that these kids gain certain powers when they fall asleep. The scene in which they come together for a group dream so that they can show off their powers couldn't have fallen any flatter for me. I am also hoping that somebody could explain to me the scene in which one of the kids turns into the "Wizard Master" and shoots a very 1980's pre-CGI green lightning bolt out of his hand to destroy a murderous wheelchair Freddy had turned loose on him. . .because I'm at a loss. To me that scene captures everything wrong with this film. Also, the less said about the scene where Freddy's skeleton comes to life the better.
But under all this kookiness there are some good messages to be found here. We, of course, get the traditional, fight your fears and believe in teamwork. But we also get the more unconventional lesson of never listen to your elders because they don't know what the hell they are talking about. Throughout this film (and the original) every decision made by a figure of authority turns out to be dead wrong. Here the only things more evil than Freddy are the clueless authority figures who serve the kids up to him with their idiocy. On the flipside we also get the kids who are punished for "Overt sexuality" (shock!). One if left for dead with Freddy after chasing after an easy, eager blond. The director, Chuck Russell, does find time for a striptease first. I guess he'll be sex on Freddy's hit list. I do wish that I could go back in time and enjoy this film for what it is. But my eyes have seen too many movies and have turned critical on me. So I know that the acting here is bad and the special effects (which are used liberally) are so horrible your jaw will drop. There is a kinetic energy at work here that makes it an easy pill to swallow. I will also admit that the silliness here does cut both ways. Most of the kills are borderline brain dead, but they are also interesting and eye-catching. Russell wasn't shy about screwing this one up, and oddly enough I admire him for that. **3/4 | 1 | neutral | [
"My dad, ever the moralist, never allowed me to watch Freddy Krueger movies as a kid.",
"He said that they led to the discrimination against burn victims, and that he would take no part in that.",
"So I'm in catch up mode with this series.",
"This is the second that I've seen in the series after I watched the original a few months ago.",
"Overall, it is a step down, though not a massive one.",
"Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) from the original is brought in as a savior of sorts to a bunch of kids in a psych ward placed there because of \"suicide\" attempts.",
"Patricia Arquette, looking surprisingly hot in her younger days, takes on the role of Kristen who is our main character here.",
"From there everything else is pretty much predictable.",
"Kids try not to fall asleep, they eventually do, Freddy slices and dices.",
"Only in this chapter the goofiness factor is turned up full blast.",
"Look, there's Freddy up in the sky playing the role of puppet master, oh and now he has turned into a TV set, and now a creepy little doll.",
"There is also this terrible little twist that these kids gain certain powers when they fall asleep.",
"The scene in which they come together for a group dream so that they can show off their powers couldn't have fallen any flatter for me.",
"I am also hoping that somebody could explain to me the scene in which one of the kids turns into the \"Wizard Master\" and shoots a very 1980's pre-CGI green lightning bolt out of his hand to destroy a murderous wheelchair Freddy had turned loose on him.",
".",
".",
"because I'm at a loss.",
"To me that scene captures everything wrong with this film.",
"Also, the less said about the scene where Freddy's skeleton comes to life the better.",
"But under all this kookiness there are some good messages to be found here.",
"We, of course, get the traditional, fight your fears and believe in teamwork.",
"But we also get the more unconventional lesson of never listen to your elders because they don't know what the hell they are talking about.",
"Throughout this film (and the original) every decision made by a figure of authority turns out to be dead wrong.",
"Here the only things more evil than Freddy are the clueless authority figures who serve the kids up to him with their idiocy.",
"On the flipside we also get the kids who are punished for \"Overt sexuality\" (shock!",
").",
"One if left for dead with Freddy after chasing after an easy, eager blond.",
"The director, Chuck Russell, does find time for a striptease first.",
"I guess he'll be sex on Freddy's hit list.",
"I do wish that I could go back in time and enjoy this film for what it is.",
"But my eyes have seen too many movies and have turned critical on me.",
"So I know that the acting here is bad and the special effects (which are used liberally) are so horrible your jaw will drop.",
"There is a kinetic energy at work here that makes it an easy pill to swallow.",
"I will also admit that the silliness here does cut both ways.",
"Most of the kills are borderline brain dead, but they are also interesting and eye-catching.",
"Russell wasn't shy about screwing this one up, and oddly enough I admire him for that.",
"**3/4"
] |
Buried in this massive volume is an outstanding story with engaging characters shackled by painfully executed prose. In many ways Ms. Wurt's descriptions of magic remind me of the metaphysical diarrheic prose David Brin can sink in to as read in "Earth" and "Kiln People". After so many paragraphs of "elevated harmonics" "polarities" and "magnetics" you start to wonder if you are reading epic fantasy or a "Star Trek" novel and ultimately it all translates into "blah blah blah." But you keep reading, skimming most of the magic babble much like skimming the parts of "Moby Dick" that relate to the technical aspects of whaling. You keep going because there is a rousing good yarn in there and you are determined to liberate it from the pages no matter the cost. The characters are great, if a bit over-wrought and self-tortured. Even manly-men in this series practically break down in tears when they have to kill someone or are faced with the unknown mysteries of ancient magic. After a while it starts to wear thin. Finally, the reader does not learn the meaning of "Peril's Gate" until almost the very end of the novel and while the rite of passage our protagonist wades through is epic, brutal and appropriate, it takes far too many pages most of which rehash things we already know. In the end this novel has wonderful characters, convincing emotion and moments of brilliance separated by gulfs of ponderous magical prose. I will buy the next volume but not in hard cover. | 1 | neutral | [
"Buried in this massive volume is an outstanding story with engaging characters shackled by painfully executed prose.",
"In many ways Ms.",
"Wurt's descriptions of magic remind me of the metaphysical diarrheic prose David Brin can sink in to as read in \"Earth\" and \"Kiln People\".",
"After so many paragraphs of \"elevated harmonics\" \"polarities\" and \"magnetics\" you start to wonder if you are reading epic fantasy or a \"Star Trek\" novel and ultimately it all translates into \"blah blah blah.",
"\" But you keep reading, skimming most of the magic babble much like skimming the parts of \"Moby Dick\" that relate to the technical aspects of whaling.",
"You keep going because there is a rousing good yarn in there and you are determined to liberate it from the pages no matter the cost.",
"The characters are great, if a bit over-wrought and self-tortured.",
"Even manly-men in this series practically break down in tears when they have to kill someone or are faced with the unknown mysteries of ancient magic.",
"After a while it starts to wear thin.",
"Finally, the reader does not learn the meaning of \"Peril's Gate\" until almost the very end of the novel and while the rite of passage our protagonist wades through is epic, brutal and appropriate, it takes far too many pages most of which rehash things we already know.",
"In the end this novel has wonderful characters, convincing emotion and moments of brilliance separated by gulfs of ponderous magical prose.",
"I will buy the next volume but not in hard cover."
] |
Super Mario Bros 3 is critically acclaimed to be one of the greatest games of all time (if not, THE greatest game of all time). And for good reason. Back in the the NES' heyday, Super Mario 3 offered some of the most impressive graphics the NES had to offer, great music, sharp controls, great gamepley and fantastic game structure involving all new worlds that people NEVER would have even imagined in a Mario game. I mean, a large world where all the enemies are 4X their size as well as other objects? A pipe world filled to capacity with pipes galore? A battle ship world taking Mario onto Bower's floating gunship? It was all amazing. ...for its time. These days, you'd be hard pressed to find a 12 year old who would be as impressed with this game as we were at that age. This of course considering all the newer 3D Mario games that have been released in the last 15 or so years. Not to also mention other Mario takes, such as the Mario Kart games and Olympic and slew of sports games. While it's great that we get to relive this Mario classic, it's the contemporary update that seems to me will hinder it more than help its cause. Not only this, but the controls don't seem to mesh well on the game boy advance smaller control scheme or the Nintendo DS's (depending on which system you're using to play this game).
In this game you will find both the classic Super Mario 3 as well as the arcade and NES classic Mario Bros. This old game pits a very (at the time) unknown Mario and his green brother Luigi (who I'm not even sure was even named when this game was originally released in the mid-80's). They play one level after another jumping on platforms and bumping the bottoms of where foes walk on after being emitted from 2 pipes at the top of the screen. If you can rack up as many points as possible without being hit, you advance. The levels were virtually endless, and as levels went on, more enemies came out and more obstacles came in your way. While playing this game again brought back great memories, I was left upset that these weren't the ORIGINAL versions that I played as a kid. There are graphical updates and various sound enhancements which, while cute, had me longing to play the original game in all its glory. The newer version is put there as an attempt to adhere to a newer generation, but unfortunately the gameplay is just too old-school for any young kid to really appreciate, let alone have the patience to play through the entire game. Mario Bros. may keep them entertained but again, the old style I do not believe will be something new kids will really want. On top of this, I believe the updates will also turn off old-school gamers, the ones who will buy this in the hopes of reliving their beloved classic. Too many updates just take you out of the moment, keep you from that nostalgia. I believe there should have either been an option to replay the classic NON-updated version of both games as well as the newer games, or just put these classics on here without ANY updates whatsoever.
I personally found myself at first upset that I was not able to relieve the classic games in all their classic glory, but also just found myself a little bored about a few levels in. With all the newer Mario games on the market, I would recommend just picking this one up as a collector's item. And judging from the age, this game now IS collector's item considering its rarity. | 1 | neutral | [
"Super Mario Bros 3 is critically acclaimed to be one of the greatest games of all time (if not, THE greatest game of all time).",
"And for good reason.",
"Back in the the NES' heyday, Super Mario 3 offered some of the most impressive graphics the NES had to offer, great music, sharp controls, great gamepley and fantastic game structure involving all new worlds that people NEVER would have even imagined in a Mario game.",
"I mean, a large world where all the enemies are 4X their size as well as other objects?",
"A pipe world filled to capacity with pipes galore?",
"A battle ship world taking Mario onto Bower's floating gunship?",
"It was all amazing.",
"...",
"for its time.",
"These days, you'd be hard pressed to find a 12 year old who would be as impressed with this game as we were at that age.",
"This of course considering all the newer 3D Mario games that have been released in the last 15 or so years.",
"Not to also mention other Mario takes, such as the Mario Kart games and Olympic and slew of sports games.",
"While it's great that we get to relive this Mario classic, it's the contemporary update that seems to me will hinder it more than help its cause.",
"Not only this, but the controls don't seem to mesh well on the game boy advance smaller control scheme or the Nintendo DS's (depending on which system you're using to play this game).",
"In this game you will find both the classic Super Mario 3 as well as the arcade and NES classic Mario Bros.",
"This old game pits a very (at the time) unknown Mario and his green brother Luigi (who I'm not even sure was even named when this game was originally released in the mid-80's).",
"They play one level after another jumping on platforms and bumping the bottoms of where foes walk on after being emitted from 2 pipes at the top of the screen.",
"If you can rack up as many points as possible without being hit, you advance.",
"The levels were virtually endless, and as levels went on, more enemies came out and more obstacles came in your way.",
"While playing this game again brought back great memories, I was left upset that these weren't the ORIGINAL versions that I played as a kid.",
"There are graphical updates and various sound enhancements which, while cute, had me longing to play the original game in all its glory.",
"The newer version is put there as an attempt to adhere to a newer generation, but unfortunately the gameplay is just too old-school for any young kid to really appreciate, let alone have the patience to play through the entire game.",
"Mario Bros.",
"may keep them entertained but again, the old style I do not believe will be something new kids will really want.",
"On top of this, I believe the updates will also turn off old-school gamers, the ones who will buy this in the hopes of reliving their beloved classic.",
"Too many updates just take you out of the moment, keep you from that nostalgia.",
"I believe there should have either been an option to replay the classic NON-updated version of both games as well as the newer games, or just put these classics on here without ANY updates whatsoever.",
"I personally found myself at first upset that I was not able to relieve the classic games in all their classic glory, but also just found myself a little bored about a few levels in.",
"With all the newer Mario games on the market, I would recommend just picking this one up as a collector's item.",
"And judging from the age, this game now IS collector's item considering its rarity."
] |
Ive been using this skin care product for almost three weeks, and Im sorry to report that I do not see any changes in my skin so far. I think it may be that it takes several months to show its benefits.
While I do not see improvements to date, I do not see any unpleasant side effects either. I use it on a clean face and neck where it soaks in fairly quickly. After it dries, I put on my normal Vitamin C serum.
Ive been using the Vitamin C serum for three months, and I have found it to be effective over time. My skin glows without noticeable blemishes, so it may be that Id already accomplished most of what can be expected from this serum before I began using this pro-niacin preparatory serum.
Ive found that a little (just a single drop) is sufficient for about half my face, so I expect this bottle to last several months. I did not received a full bottle for testing because the lid had not be properly screwed on at the factory, and oil was all over the interior of the packaging.
Nia 24 Treatment Catalyst is fairly expensive, so, having no improvement to report so far, I don't imagine Ill purchase more of this product.
THREE STARS! | 1 | neutral | [
"Ive been using this skin care product for almost three weeks, and Im sorry to report that I do not see any changes in my skin so far.",
"I think it may be that it takes several months to show its benefits.",
"While I do not see improvements to date, I do not see any unpleasant side effects either.",
"I use it on a clean face and neck where it soaks in fairly quickly.",
"After it dries, I put on my normal Vitamin C serum.",
"Ive been using the Vitamin C serum for three months, and I have found it to be effective over time.",
"My skin glows without noticeable blemishes, so it may be that Id already accomplished most of what can be expected from this serum before I began using this pro-niacin preparatory serum.",
"Ive found that a little (just a single drop) is sufficient for about half my face, so I expect this bottle to last several months.",
"I did not received a full bottle for testing because the lid had not be properly screwed on at the factory, and oil was all over the interior of the packaging.",
"Nia 24 Treatment Catalyst is fairly expensive, so, having no improvement to report so far, I don't imagine Ill purchase more of this product.",
"THREE STARS!"
] |
Now how can a review get a dozen thumbs down in less than a day and then suddenly stop? I believe I was targeted. Seems very suspicious to me. Anyway, my review follows.
Schedule C is missing from this year's Deluxe version. I had to purchase the expensive Home and Business version currently priced a penny less than $80 to get it. It was included last year. Not happy about that - minus one star. There is a $25 refund available, but it is conditional and only applies if you bought the Deluxe version last year. Since I bought the standard version last year, I am not eligible for this new price gouging version. Minus another star. They sent an apology email to me, but that didn't sway me in the least - just made me more angry, especially when they wouldn't give me the $25 refund because of the version of TurboTax I bought last year. I should take off another star, but it does function. So that is where I'll leave it for now. Their apology is conditional. They aren't really sorry about anything in my opinion.
I can't envision using any other tax preparation product this year. Next year I won't buy it if they continue this new tactic. But I think they aren't backing down in spite of all the negative publicity. I strongly recommend Turbo Tax, but it depends on what price you have to pay. I've paid for it every year for the past 20 years or so. I plan to switch to H&B Block next year. I hate price gouging by splitting up an existing product and selling a tiered product line.
Otherwise, Turbo Tax takes most of the pain out of filing and paying taxes. It has a question and answer step-by-step style and is generally very easy to follow and understand. You can also manually fill out forms at random and skip through some areas. It imports key data from the previous year's taxes and automatically inserts routine entries such as names and addresses. Of course you can modify or delete those entries.
It is very thorough and complete and has a rigorous check for omissions and problems before you officially file the tax return. On some previous annual versions, this check has been annoying because it thought there were some omissions when there weren't any. I had to create an alternative entry just to satisfy the software. In previous years, and probably this year as well, I will have to make fake entries simply to satisfy the software because somebody at TurboTax is completely misinformed (or probably way out of date) about the real estate procurement procedure to buy property in China. They seem to believe an individual cannot purchase property unless they go through some government approved agency. Not true. Starting in 2006, I've purchased and sold more than one property directly. I know this doesn't apply to most people but it affects me. If they cover it in the software, at least it should be up to date. | 1 | neutral | [
"Now how can a review get a dozen thumbs down in less than a day and then suddenly stop?",
"I believe I was targeted.",
"Seems very suspicious to me.",
"Anyway, my review follows.",
"Schedule C is missing from this year's Deluxe version.",
"I had to purchase the expensive Home and Business version currently priced a penny less than $80 to get it.",
"It was included last year.",
"Not happy about that - minus one star.",
"There is a $25 refund available, but it is conditional and only applies if you bought the Deluxe version last year.",
"Since I bought the standard version last year, I am not eligible for this new price gouging version.",
"Minus another star.",
"They sent an apology email to me, but that didn't sway me in the least - just made me more angry, especially when they wouldn't give me the $25 refund because of the version of TurboTax I bought last year.",
"I should take off another star, but it does function.",
"So that is where I'll leave it for now.",
"Their apology is conditional.",
"They aren't really sorry about anything in my opinion.",
"I can't envision using any other tax preparation product this year.",
"Next year I won't buy it if they continue this new tactic.",
"But I think they aren't backing down in spite of all the negative publicity.",
"I strongly recommend Turbo Tax, but it depends on what price you have to pay.",
"I've paid for it every year for the past 20 years or so.",
"I plan to switch to H&B Block next year.",
"I hate price gouging by splitting up an existing product and selling a tiered product line.",
"Otherwise, Turbo Tax takes most of the pain out of filing and paying taxes.",
"It has a question and answer step-by-step style and is generally very easy to follow and understand.",
"You can also manually fill out forms at random and skip through some areas.",
"It imports key data from the previous year's taxes and automatically inserts routine entries such as names and addresses.",
"Of course you can modify or delete those entries.",
"It is very thorough and complete and has a rigorous check for omissions and problems before you officially file the tax return.",
"On some previous annual versions, this check has been annoying because it thought there were some omissions when there weren't any.",
"I had to create an alternative entry just to satisfy the software.",
"In previous years, and probably this year as well, I will have to make fake entries simply to satisfy the software because somebody at TurboTax is completely misinformed (or probably way out of date) about the real estate procurement procedure to buy property in China.",
"They seem to believe an individual cannot purchase property unless they go through some government approved agency.",
"Not true.",
"Starting in 2006, I've purchased and sold more than one property directly.",
"I know this doesn't apply to most people but it affects me.",
"If they cover it in the software, at least it should be up to date."
] |
Mac Davis was everywhere in the '70s. He had a network tv show. His music was played on pop stations and country stations. This album has what really were his greatest hits at the time. Baby Dont Get Hooked On Me, My favorite song of his at the time Burnin' Thing. Later he came out with Texas In My Rearview Mirror and it became my favorite song by him And it's got I Believe In Music. It's got songs that other singers had hits with. In The Ghetto by what was that guy's name. Watchin' Scotty Grow by Bobby Goldsboro and Somethings Burning by Kenny Rogers. This is a good cd. | 1 | neutral | [
"Mac Davis was everywhere in the '70s.",
"He had a network tv show.",
"His music was played on pop stations and country stations.",
"This album has what really were his greatest hits at the time.",
"Baby Dont Get Hooked On Me, My favorite song of his at the time Burnin' Thing.",
"Later he came out with Texas In My Rearview Mirror and it became my favorite song by him And it's got I Believe In Music.",
"It's got songs that other singers had hits with.",
"In The Ghetto by what was that guy's name.",
"Watchin' Scotty Grow by Bobby Goldsboro and Somethings Burning by Kenny Rogers.",
"This is a good cd."
] |
One of the problems that arises in trying to review Taking Back Sunday's "Faith" is that the lyrics ("You might lose your faith in science/You might lose your faith in wealth/You might lose your faith in Jesus, oh/Or lose faith in yourself . . . Just please (please)/Don't lose your faith in me") so obviously invite comparison to Sting's vastly superior "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You." It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Taking Back Sunday actually meant "Faith" as an answer song, though if they did, they don't seem to have said anything about it that I could find. Whatever their intent, "Faith" emerges onto the music scene in the shadow of one of the best solo recordings by a truly amazing songwriter.
In spite of, or more likely owing to, their derivative nature, the lyrics are the best part of this song. The musical setting consists of some pretty intense guitar slamming that comes out louder and more prominent than the vocals for much of the song. The vocals aren't anything special either; the singing often gives way to arguably tuneful shouting at times of greater intensity.
It's not a bad song, and it's worth a listen, especially if you like your music with a hard-rock edge. I'll be keeping this one in my music collection, but "Ten Summoner's Tales" is going to get a lot more play. | 1 | neutral | [
"One of the problems that arises in trying to review Taking Back Sunday's \"Faith\" is that the lyrics (\"You might lose your faith in science/You might lose your faith in wealth/You might lose your faith in Jesus, oh/Or lose faith in yourself.",
".",
".",
"Just please (please)/Don't lose your faith in me\") so obviously invite comparison to Sting's vastly superior \"If I Ever Lose My Faith in You.",
"\" It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Taking Back Sunday actually meant \"Faith\" as an answer song, though if they did, they don't seem to have said anything about it that I could find.",
"Whatever their intent, \"Faith\" emerges onto the music scene in the shadow of one of the best solo recordings by a truly amazing songwriter.",
"In spite of, or more likely owing to, their derivative nature, the lyrics are the best part of this song.",
"The musical setting consists of some pretty intense guitar slamming that comes out louder and more prominent than the vocals for much of the song.",
"The vocals aren't anything special either; the singing often gives way to arguably tuneful shouting at times of greater intensity.",
"It's not a bad song, and it's worth a listen, especially if you like your music with a hard-rock edge.",
"I'll be keeping this one in my music collection, but \"Ten Summoner's Tales\" is going to get a lot more play."
] |
I will admit that this book was interesting. It didn't take that long to read at all. The story focused on a preacher who's fairly new to the ministry and a young woman who has been working every Sunday in Sunday School and the church. She had yet to meet the preacher, but did on Sunday when he pointed out she didn't have her shoes on. They became engaged forty-eight hours later.
Like I said, the story was interesting and had some sweet scene in it. But the preacher really needed to learn a thing or two. First of all, he needs to learn patience. No preacher is going to condone a couple getting married after knowing each other for two days unless there were some traumatic events that surrounded them falling for each other (which there weren't. No father is going to allow a man to marry his daughter after the man only knew her for twenty-four hours or so. No mother is going to tell her daughter to go for it when she hasn't known a man for very long!
There are some romances that have moved this fast and they worked - but this one just didn't quite jive. I found the preacher a bit impatient and desperate. What's the rush? Also, they never actually kissed. I'd certainly want to kiss the guy to make sure I liked kissing him before I agreed to be with him for the rest of my life...
But like I said, it was interesting and sweet... | 1 | neutral | [
"I will admit that this book was interesting.",
"It didn't take that long to read at all.",
"The story focused on a preacher who's fairly new to the ministry and a young woman who has been working every Sunday in Sunday School and the church.",
"She had yet to meet the preacher, but did on Sunday when he pointed out she didn't have her shoes on.",
"They became engaged forty-eight hours later.",
"Like I said, the story was interesting and had some sweet scene in it.",
"But the preacher really needed to learn a thing or two.",
"First of all, he needs to learn patience.",
"No preacher is going to condone a couple getting married after knowing each other for two days unless there were some traumatic events that surrounded them falling for each other (which there weren't.",
"No father is going to allow a man to marry his daughter after the man only knew her for twenty-four hours or so.",
"No mother is going to tell her daughter to go for it when she hasn't known a man for very long!",
"There are some romances that have moved this fast and they worked - but this one just didn't quite jive.",
"I found the preacher a bit impatient and desperate.",
"What's the rush?",
"Also, they never actually kissed.",
"I'd certainly want to kiss the guy to make sure I liked kissing him before I agreed to be with him for the rest of my life...",
"But like I said, it was interesting and sweet..."
] |
Cute short story about a woman who owns a bar. She has a past history of loving BDSM but her last Dom was abusive. So, she's decided she can do with out. The Gray Wolf Brothers hire a stipper (she takes the job) and they embark on a night of passion.
She runs out the next morning. They try to find her.
I enjoyed this story. It was hard to connect with the characters. I found it interesting that she was afraid of enter into a D/s relationship with one man but she was willing to do it with three. Not sure on that logic.
Pretty hot. Will have to check out the others! | 1 | neutral | [
"Cute short story about a woman who owns a bar.",
"She has a past history of loving BDSM but her last Dom was abusive.",
"So, she's decided she can do with out.",
"The Gray Wolf Brothers hire a stipper (she takes the job) and they embark on a night of passion.",
"She runs out the next morning.",
"They try to find her.",
"I enjoyed this story.",
"It was hard to connect with the characters.",
"I found it interesting that she was afraid of enter into a D/s relationship with one man but she was willing to do it with three.",
"Not sure on that logic.",
"Pretty hot.",
"Will have to check out the others!"
] |
I bought this in July. Used it for the first time today. Has a nice smooth feel. Kind of thick. Cut well. Came with NO heat instructions. Directions on Amazon says 320 for 10 sec. I didn’t find that until after I tested it at 305 for 10 seconds as I was using it with Siser. It shrank. Seems to have adhered fine but I now have a nice gap. If you're using a knock-out design you may want to use with caution. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this in July.",
"Used it for the first time today.",
"Has a nice smooth feel.",
"Kind of thick.",
"Cut well.",
"Came with NO heat instructions.",
"Directions on Amazon says 320 for 10 sec.",
"I didn’t find that until after I tested it at 305 for 10 seconds as I was using it with Siser.",
"It shrank.",
"Seems to have adhered fine but I now have a nice gap.",
"If you're using a knock-out design you may want to use with caution."
] |
I really cant tell you if this is just great or bad. Mario games are fun but to tell you the truth just,getting to old for this.
-Pros-
1-Great gameplay and great for shutting up ya kids.if ya have any.
2-Lots of levels so it will be long and entertaining.
3-Tatics needed a little a bit. Need to grow ur mind dude.
-Cons-
1. Dont ya ever get tired of jumping on things.
2. Ya might play to much. Try to look at ur self in the mirror if you have the second.
3. Portalble games are bad To small and kinda gets you dizzy.
4. PLAY AS A FRENCH,ITALIAN MULTICULTURAL IDIOT or idiots. Luigi.
-Suggesting-
Try to make kids play it. Not urself. | 1 | neutral | [
"I really cant tell you if this is just great or bad.",
"Mario games are fun but to tell you the truth just,getting to old for this.",
"-Pros-\n1-Great gameplay and great for shutting up ya kids.",
"if ya have any.",
"2-Lots of levels so it will be long and entertaining.",
"3-Tatics needed a little a bit.",
"Need to grow ur mind dude.",
"-Cons-\n1.",
"Dont ya ever get tired of jumping on things.",
"2.",
"Ya might play to much.",
"Try to look at ur self in the mirror if you have the second.",
"3.",
"Portalble games are bad To small and kinda gets you dizzy.",
"4.",
"PLAY AS A FRENCH,ITALIAN MULTICULTURAL IDIOT or idiots.",
"Luigi.",
"-Suggesting-\nTry to make kids play it.",
"Not urself."
] |
I found this expansion to be disappointing.
I first tried the expansion with the character I finished the original with. I practically sleptwalked through the entire expansion. My paladin, approx lvl 20, and zero trouble going through it.
Next, I tried it with a brand new character. First I tried a monk, and it was just too hard. Next, I tried another paladin, and it was still extremely difficult to get through it.
So, for someone that was looking to move forward with a character that finished the orignal, I can't imagine this expansion will offer you ANY challenge. I think I finished the expansion in a few days. And if you want to start a new character, be prepared to really work your bottom off.
Here's hoping the next expansion is better suited to either roll. | 1 | neutral | [
"I found this expansion to be disappointing.",
"I first tried the expansion with the character I finished the original with.",
"I practically sleptwalked through the entire expansion.",
"My paladin, approx lvl 20, and zero trouble going through it.",
"Next, I tried it with a brand new character.",
"First I tried a monk, and it was just too hard.",
"Next, I tried another paladin, and it was still extremely difficult to get through it.",
"So, for someone that was looking to move forward with a character that finished the orignal, I can't imagine this expansion will offer you ANY challenge.",
"I think I finished the expansion in a few days.",
"And if you want to start a new character, be prepared to really work your bottom off.",
"Here's hoping the next expansion is better suited to either roll."
] |
When it has came down to Mary J. Blige, musically she didn't strike the nail on the head with her last album. Stronger With Each Tear didn't have the joy and the drive that her 2005 album The Breakthrough had dominated. Musically, she needed to find a better zone. For her latest single, 25/8, the second single from her My Life II: The Journey Continues isn't really as strong as she showed before with her music. It just wasn't as strong as her other vibes like Real Love and Be Without You had shown. I hope she does find better songs to come out with soon. Something that can be a bit more in the week than just 25/8 brought. It's alright but not really stronger with each note.
Song: C+ | 1 | neutral | [
"When it has came down to Mary J.",
"Blige, musically she didn't strike the nail on the head with her last album.",
"Stronger With Each Tear didn't have the joy and the drive that her 2005 album The Breakthrough had dominated.",
"Musically, she needed to find a better zone.",
"For her latest single, 25/8, the second single from her My Life II: The Journey Continues isn't really as strong as she showed before with her music.",
"It just wasn't as strong as her other vibes like Real Love and Be Without You had shown.",
"I hope she does find better songs to come out with soon.",
"Something that can be a bit more in the week than just 25/8 brought.",
"It's alright but not really stronger with each note.",
"Song: C+"
] |
I'm a fan of 3M products, but this particular tape is not that great. I suppose since it's only for Moving & Storage, it's okay, but since I've tried better ones that costed less, I now know that for the value this is not the tape for me.
Cost:
At a total of 218 yards for around an average of $9, that's about $0.0413 each yard. Excellent cost for the occasional use around the house. On the long run, it wasn't cost effective for my business though because, let's be real, anyone who uses a lot of tape will probably not be getting this anyways.
Quality:
As expected of a 3M product. Since this is 3M Moving & Storage, tape is thinner than say, 3M Shipping Tape.
Stickiness:
I won't lie: I found the edge of some of the tape coming off my boxes after they've been handled around a bit. Not cool. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm a fan of 3M products, but this particular tape is not that great.",
"I suppose since it's only for Moving & Storage, it's okay, but since I've tried better ones that costed less, I now know that for the value this is not the tape for me.",
"Cost:\nAt a total of 218 yards for around an average of $9, that's about $0.",
"0413 each yard.",
"Excellent cost for the occasional use around the house.",
"On the long run, it wasn't cost effective for my business though because, let's be real, anyone who uses a lot of tape will probably not be getting this anyways.",
"Quality:\nAs expected of a 3M product.",
"Since this is 3M Moving & Storage, tape is thinner than say, 3M Shipping Tape.",
"Stickiness:\nI won't lie: I found the edge of some of the tape coming off my boxes after they've been handled around a bit.",
"Not cool."
] |
Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening both give great performances in this dark comedy-drama. The director, Sam Mendes, comes straight from Broadway, and you can tell. The movie feels like a play. It starts out with Spacey narrating, giving us a tour of his town á la "Our Town". The direction has its good and bad points. The acting is terrific, but the movie feels claustrophobic. Perhaps you are supposed to feel trapped on that stage of suburbia, but that conflicts with some of the aerial cinematography that would suggest otherwise. In any case, this is the story of a failed marriage and a father who tries to become close with his insecure daughter who ends up dating a creepy guy, so perhaps this might not be your best choice for a family outing. However, this movie is favored to win several Golden Globe awards, including Best Actor (Spacey) and Best Picture. Three stars. Josh Bob says check this out...on video. | 1 | neutral | [
"Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening both give great performances in this dark comedy-drama.",
"The director, Sam Mendes, comes straight from Broadway, and you can tell.",
"The movie feels like a play.",
"It starts out with Spacey narrating, giving us a tour of his town á la \"Our Town\".",
"The direction has its good and bad points.",
"The acting is terrific, but the movie feels claustrophobic.",
"Perhaps you are supposed to feel trapped on that stage of suburbia, but that conflicts with some of the aerial cinematography that would suggest otherwise.",
"In any case, this is the story of a failed marriage and a father who tries to become close with his insecure daughter who ends up dating a creepy guy, so perhaps this might not be your best choice for a family outing.",
"However, this movie is favored to win several Golden Globe awards, including Best Actor (Spacey) and Best Picture.",
"Three stars.",
"Josh Bob says check this out...",
"on video."
] |
Received this in 2 days - thanks Prime! There are many good things about this product. The auto threader is great and love the automatic thread cutter. A decent amount of different stitches although some look better in the guide than they do on material. After several weeks of using it daily, I began to have trouble with the tension. I troubleshooted with the guide, but nothing worked. I also had 2 different occasions of the thread balling up which required me to take the bobbin casing out and clean around it - only to have it happen again. For a 3 week old machine, I found this unacceptable and phoned Amazon. This was my first time using their return/refund policy and it was fabulous - no long explanations necessary and refund received promptly. I am not prepared to spend almost $400 on a product that I have trouble with in the first month. I have since ordered a Janome - didn't get the thread cutter, which I loved, or the number of stitch options, but it is a very sturdy machine (have used before) and I hope that I don't have any tension problems, as I did with this one. Will update on that when it gets here. The Brother is just an average machine - given other reviews with this same problem, I bailed before I had more problems. | 1 | neutral | [
"Received this in 2 days - thanks Prime!",
"There are many good things about this product.",
"The auto threader is great and love the automatic thread cutter.",
"A decent amount of different stitches although some look better in the guide than they do on material.",
"After several weeks of using it daily, I began to have trouble with the tension.",
"I troubleshooted with the guide, but nothing worked.",
"I also had 2 different occasions of the thread balling up which required me to take the bobbin casing out and clean around it - only to have it happen again.",
"For a 3 week old machine, I found this unacceptable and phoned Amazon.",
"This was my first time using their return/refund policy and it was fabulous - no long explanations necessary and refund received promptly.",
"I am not prepared to spend almost $400 on a product that I have trouble with in the first month.",
"I have since ordered a Janome - didn't get the thread cutter, which I loved, or the number of stitch options, but it is a very sturdy machine (have used before) and I hope that I don't have any tension problems, as I did with this one.",
"Will update on that when it gets here.",
"The Brother is just an average machine - given other reviews with this same problem, I bailed before I had more problems."
] |
I sold off my PMD 620 when the 661 came out. The 661 has a plethora of new features, dual VU meters (one on the OLED display and one on an LED bargraph display which can be turned off to save battery). \\
The big plus for the 661 is that it can record from MIC or LINE differential (XLR) inputs while most "handheld" recorders offer only mic recording, thus introducing noise from the internal mic amplifiers and dc/dc converter needed if using +48vdc phantom power to run the mic. Line has none of that and hence a substantially better s/n ratio.
Since the 661's introduction at about 600 street, the price has dropped about 100 making it an optimal competitor with digital inputs, line (3.5mm TRS) inputs, line (XLR balanced) inputs, and mic (xlr balanced with 48vdc phantom if needed) inputs. That's 4 input sources from a handheld unit, but sadly only 2 channels.
I did buy the zoom h4n but found that to get true 4 channel recording you had to go into the unit at mic level which introduced alot of noise on all 4 channels - I prefer the line inputs on the marantz due to the better s/n ratio. If money were no object I'd buy 2 marantz units and sync their clocks, then use cubase to precisely get the 4 channels in sync (or adobe soundbooth).
Today the PMD 620 is the blow-out product. Before buying look at the 660 (also blow-out) and the new 661 as record decks. While the zoom offers some great features, it does so by questionable techniques, such as using a 0-100% attenuator to offer so called "line in" while leaving the mic preamps turned on. That is not true line = in, but a workaround to attenuate line level signals to mic signals them re-amplify them to line level inside the recorder, which is why it has such a high self-noise level. I do like the quad recording mode on the z4n
Regardless of which recorder you choose, using the sanyo 2700 mAh batteries charged the night before use will give you longer runtimes than AA alkaline, approaching the runtimes of lithium batteries. <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Sanyo-2-700-mAh-AA-NiMH-Rechargeable-Batteries-4-Pack/dp/B000IV413S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Sanyo 2,700 mAh AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries (4-Pack)</a> | 1 | neutral | [
"I sold off my PMD 620 when the 661 came out.",
"The 661 has a plethora of new features, dual VU meters (one on the OLED display and one on an LED bargraph display which can be turned off to save battery).",
"\\\\\n\nThe big plus for the 661 is that it can record from MIC or LINE differential (XLR) inputs while most \"handheld\" recorders offer only mic recording, thus introducing noise from the internal mic amplifiers and dc/dc converter needed if using +48vdc phantom power to run the mic.",
"Line has none of that and hence a substantially better s/n ratio.",
"Since the 661's introduction at about 600 street, the price has dropped about 100 making it an optimal competitor with digital inputs, line (3.",
"5mm TRS) inputs, line (XLR balanced) inputs, and mic (xlr balanced with 48vdc phantom if needed) inputs.",
"That's 4 input sources from a handheld unit, but sadly only 2 channels.",
"I did buy the zoom h4n but found that to get true 4 channel recording you had to go into the unit at mic level which introduced alot of noise on all 4 channels - I prefer the line inputs on the marantz due to the better s/n ratio.",
"If money were no object I'd buy 2 marantz units and sync their clocks, then use cubase to precisely get the 4 channels in sync (or adobe soundbooth).",
"Today the PMD 620 is the blow-out product.",
"Before buying look at the 660 (also blow-out) and the new 661 as record decks.",
"While the zoom offers some great features, it does so by questionable techniques, such as using a 0-100% attenuator to offer so called \"line in\" while leaving the mic preamps turned on.",
"That is not true line = in, but a workaround to attenuate line level signals to mic signals them re-amplify them to line level inside the recorder, which is why it has such a high self-noise level.",
"I do like the quad recording mode on the z4n\n\nRegardless of which recorder you choose, using the sanyo 2700 mAh batteries charged the night before use will give you longer runtimes than AA alkaline, approaching the runtimes of lithium batteries.",
" <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Sanyo-2-700-mAh-AA-NiMH-Rechargeable-Batteries-4-Pack/dp/B000IV413S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Sanyo 2,700 mAh AA NiMH Rechargeable Batteries (4-Pack)</a>"
] |
This is a great pedal and has lots on knobs to tweak your sound. It produces great false harmonics. However, keep in mind that this is only a distortion pedal. For a little more money, you could buy a mutli-effects processor pedal that would sound much better as it would include the ability to also add reverb, chorus, delay, and a noise-gate. When I compare the sound from this to my Digitech pedal, there is no comparison as the extra dimensions that I just mentioned greatly improve the sound over simply adding distortion to your guitar signal. I have mostly used a multi-effects processor pedal since my days as a beginner. I thought I might be missing out on something by not owning a dedicated pedal. However, that is not the case. The Digitech produces equally nasty distortion as the Metal Muff. In my opinion, a mutli-effect processor pedal is a much better value and they start under $200. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is a great pedal and has lots on knobs to tweak your sound.",
"It produces great false harmonics.",
"However, keep in mind that this is only a distortion pedal.",
"For a little more money, you could buy a mutli-effects processor pedal that would sound much better as it would include the ability to also add reverb, chorus, delay, and a noise-gate.",
"When I compare the sound from this to my Digitech pedal, there is no comparison as the extra dimensions that I just mentioned greatly improve the sound over simply adding distortion to your guitar signal.",
"I have mostly used a multi-effects processor pedal since my days as a beginner.",
"I thought I might be missing out on something by not owning a dedicated pedal.",
"However, that is not the case.",
"The Digitech produces equally nasty distortion as the Metal Muff.",
"In my opinion, a mutli-effect processor pedal is a much better value and they start under $200."
] |
I bought this book on Amazon.com for my Kindle. Here is my honest review:
2.5 stars
This book needs a bit of editing, but the idea behind the story is interesting. There is a presidential election about to take place, and the turning point in the decision is when one of the candidates finds a list of special people in his country who he calls terrorists. Since he has the plan, he gets the most support. But he takes it to an unconstitutional level and strips the rights away from these special people. It's like Nazi Germany, with segregation and abductions. Yikes. Paivi is in the mix. She's a special person, as she has a paranormal ability. Into the Shadows is her story.
It's told in third person, mostly through Paivi's POV. We also see the POV of Senator Stevens, the aforementioned presidential candidate. By the end of this novel, so many things are left unsaid, undone, and unexplained. I know this is a trilogy, but at least SOME answers should be available. Absolutely everything is up in the air. And I still don't quite have a grip on the abilities of these people. Why do they have them? What exactly can Christian do? Are there different abilities? Why are they marked as terrorists? OY.
Anyway, I didn't really like all of the characters. Her parents were very Brady Bunch sounding at the beginning, and the feel of the book changed all the time for me. There was a depth level that this book just didn't reach. I'll still try some other stuff by this author because she is pretty awesome on Twitter and Facebook. :o) | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this book on Amazon.",
"com for my Kindle.",
"Here is my honest review:\n\n2.",
"5 stars\n\nThis book needs a bit of editing, but the idea behind the story is interesting.",
"There is a presidential election about to take place, and the turning point in the decision is when one of the candidates finds a list of special people in his country who he calls terrorists.",
"Since he has the plan, he gets the most support.",
"But he takes it to an unconstitutional level and strips the rights away from these special people.",
"It's like Nazi Germany, with segregation and abductions.",
"Yikes.",
"Paivi is in the mix.",
"She's a special person, as she has a paranormal ability.",
"Into the Shadows is her story.",
"It's told in third person, mostly through Paivi's POV.",
"We also see the POV of Senator Stevens, the aforementioned presidential candidate.",
"By the end of this novel, so many things are left unsaid, undone, and unexplained.",
"I know this is a trilogy, but at least SOME answers should be available.",
"Absolutely everything is up in the air.",
"And I still don't quite have a grip on the abilities of these people.",
"Why do they have them?",
"What exactly can Christian do?",
"Are there different abilities?",
"Why are they marked as terrorists?",
"OY.",
"Anyway, I didn't really like all of the characters.",
"Her parents were very Brady Bunch sounding at the beginning, and the feel of the book changed all the time for me.",
"There was a depth level that this book just didn't reach.",
"I'll still try some other stuff by this author because she is pretty awesome on Twitter and Facebook.",
":o)"
] |
Well folks, this is about as cheap as they come. I'm not sure what I was expecting for $17, but surely something a bit more substantial. The long USB cable is nice, but it's not attached to the base so you have to fish the cord around and manually plug your phone in. The base itself is made of a very light plastic that tips over if you attempt any manipulation of the phone beyond lightly touching the screen. Thoughtful placement of foam rubber traction pads/cushions keeps it from being a total dud. This is a dock only in the most general sense of the term and if it weren't for the magnet that puts your phone into dock mode, it would be simply an expensive stand.
I'm happy that it works with my my cheap Incipio case, but when my phone is in an Otterbox Defender, it stopped detecting the base so it wouldn't go into dock mode. Bummer, but I can't imagine many other docks work with a Defender, either.
Also, +1 for shipping in a simple plastic bag rather than a cardboard and plastic clamshell monstrosity. We need more of this.
Ah well. I'll likely keep the cord and the base will end up getting dusty in the bottom of my drawer while I search for one that will work with my case. No biggie...'twas cheap.
**edit**
Unhappy that this wasn't working with my Defender case, I glued a bigger magnet in the base and filled the remaining void with silicon. This had the effect of making the base heavier and not as prone to tipping over and now my phone will go into dock mode while in the Defender. Awesome. | 1 | neutral | [
"Well folks, this is about as cheap as they come.",
"I'm not sure what I was expecting for $17, but surely something a bit more substantial.",
"The long USB cable is nice, but it's not attached to the base so you have to fish the cord around and manually plug your phone in.",
"The base itself is made of a very light plastic that tips over if you attempt any manipulation of the phone beyond lightly touching the screen.",
"Thoughtful placement of foam rubber traction pads/cushions keeps it from being a total dud.",
"This is a dock only in the most general sense of the term and if it weren't for the magnet that puts your phone into dock mode, it would be simply an expensive stand.",
"I'm happy that it works with my my cheap Incipio case, but when my phone is in an Otterbox Defender, it stopped detecting the base so it wouldn't go into dock mode.",
"Bummer, but I can't imagine many other docks work with a Defender, either.",
"Also, +1 for shipping in a simple plastic bag rather than a cardboard and plastic clamshell monstrosity.",
"We need more of this.",
"Ah well.",
"I'll likely keep the cord and the base will end up getting dusty in the bottom of my drawer while I search for one that will work with my case.",
"No biggie...",
"'twas cheap.",
"**edit**\n\nUnhappy that this wasn't working with my Defender case, I glued a bigger magnet in the base and filled the remaining void with silicon.",
"This had the effect of making the base heavier and not as prone to tipping over and now my phone will go into dock mode while in the Defender.",
"Awesome."
] |
Blue Cheer were a psychedelic-era power trio in the mold of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Although they are often credited with pioneering the heavy metal genre, that honor would have to be reserved for Hendrix and Cream. The band did take decibel levels to unparalleled extremes, however, beating other power trio's such as Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain to the mega-punch by a year or so. Their reason for cranking up the volume, however, may have been as much to hide the still rather obvious musical limitations of the band members as it was to venture into uncharted seas. It is much more entertaining, after all, to hear Leslie West or Eric Clapton shred paint from rafters than the Cheer's Leigh Stephens.
While Blue Cheer was the name of a laundry detergent, it was also slang for a particular strain of LSD. It's about as likely that the band had phosphates rather than acid in mind as it is that 'Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds' wasn't a John Lennon acronym for LSD. Just look at their hair. But these boys weren't solid psychedelic rockers. Their bent was much more in the blues-rock tradition, as evidenced by bassist Dickie Peterson's compositions 'Out of Focus' (which features a tasty bridge as one of the few instrumental zeniths on the disc), 'Doctor Please' (a meandering 7:53 foray into grunge 'n' sludge, a fitting complement to lyrics which basically add up to beggin' for drugs), and 'Second Time Around', about an on-and-off again relationship, which tacks some psychedelic sound effects on the end, seemingly as an afterthought rather than a coherant extension of the piece.
The band exists on a much higher plane when it comes to cover tracks, which claim one-half of the selections offered. All three of these numbers have been, or would be, covered by other, more competent performers, even when it comes to Blue Cheer's singular claim to fame, their number 14 cover of Eddie Cochran's 1958 scorcher, 'Summertime Blues'. Despite Cheer's commendable effort, The Who's 1970 version from 'Live At Leeds' blows their version away. Blowing away anything by Blue Cheer is no small accomplishment, but The Who did it in a big way. Blue Cheer returned to 1958 to pick up another widely covered rock track, B.B. King's 'Rock Me Baby', partially credited to Joe Josea (although King has claimed sole credit for the composition), and also covered by the likes of Deep Purple, Lee Michaels, Ike and Tina Turner, and Eric Clapton. It's one of the better tracks on the disc, but it comes up short to what performers like Clapton and even Lee Michaels did with it. Finally, we have a version of Mose Allison's 'Parchment Farm', about doing time on a prison farm in Mississippi. It contains the interesting sentiment that "all I did was shoot my wife... she wasn't any good", yet "I didn't do anything wrong". Not sure who can identify with that...
Blue Cheer is an interesting artifact in 1960's rock, and if you're into loud, distorted guitar music, you probably won't be offended by any of this, and may actually enjoy much of it. Unfortunately for most of us, better versions of the cover songs offered here are readily available, and Blue Cheer's own compositions are clearly second tier. Three stars, primarily for bravado. Worth a listen, but sure to gather a lot of dust on your shelf. | 1 | neutral | [
"Blue Cheer were a psychedelic-era power trio in the mold of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream.",
"Although they are often credited with pioneering the heavy metal genre, that honor would have to be reserved for Hendrix and Cream.",
"The band did take decibel levels to unparalleled extremes, however, beating other power trio's such as Grand Funk Railroad and Mountain to the mega-punch by a year or so.",
"Their reason for cranking up the volume, however, may have been as much to hide the still rather obvious musical limitations of the band members as it was to venture into uncharted seas.",
"It is much more entertaining, after all, to hear Leslie West or Eric Clapton shred paint from rafters than the Cheer's Leigh Stephens.",
"While Blue Cheer was the name of a laundry detergent, it was also slang for a particular strain of LSD.",
"It's about as likely that the band had phosphates rather than acid in mind as it is that 'Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds' wasn't a John Lennon acronym for LSD.",
"Just look at their hair.",
"But these boys weren't solid psychedelic rockers.",
"Their bent was much more in the blues-rock tradition, as evidenced by bassist Dickie Peterson's compositions 'Out of Focus' (which features a tasty bridge as one of the few instrumental zeniths on the disc), 'Doctor Please' (a meandering 7:53 foray into grunge 'n' sludge, a fitting complement to lyrics which basically add up to beggin' for drugs), and 'Second Time Around', about an on-and-off again relationship, which tacks some psychedelic sound effects on the end, seemingly as an afterthought rather than a coherant extension of the piece.",
"The band exists on a much higher plane when it comes to cover tracks, which claim one-half of the selections offered.",
"All three of these numbers have been, or would be, covered by other, more competent performers, even when it comes to Blue Cheer's singular claim to fame, their number 14 cover of Eddie Cochran's 1958 scorcher, 'Summertime Blues'.",
"Despite Cheer's commendable effort, The Who's 1970 version from 'Live At Leeds' blows their version away.",
"Blowing away anything by Blue Cheer is no small accomplishment, but The Who did it in a big way.",
"Blue Cheer returned to 1958 to pick up another widely covered rock track, B.",
"B. King's 'Rock Me Baby', partially credited to Joe Josea (although King has claimed sole credit for the composition), and also covered by the likes of Deep Purple, Lee Michaels, Ike and Tina Turner, and Eric Clapton.",
"It's one of the better tracks on the disc, but it comes up short to what performers like Clapton and even Lee Michaels did with it.",
"Finally, we have a version of Mose Allison's 'Parchment Farm', about doing time on a prison farm in Mississippi.",
"It contains the interesting sentiment that \"all I did was shoot my wife...",
"she wasn't any good\", yet \"I didn't do anything wrong\".",
"Not sure who can identify with that...",
"Blue Cheer is an interesting artifact in 1960's rock, and if you're into loud, distorted guitar music, you probably won't be offended by any of this, and may actually enjoy much of it.",
"Unfortunately for most of us, better versions of the cover songs offered here are readily available, and Blue Cheer's own compositions are clearly second tier.",
"Three stars, primarily for bravado.",
"Worth a listen, but sure to gather a lot of dust on your shelf."
] |
Image did a crappy job on this blu ray. The transfer has lots of damage to it. It's not acceptable to have lines and dirt on a blu ray. (UNLESS you sell it for five bucks new.) this has to stop with blus, the bad treatment and higher price. IF you won't clean up the damage then please sell it for cheap. However image did a great job on 'basketcase' , a superlow budget movie and on this one they did NOTHING to fix the picture. And criterion did have a better print available around, this is a disgrace. But the movie itself is fantastic, it's five star and one of the best fantasy movies of the last 31 years. It stands up great today even on a pure fun level and wacky but thoughtful creation. OF course these guys are from Monty Python and that shows here as the little time bandits travel through time chased by God and his new creation EVIL. IT's heartbreaking to see movies treated like this on blu ray. Only a movie exec who doesn't love movies would have let a CLASSIC fantasy movie be put on blu ray with scratches and lines on it. Shame, shame , shame, even the shriek show doesn't allow scratches on their movies. But it's all we have on blu from this title. I still own the criterion dvd and I can't get rid of it , unless a great new remaster version of this comes out on blu. which may never happen. | 1 | neutral | [
"Image did a crappy job on this blu ray.",
"The transfer has lots of damage to it.",
"It's not acceptable to have lines and dirt on a blu ray.",
"(UNLESS you sell it for five bucks new.",
") this has to stop with blus, the bad treatment and higher price.",
"IF you won't clean up the damage then please sell it for cheap.",
"However image did a great job on 'basketcase' , a superlow budget movie and on this one they did NOTHING to fix the picture.",
"And criterion did have a better print available around, this is a disgrace.",
"But the movie itself is fantastic, it's five star and one of the best fantasy movies of the last 31 years.",
"It stands up great today even on a pure fun level and wacky but thoughtful creation.",
"OF course these guys are from Monty Python and that shows here as the little time bandits travel through time chased by God and his new creation EVIL.",
"IT's heartbreaking to see movies treated like this on blu ray.",
"Only a movie exec who doesn't love movies would have let a CLASSIC fantasy movie be put on blu ray with scratches and lines on it.",
"Shame, shame , shame, even the shriek show doesn't allow scratches on their movies.",
"But it's all we have on blu from this title.",
"I still own the criterion dvd and I can't get rid of it , unless a great new remaster version of this comes out on blu.",
"which may never happen."
] |
Version 2005 seems to have fixed a few problems that earlier versions had. I used to get an error that indicated that the program was not working properly every time I ran my computer. 2005 only does that on occasion. The 3 stars I gave this program take into account that I haven't had any better luck with McAfee or Panda and when this is working (which is most of the time now) it seems to do its job very well. One feature I really like is banner blocking--it just removes those annoying flashing banners that you see on most sites (ex. "You're the 1,000,000th visitor and you won a free DVD player! CLICK HERE!"). So far this has worked perfectly for me. I also like the firewall better than any other software firewall I have ever used. Parental controls, on the other hand, are fairly useless--the program seems to crash more often when I have them turned on and yet many objectionable sites are not blocked). Another con is that there is a documented conflict with "Creative Media Source GO!"; if you have both load on start up, Internet Security will not function (if you let IS load first and then manually start Media Source, however, it is OK).
All in all, I would only recommend this product if you can get it for "Free after rebates"--a deal that comes up fairly often, if you are looking for it (you will still pay taxes and any postage, depending on your state). At that price it is a good deal. At its usual price of $60, it is highway robbery. I'm thinking I'll try PC-Cillin next, [...]. | 1 | neutral | [
"Version 2005 seems to have fixed a few problems that earlier versions had.",
"I used to get an error that indicated that the program was not working properly every time I ran my computer.",
"2005 only does that on occasion.",
"The 3 stars I gave this program take into account that I haven't had any better luck with McAfee or Panda and when this is working (which is most of the time now) it seems to do its job very well.",
"One feature I really like is banner blocking--it just removes those annoying flashing banners that you see on most sites (ex.",
"\"You're the 1,000,000th visitor and you won a free DVD player!",
"CLICK HERE!",
"\").",
"So far this has worked perfectly for me.",
"I also like the firewall better than any other software firewall I have ever used.",
"Parental controls, on the other hand, are fairly useless--the program seems to crash more often when I have them turned on and yet many objectionable sites are not blocked).",
"Another con is that there is a documented conflict with \"Creative Media Source GO!",
"\"; if you have both load on start up, Internet Security will not function (if you let IS load first and then manually start Media Source, however, it is OK).",
"All in all, I would only recommend this product if you can get it for \"Free after rebates\"--a deal that comes up fairly often, if you are looking for it (you will still pay taxes and any postage, depending on your state).",
"At that price it is a good deal.",
"At its usual price of $60, it is highway robbery.",
"I'm thinking I'll try PC-Cillin next, [...",
"]."
] |
I haven't finished the whole series, but I will leave my comment here with the original stories rather than leave an individual comment for each. The story itself, isn't too bad, so I gave it three stars. However, if you find bad grammar, misspellings and typos bothersome, you may not want to get started on this series. For the problems that have nothing to do with the story itself, I give the series one star.
I realize that English has changed since I was in school and I accept that people talk differently now, but I expect better when reading. It used to be that one educated themselves to take up writing as their chosen profession rather than decided to use writing to fill in time between working and raising a family. I don't think that I have encountered so many sentences ending in a preposition in anything else I have ever read. This first double book was the worst, the third and fourth a little better. But, by then, the typos took over. I suppose that this is the price readers have to pay for self published e-books that lack proofreading, but it became a tad ridiculous by the fourth book.
In the third book, I think that the authors missed a real opportunity when they decided not expand the character of the faceless man. So much potential there that was lost. At the end of book three, it just left the reader scratching one's head. Melissa, the main character, who cries at the drop of a hat at everything else, simply walks away after the faceless man saves her life and is then mowed down by police. And there is a lack of continuity from one book to the next. One seems to end in an odd place, only to pick up in an odd place at the beginning of the next.
I have just finished book four and would like to continue with the series, so I suppose as long as the authors get paid, they care not about any critical reviews of their writing skills. They should, but most likely do not. Too bad. I would like to read more of their work, but once I finish this series I will not put myself through another one of their grammatically incorrect and typo ridden books. | 1 | neutral | [
"I haven't finished the whole series, but I will leave my comment here with the original stories rather than leave an individual comment for each.",
"The story itself, isn't too bad, so I gave it three stars.",
"However, if you find bad grammar, misspellings and typos bothersome, you may not want to get started on this series.",
"For the problems that have nothing to do with the story itself, I give the series one star.",
"I realize that English has changed since I was in school and I accept that people talk differently now, but I expect better when reading.",
"It used to be that one educated themselves to take up writing as their chosen profession rather than decided to use writing to fill in time between working and raising a family.",
"I don't think that I have encountered so many sentences ending in a preposition in anything else I have ever read.",
"This first double book was the worst, the third and fourth a little better.",
"But, by then, the typos took over.",
"I suppose that this is the price readers have to pay for self published e-books that lack proofreading, but it became a tad ridiculous by the fourth book.",
"In the third book, I think that the authors missed a real opportunity when they decided not expand the character of the faceless man.",
"So much potential there that was lost.",
"At the end of book three, it just left the reader scratching one's head.",
"Melissa, the main character, who cries at the drop of a hat at everything else, simply walks away after the faceless man saves her life and is then mowed down by police.",
"And there is a lack of continuity from one book to the next.",
"One seems to end in an odd place, only to pick up in an odd place at the beginning of the next.",
"I have just finished book four and would like to continue with the series, so I suppose as long as the authors get paid, they care not about any critical reviews of their writing skills.",
"They should, but most likely do not.",
"Too bad.",
"I would like to read more of their work, but once I finish this series I will not put myself through another one of their grammatically incorrect and typo ridden books."
] |
We've got all the "10 Days In..." Board games, and in general, we LOVE the games! This one, however, falls short of their usual quality mark.
The Cons:
1. There aren't enough tiles. While in the other games, there are enough tiles for 4 people to play and still have a large "draw" pile, when 4 people play this game, there's a tiny "draw" pile.
2. The game is biased towards the Caribbean Islands: each island has its own tile, and since there are so many of them, everyone ends up trying to make a trip through the Caribbean, instead of focusing on the North and South continents.
3. There aren't enough duplicate tiles. In most of the other games, the "big" countries have 2 tiles, but only Brazil has 2 tiles in this version. This adds to the bias towards the Caribbean: if there were 2 tiles for the USA, Canada, Mexico, and maybe a couple other South American countries, game play would be more balanced and add the necessary tiles to make the game do-able.
The Pros:
1. My kids have learned a lot about the Caribbean Islands! | 1 | neutral | [
"We've got all the \"10 Days In...",
"\" Board games, and in general, we LOVE the games!",
"This one, however, falls short of their usual quality mark.",
"The Cons:\n1.",
"There aren't enough tiles.",
"While in the other games, there are enough tiles for 4 people to play and still have a large \"draw\" pile, when 4 people play this game, there's a tiny \"draw\" pile.",
"2.",
"The game is biased towards the Caribbean Islands: each island has its own tile, and since there are so many of them, everyone ends up trying to make a trip through the Caribbean, instead of focusing on the North and South continents.",
"3.",
"There aren't enough duplicate tiles.",
"In most of the other games, the \"big\" countries have 2 tiles, but only Brazil has 2 tiles in this version.",
"This adds to the bias towards the Caribbean: if there were 2 tiles for the USA, Canada, Mexico, and maybe a couple other South American countries, game play would be more balanced and add the necessary tiles to make the game do-able.",
"The Pros:\n1.",
"My kids have learned a lot about the Caribbean Islands!"
] |
I bought this game on a whim, having really liked Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. This game needs help. First of all, the frame rate is lower than it should be. There is slow-down as well. Even the game before this, Need For Speed: Underground 2 looked 100 times better. The car models in Most Wanted are a touch nicer-looking and there is a far better selection than Underground 2, but that's the only plus this game has to it. You don't race as much as fly around the city in a barely-controlled frenzy, trying to stay ahead of the computer cars. Winning is more by luck than skill. He or she who hits the least obstacles wins. Hardly an enjoyable way to race! I get too stressed when playing this game, so I put it away for a while. Definitely rent before buying this game. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this game on a whim, having really liked Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.",
"This game needs help.",
"First of all, the frame rate is lower than it should be.",
"There is slow-down as well.",
"Even the game before this, Need For Speed: Underground 2 looked 100 times better.",
"The car models in Most Wanted are a touch nicer-looking and there is a far better selection than Underground 2, but that's the only plus this game has to it.",
"You don't race as much as fly around the city in a barely-controlled frenzy, trying to stay ahead of the computer cars.",
"Winning is more by luck than skill.",
"He or she who hits the least obstacles wins.",
"Hardly an enjoyable way to race!",
"I get too stressed when playing this game, so I put it away for a while.",
"Definitely rent before buying this game."
] |
Eh. I was nonplussed with this one. A cool story but it was kind of scattered and I'm really starting to see the deux ex machina moments that Lewis uses via Aslan and his actions in the stories. All it seems the children have to do is wish upon an Aslan and something comes along to help them out. It's getting a little tiresome.
I understand the story is supposed to be scattered all over the place since the children are island hopping but I think because each incident at each island was rounded out so nicely that it was more noticeable for me. I guess I just wasn't as enchanted with this story as I was with the previous ones. THAHB is still my favorite in the series at this point and I think Eustace really irked me to the point of not enjoying this one and wanting to drown him in the ocean they were sailing on. He was a pain in the ass. I would have liked to seen him change (character, not shape) as opposed to getting told he was a different person after the dragon thing but such is this and the rest of the stories.
And Aslan appearing to the children as a lamb . . . even I think that's getting beaten over the head with the Jesus references. Not to mention him saying that he's known by another name in our world and the children will have to know him by that name. Hmmm . . . is it Horatio? Not that that's a bad thing but the religious references are becoming more and more obvious as the series goes on.
Eh is what I have to say about this one. I guess every series is going to have its lulls. | 1 | neutral | [
"Eh.",
"I was nonplussed with this one.",
"A cool story but it was kind of scattered and I'm really starting to see the deux ex machina moments that Lewis uses via Aslan and his actions in the stories.",
"All it seems the children have to do is wish upon an Aslan and something comes along to help them out.",
"It's getting a little tiresome.",
"I understand the story is supposed to be scattered all over the place since the children are island hopping but I think because each incident at each island was rounded out so nicely that it was more noticeable for me.",
"I guess I just wasn't as enchanted with this story as I was with the previous ones.",
"THAHB is still my favorite in the series at this point and I think Eustace really irked me to the point of not enjoying this one and wanting to drown him in the ocean they were sailing on.",
"He was a pain in the ass.",
"I would have liked to seen him change (character, not shape) as opposed to getting told he was a different person after the dragon thing but such is this and the rest of the stories.",
"And Aslan appearing to the children as a lamb.",
".",
".",
"even I think that's getting beaten over the head with the Jesus references.",
"Not to mention him saying that he's known by another name in our world and the children will have to know him by that name.",
"Hmmm.",
".",
".",
"is it Horatio?",
"Not that that's a bad thing but the religious references are becoming more and more obvious as the series goes on.",
"Eh is what I have to say about this one.",
"I guess every series is going to have its lulls."
] |
i bought one note. screen was gorgeous. update to ICS was quick and painless. i was very pleased with functionality. until i tried playing a few games. there was a definite lag. in fruit ninja, i would slice, and slice would appear a fraction of a second later. enough of a fraction that i would miss a lot. this happened in other games and where speed is important, this is just bad. and for me it was important. so i returned it. got another note. same thing. same lag. even a worse lag. contacts took time to load. it was just unpleasant. i will return this one as well.
i will say this, screen is indeed gorgeous. video and audio were nice. but it is not good enough for a 540$ cellular. just not good enough. | 1 | neutral | [
"i bought one note.",
"screen was gorgeous.",
"update to ICS was quick and painless.",
"i was very pleased with functionality.",
"until i tried playing a few games.",
"there was a definite lag.",
"in fruit ninja, i would slice, and slice would appear a fraction of a second later.",
"enough of a fraction that i would miss a lot.",
"this happened in other games and where speed is important, this is just bad.",
"and for me it was important.",
"so i returned it.",
"got another note.",
"same thing.",
"same lag.",
"even a worse lag.",
"contacts took time to load.",
"it was just unpleasant.",
"i will return this one as well.",
"i will say this, screen is indeed gorgeous.",
"video and audio were nice.",
"but it is not good enough for a 540$ cellular.",
"just not good enough."
] |
Quantum Redshift is a passable racing game that really needs more tracks to work. In QR, you begin with access to seven different racers, each with a unique vehicle (although each is only subtly different from the others) and the home track of each racer. You also begin with access to only the first of five tiers of speed. Speed is what QR does well. The graphics engine is incredible, and the lanscape will blur in amazing and truly convincing ways as you blast around at speeds that approach 1000 mph on the highest difficulty levels. While you are racing, you can pick up power ups that let you attack other racers and shield yourself from their attacks. Just to keep things violent, one of the opponents you race against when racing the computer will always be your nemesis...a racer who would rather see you lose than win himself. Supposedly you interact with your nemesis during cutscenes between races, but the relationships are pretty ignorable. The weapons are all pretty cool and while sometimes you wish your nemesis weren't there mucking things up, it isn't so hard to just accept him as part of the challenge of the game. QR has great music and sound effects and if you happen to not like techno music yourself, you can play custom tracks off the hard drive (although the game will play the tracks you picked in a random order, which is kind of annoying and should have been made optional). Winning tournaments unlocks new characters and speed levels and you can win cash to upgrade your vehicle (more turbo, better shields and weapons).
So far so good and all of the above is enough to keep you interested in the game, but two major flaws bring it down from greatness. First, the racing itself is not very deep. You have a turbo meter you need to monitor and use wisely and you do of course need to worry about the people shooting at you (the attacks can be quite devastating and are capable of destroying ships once the weapons have been powered up, and will always cost you a lot of your momentum), but there are no gears to shift and there is not a lot of technique in the turns. The second, and by far larger, flaw,is the limited number of tracks, and the length of the tracks. Put simply, there just isn't a lot of game here. There are sixteen tracks, but none of them are very long, and while there are some pretty cool ones, they aren't that much different from each other. The tracks come in pairs, a racer and his nemsis forming a pair, and the two tracks are really quite similar. The tracks that are there are all fantastically detailed, but I for one would be happy to trade away a lot of the background detail for a wider variety of tracks.
In the end, QR is not a bad game by any means, but it could have really benefitted from a standard transmission and about twice as many unique tracks. I think a racing game junkie who just devours games and moves on could definitely have fun with this one for a couple of weeks, but if you aren't a giant fan of the genre and are really just looking for that one really good racing game to have in your library, I'd definitely reccomend renting this one first. | 1 | neutral | [
"Quantum Redshift is a passable racing game that really needs more tracks to work.",
"In QR, you begin with access to seven different racers, each with a unique vehicle (although each is only subtly different from the others) and the home track of each racer.",
"You also begin with access to only the first of five tiers of speed.",
"Speed is what QR does well.",
"The graphics engine is incredible, and the lanscape will blur in amazing and truly convincing ways as you blast around at speeds that approach 1000 mph on the highest difficulty levels.",
"While you are racing, you can pick up power ups that let you attack other racers and shield yourself from their attacks.",
"Just to keep things violent, one of the opponents you race against when racing the computer will always be your nemesis...",
"a racer who would rather see you lose than win himself.",
"Supposedly you interact with your nemesis during cutscenes between races, but the relationships are pretty ignorable.",
"The weapons are all pretty cool and while sometimes you wish your nemesis weren't there mucking things up, it isn't so hard to just accept him as part of the challenge of the game.",
"QR has great music and sound effects and if you happen to not like techno music yourself, you can play custom tracks off the hard drive (although the game will play the tracks you picked in a random order, which is kind of annoying and should have been made optional).",
"Winning tournaments unlocks new characters and speed levels and you can win cash to upgrade your vehicle (more turbo, better shields and weapons).",
"So far so good and all of the above is enough to keep you interested in the game, but two major flaws bring it down from greatness.",
"First, the racing itself is not very deep.",
"You have a turbo meter you need to monitor and use wisely and you do of course need to worry about the people shooting at you (the attacks can be quite devastating and are capable of destroying ships once the weapons have been powered up, and will always cost you a lot of your momentum), but there are no gears to shift and there is not a lot of technique in the turns.",
"The second, and by far larger, flaw,is the limited number of tracks, and the length of the tracks.",
"Put simply, there just isn't a lot of game here.",
"There are sixteen tracks, but none of them are very long, and while there are some pretty cool ones, they aren't that much different from each other.",
"The tracks come in pairs, a racer and his nemsis forming a pair, and the two tracks are really quite similar.",
"The tracks that are there are all fantastically detailed, but I for one would be happy to trade away a lot of the background detail for a wider variety of tracks.",
"In the end, QR is not a bad game by any means, but it could have really benefitted from a standard transmission and about twice as many unique tracks.",
"I think a racing game junkie who just devours games and moves on could definitely have fun with this one for a couple of weeks, but if you aren't a giant fan of the genre and are really just looking for that one really good racing game to have in your library, I'd definitely reccomend renting this one first."
] |
.NET should be ditched and Mono should rise, meaning C# people should code toward mono and not .NET. In term what this will do is force Microsoft out of ownership of the C# coding language. Then by C# having no owner it can become as standard as C or C++ that in terms will help developers and 'ALL' users.<br><br>I admit i had a problem against C# because the fact .NET, closed and propetiary, is the main implementation of it. Though with an open implementation combo of C#/GTK#/Qt#(its called something else) i noticed this is actually a good thing, except for the fact Mono is trying ot be a 100% clone of .NET and not try to surpass it that is an issue.<br><br>Basically what i want to see happen with Mono is that it integrates functions and parts from all over into it, basically anyone who builds extentions to Mono-C# don't hesitate to begin integrating these things in the mainline design.<br><br>So pretty much if Mono continues to be brain dead step child of .NET then i can't truly support C#, but if people force Mono as the C# standard then its well worth it. | 1 | neutral | [
".",
"NET should be ditched and Mono should rise, meaning C# people should code toward mono and not.",
"NET.",
"In term what this will do is force Microsoft out of ownership of the C# coding language.",
"Then by C# having no owner it can become as standard as C or C++ that in terms will help developers and 'ALL' users.",
"<br><br>I admit i had a problem against C# because the fact.",
"NET, closed and propetiary, is the main implementation of it.",
"Though with an open implementation combo of C#/GTK#/Qt#(its called something else) i noticed this is actually a good thing, except for the fact Mono is trying ot be a 100% clone of.",
"NET and not try to surpass it that is an issue.",
"<br><br>Basically what i want to see happen with Mono is that it integrates functions and parts from all over into it, basically anyone who builds extentions to Mono-C# don't hesitate to begin integrating these things in the mainline design.",
"<br><br>So pretty much if Mono continues to be brain dead step child of.",
"NET then i can't truly support C#, but if people force Mono as the C# standard then its well worth it."
] |
I have used Ernie Ball Slinky or Super Slinky strings on my electric guitars for years. I like them and trust them.
But the other day, I was plucking on my banjo that had these on for less than 4 weeks and, PLONK, the high G string came unraveled at the tail piece...
Anyone who plays and has had one pop and come close (or hit) their face... knows how long it takes to stop flinching when you are stringing the instrument... now I was not even doing THAT, I was playing (not like a demon either, I was just strumming a bit)...
Anyways... I'm sure it was a fluke, but... it happened anyway... I'm ugly enough without a popped eyeball. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have used Ernie Ball Slinky or Super Slinky strings on my electric guitars for years.",
"I like them and trust them.",
"But the other day, I was plucking on my banjo that had these on for less than 4 weeks and, PLONK, the high G string came unraveled at the tail piece...",
"Anyone who plays and has had one pop and come close (or hit) their face...",
"knows how long it takes to stop flinching when you are stringing the instrument...",
"now I was not even doing THAT, I was playing (not like a demon either, I was just strumming a bit)...",
"Anyways...",
"I'm sure it was a fluke, but...",
"it happened anyway...",
"I'm ugly enough without a popped eyeball."
] |
I have lived with Kleiber's Fifth for over twenty years. I gritted my teeth and bought it when it was uncoupled with the Seventh. When it was released as an Original, I readily made the switch. It is a breathtaking performance of the Fifth. Its legendary status is understandable. It was never a state-of-the-art recording; the Original Image Bit Processing has optimised the sound in wait for SACD.
But I doubt that I will ever listen to it again. The same comment also applies to the Karajan '63 or '77 and the Furtwangler '43.
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Karajan-in-Moscow-Vol-1-Symphony-Nos-5-6-Pastoral/dp/B002L0JAN0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Karajan in Moscow, Vol. 1: Symphony Nos. 5 & 6- Pastoral</a> | 1 | neutral | [
"I have lived with Kleiber's Fifth for over twenty years.",
"I gritted my teeth and bought it when it was uncoupled with the Seventh.",
"When it was released as an Original, I readily made the switch.",
"It is a breathtaking performance of the Fifth.",
"Its legendary status is understandable.",
"It was never a state-of-the-art recording; the Original Image Bit Processing has optimised the sound in wait for SACD.",
"But I doubt that I will ever listen to it again.",
"The same comment also applies to the Karajan '63 or '77 and the Furtwangler '43.",
"<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Karajan-in-Moscow-Vol-1-Symphony-Nos-5-6-Pastoral/dp/B002L0JAN0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Karajan in Moscow, Vol.",
"1: Symphony Nos.",
"5 & 6- Pastoral</a>"
] |
I bought this phone 3 months ago for 60$ and have been using it since. The screen and battery are probably the best part of this phone. he youtube videos look very crisp and i seriously feel like the scree almost has depth to it. It lasts the whole day while texting, using 3G and phone calls, so it gets an A in the battery depertment.
In terms of functionailty, there are some major issues. The camera frequently freezes when changing between modes and sometimes it just freezes for no reason. I know they just released a android 2.3 update, but I cant get it to download on my phone properly.
If i paid retail for this phone, I would be more unhappy, but I got it for so cheap. Ill get a new phone as soon as my next 2 year upgrade comes along. | 1 | neutral | [
"I bought this phone 3 months ago for 60$ and have been using it since.",
"The screen and battery are probably the best part of this phone.",
"he youtube videos look very crisp and i seriously feel like the scree almost has depth to it.",
"It lasts the whole day while texting, using 3G and phone calls, so it gets an A in the battery depertment.",
"In terms of functionailty, there are some major issues.",
"The camera frequently freezes when changing between modes and sometimes it just freezes for no reason.",
"I know they just released a android 2.",
"3 update, but I cant get it to download on my phone properly.",
"If i paid retail for this phone, I would be more unhappy, but I got it for so cheap.",
"Ill get a new phone as soon as my next 2 year upgrade comes along."
] |
Signals is a very good album, but a slight momentum drop. That was bound to happen at some point. I'm quite sure there's not another band in rock whose first 8 studio albums either matched or exceeded the previous release in my mind, so that's a lot of momentum built up. Surely it was due to flag even (and only) slightly.
Clearly Subdivisions and New World Man are the radio staples and with good reason. Both are simply awesome tunes. Subdivisions is one of the best album openers in the catalog and is never a dull listen to me. I love the "Subdivisions" spoken word for some inexplicable reason. This song has got a lot of balls. The lyrics are great too. Who can't relate to this? New World Man has a great drive to it as well, led by Lee and Peart. Both are really dynamic songs and worth their respective air time.
Losing It is another really tasty keyboard-driven tune featuring some touching lyrics and a wistful melody to match, as well as another sensational vocal performance from Geddy Lee. Seriously, the "Rush ballad" has been largely and unfortunately ignored for their more uptempo stuff and that's a damn shame. They really excel here. Most people probably don't even realize they've done slower songs. It's been fun reacquainting myself with this nugget.
The Analog Kid is a peppy uptempo rocker and I like it quite well.
Chemistry (nice bass groove to open the song) and Digital Man have their moments...and are generally good listens. But none of the rest of the album beyond the first three mentioned above really grabbed my attention fully throughout. I struggle to remember even a bit, riff or melody of The Weapon (pt. 2 of "Fear"). And Countdown, while cool with its NASA voice-overs and fx, is a bit on the dull side ultimately insofar as a full song goes. More interesting than re-listenable time and again.
The end result is very solid record and that's quite enough. Now that the band has turned a musical corner there's going to be some growth in this keys-driven sound.
The thing is that while I know a lot of old school Rush fans really got up in arms and screamed "where did the guitars go??", etc, I think the sound suited them. It didn't sound out of place, like Greg Allman doing 80s pop music (wasn't that a hoot?). It was a good marriage, even if it would prove to be too much at times. But in all fairness Rush was a bit too much at times anyhow....too much pomp and gratuitous and unharmonious weirdness at times. That didn't start with Moving Pictures.
In the end this band isn't perfect...but always professional and often (and unexpectedly) brilliant. Freakin' brilliant. And always moving, melding, and reshaping. You just have to always tune in to find those moments. Sometimes it's nearly a whole album's worth (Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures)...and other times it's two songs (Rush and Fly By Night). But even on those records that have only two songs worth, you're glad you tuned in. You can't NOT tune back in the next time around out of fear of missing something spectacular, because Rush is the band that fans sometimes like to consider down for the count - only to have them rebound mightily.
I love that about this band. | 1 | neutral | [
"Signals is a very good album, but a slight momentum drop.",
"That was bound to happen at some point.",
"I'm quite sure there's not another band in rock whose first 8 studio albums either matched or exceeded the previous release in my mind, so that's a lot of momentum built up.",
"Surely it was due to flag even (and only) slightly.",
"Clearly Subdivisions and New World Man are the radio staples and with good reason.",
"Both are simply awesome tunes.",
"Subdivisions is one of the best album openers in the catalog and is never a dull listen to me.",
"I love the \"Subdivisions\" spoken word for some inexplicable reason.",
"This song has got a lot of balls.",
"The lyrics are great too.",
"Who can't relate to this?",
"New World Man has a great drive to it as well, led by Lee and Peart.",
"Both are really dynamic songs and worth their respective air time.",
"Losing It is another really tasty keyboard-driven tune featuring some touching lyrics and a wistful melody to match, as well as another sensational vocal performance from Geddy Lee.",
"Seriously, the \"Rush ballad\" has been largely and unfortunately ignored for their more uptempo stuff and that's a damn shame.",
"They really excel here.",
"Most people probably don't even realize they've done slower songs.",
"It's been fun reacquainting myself with this nugget.",
"The Analog Kid is a peppy uptempo rocker and I like it quite well.",
"Chemistry (nice bass groove to open the song) and Digital Man have their moments...",
"and are generally good listens.",
"But none of the rest of the album beyond the first three mentioned above really grabbed my attention fully throughout.",
"I struggle to remember even a bit, riff or melody of The Weapon (pt.",
"2 of \"Fear\").",
"And Countdown, while cool with its NASA voice-overs and fx, is a bit on the dull side ultimately insofar as a full song goes.",
"More interesting than re-listenable time and again.",
"The end result is very solid record and that's quite enough.",
"Now that the band has turned a musical corner there's going to be some growth in this keys-driven sound.",
"The thing is that while I know a lot of old school Rush fans really got up in arms and screamed \"where did the guitars go??",
"\", etc, I think the sound suited them.",
"It didn't sound out of place, like Greg Allman doing 80s pop music (wasn't that a hoot?",
").",
"It was a good marriage, even if it would prove to be too much at times.",
"But in all fairness Rush was a bit too much at times anyhow....",
"too much pomp and gratuitous and unharmonious weirdness at times.",
"That didn't start with Moving Pictures.",
"In the end this band isn't perfect...",
"but always professional and often (and unexpectedly) brilliant.",
"Freakin' brilliant.",
"And always moving, melding, and reshaping.",
"You just have to always tune in to find those moments.",
"Sometimes it's nearly a whole album's worth (Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures)...",
"and other times it's two songs (Rush and Fly By Night).",
"But even on those records that have only two songs worth, you're glad you tuned in.",
"You can't NOT tune back in the next time around out of fear of missing something spectacular, because Rush is the band that fans sometimes like to consider down for the count - only to have them rebound mightily.",
"I love that about this band."
] |
Weinstein Company board reportedly knew about payoffs to women since 2015
Co-chairman Bob Weinstein and chief operating officer David Glasser who has been expected to move into the CEO role as the company confronts a post-Harvey future told employees in a video conference that they were completely blindsided by the waves of reports documented by the Times and the New Yorker.
Lance Maerov the board member who handled the contract negotiations said in an interview with the Times that he had been told of settlements but said that he had assumed they were used to cover up consensual affairs. Glasser declined to comment to the newspaper as did Bob Weinstein . Tarak Ben Ammar and Richard Koenigsberg the other members of the board did not respond to messages from the Times.
Ben Ammar told French television on Wednesday night that Weinstein had “violated the charter and we fired him within the hour.” The Franco-Tunisian businessman was referring to the company’s code of conduct that employees of TWC sign which covers “verbal physical sexual and racist aggression.” He told news channel LCI that he couldn’t speak about the ongoing investigation convened by the board but said the company has “proof.” He did not elaborate.
He also noted that Weinstein re-signed the code of conduct in 2015 after revelations that he had groped Italian model Ambra Battilana Guttierez. An audio recording captured when Gutierrez worked with New York City police and wore a wire in a subsequent encounter with Weinstein proved damning but did not result in any charges as prosecutors declined to move forward with a case citing insufficient evidence. | 1 | neutral | [
"Weinstein Company board reportedly knew about payoffs to women since 2015\nCo-chairman Bob Weinstein and chief operating officer David Glasser who has been expected to move into the CEO role as the company confronts a post-Harvey future told employees in a video conference that they were completely blindsided by the waves of reports documented by the Times and the New Yorker.",
"Lance Maerov the board member who handled the contract negotiations said in an interview with the Times that he had been told of settlements but said that he had assumed they were used to cover up consensual affairs.",
"Glasser declined to comment to the newspaper as did Bob Weinstein.",
"Tarak Ben Ammar and Richard Koenigsberg the other members of the board did not respond to messages from the Times.",
"Ben Ammar told French television on Wednesday night that Weinstein had “violated the charter and we fired him within the hour.",
"” The Franco-Tunisian businessman was referring to the company’s code of conduct that employees of TWC sign which covers “verbal physical sexual and racist aggression.",
"” He told news channel LCI that he couldn’t speak about the ongoing investigation convened by the board but said the company has “proof.",
"” He did not elaborate.",
"He also noted that Weinstein re-signed the code of conduct in 2015 after revelations that he had groped Italian model Ambra Battilana Guttierez.",
"An audio recording captured when Gutierrez worked with New York City police and wore a wire in a subsequent encounter with Weinstein proved damning but did not result in any charges as prosecutors declined to move forward with a case citing insufficient evidence."
] |
I have to admit that that this movie doesnt compare to the first or third, but it is fun to watch sometimes. Yes, the cockroach scene is great. And Kirsten... oh geez, it's not like Freddy twisted Kirsten's arm to get her to bring Alice into the picture. Wow,that part [angered me]. hehe. That damn Kirsten , it's all her fault. I see why Patricia Arquette didn't want to come back. But the movie has some memorable scenes. It's worth checking out. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have to admit that that this movie doesnt compare to the first or third, but it is fun to watch sometimes.",
"Yes, the cockroach scene is great.",
"And Kirsten...",
"oh geez, it's not like Freddy twisted Kirsten's arm to get her to bring Alice into the picture.",
"Wow,that part [angered me].",
"hehe.",
"That damn Kirsten , it's all her fault.",
"I see why Patricia Arquette didn't want to come back.",
"But the movie has some memorable scenes.",
"It's worth checking out."
] |
Multimillion
When Florida fired Jim McElwain as its football coach his contract included a stipulation for a $13 million buyout. Because of the peculiar circumstances the school will likely get by with a much lower figure around $4 million. Butch Jones is out at Tennessee with a reported buyout of more than $6 million. If Texas A&M were to fire Kevin Sumlin his buyout is reported at $11 million. Rumors are circulating that Arkansas will fire its head coach Bret Bielema at the end of the season with a buyout ranging from $4 to $6 million depending on the timing.
These large sums generate a lot of head scratching and criticism. For Bielema and Jones their buyouts would be roughly equivalent to a year's pay. For Sumlin it would be about two years. For McElwain at the original contracted amount it approaches three years' worth. In Weis' case well it is several.
Of course the size of the insurance matters. Many of these buyouts diminish through the life of the contract which complicates comparisons between coaches and players. Had Bielema been let go after one year his buyout would have amounted to about one-half the total contract value. Now it would be less than half of his remaining contract and about one-fifth of the total contract value — figures that are not way out of line with what is seen among NFL players.
What doesn't make sense is giving a player or coach a big insurance policy when they aren't performing very well. Bielema received an extension and a new buyout clause coming off less-than-stellar seasons when his market value to other schools would not have been great. The Weis buyout seemed to reflect that Notre Dame way overestimated Weis' value after a single season's improvement. | 1 | neutral | [
"Multimillion\nWhen Florida fired Jim McElwain as its football coach his contract included a stipulation for a $13 million buyout.",
"Because of the peculiar circumstances the school will likely get by with a much lower figure around $4 million.",
"Butch Jones is out at Tennessee with a reported buyout of more than $6 million.",
"If Texas A&M were to fire Kevin Sumlin his buyout is reported at $11 million.",
"Rumors are circulating that Arkansas will fire its head coach Bret Bielema at the end of the season with a buyout ranging from $4 to $6 million depending on the timing.",
"These large sums generate a lot of head scratching and criticism.",
"For Bielema and Jones their buyouts would be roughly equivalent to a year's pay.",
"For Sumlin it would be about two years.",
"For McElwain at the original contracted amount it approaches three years' worth.",
"In Weis' case well it is several.",
"Of course the size of the insurance matters.",
"Many of these buyouts diminish through the life of the contract which complicates comparisons between coaches and players.",
"Had Bielema been let go after one year his buyout would have amounted to about one-half the total contract value.",
"Now it would be less than half of his remaining contract and about one-fifth of the total contract value — figures that are not way out of line with what is seen among NFL players.",
"What doesn't make sense is giving a player or coach a big insurance policy when they aren't performing very well.",
"Bielema received an extension and a new buyout clause coming off less-than-stellar seasons when his market value to other schools would not have been great.",
"The Weis buyout seemed to reflect that Notre Dame way overestimated Weis' value after a single season's improvement."
] |
This primer in part lives up to the product description. It is weightless and silky. Very easy to apply you'll find that a little goes a long way. A half pump would be plenty.
Looking at it through the clear glass bottle it reminds me of my favorite white iridescent nail polish, literally.
On my skin it brings an much more shine than I care for along with tiny sparkles. It makes me look like a glittery ghost because my skin is very fair to begin with. This product washes me out completely except for the shimmery shine.
That said, I'm hesitant to give it a two star rating. My reasoning for this is that this primer goes on smoothly and requires very little for coverage. My skin is a bit on the dry side but this didn't affect the application process. Plus there is absolutely no scent. That's a huge plus for me. Not only am a sensitive to smells, I have allergies to many fragrances.
Speaking of ingredients for those who are interested here is the list:
Aqua/Water, Butylene Glycol, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Tin Oxcide, Phenoxyenthanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben. May Contain: CI 77891, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.
Many of my friends are photographers who double as makeup artists. I have a feeling that this primer might do magic when used by someone who actually knows what they are doing. I also think that for photo shoots it might yield radiant results. | 1 | neutral | [
"This primer in part lives up to the product description.",
"It is weightless and silky.",
"Very easy to apply you'll find that a little goes a long way.",
"A half pump would be plenty.",
"Looking at it through the clear glass bottle it reminds me of my favorite white iridescent nail polish, literally.",
"On my skin it brings an much more shine than I care for along with tiny sparkles.",
"It makes me look like a glittery ghost because my skin is very fair to begin with.",
"This product washes me out completely except for the shimmery shine.",
"That said, I'm hesitant to give it a two star rating.",
"My reasoning for this is that this primer goes on smoothly and requires very little for coverage.",
"My skin is a bit on the dry side but this didn't affect the application process.",
"Plus there is absolutely no scent.",
"That's a huge plus for me.",
"Not only am a sensitive to smells, I have allergies to many fragrances.",
"Speaking of ingredients for those who are interested here is the list:\nAqua/Water, Butylene Glycol, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Tin Oxcide, Phenoxyenthanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben.",
"May Contain: CI 77891, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.",
"Many of my friends are photographers who double as makeup artists.",
"I have a feeling that this primer might do magic when used by someone who actually knows what they are doing.",
"I also think that for photo shoots it might yield radiant results."
] |
You just hate to see stupid people, don't you? OK. For men. This is the kind of movie you get to watch with your wife or girlfriend when you've been an idiot. And, no doubt about it, this movie will make you suffer.
OK. For Women. This is the kind of movie you get for yourself when you are down and you can't find the right love because you've been dating idiots like the guy above. And after this movie you may consider a stint somewhere in a Buddhist temple in a country that does not have zip codes.
The plot isn't bad although the author, Sparks and the actor, Costner, do their best to botch it up. People should miss those who have crossed the River Styx. Family members. Husbands. Wives. If you didn't miss them you didn't love them. And sometimes you can't move on. At least for awhile. At least you can't move on as fast as the people around you want you to.
So Robin Penn Wright finds 'the message in a bottle,' Costner's ode to the passing of his wife and his love, and falls in love with the sentiment. She tracks him down. I don't know how she does this. It seems highly improbable. I hate that in a movie. The director saying "we're going to go from Point A to Point B, even though it seems impossible, so just forget how I did it!"
Whatever she uses she finds Costner and they begin to fall in love. At least she does. I don't know what Mr. Costner is trying to convey here. Maybe it's the script. He likes hanging out with Theresa (Penn Wright), And who wouldn't? She's just gorgeous, and says all the right things, trusts him, you know that they would be married forever. But he doesn't give her much to base anything on. Costner looks like an aging 'Lands End' model who JUST WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT HIS LOVE AND MISSING HER . . . .
So it's hard to understand why she would stick around. Harder to imagine why he would want her to. There is a great scene with the extraordinary Paul Newman and Costner where the acting talents of both come out. That's it. It's beautifully photographed. Larry Scantlebury. 3 stars | 1 | neutral | [
"You just hate to see stupid people, don't you?",
"OK.",
"For men.",
"This is the kind of movie you get to watch with your wife or girlfriend when you've been an idiot.",
"And, no doubt about it, this movie will make you suffer.",
"OK.",
"For Women.",
"This is the kind of movie you get for yourself when you are down and you can't find the right love because you've been dating idiots like the guy above.",
"And after this movie you may consider a stint somewhere in a Buddhist temple in a country that does not have zip codes.",
"The plot isn't bad although the author, Sparks and the actor, Costner, do their best to botch it up.",
"People should miss those who have crossed the River Styx.",
"Family members.",
"Husbands.",
"Wives.",
"If you didn't miss them you didn't love them.",
"And sometimes you can't move on.",
"At least for awhile.",
"At least you can't move on as fast as the people around you want you to.",
"So Robin Penn Wright finds 'the message in a bottle,' Costner's ode to the passing of his wife and his love, and falls in love with the sentiment.",
"She tracks him down.",
"I don't know how she does this.",
"It seems highly improbable.",
"I hate that in a movie.",
"The director saying \"we're going to go from Point A to Point B, even though it seems impossible, so just forget how I did it!",
"\"\n\nWhatever she uses she finds Costner and they begin to fall in love.",
"At least she does.",
"I don't know what Mr.",
"Costner is trying to convey here.",
"Maybe it's the script.",
"He likes hanging out with Theresa (Penn Wright), And who wouldn't?",
"She's just gorgeous, and says all the right things, trusts him, you know that they would be married forever.",
"But he doesn't give her much to base anything on.",
"Costner looks like an aging 'Lands End' model who JUST WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT HIS LOVE AND MISSING HER.",
".",
".",
".",
"So it's hard to understand why she would stick around.",
"Harder to imagine why he would want her to.",
"There is a great scene with the extraordinary Paul Newman and Costner where the acting talents of both come out.",
"That's it.",
"It's beautifully photographed.",
"Larry Scantlebury.",
"3 stars"
] |
WHERE EAGLES DARE was my first Alistair MacLean novel and while it certainly kept me engaged and even suffering shell shock by the last page, it was when the smoke cleared That I was left a little disappointed.
Action thrillers by their nature stretch credulity and count on the reader being willing to suspend disbelief, but at a certain point WHERE EAGLES DARE went over the top and became simply too unbelievable. I place the tipping point in Chapter Seven when Smith and Schaffer descend from the minstrels' gallery into the den of Nazis and Nazi-bankrolled double agents. Smith bluffs his way through a delicate and tense situation masterfully if even too easily, and from that scene forward Smith takes on the traits of an invulnerable superspy bigger than James Bond, Derek Flint and Matt Helm.
The suspense was considerably dampened in the latter half of the book compared to the opening six chapters. Earlier scenes leave readers wondering whether Smith can really pull off this impossible mission, especially with unidentified and murderous traitors in his midst. The scene in Zum Wilden Hirsch and the train depot come to mind as gripping ones where I really thought Smith would be caught, especially after he blunders by implying he's related to Heinrich Himmler and later leaving behind a warm radio set. Compare those episodes to the scene near the end aboard the Alpine post bus that with Smith at the wheel becomes a rolling fortress. I groaned when the pursuing Nazi Tiger tank's 88-millimeter shell crashes through the back of the bus, flies the full length of the interior and out again above the winsdhield and Smith and Co. hardly break a sweat over it.
The book was clearly written with the film adaptation in mind. The entire novel unfolds like a movie, with an emphasis on vivid action sequences (and MacLean certainly knows how to create suspense with words, with the iconic cable car sequences testimonies to that). Mary and Heidi are wholly irrelevant in the book and I suspect were included only to meet Hollywood's demand for a leading lady and a romantic interest. The Nazi baddies, such as Kramer, Weissner and especially the randy Brauchtisch, had all the menace of Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz. In fact, the German soldiers as a whole were straight off the set of Stalag 13, less interested in winning the war than in haunting weinstubes warbling "Lili Marlene" while getting blitzed on Steinmechers of dark beer.
I have not yet seen the film adaptation, but I picture it in circa 1968 terms as a big-screen production of what could have been Christopher George's invincible RAT PATROL in "The Schloss Adler Raid." Striking similarities to that short-lived series include an American and an English soldier teaming up to topple like ten-pins bumbling Nazis and leaving explosions in the receding background as they make another skin-of-their-teeth escape. I don't know whether MacLean was drawing inspiration from prime-time television, though I strongly suspect he saw GOLDFINGER as the closing scene aboard the plane bore unmistakable parallels to the conclusion of that James Bond classic. | 1 | neutral | [
"WHERE EAGLES DARE was my first Alistair MacLean novel and while it certainly kept me engaged and even suffering shell shock by the last page, it was when the smoke cleared That I was left a little disappointed.",
"Action thrillers by their nature stretch credulity and count on the reader being willing to suspend disbelief, but at a certain point WHERE EAGLES DARE went over the top and became simply too unbelievable.",
"I place the tipping point in Chapter Seven when Smith and Schaffer descend from the minstrels' gallery into the den of Nazis and Nazi-bankrolled double agents.",
"Smith bluffs his way through a delicate and tense situation masterfully if even too easily, and from that scene forward Smith takes on the traits of an invulnerable superspy bigger than James Bond, Derek Flint and Matt Helm.",
"The suspense was considerably dampened in the latter half of the book compared to the opening six chapters.",
"Earlier scenes leave readers wondering whether Smith can really pull off this impossible mission, especially with unidentified and murderous traitors in his midst.",
"The scene in Zum Wilden Hirsch and the train depot come to mind as gripping ones where I really thought Smith would be caught, especially after he blunders by implying he's related to Heinrich Himmler and later leaving behind a warm radio set.",
"Compare those episodes to the scene near the end aboard the Alpine post bus that with Smith at the wheel becomes a rolling fortress.",
"I groaned when the pursuing Nazi Tiger tank's 88-millimeter shell crashes through the back of the bus, flies the full length of the interior and out again above the winsdhield and Smith and Co.",
"hardly break a sweat over it.",
"The book was clearly written with the film adaptation in mind.",
"The entire novel unfolds like a movie, with an emphasis on vivid action sequences (and MacLean certainly knows how to create suspense with words, with the iconic cable car sequences testimonies to that).",
"Mary and Heidi are wholly irrelevant in the book and I suspect were included only to meet Hollywood's demand for a leading lady and a romantic interest.",
"The Nazi baddies, such as Kramer, Weissner and especially the randy Brauchtisch, had all the menace of Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz.",
"In fact, the German soldiers as a whole were straight off the set of Stalag 13, less interested in winning the war than in haunting weinstubes warbling \"Lili Marlene\" while getting blitzed on Steinmechers of dark beer.",
"I have not yet seen the film adaptation, but I picture it in circa 1968 terms as a big-screen production of what could have been Christopher George's invincible RAT PATROL in \"The Schloss Adler Raid.",
"\" Striking similarities to that short-lived series include an American and an English soldier teaming up to topple like ten-pins bumbling Nazis and leaving explosions in the receding background as they make another skin-of-their-teeth escape.",
"I don't know whether MacLean was drawing inspiration from prime-time television, though I strongly suspect he saw GOLDFINGER as the closing scene aboard the plane bore unmistakable parallels to the conclusion of that James Bond classic."
] |
Spongebob: Yellow Avenger (SYA) came out without me knowing, and I saw reviews on websites such as IGN. ( Which gave the game a 5.7 ) I wasn't expecting too much out of this game, but since I have the Game Pass at Blockbuster, I rented this anyways. This is the story: The Dirty Bubble got pushed into a washer and he turned into a whole lot of small bubbles. It is up to the Yellow Avenger; A.K.A Spongebob; to capture all these buckeroos and save Bikini Bottom. Here's my review.
Graphics: 8/10. These are some really nice cel-shaded graphics. The graphics obviously look better than the DS version of the game, and there are really nice character animations as well, so there is really no problem with the camera angles or doing anything as far as moving around is concerned.
Sound: 6.5/10. I was really dissapointed with the sound. I was expecting to hear voices from the showm but really, the only thing you hear in this game is a little music in the background and the squeaking of Spongebob's boots. It's not too annoying, until you have been playing the game 3 hours straight. That's the time when you turn the volume to mute.
Control: 7.5/10. The control is fine. You can use the D-Pad ( I wouldn't reccomend ) or the analog nub, which makes the moving a lot easier. Most of this game is just a 3D side scroller, except when you walk in places like the Krusty Krab, Spongebob's House, Squidward's Pad, stuff like that. Either way, the control really is not bad at all. You just side scroll left or right and basically just jump around onto platforms, and onto the citizens head's to get the bubbles off. This can be frustrating, though, because sometimes when you jump it may delay or something, or it's really picky as to where exactly you have to land on their head.
Fun: 7/10. Since this game is relatively short, this game is really just an excellent rental. For fans of the series, they should definitely rent this game. It is a decent amount of length for the game ( I've played for three hours and I'ma bout 30% thru the game, but it really depends on how fast you are at games. ) And this would be a great game for kids. The only real problems with this game is just the fact is doesn't have character voices, which was a let down, the chores are tedious and you will have to back track a lot. Chances are, if you know where people live in the show, you will have a better chance of finding what you need. There are 9 different locations to visit around the "Spongebob World" including Residents area, the City of Bikini Bottom, Goo Lagoon, Jelly Fish Fields, Rock Bottom, Mrs. Puff's Driving Class, and more. You can also of course interact with favorites from the show, such as Mr. Krab, Pearl Krab, Squidward, Patrick, Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Larry, and even some lesser known characters such as the "surfer dude" Scooter, and the police officer Officer Nancy. Like I said, this game is well worth a rental, but not neccesarily a buy.
7.2/10 | 1 | neutral | [
"Spongebob: Yellow Avenger (SYA) came out without me knowing, and I saw reviews on websites such as IGN.",
"( Which gave the game a 5.",
"7 ) I wasn't expecting too much out of this game, but since I have the Game Pass at Blockbuster, I rented this anyways.",
"This is the story: The Dirty Bubble got pushed into a washer and he turned into a whole lot of small bubbles.",
"It is up to the Yellow Avenger; A.",
"K.A Spongebob; to capture all these buckeroos and save Bikini Bottom.",
"Here's my review.",
"Graphics: 8/10.",
"These are some really nice cel-shaded graphics.",
"The graphics obviously look better than the DS version of the game, and there are really nice character animations as well, so there is really no problem with the camera angles or doing anything as far as moving around is concerned.",
"Sound: 6.",
"5/10.",
"I was really dissapointed with the sound.",
"I was expecting to hear voices from the showm but really, the only thing you hear in this game is a little music in the background and the squeaking of Spongebob's boots.",
"It's not too annoying, until you have been playing the game 3 hours straight.",
"That's the time when you turn the volume to mute.",
"Control: 7.",
"5/10.",
"The control is fine.",
"You can use the D-Pad ( I wouldn't reccomend ) or the analog nub, which makes the moving a lot easier.",
"Most of this game is just a 3D side scroller, except when you walk in places like the Krusty Krab, Spongebob's House, Squidward's Pad, stuff like that.",
"Either way, the control really is not bad at all.",
"You just side scroll left or right and basically just jump around onto platforms, and onto the citizens head's to get the bubbles off.",
"This can be frustrating, though, because sometimes when you jump it may delay or something, or it's really picky as to where exactly you have to land on their head.",
"Fun: 7/10.",
"Since this game is relatively short, this game is really just an excellent rental.",
"For fans of the series, they should definitely rent this game.",
"It is a decent amount of length for the game ( I've played for three hours and I'ma bout 30% thru the game, but it really depends on how fast you are at games.",
") And this would be a great game for kids.",
"The only real problems with this game is just the fact is doesn't have character voices, which was a let down, the chores are tedious and you will have to back track a lot.",
"Chances are, if you know where people live in the show, you will have a better chance of finding what you need.",
"There are 9 different locations to visit around the \"Spongebob World\" including Residents area, the City of Bikini Bottom, Goo Lagoon, Jelly Fish Fields, Rock Bottom, Mrs.",
"Puff's Driving Class, and more.",
"You can also of course interact with favorites from the show, such as Mr.",
"Krab, Pearl Krab, Squidward, Patrick, Sandy, Mrs.",
"Puff, Larry, and even some lesser known characters such as the \"surfer dude\" Scooter, and the police officer Officer Nancy.",
"Like I said, this game is well worth a rental, but not neccesarily a buy.",
"7.",
"2/10"
] |
I have used PaperPort forever, ever since Ver. 1. Always the sucker for "New and Improved" I took the half-price-for-the-upgrade bait...again, and downloaded Ver. 14, upgrading from 12.1. (Were they too superstitious to put out Ver. 13?)
With Ver. 14 there are a few additions and a few alleged improvements. What hasn't changed is the installation. Why in 2011, after 13 iterations of the program, does it still have to uninstall itself before installing the newer version, especially when it seems to be mostly the same? It also takes all your settings with it, so you have to totally configure the program after installation. This includes changing the PDF Rendering Resolution under Options/Advanced from 200 dpi to at least 300. Otherwise the OCR accuracy will suffer. None of this is hard, but kind of a PITA. Oddly, it leaves the PaperPort Image Printer alone.
Overall it seems more like an upgrade than a new version, but it seems to work the same as Ver. 12.1, which is mostly good. It does seem to be faster, and all of the features I've tried seem to work. The icons for the Quick Access Toolbar are still too small. PDF Viewer Plus seems vastly improved over the dog included with V12. While the Highlight feature doesn't work, everything else seems to, and it no longer crashes when you try to put in a text box.
The program now only saves to pdf format. Saving an item in the old .max format is no longer an option. It will read a .max document, but to edit, copy, or annotate a .max item you must first duplicate it as a pdf.
One interface quirk they haven't fixed: In Win XP, if you have the Windows Task Bar on the left side of the screen and select Scenic, Win XP, or Visual Studio Desktop themes the following will happen: When you open PP you will get a gap on the left side of the screen between the task bar and the PP program window equal to the width of the task bar. The program window will be shifted to the right by that amount. The wider the task bar the wider the gap. If you shrink the window (double click on the title bar) and maximize it it will fit the window properly. This also happens if the Task Bar is on the top of the screen, but not if it is on the right or the bottom. It does not happen with any of the other five themes.
I don't expect to use the PaperPort Anywhere feature. I will update this review as I discover improvements or bugs, but so far it looks like a keeper.
EDIT 12/2/2011
I am downgrading my review from 4 stars to three. I just installed Windows 7 SP1. PP14 works pretty well, but...When I try to print using the PP Image Printer the dialog comes up, it says "Printing Document," the print icon shows up in the system tray, and nothing happens. No document in PP, no error message, nothing. Other people have also reported this, and the update didn't fix this. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have used PaperPort forever, ever since Ver.",
"1.",
"Always the sucker for \"New and Improved\" I took the half-price-for-the-upgrade bait...",
"again, and downloaded Ver.",
"14, upgrading from 12.",
"1. (Were they too superstitious to put out Ver.",
"13?",
")\n\nWith Ver.",
"14 there are a few additions and a few alleged improvements.",
"What hasn't changed is the installation.",
"Why in 2011, after 13 iterations of the program, does it still have to uninstall itself before installing the newer version, especially when it seems to be mostly the same?",
"It also takes all your settings with it, so you have to totally configure the program after installation.",
"This includes changing the PDF Rendering Resolution under Options/Advanced from 200 dpi to at least 300.",
"Otherwise the OCR accuracy will suffer.",
"None of this is hard, but kind of a PITA.",
"Oddly, it leaves the PaperPort Image Printer alone.",
"Overall it seems more like an upgrade than a new version, but it seems to work the same as Ver.",
"12.",
"1, which is mostly good.",
"It does seem to be faster, and all of the features I've tried seem to work.",
"The icons for the Quick Access Toolbar are still too small.",
"PDF Viewer Plus seems vastly improved over the dog included with V12.",
"While the Highlight feature doesn't work, everything else seems to, and it no longer crashes when you try to put in a text box.",
"The program now only saves to pdf format.",
"Saving an item in the old.",
"max format is no longer an option.",
"It will read a.",
"max document, but to edit, copy, or annotate a.",
"max item you must first duplicate it as a pdf.",
"One interface quirk they haven't fixed: In Win XP, if you have the Windows Task Bar on the left side of the screen and select Scenic, Win XP, or Visual Studio Desktop themes the following will happen: When you open PP you will get a gap on the left side of the screen between the task bar and the PP program window equal to the width of the task bar.",
"The program window will be shifted to the right by that amount.",
"The wider the task bar the wider the gap.",
"If you shrink the window (double click on the title bar) and maximize it it will fit the window properly.",
"This also happens if the Task Bar is on the top of the screen, but not if it is on the right or the bottom.",
"It does not happen with any of the other five themes.",
"I don't expect to use the PaperPort Anywhere feature.",
"I will update this review as I discover improvements or bugs, but so far it looks like a keeper.",
"EDIT 12/2/2011\nI am downgrading my review from 4 stars to three.",
"I just installed Windows 7 SP1.",
"PP14 works pretty well, but...",
"When I try to print using the PP Image Printer the dialog comes up, it says \"Printing Document,\" the print icon shows up in the system tray, and nothing happens.",
"No document in PP, no error message, nothing.",
"Other people have also reported this, and the update didn't fix this."
] |
Yes, rent it first. If I could, I'd give it 2.5 stars because that is all this game is....flat average. It does have replay value, but there are many MANY flaws. First off, the hand-to-hand combat system is possibly the worst I've ever used, the overall control setup is extremely cumbersome, the diologue stinks, and the game is just too short. If one chooses to simply play through the story, the game could be over within two hours. This is really just a good rental. I actually played it for the whole time that I had the game, which makes it worth the $5.00 at the rental shop. The feature of solving random, optional street crimes also provides to the gameplay experience, but other games have pulled off the genre in a much better way. If you want excellent hand-to-hand combat and you have the original Max Payne for PC, there is a free Kung-Fu download which is extraordinary. If you don't have the game, try out Dead to Rights. The shooting system and hand combat are much more fluid.
Wait.....did i mention that the Bullet Time setup in True Crime is horrible? The free aiming system that was available in both Max Payne games isn't there for Bullet Time in True Crime. Instead of simply slowing down for your dive and quickly rotating your aim, you must use the right analog stick to switch who you are aiming for. The right analog stick aim switch only works half the time by the way. It's frustrating because you can freely spray your opponents with bullets like you can with other mostly run-and-gun shooters.
Being able to update Nick Kang's, the main character, equipment and fighting combos is a nice feature. It makes things just a tad bit more interesting.
With an appropriate rating of Mature, there is tons of vulgarity in the diologue. The people on the street do carry on coversations and will respond in certain ways to Nick depending on his Good Cop/Bad Cop rating. If you run in to a few people with your car, be prepaired to be sworn at heavily. The S-Bomb is quite possibly the most used word in the whole game. So don't play this game with the kiddies around.
Driving is probably the most fun part about the game. The targeting system while driving actually works rather smoothly, especially for being the first game (I'm pretty sure) to feature a simultanious driving and shooting experience. Switching into the precision-aim option while driving slows things down and allows you to shoot specific areas of an assailant's car, such as tires and gas tanks. Outside of precision aim, the one good thing about the targeting system in this game is the auto-lock on the car that contains the perpetrators which Nick is trying to catch. But be careful, people and other automobiles are infamous for diving into your bullet path and you will frequently kill pedestrians and blast the tires of innocent drivers. Heck, maybe even a gas tank here and there.
One fact about this game that will probably raise mixed feelings is that this game is really never difficult or frustrating. The sneaking missions get extremely boring, but otherwise everything plays out in a simple manner. The advantage of the very short story mode is that it does keep the action from being repetative. About that story mode, there are 3 possible different endings...and all together, the game is still extremely short. After the games is finished, the nice things is that you can go back to anywhere in the game, weilding your new gear and sweeping criminals off of the street as mercilessly as you so please.
The amount of hype that went into this game encouraged many to purchase the game, and this game certainly didn't live up to it. When I rented the game, I had high expectations about the much acclaimed hip-hop game soundtrack. That had to be the worst hip-hop I have ever heard in my entire life. All the creators did is pick up the most vulgar hip-hop that they could find and put it in this game. The soundtrack is a deep insult to what hip-hop is supposed to be. True hip-hop fans will be disappointed, and people who already hate popular hip-hop will be adding a little extra morter in their Berlin Wall against the style of music.
If you want a chaos-ridden driver-shooter, the GTA series is probably a better fix. But if you prefer to be the good guy that is causing absolute entropy, then try this game out. You will find replay value in it's free-roaming style, but there are much better games out there that do a lot of things much better. | 1 | neutral | [
"Yes, rent it first.",
"If I could, I'd give it 2.",
"5 stars because that is all this game is....",
"flat average.",
"It does have replay value, but there are many MANY flaws.",
"First off, the hand-to-hand combat system is possibly the worst I've ever used, the overall control setup is extremely cumbersome, the diologue stinks, and the game is just too short.",
"If one chooses to simply play through the story, the game could be over within two hours.",
"This is really just a good rental.",
"I actually played it for the whole time that I had the game, which makes it worth the $5.",
"00 at the rental shop.",
"The feature of solving random, optional street crimes also provides to the gameplay experience, but other games have pulled off the genre in a much better way.",
"If you want excellent hand-to-hand combat and you have the original Max Payne for PC, there is a free Kung-Fu download which is extraordinary.",
"If you don't have the game, try out Dead to Rights.",
"The shooting system and hand combat are much more fluid.",
"Wait....",
".",
"did i mention that the Bullet Time setup in True Crime is horrible?",
"The free aiming system that was available in both Max Payne games isn't there for Bullet Time in True Crime.",
"Instead of simply slowing down for your dive and quickly rotating your aim, you must use the right analog stick to switch who you are aiming for.",
"The right analog stick aim switch only works half the time by the way.",
"It's frustrating because you can freely spray your opponents with bullets like you can with other mostly run-and-gun shooters.",
"Being able to update Nick Kang's, the main character, equipment and fighting combos is a nice feature.",
"It makes things just a tad bit more interesting.",
"With an appropriate rating of Mature, there is tons of vulgarity in the diologue.",
"The people on the street do carry on coversations and will respond in certain ways to Nick depending on his Good Cop/Bad Cop rating.",
"If you run in to a few people with your car, be prepaired to be sworn at heavily.",
"The S-Bomb is quite possibly the most used word in the whole game.",
"So don't play this game with the kiddies around.",
"Driving is probably the most fun part about the game.",
"The targeting system while driving actually works rather smoothly, especially for being the first game (I'm pretty sure) to feature a simultanious driving and shooting experience.",
"Switching into the precision-aim option while driving slows things down and allows you to shoot specific areas of an assailant's car, such as tires and gas tanks.",
"Outside of precision aim, the one good thing about the targeting system in this game is the auto-lock on the car that contains the perpetrators which Nick is trying to catch.",
"But be careful, people and other automobiles are infamous for diving into your bullet path and you will frequently kill pedestrians and blast the tires of innocent drivers.",
"Heck, maybe even a gas tank here and there.",
"One fact about this game that will probably raise mixed feelings is that this game is really never difficult or frustrating.",
"The sneaking missions get extremely boring, but otherwise everything plays out in a simple manner.",
"The advantage of the very short story mode is that it does keep the action from being repetative.",
"About that story mode, there are 3 possible different endings...",
"and all together, the game is still extremely short.",
"After the games is finished, the nice things is that you can go back to anywhere in the game, weilding your new gear and sweeping criminals off of the street as mercilessly as you so please.",
"The amount of hype that went into this game encouraged many to purchase the game, and this game certainly didn't live up to it.",
"When I rented the game, I had high expectations about the much acclaimed hip-hop game soundtrack.",
"That had to be the worst hip-hop I have ever heard in my entire life.",
"All the creators did is pick up the most vulgar hip-hop that they could find and put it in this game.",
"The soundtrack is a deep insult to what hip-hop is supposed to be.",
"True hip-hop fans will be disappointed, and people who already hate popular hip-hop will be adding a little extra morter in their Berlin Wall against the style of music.",
"If you want a chaos-ridden driver-shooter, the GTA series is probably a better fix.",
"But if you prefer to be the good guy that is causing absolute entropy, then try this game out.",
"You will find replay value in it's free-roaming style, but there are much better games out there that do a lot of things much better."
] |
I received the very large box from Amazon and inspected the outside and noticeable no indication of any damage before signing the UPS delivery receipt.
Unpacking the nicely packed shipping box and inspecting the cello, it had this huge long crack going from the "f" hole to the lower part of the rim about 10 inch long.
There was something rattling around on the inside of cello. I think it could be the bridge support or something else, not sure.
I was saddened and very disappointed to see this instrument damaged and having to send it back.
I was told by Amazon - while in shipping the box could have dropped causing the cello to bounce and impact the hard case causing it to crack.
I can not figure out how would then the rosin in its own little box was crumbled up so bad into lots of pieces. Was this box dropped off a cliff or cargo ship?
I would have given the cello 5 stars, however due to the relentlessness treatment during handling and shipping the buyer is taking a chance. I gave the cello a 3 stars due to shipment and quality.
The appearance looks to have a glossy acrylic finished and doesn't look anywhere near like a hand rubbed varnish like other better quality finishes. From my knowledge the wood needs to breath and the plastic coating stops that. Considering all you get in the package for a beginner student or enthusiast this is a great buy. | 1 | neutral | [
"I received the very large box from Amazon and inspected the outside and noticeable no indication of any damage before signing the UPS delivery receipt.",
"Unpacking the nicely packed shipping box and inspecting the cello, it had this huge long crack going from the \"f\" hole to the lower part of the rim about 10 inch long.",
"There was something rattling around on the inside of cello.",
"I think it could be the bridge support or something else, not sure.",
"I was saddened and very disappointed to see this instrument damaged and having to send it back.",
"I was told by Amazon - while in shipping the box could have dropped causing the cello to bounce and impact the hard case causing it to crack.",
"I can not figure out how would then the rosin in its own little box was crumbled up so bad into lots of pieces.",
"Was this box dropped off a cliff or cargo ship?",
"I would have given the cello 5 stars, however due to the relentlessness treatment during handling and shipping the buyer is taking a chance.",
"I gave the cello a 3 stars due to shipment and quality.",
"The appearance looks to have a glossy acrylic finished and doesn't look anywhere near like a hand rubbed varnish like other better quality finishes.",
"From my knowledge the wood needs to breath and the plastic coating stops that.",
"Considering all you get in the package for a beginner student or enthusiast this is a great buy."
] |
Congress to vote on long
That meant the billâs passage was not assured in the House of Representatives and would need some Democratic support. Speaker Paul Ryan a Republican who has backed the agreement predicted the chamber would pass the budget deal.
âI think we will â Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt. âThis is a bipartisan bill. Itâs going to need bipartisan support. We are going to deliver our share of support.â
In an appeal to Democrats to vote for the budget deal Ryan repeatedly said during a news conference that he would bring an immigration bill to the House floor after the spending measures are enacted. But he fell short of the unconditional guarantee that many Democrats demand.
Representative Luis Gutierrez one of the leading advocates in Congress for immigrants urged colleagues to reject the deal. âDonât collude with this administration â he said. âVote against the budget.â | 1 | neutral | [
"Congress to vote on long\nThat meant the billâs passage was not assured in the House of Representatives and would need some Democratic support.",
"Speaker Paul Ryan a Republican who has backed the agreement predicted the chamber would pass the budget deal.",
"âI think we will â Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt.",
"âThis is a bipartisan bill.",
"Itâs going to need bipartisan support.",
"We are going to deliver our share of support.",
"â\nIn an appeal to Democrats to vote for the budget deal Ryan repeatedly said during a news conference that he would bring an immigration bill to the House floor after the spending measures are enacted.",
"But he fell short of the unconditional guarantee that many Democrats demand.",
"Representative Luis Gutierrez one of the leading advocates in Congress for immigrants urged colleagues to reject the deal.",
"âDonât collude with this administration â he said.",
"âVote against the budget.",
"â"
] |
In past I considered Hagen and their Fluval brand marking reliable quality products. Purchased multiple accessories, filters, heaters in the past.
Now, recently something happen to Hagen, as two products I purchased recently: the E300 heater and two filters I ordered are just unacceptable. They are either noisy, broken in untouched box or just do not work like the thermostat heater. This is unbelievable quality drop, as 3 products purchased at the same time are all bad.
First, the subject filter, model 110. I have his smaller brother model 70 and it works fine for past 3 months. Setting up new larger tank I decided to purchase model 110. The problem I am having with this model is that it is very noisy. The rattling noise comes from motor compartment. There is absolutely no debris in the motor or shaft, my tank uses large substrate bottom with all smaller debris strained out during purification process before adding to the tank. It actually looks like the motor rotor and/or impeller is making noise as there is so much play on the motor shaft, it wobbles left and fight when working. Same with impeller, it is just loose on the shaft. All makes the noise it seems. Hagen seems to be neglecting quality procedures during most likely outsourcing their production somewhere where nobody cares about quality. They are free to continue but this will bit them back hard in a long run. I am returning the defective noisy filter, my family cannot stand to Amazon and get replacement. If replacement is also noisy then this will be last filter from Hagen I got. Hopefully not. | 1 | neutral | [
"In past I considered Hagen and their Fluval brand marking reliable quality products.",
"Purchased multiple accessories, filters, heaters in the past.",
"Now, recently something happen to Hagen, as two products I purchased recently: the E300 heater and two filters I ordered are just unacceptable.",
"They are either noisy, broken in untouched box or just do not work like the thermostat heater.",
"This is unbelievable quality drop, as 3 products purchased at the same time are all bad.",
"First, the subject filter, model 110.",
"I have his smaller brother model 70 and it works fine for past 3 months.",
"Setting up new larger tank I decided to purchase model 110.",
"The problem I am having with this model is that it is very noisy.",
"The rattling noise comes from motor compartment.",
"There is absolutely no debris in the motor or shaft, my tank uses large substrate bottom with all smaller debris strained out during purification process before adding to the tank.",
"It actually looks like the motor rotor and/or impeller is making noise as there is so much play on the motor shaft, it wobbles left and fight when working.",
"Same with impeller, it is just loose on the shaft.",
"All makes the noise it seems.",
"Hagen seems to be neglecting quality procedures during most likely outsourcing their production somewhere where nobody cares about quality.",
"They are free to continue but this will bit them back hard in a long run.",
"I am returning the defective noisy filter, my family cannot stand to Amazon and get replacement.",
"If replacement is also noisy then this will be last filter from Hagen I got.",
"Hopefully not."
] |
***possible spoiler alert. ..if you read between the lines of what I wrote***
This book is not my favorite book of the series. Bart, the younger son, is the worst son you could ever imagine. He makes life a living hell for his entire family. It is cringe-worthy to read how he speaks to his family and how he acts towards them. I do not care for the ending as I feel it gave no happiness to Cathy or Chris. Even though their relationship was morally wrong, I still found myself rooting for them to be happy in the end. They deserved so much more than what they got in their younger years. It is a shame that Cathy let her anger eat her up inside and she spent most of her adult years seeking revenge against her mother. I just wish that VC Andrews had given them a different ending. She made it seem as though they both found happiness together in the end but I do not feel that they experienced true happiness in their lifetime on earth. I'd recommend this book only to complete the saga that is Chris and Cathy and their children... But that is the only reason why I would recommend it. Because if you do not read this one, you would be left wondering what happened to them. | 1 | neutral | [
"***possible spoiler alert.",
"..",
"if you read between the lines of what I wrote***\n\nThis book is not my favorite book of the series.",
"Bart, the younger son, is the worst son you could ever imagine.",
"He makes life a living hell for his entire family.",
"It is cringe-worthy to read how he speaks to his family and how he acts towards them.",
"I do not care for the ending as I feel it gave no happiness to Cathy or Chris.",
"Even though their relationship was morally wrong, I still found myself rooting for them to be happy in the end.",
"They deserved so much more than what they got in their younger years.",
"It is a shame that Cathy let her anger eat her up inside and she spent most of her adult years seeking revenge against her mother.",
"I just wish that VC Andrews had given them a different ending.",
"She made it seem as though they both found happiness together in the end but I do not feel that they experienced true happiness in their lifetime on earth.",
"I'd recommend this book only to complete the saga that is Chris and Cathy and their children...",
"But that is the only reason why I would recommend it.",
"Because if you do not read this one, you would be left wondering what happened to them."
] |
GARNETT ' S FOOT STRAIN GIVES HIM A LITTLE PAUSE
Kevin Garnett suffered a strain in his right mid-foot during Monday's Game 2 victory over the Cavaliers while Kendrick Perkins hyperextended his right knee in that day's shootaround though he still managed to play.
Garnett reported to practice Wednesday and wanted to participate telling Rivers he felt better but that did not convince the coach. Perkins suited up but did not participate in drills and eventually left for treatment. He returned to the court following the team's workout and said he will be ready for Game 3 Friday.
"After the game Monday it was hurting and even more when I woke up the next morning " Perkins said. "It's still a little sore in my hamstring area. I am glad we had a few days to rest and hopefully I'll practice tomorrow. I'll be ready for Friday. I am glad we have a few days to rest."
Garnett's injury is the more serious of the two. He was hurt in the second quarter of Game 2 when Perkins backed into him while defending a drive by Anderson Varejao. Paul Pierce suffered a similar injury Feb. 1 against Washington and missed two games but the Celtics are hoping the extra rest will make Garnett available for Game 3.
Perkins said he tweaked the knee simply running down the court. Still his defense against Shaquille O'Neal has been effective. The Celtics have used Garnett and Perkins to plug up the middle and reduce the inside scoring of O'Neal Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao.
O'Neal hurt the Celtics in the fourth quarter of Game 1 but is 8 for 22 in the series and Perkins has limited his easy chances at the rim. If O'Neal gets even a few steps from a dunk Perkins is helpless to stop the 325-pound train.
"The biggest thing with Shaq is you don't let him get deep post-ups " Perkins said. "You try to fight him as much as you can and make him score over the top and no dunks no layups. That's the game plan."
When asked if O'Neal chatters during their matchup - which already has cost Perkins five stitches in his upper lip - Perkins said "Nah he doesn't talk. Shaq really don't talk. He just plays hard and just a big body that plays physical."
The Celtics are hoping the physicality of the first two games won't cost them a starter but they have been accustomed to playing shorthanded all season so there is no sense of panic. Garnett has been remarkably healthy since the 10-game absence playing in 39 straight before Rivers rested him for two of the final three regular-season games.
Rivers is cautious when it comes to injured players practicing so keeping Garnett away was no surprise.
"This is just like a normal practice not enough guys that's the way it's been all year for us " said Rivers. "It was an easy practice because we knew what we had." | 1 | neutral | [
"GARNETT ' S FOOT STRAIN GIVES HIM A LITTLE PAUSE\nKevin Garnett suffered a strain in his right mid-foot during Monday's Game 2 victory over the Cavaliers while Kendrick Perkins hyperextended his right knee in that day's shootaround though he still managed to play.",
"Garnett reported to practice Wednesday and wanted to participate telling Rivers he felt better but that did not convince the coach.",
"Perkins suited up but did not participate in drills and eventually left for treatment.",
"He returned to the court following the team's workout and said he will be ready for Game 3 Friday.",
"\"After the game Monday it was hurting and even more when I woke up the next morning \" Perkins said.",
"\"It's still a little sore in my hamstring area.",
"I am glad we had a few days to rest and hopefully I'll practice tomorrow.",
"I'll be ready for Friday.",
"I am glad we have a few days to rest.",
"\"\n Garnett's injury is the more serious of the two.",
"He was hurt in the second quarter of Game 2 when Perkins backed into him while defending a drive by Anderson Varejao.",
"Paul Pierce suffered a similar injury Feb.",
"1 against Washington and missed two games but the Celtics are hoping the extra rest will make Garnett available for Game 3.",
"Perkins said he tweaked the knee simply running down the court.",
"Still his defense against Shaquille O'Neal has been effective.",
"The Celtics have used Garnett and Perkins to plug up the middle and reduce the inside scoring of O'Neal Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejao.",
"O'Neal hurt the Celtics in the fourth quarter of Game 1 but is 8 for 22 in the series and Perkins has limited his easy chances at the rim.",
"If O'Neal gets even a few steps from a dunk Perkins is helpless to stop the 325-pound train.",
"\"The biggest thing with Shaq is you don't let him get deep post-ups \" Perkins said.",
"\"You try to fight him as much as you can and make him score over the top and no dunks no layups.",
"That's the game plan.",
"\"\n When asked if O'Neal chatters during their matchup - which already has cost Perkins five stitches in his upper lip - Perkins said \"Nah he doesn't talk.",
"Shaq really don't talk.",
"He just plays hard and just a big body that plays physical.",
"\"\n The Celtics are hoping the physicality of the first two games won't cost them a starter but they have been accustomed to playing shorthanded all season so there is no sense of panic.",
"Garnett has been remarkably healthy since the 10-game absence playing in 39 straight before Rivers rested him for two of the final three regular-season games.",
"Rivers is cautious when it comes to injured players practicing so keeping Garnett away was no surprise.",
"\"This is just like a normal practice not enough guys that's the way it's been all year for us \" said Rivers.",
"\"It was an easy practice because we knew what we had.",
"\""
] |
I am an engineer and have owned a lot of battery operated drills. I have two of these and 3 batteries. When new, this low power drill was fine for a lot of small jobs. However, the batteries have not lasted long and no longer hold a charge at all. The price of the batteries alone does not justify the cost of buying them, since you can now buy a 14.4 volt or higher drill with 2 batteries and charger for just a little more. You will have more power.
If you just like this drill for some reason, then 25 bucks for a replacement battery is not a bad deal. It is just that there are so many better drills with better power now available.
Listen to the other reviewers who are recommending other drills.
I will be buying a different drill and getting rid of my two. | 1 | neutral | [
"I am an engineer and have owned a lot of battery operated drills.",
"I have two of these and 3 batteries.",
"When new, this low power drill was fine for a lot of small jobs.",
"However, the batteries have not lasted long and no longer hold a charge at all.",
"The price of the batteries alone does not justify the cost of buying them, since you can now buy a 14.",
"4 volt or higher drill with 2 batteries and charger for just a little more.",
"You will have more power.",
"If you just like this drill for some reason, then 25 bucks for a replacement battery is not a bad deal.",
"It is just that there are so many better drills with better power now available.",
"Listen to the other reviewers who are recommending other drills.",
"I will be buying a different drill and getting rid of my two."
] |
To me, the first three Starcastle albums ('Starcastle,' 'Fountains of Light,' 'Citadel') are interchangeable and equally problematic. Throw a castle in the air, where it falls you pretty much know where . . . but they don't. Gravity is not their forte.
While the musicians are very capable, especially the bassist and the main guitarist, the lead singer's voice is, in my opinion, perhaps the most annoying on record. Vapid, without edge, depth, or resonance, it represents the major flaw of the band. Unlike any Yes album, every Starcastle album commits the one unpardonable sin for a progressive rock band: no drama. Compared to Terry Luttrell, Jon Anderson sounds like Lemmy.
The music has lots of texture, but no weight. It is filigree that turns fuzzy on close inspection; light and shade without the sun and moon behind them.
Busy bees--where's the queen? Spiders spinning--where are the flies? There's no earth in the Starcastle cosmos.
Try to imagine, if you can, a fantasy novel without a romantic plot or a heroic quest. The Starcastle knights and whatnots are engaged in a fashion show:
"What ho, my young squire, your flashing splendour brings me to my diaphanous knees. Such chartreuse! Why, my periwinkle does but blime the air around its deciduous charm. I crave your sartorial charity."
Yes, ELP, Kansas, Genesis, King Crimson, Camel, Gentle Giant, UK, PFM, etc. wouldn't be caught dead playing this stuff.
But I do play Starcastle from time to time--because of its textures, its lack of drama. To me, Starcastle is the first New Age prog-rock band, and I wonder how many of the many bands currently on the runway (cf. Mostly Autumn, the Flower Kings) owe them a flounce or shoulderpad, or two. | 1 | neutral | [
"To me, the first three Starcastle albums ('Starcastle,' 'Fountains of Light,' 'Citadel') are interchangeable and equally problematic.",
"Throw a castle in the air, where it falls you pretty much know where.",
".",
".",
"but they don't.",
"Gravity is not their forte.",
"While the musicians are very capable, especially the bassist and the main guitarist, the lead singer's voice is, in my opinion, perhaps the most annoying on record.",
"Vapid, without edge, depth, or resonance, it represents the major flaw of the band.",
"Unlike any Yes album, every Starcastle album commits the one unpardonable sin for a progressive rock band: no drama.",
"Compared to Terry Luttrell, Jon Anderson sounds like Lemmy.",
"The music has lots of texture, but no weight.",
"It is filigree that turns fuzzy on close inspection; light and shade without the sun and moon behind them.",
"Busy bees--where's the queen?",
"Spiders spinning--where are the flies?",
"There's no earth in the Starcastle cosmos.",
"Try to imagine, if you can, a fantasy novel without a romantic plot or a heroic quest.",
"The Starcastle knights and whatnots are engaged in a fashion show:\n\"What ho, my young squire, your flashing splendour brings me to my diaphanous knees.",
"Such chartreuse!",
"Why, my periwinkle does but blime the air around its deciduous charm.",
"I crave your sartorial charity.",
"\"\n\nYes, ELP, Kansas, Genesis, King Crimson, Camel, Gentle Giant, UK, PFM, etc.",
"wouldn't be caught dead playing this stuff.",
"But I do play Starcastle from time to time--because of its textures, its lack of drama.",
"To me, Starcastle is the first New Age prog-rock band, and I wonder how many of the many bands currently on the runway (cf.",
"Mostly Autumn, the Flower Kings) owe them a flounce or shoulderpad, or two."
] |
Faye Dunaway is one of my favorite actresses. She gives a good performance but is limited by a mediocre plot in this mediocre movie. She is the Laura Mars of the title. Laura is a high fashion photographer who mixes sex with violence in her photography. In 1978 it was a more controversial issue than it seems to be today. Its thin veneer serve as a token plot theme.
Out of nowhere Laura begins having psychic visions of murders of people she knows which turn out to be real; all committed by the same killer, through whose eyes she envisions the murders. I say out of nowhere because there is no indication that she ever had psychic visions in her past. It makes for a faulty plot non-sequitur, especially since she is obviously at least in her 30's when she begins to have these visions for the first time.
Produced by Jon Peters, one-time hair stylist and ex-husband of Barbra Streisand who sings the title song, the story is long on glitz and short on thrills or chills. There are plenty of topless models getting dressed and some very attractive young women added to cover a very thin plot.
A young Tommy Lee Jones plays detective John Neville who is in charge of Laura's well-being while the killer is on the loose. He is still a few years and film experience away from developing the persona that has made him so popular today. His performance is uneven at best and he seems to have real difficulties with the role. His performance in the final scene must make him cringe today.
Rene Auberjonois gives the best supporting performance as Laura's agent/promoter. Raul Julia is credible as her ex-husband but does not have the chance with such a small role to show the potential that would lead to his brilliant performance in "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" in 1985.
If you buy it, get it cheap. | 1 | neutral | [
"Faye Dunaway is one of my favorite actresses.",
"She gives a good performance but is limited by a mediocre plot in this mediocre movie.",
"She is the Laura Mars of the title.",
"Laura is a high fashion photographer who mixes sex with violence in her photography.",
"In 1978 it was a more controversial issue than it seems to be today.",
"Its thin veneer serve as a token plot theme.",
"Out of nowhere Laura begins having psychic visions of murders of people she knows which turn out to be real; all committed by the same killer, through whose eyes she envisions the murders.",
"I say out of nowhere because there is no indication that she ever had psychic visions in her past.",
"It makes for a faulty plot non-sequitur, especially since she is obviously at least in her 30's when she begins to have these visions for the first time.",
"Produced by Jon Peters, one-time hair stylist and ex-husband of Barbra Streisand who sings the title song, the story is long on glitz and short on thrills or chills.",
"There are plenty of topless models getting dressed and some very attractive young women added to cover a very thin plot.",
"A young Tommy Lee Jones plays detective John Neville who is in charge of Laura's well-being while the killer is on the loose.",
"He is still a few years and film experience away from developing the persona that has made him so popular today.",
"His performance is uneven at best and he seems to have real difficulties with the role.",
"His performance in the final scene must make him cringe today.",
"Rene Auberjonois gives the best supporting performance as Laura's agent/promoter.",
"Raul Julia is credible as her ex-husband but does not have the chance with such a small role to show the potential that would lead to his brilliant performance in \"The Kiss of the Spider Woman\" in 1985.",
"If you buy it, get it cheap."
] |
Facebook refocusing newsfeed on posts from friends and family
The social media website's co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook is changing the structure of its newsfeed to allow viewers to see more content from their friends and family while reducing the amount they'll see from companies and news outlets.
"As we roll this out you'll see less public content like posts from businesses brands and media " Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. "And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard â it should encourage meaningful interactions between people."
Zuckerberg 33 says the change comes after Facebook's leaders received feedback suggesting the website had moved away from its overall goal of connecting people prompting the change.
He 's confident the changes will make for a more enjoyable and beneficial experience for Facebook users.
"The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about it can be good for our well-being " Zuckerberg wrote. "We can feel more connected and less lonely and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health. On the other hand passively reading articles or watching videos â even if they're entertaining or informative â may not be as good."
Zuckerberg added that they began to make alterations to the newsfeed late last year and that it will take several more months before the changes are universally present on Facebook properties.
He said he expects people to spend less time on Facebook moving forward due to the changes.
"But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable " Zuckerberg wrote. "And if we do the right thing I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too." | 1 | neutral | [
"Facebook refocusing newsfeed on posts from friends and family\nThe social media website's co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook is changing the structure of its newsfeed to allow viewers to see more content from their friends and family while reducing the amount they'll see from companies and news outlets.",
"\"As we roll this out you'll see less public content like posts from businesses brands and media \" Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.",
"\"And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard â it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.",
"\"\n Zuckerberg 33 says the change comes after Facebook's leaders received feedback suggesting the website had moved away from its overall goal of connecting people prompting the change.",
"He 's confident the changes will make for a more enjoyable and beneficial experience for Facebook users.",
"\"The research shows that when we use social media to connect with people we care about it can be good for our well-being \" Zuckerberg wrote.",
"\"We can feel more connected and less lonely and that correlates with long term measures of happiness and health.",
"On the other hand passively reading articles or watching videos â even if they're entertaining or informative â may not be as good.",
"\"\n Zuckerberg added that they began to make alterations to the newsfeed late last year and that it will take several more months before the changes are universally present on Facebook properties.",
"He said he expects people to spend less time on Facebook moving forward due to the changes.",
"\"But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable \" Zuckerberg wrote.",
"\"And if we do the right thing I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.",
"\""
] |
I love this case w/the exception of the false advertisement concerning the kickstand. If it doesn't have it.......DON'T say it does!! I'm satisfied with the quality of workmanship and the functionality but I would actually like to have the clip with the kickstand. I don't typically use a belt clip for my phone but if while at work I wanted to put it on my desk and use the kickstand (which is why I decided to buy this case) I can't. I gave it 3 stars b/c I am generally satisfied with what it is and what it does but it's not what I signed up for. Slightly disappointed to say the least and feel that those who've bought this product should be reimbursed in some way. We work hard for our money and false advertisement is unacceptable!
Bottom line consumers: If you can live w/out the clip stand this is a great phone case. | 1 | neutral | [
"I love this case w/the exception of the false advertisement concerning the kickstand.",
"If it doesn't have it....",
"...",
"DON'T say it does!!",
"I'm satisfied with the quality of workmanship and the functionality but I would actually like to have the clip with the kickstand.",
"I don't typically use a belt clip for my phone but if while at work I wanted to put it on my desk and use the kickstand (which is why I decided to buy this case) I can't.",
"I gave it 3 stars b/c I am generally satisfied with what it is and what it does but it's not what I signed up for.",
"Slightly disappointed to say the least and feel that those who've bought this product should be reimbursed in some way.",
"We work hard for our money and false advertisement is unacceptable!",
"Bottom line consumers: If you can live w/out the clip stand this is a great phone case."
] |
I had recieved one of these as a father's day gift and I was VERY excited about using it. I had done some research on it before I broke the seal and I was quite enthused about making my own minidiscs full of Mp3's. I was quite wrong. First It doesn't record MP3 tracks to the minidisc, it converts it to the ATRAC format (so you can just forget about using the MP3PRO format). The documentation that came with it said that each minidisc is able to be re-recorded over at least 1million times before the quality starts to degrade, but my minidisc actually quit recording tracks in the middle of a song transfer after about 3 re-recordings. I was just put off by my experiences with the player, and if you plan on using the enclosed Sony Software package be well prepared to read "Engrish". You would think that a company as big as Sony would at least localize the software for release in North America, but maybe I had an early build. I really LOVED the size of the player and the ease of it to fit into my shirt pocket. The remote could have been a lot better also, I've noticed that on some of Sony's other minidisc remotes it has an LCD display. Maybe i'm asking for too much but it would've been nice to have that. | 1 | neutral | [
"I had recieved one of these as a father's day gift and I was VERY excited about using it.",
"I had done some research on it before I broke the seal and I was quite enthused about making my own minidiscs full of Mp3's.",
"I was quite wrong.",
"First It doesn't record MP3 tracks to the minidisc, it converts it to the ATRAC format (so you can just forget about using the MP3PRO format).",
"The documentation that came with it said that each minidisc is able to be re-recorded over at least 1million times before the quality starts to degrade, but my minidisc actually quit recording tracks in the middle of a song transfer after about 3 re-recordings.",
"I was just put off by my experiences with the player, and if you plan on using the enclosed Sony Software package be well prepared to read \"Engrish\".",
"You would think that a company as big as Sony would at least localize the software for release in North America, but maybe I had an early build.",
"I really LOVED the size of the player and the ease of it to fit into my shirt pocket.",
"The remote could have been a lot better also, I've noticed that on some of Sony's other minidisc remotes it has an LCD display.",
"Maybe i'm asking for too much but it would've been nice to have that."
] |
This book should be a thriller, but it doesn't deliver. It's hard to tell what he's trying to say because his phrasing is so clumsy, even incoherent at times. This is full of incorrectly used words, sentence fragments, misused commas, verb tense errors, spelling errors; and an instance where he notated a word with a trademark (TM) once, on the third or fourth mention of the word. The writing is very repetitive and annoying. The over-explaining of everything is distracting. This story does not flow. It's choppy. It was a good concept but not well executed. I liked the tech explanations. I enjoyed the references to Homer's Odyssey, and the Book of Job, because they fit in well and enhanced the story. The part about "what's meant to be" went in a good direction, but it needed smoothing out. I wish the main character's self-talk could have been more rational and more insightful. The author starts out with some kind of end-of-the-economy threat, but then focuses the plot around one man. The threat could have been more incorporated into what was happening to the people around him. I give it 2.5 stars. | 1 | neutral | [
"This book should be a thriller, but it doesn't deliver.",
"It's hard to tell what he's trying to say because his phrasing is so clumsy, even incoherent at times.",
"This is full of incorrectly used words, sentence fragments, misused commas, verb tense errors, spelling errors; and an instance where he notated a word with a trademark (TM) once, on the third or fourth mention of the word.",
"The writing is very repetitive and annoying.",
"The over-explaining of everything is distracting.",
"This story does not flow.",
"It's choppy.",
"It was a good concept but not well executed.",
"I liked the tech explanations.",
"I enjoyed the references to Homer's Odyssey, and the Book of Job, because they fit in well and enhanced the story.",
"The part about \"what's meant to be\" went in a good direction, but it needed smoothing out.",
"I wish the main character's self-talk could have been more rational and more insightful.",
"The author starts out with some kind of end-of-the-economy threat, but then focuses the plot around one man.",
"The threat could have been more incorporated into what was happening to the people around him.",
"I give it 2.",
"5 stars."
] |
Jody Foster is a wonderful actress and in the film she shines. Too bad there weren't some other actors in the film that could arise to her level of excellence. Her character is a person of intelligence, sensitivity, imagination......What was she doing hanging out with the ex-priest...Matthew what's his name. His character is a person of no substance...very surfacey kind of guy. Jody's character is a mature human being; Matthew plays an angst ridden teenager.
Little too much of 2001: A Space Odyssey for my taste. | 1 | neutral | [
"Jody Foster is a wonderful actress and in the film she shines.",
"Too bad there weren't some other actors in the film that could arise to her level of excellence.",
"Her character is a person of intelligence, sensitivity, imagination....",
"..",
"What was she doing hanging out with the ex-priest...",
"Matthew what's his name.",
"His character is a person of no substance...",
"very surfacey kind of guy.",
"Jody's character is a mature human being; Matthew plays an angst ridden teenager.",
"Little too much of 2001: A Space Odyssey for my taste."
] |
I have a Dell System with 400MHz Celeron, 64MB of RAM, an ATI Rage 8MB graphics accellerator (integrated on the motherboard), and Win 98 (1st Ed). I did the full install of Myst 3 to my hard drive.
I had no problems with the installation and the game runs fine. I did notice, however, that the game runs pathetically slow in Direct3D mode (hardware accelleration ON). The graphics are beautiful, but the panning creeps along at a snail's pace -- too slowly to really be able to play the game.
Switching to software rendering mode speeds things up significantly, but at the expense of graphics quality. It seems the software mode leaves out a lot of textures and details that really help with the graphics clarity. I found I had a hard time navigating in the software rendered mode. It's kind of like walking around without your glasses on (if you're near sighted). The images are a bit blurry, and I tended to lose my orientation easily (did I already go up this hill?) The response is good enough in software mode to play the game, but you miss out on too many visual details to really enjoy it (especially after seeing what things COULD look like while running in Direct3D mode).
So, unfortunately, if you have a "lower end" system, like mine, you have to choose between game speed and graphics quality. I imagine if you have a faster processor (>600 MHz) and a decent graphics card, the game is probably outstanding. I'm enjoying the game, but feel like I'm missing out on the full experience by not being able to run with the hardware graphics accelleration. | 1 | neutral | [
"I have a Dell System with 400MHz Celeron, 64MB of RAM, an ATI Rage 8MB graphics accellerator (integrated on the motherboard), and Win 98 (1st Ed).",
"I did the full install of Myst 3 to my hard drive.",
"I had no problems with the installation and the game runs fine.",
"I did notice, however, that the game runs pathetically slow in Direct3D mode (hardware accelleration ON).",
"The graphics are beautiful, but the panning creeps along at a snail's pace -- too slowly to really be able to play the game.",
"Switching to software rendering mode speeds things up significantly, but at the expense of graphics quality.",
"It seems the software mode leaves out a lot of textures and details that really help with the graphics clarity.",
"I found I had a hard time navigating in the software rendered mode.",
"It's kind of like walking around without your glasses on (if you're near sighted).",
"The images are a bit blurry, and I tended to lose my orientation easily (did I already go up this hill?",
") The response is good enough in software mode to play the game, but you miss out on too many visual details to really enjoy it (especially after seeing what things COULD look like while running in Direct3D mode).",
"So, unfortunately, if you have a \"lower end\" system, like mine, you have to choose between game speed and graphics quality.",
"I imagine if you have a faster processor (>600 MHz) and a decent graphics card, the game is probably outstanding.",
"I'm enjoying the game, but feel like I'm missing out on the full experience by not being able to run with the hardware graphics accelleration."
] |
I'm of two minds about this one. I like the writer's style, with short, staccato sentences, many of which are like journal entries and may, for instance, include the subject only by implication. For a long novel, this style can get boring; a short story or novella carries this style of writing better.
I liked the characters and the psychological character development over time. Except for one character, whose unraveling didn't ring true to me (I speak from a long lifetime's worth of professional experience).
Ethical considerations are so often painted in black and white; this book showed the shades of gray and did so in a very perceptive way.
One character did as many tours of service in Vietnam as he could. The book recounts, over and over, the savagery and viciousness of that one man's war. I got it: after the second Vietnam episode, I started skipping the gory details, just skimming enough to see if anything was relevant to the character's inner life and growth. A good editor could have made a big difference.
I wanted to stand up and cheer for the hero at the end. I won't say more than that because I don't want to spoil it for you. This author has lots of potential. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm of two minds about this one.",
"I like the writer's style, with short, staccato sentences, many of which are like journal entries and may, for instance, include the subject only by implication.",
"For a long novel, this style can get boring; a short story or novella carries this style of writing better.",
"I liked the characters and the psychological character development over time.",
"Except for one character, whose unraveling didn't ring true to me (I speak from a long lifetime's worth of professional experience).",
"Ethical considerations are so often painted in black and white; this book showed the shades of gray and did so in a very perceptive way.",
"One character did as many tours of service in Vietnam as he could.",
"The book recounts, over and over, the savagery and viciousness of that one man's war.",
"I got it: after the second Vietnam episode, I started skipping the gory details, just skimming enough to see if anything was relevant to the character's inner life and growth.",
"A good editor could have made a big difference.",
"I wanted to stand up and cheer for the hero at the end.",
"I won't say more than that because I don't want to spoil it for you.",
"This author has lots of potential."
] |
Following some successful romantic comedy teamings with Doris Day ("Pillow Talk", "Lover Come Back") and Gina Lollobrigida ("Come September"), Rock Hudson found another delightful leading lady in Paula Prentiss. MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT? teams them with legendary screwball comedy director Howard Hawks.
MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT? recounts the adventures of angling 'expert' Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) who is invited to take part in a prestigious fishing tournament. However, Roger can't even throw a line, let alone catch a fish! When press agent Abigail Page (the delightful Paula Prentiss) finds out about Roger's problem, she decides to give him the ultimate crash course in fishing...
Initially, director Howard Hawks wanted to fashion this movie as a semi-remake of his 1938 classic "Bringing Up Baby", to the point where he even approached Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn about starring in it!
The film features a great musical score by Henry Mancini as well as fine supporting performances from Maria Perschy and Charlene Holt. The DVD includes the trailer. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc). | 1 | neutral | [
"Following some successful romantic comedy teamings with Doris Day (\"Pillow Talk\", \"Lover Come Back\") and Gina Lollobrigida (\"Come September\"), Rock Hudson found another delightful leading lady in Paula Prentiss.",
"MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT?",
"teams them with legendary screwball comedy director Howard Hawks.",
"MAN'S FAVORITE SPORT?",
"recounts the adventures of angling 'expert' Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) who is invited to take part in a prestigious fishing tournament.",
"However, Roger can't even throw a line, let alone catch a fish!",
"When press agent Abigail Page (the delightful Paula Prentiss) finds out about Roger's problem, she decides to give him the ultimate crash course in fishing...",
"Initially, director Howard Hawks wanted to fashion this movie as a semi-remake of his 1938 classic \"Bringing Up Baby\", to the point where he even approached Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn about starring in it!",
"The film features a great musical score by Henry Mancini as well as fine supporting performances from Maria Perschy and Charlene Holt.",
"The DVD includes the trailer.",
"(Single-sided, dual-layer disc)."
] |
OK, So I bought the game. My Sis & I played it all the way through (co-op). It's a funny and weird game. It got a little boring munching all the time. Loved the different areas we got to go munching in. Fun to drive the different vehicles and make new zombies. The new zombies got a little irritating when they would eat "our food", so we had to destroy them too. haha I don't think it was worth the $50 I spent on it. I would suggest maybe renting first and then if you want it, buy it used. All in all is was fun to play and entertaining. | 1 | neutral | [
"OK, So I bought the game.",
"My Sis & I played it all the way through (co-op).",
"It's a funny and weird game.",
"It got a little boring munching all the time.",
"Loved the different areas we got to go munching in.",
"Fun to drive the different vehicles and make new zombies.",
"The new zombies got a little irritating when they would eat \"our food\", so we had to destroy them too.",
"haha I don't think it was worth the $50 I spent on it.",
"I would suggest maybe renting first and then if you want it, buy it used.",
"All in all is was fun to play and entertaining."
] |
This book is inevitably compared to 1984, with good reason. But this book lags behind 1984 in the literary sense.
Make no mistake. Huxley was a genius. He was far ahead of his time and had many ideas about the future that have become real. But the problem with the book is his writing.
Orwell is such a fantastic writer that, while you shudder at the bleak vision he has for the world, you become more interested in the characters of the book. Huxley's characters are just props. Huxley felt like sharing his ideas, but he couldn't just write about them. It seems like he just inserted the characters in so that there would actually be some in the book. Without good characters, a book seriously lags. If Huxley had just been a better writer, the book would be worthy of the comparisons to 1984 that it always recieves. | 1 | neutral | [
"This book is inevitably compared to 1984, with good reason.",
"But this book lags behind 1984 in the literary sense.",
"Make no mistake.",
"Huxley was a genius.",
"He was far ahead of his time and had many ideas about the future that have become real.",
"But the problem with the book is his writing.",
"Orwell is such a fantastic writer that, while you shudder at the bleak vision he has for the world, you become more interested in the characters of the book.",
"Huxley's characters are just props.",
"Huxley felt like sharing his ideas, but he couldn't just write about them.",
"It seems like he just inserted the characters in so that there would actually be some in the book.",
"Without good characters, a book seriously lags.",
"If Huxley had just been a better writer, the book would be worthy of the comparisons to 1984 that it always recieves."
] |
There's much to praise about this latest Tomb Raider adventure, the last in the TR series (next year Eidos/Core will begin TR Next Generation, a game that will be markedly different and feature other playable characters). Chrnoicles features new moves, vastly differing locales, and innovative gameplay. The adventure, divided into four areas, begins in Rome and combines the Venice-like sequences of TRII with the classic archealogical feel of the original. From there it's off to the Sunken Submarine levels where Lara, James Bond-like, must infiltrate a Russian military base and stowaway herself onboard a sub. A fifteen-year old weaponless Lara then explores the mysteries of a haunted forest (probably the weakest area in the game). Chronicles then ends with a Matrix-like adventure in a highrise building where Lara, sporting a black leather catsuit and visual headgear, must use stealth to escape with a prized artifact.
The innovations are quite wonderful--there's an extreme depth suit for underwater exploring, chlorofoam soaked cloths for sneaking up behind and taking out unsuspecting guards. The game, which is very much in the mold of the Last Revelation, is wonderfully cinematic. The music, in particular, helps create mood.
There are some serious problems with this game, however. Like Last Revelation, some of the puzzles seem kind of arbitrary. In other words, whenever I was stumped (which wasn't too often because the game is fairly easy, another drawback) I'd eventually find a solution NOT through logic or brainpower but through trying anything and everything until I was succesful. Put simply, some time after TR II, Core ran out of great puzzle ideas and have resorted to annoying trial-and-error style gameplay. Sadly, though, trial and error don't make for fun gaming.
More troubling, however, is the fact that this game is EXTREMELY short. I payed $44 for Chronicles because I exptected it to be a full game, the length of Last Revelation, say, but Chronicles is only slightly longer than the Gold titles, yet it's twice the price. There are only fourteen sections in Chronicles (covering four locales), but they're not--following the style of Revelation--necessarily full levels, the types of levels we all know and love from TR 1-3. One can easily beat this game in three evenings. Needless to say, very disappointing!
Still, if you're not at all money conscious, this one's worth picking up only because at times it's still a hoot to play. There's also a Level Editor included with the game, for those who wish to design and create their own TR levels, but you need to be fairly computer literate to use it. It's probably a good sign that Chronicles is the last game in the TR canon, because Lara's beginning to wear out her welcome. | 1 | neutral | [
"There's much to praise about this latest Tomb Raider adventure, the last in the TR series (next year Eidos/Core will begin TR Next Generation, a game that will be markedly different and feature other playable characters).",
"Chrnoicles features new moves, vastly differing locales, and innovative gameplay.",
"The adventure, divided into four areas, begins in Rome and combines the Venice-like sequences of TRII with the classic archealogical feel of the original.",
"From there it's off to the Sunken Submarine levels where Lara, James Bond-like, must infiltrate a Russian military base and stowaway herself onboard a sub.",
"A fifteen-year old weaponless Lara then explores the mysteries of a haunted forest (probably the weakest area in the game).",
"Chronicles then ends with a Matrix-like adventure in a highrise building where Lara, sporting a black leather catsuit and visual headgear, must use stealth to escape with a prized artifact.",
"The innovations are quite wonderful--there's an extreme depth suit for underwater exploring, chlorofoam soaked cloths for sneaking up behind and taking out unsuspecting guards.",
"The game, which is very much in the mold of the Last Revelation, is wonderfully cinematic.",
"The music, in particular, helps create mood.",
"There are some serious problems with this game, however.",
"Like Last Revelation, some of the puzzles seem kind of arbitrary.",
"In other words, whenever I was stumped (which wasn't too often because the game is fairly easy, another drawback) I'd eventually find a solution NOT through logic or brainpower but through trying anything and everything until I was succesful.",
"Put simply, some time after TR II, Core ran out of great puzzle ideas and have resorted to annoying trial-and-error style gameplay.",
"Sadly, though, trial and error don't make for fun gaming.",
"More troubling, however, is the fact that this game is EXTREMELY short.",
"I payed $44 for Chronicles because I exptected it to be a full game, the length of Last Revelation, say, but Chronicles is only slightly longer than the Gold titles, yet it's twice the price.",
"There are only fourteen sections in Chronicles (covering four locales), but they're not--following the style of Revelation--necessarily full levels, the types of levels we all know and love from TR 1-3.",
"One can easily beat this game in three evenings.",
"Needless to say, very disappointing!",
"Still, if you're not at all money conscious, this one's worth picking up only because at times it's still a hoot to play.",
"There's also a Level Editor included with the game, for those who wish to design and create their own TR levels, but you need to be fairly computer literate to use it.",
"It's probably a good sign that Chronicles is the last game in the TR canon, because Lara's beginning to wear out her welcome."
] |
On March 24th Disney released Lilo & Stitch in a two disc "Big Wave" edition. This eighty-five minute animated film was a huge success when it was released in June of 2002, and is still an interesting and visually exciting film, but this new release appears to be, well, stitched together.
Lilo & Stitch take the ET formula and turns it upside down as the aggressive and nearly indestructible genetic experiment 626 escapes his prison sentence, makes his way to Earth, and is adopted by the also aggressive Lilo, who loves her unusual looking dog. Take the antics of the two main characters, throw in Lilos over extended guardian and older sister Nani, a mysteriously stern man in black social worker named Cobra Bubbles, and an alien comedy team sent to capture Stitch, put them all in the serene Hawaiian islands, and set all the action to some classic Elvis songs, and you have a film that children are sure to enjoy.
The film has some unusually violent tendencies for a Disney film, as Lilo is certainly not the standard Disney youngster. She hits, bites, and talks back, but the film is about growth and change as both characters display a well crafted evolution in who they are and how they relate to their environment and those in it. There are some good messages to be found in this film, though parents may need to break it down for children, as the story is a bit busy.
The vocal talents of Daveigh Chase and Tia Carrere, as Lilo and Nani do a wonderful job of capturing the local dialect, as does Jason Scott Lee as the local boy interested in Nani. Writer and co-director Chris Sanders has fun with the sounds emanating from Stitch, and David Ogden Stiers, Ving Rhames, Kevin McDonald, and Kevin Michael Richardson round out a talented cast of vocal artists who bring great energy to this project.
It is the look and sound of the film that will endear it to adults. The watercolors give this film a look that seems to combine the beauty of classic Disney animation with the technology of today to create images that jump of the screen and settings that draw the viewer in. The imagery is truly some of the best in the Disney vault, and it is hard to go wrong with a sound track full of Elvis songs. The entire soundtrack is worth owning as it contains great rock and roll along with wonderful songs that are sure to transport you to the islands.
It's almost seven years since the film hit the big screen and eventual DVD release, an animated television series would follow the next year, and a straight to DVD sequel in 2005, so it had to be time for a new release. Disney certainly had enough time to put together something really special, so why does the two disc "Big Wave" edition seem so thrown together? From no information as to which pieces of material are on which disc, to repetitive content, games listed as samples that aren't, a ridiculously short hula lesson, and a painfully long documentary, this is a mess.
The reselling of a film on DVD is always about the bonus material, and there is certainly a lot here, but how about putting some effort into the presentation. The second disk is an embarrassment. It loads to an amateurish menu that leads to a documentary which follows the making of the film from inception to premiere, and is exhaustively thorough at over two hours. If that is not enough, the second disk also includes footnotes from the documentary, and deleted scenes and early versions, though both features contain a lot of the same material.
The first disk contains the feature as well some pleasant and educational bonus features including audio commentary featuring producer Clark Spencer and directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, DisneyPedia: Hawaii - The Islands of Aloha, and the theatrical trailers that creatively inserted Stitch into classic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin.
Where as the documentary on the second disk was too long, some features on the first disc are far too short. The Hula lesson will disappoint kids as it could have easily been a terrific piece by providing some quality instruction rather than the three minute glance that it is, "Burning Love" is nothing more than watching Wynonna standing in front of a microphone singing the song, and though "A Stitch in Time" is certainly long enough at three minutes, it makes little sense.
Recommendation: If you don't own the wonderfully edgy Lilo & Stitch, than this is a fine way to add it to your collection. If you do already own the DVD, and really want to know more about the film, there is some quality bonus material here, but the presentation certainly could have been better as could some of the content. | 1 | neutral | [
"On March 24th Disney released Lilo & Stitch in a two disc \"Big Wave\" edition.",
"This eighty-five minute animated film was a huge success when it was released in June of 2002, and is still an interesting and visually exciting film, but this new release appears to be, well, stitched together.",
"Lilo & Stitch take the ET formula and turns it upside down as the aggressive and nearly indestructible genetic experiment 626 escapes his prison sentence, makes his way to Earth, and is adopted by the also aggressive Lilo, who loves her unusual looking dog.",
"Take the antics of the two main characters, throw in Lilos over extended guardian and older sister Nani, a mysteriously stern man in black social worker named Cobra Bubbles, and an alien comedy team sent to capture Stitch, put them all in the serene Hawaiian islands, and set all the action to some classic Elvis songs, and you have a film that children are sure to enjoy.",
"The film has some unusually violent tendencies for a Disney film, as Lilo is certainly not the standard Disney youngster.",
"She hits, bites, and talks back, but the film is about growth and change as both characters display a well crafted evolution in who they are and how they relate to their environment and those in it.",
"There are some good messages to be found in this film, though parents may need to break it down for children, as the story is a bit busy.",
"The vocal talents of Daveigh Chase and Tia Carrere, as Lilo and Nani do a wonderful job of capturing the local dialect, as does Jason Scott Lee as the local boy interested in Nani.",
"Writer and co-director Chris Sanders has fun with the sounds emanating from Stitch, and David Ogden Stiers, Ving Rhames, Kevin McDonald, and Kevin Michael Richardson round out a talented cast of vocal artists who bring great energy to this project.",
"It is the look and sound of the film that will endear it to adults.",
"The watercolors give this film a look that seems to combine the beauty of classic Disney animation with the technology of today to create images that jump of the screen and settings that draw the viewer in.",
"The imagery is truly some of the best in the Disney vault, and it is hard to go wrong with a sound track full of Elvis songs.",
"The entire soundtrack is worth owning as it contains great rock and roll along with wonderful songs that are sure to transport you to the islands.",
"It's almost seven years since the film hit the big screen and eventual DVD release, an animated television series would follow the next year, and a straight to DVD sequel in 2005, so it had to be time for a new release.",
"Disney certainly had enough time to put together something really special, so why does the two disc \"Big Wave\" edition seem so thrown together?",
"From no information as to which pieces of material are on which disc, to repetitive content, games listed as samples that aren't, a ridiculously short hula lesson, and a painfully long documentary, this is a mess.",
"The reselling of a film on DVD is always about the bonus material, and there is certainly a lot here, but how about putting some effort into the presentation.",
"The second disk is an embarrassment.",
"It loads to an amateurish menu that leads to a documentary which follows the making of the film from inception to premiere, and is exhaustively thorough at over two hours.",
"If that is not enough, the second disk also includes footnotes from the documentary, and deleted scenes and early versions, though both features contain a lot of the same material.",
"The first disk contains the feature as well some pleasant and educational bonus features including audio commentary featuring producer Clark Spencer and directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, DisneyPedia: Hawaii - The Islands of Aloha, and the theatrical trailers that creatively inserted Stitch into classic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin.",
"Where as the documentary on the second disk was too long, some features on the first disc are far too short.",
"The Hula lesson will disappoint kids as it could have easily been a terrific piece by providing some quality instruction rather than the three minute glance that it is, \"Burning Love\" is nothing more than watching Wynonna standing in front of a microphone singing the song, and though \"A Stitch in Time\" is certainly long enough at three minutes, it makes little sense.",
"Recommendation: If you don't own the wonderfully edgy Lilo & Stitch, than this is a fine way to add it to your collection.",
"If you do already own the DVD, and really want to know more about the film, there is some quality bonus material here, but the presentation certainly could have been better as could some of the content."
] |
This is the first album from Rich Gang, which consists of Young Money and Cash Money. With limited features from the "stars" of the label, will the newer artists step up to the plate? Nicki and Wayne are featured on one song a piece and Drake isn't on any of them. Birdman says the reason he isn't on the album is because he's working on his new album plus he says Drake is on some new tracks that's being saved for the upcoming Big Tymers album. But anyway, the album starts with R.G., Birdman speaks on the intro, while the "Man Right Chea" Mystkal drops a energetic verse and you already know he's gonna bring the energy whenever he gets on the mic. Future and Detail link up on piano driven "Million Dollar", which is basically a short song leading into the first single "Tapout". You've heard the song by now, you know how it goes "She got that million dollar ooh ooh ooh!".
MMG leader Rick Ross has a solo joint, "50 Plates". Can anyone predict the outcome of this song? Trap beat, chanty hook, yup its the same formula Rozay has been using since his hit single BMF. Ok I admit I do enjoy the song though Lol. Its that workout music. "Panties To The Side" featuring French Montana, Tyga, Bow Wow & Gudda Gudda is for the strip clubs, can't be mad at the song. I can't see it getting played on radio or anything, but in the clubs it definitely can. "100 Favors" is enjoyable, Kendrick Lamar easily steals the show with his quick story about a girl. R Kelly appears on "We Been On", so when did him and Birdman squash that beef they had? Remember they were supposed to put the Best Of Both Worlds 2 album in 03, then Kellz ditched him to record the sequel with Jay? Am I the only noticed Kelly sang the hook similar to how J Cole did on Power Trip?
"Dreams Come True" featuring Yo Gotti, Ace Hood, Mack Maine & Birdman and "Bigger Than Life" featuring Chris Brown, Tyga, Birdman & Lil Wayne are the strong points of the album. Birdman is a very smart businessman, he knew exactly what he was doing by inserting himself into the "Pop" oriented "Sunshine", which features Limp Bizkit, Flo-Rida, Birdman & Caskey. This is my first time hearing of Caskey, but he is signed to the label. The song has a positive vibe to it. They might as well push it as a single. "Everyday" featuring Cory Gunz, Birdman, Mystikal & Busta Rhymes is your typical Cash Money track and a very forgettable one at that. No need to waste your hard earned money on this one. After listening to this, I must say this comp will not advance any of their careers, Cash Money was better off releasing it as free mixtape instead.
The "Number 1 Stunna" is on damn near every song. How about letting someone else shine? It should be called Birdman & Friends, because that's the type of feel I got from it. Some other things I wanna touch on, in my opinion Jae Millz and Cory Gunz have been disappointments since signing to Young Money, they were supposed to be apart of the "New New York" around that 2004/2005 era with Papoose, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, Stack Bundles (Rip), Etc. They need to find an identity. As far as Detail goes, it seems like he has been studying Future's formula, relying on the sing songy auto-tune flow, but he made the most out of the opportunity he was given. Overall, Rich Gang is very average, nothing more nothing less. | 1 | neutral | [
"This is the first album from Rich Gang, which consists of Young Money and Cash Money.",
"With limited features from the \"stars\" of the label, will the newer artists step up to the plate?",
"Nicki and Wayne are featured on one song a piece and Drake isn't on any of them.",
"Birdman says the reason he isn't on the album is because he's working on his new album plus he says Drake is on some new tracks that's being saved for the upcoming Big Tymers album.",
"But anyway, the album starts with R.",
"G., Birdman speaks on the intro, while the \"Man Right Chea\" Mystkal drops a energetic verse and you already know he's gonna bring the energy whenever he gets on the mic.",
"Future and Detail link up on piano driven \"Million Dollar\", which is basically a short song leading into the first single \"Tapout\".",
"You've heard the song by now, you know how it goes \"She got that million dollar ooh ooh ooh!",
"\".",
"MMG leader Rick Ross has a solo joint, \"50 Plates\".",
"Can anyone predict the outcome of this song?",
"Trap beat, chanty hook, yup its the same formula Rozay has been using since his hit single BMF.",
"Ok I admit I do enjoy the song though Lol.",
"Its that workout music.",
"\"Panties To The Side\" featuring French Montana, Tyga, Bow Wow & Gudda Gudda is for the strip clubs, can't be mad at the song.",
"I can't see it getting played on radio or anything, but in the clubs it definitely can.",
"\"100 Favors\" is enjoyable, Kendrick Lamar easily steals the show with his quick story about a girl.",
"R Kelly appears on \"We Been On\", so when did him and Birdman squash that beef they had?",
"Remember they were supposed to put the Best Of Both Worlds 2 album in 03, then Kellz ditched him to record the sequel with Jay?",
"Am I the only noticed Kelly sang the hook similar to how J Cole did on Power Trip?",
"\"Dreams Come True\" featuring Yo Gotti, Ace Hood, Mack Maine & Birdman and \"Bigger Than Life\" featuring Chris Brown, Tyga, Birdman & Lil Wayne are the strong points of the album.",
"Birdman is a very smart businessman, he knew exactly what he was doing by inserting himself into the \"Pop\" oriented \"Sunshine\", which features Limp Bizkit, Flo-Rida, Birdman & Caskey.",
"This is my first time hearing of Caskey, but he is signed to the label.",
"The song has a positive vibe to it.",
"They might as well push it as a single.",
"\"Everyday\" featuring Cory Gunz, Birdman, Mystikal & Busta Rhymes is your typical Cash Money track and a very forgettable one at that.",
"No need to waste your hard earned money on this one.",
"After listening to this, I must say this comp will not advance any of their careers, Cash Money was better off releasing it as free mixtape instead.",
"The \"Number 1 Stunna\" is on damn near every song.",
"How about letting someone else shine?",
"It should be called Birdman & Friends, because that's the type of feel I got from it.",
"Some other things I wanna touch on, in my opinion Jae Millz and Cory Gunz have been disappointments since signing to Young Money, they were supposed to be apart of the \"New New York\" around that 2004/2005 era with Papoose, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, Stack Bundles (Rip), Etc.",
"They need to find an identity.",
"As far as Detail goes, it seems like he has been studying Future's formula, relying on the sing songy auto-tune flow, but he made the most out of the opportunity he was given.",
"Overall, Rich Gang is very average, nothing more nothing less."
] |
I am a huge fan of both Willis and Perry, but I'm not the biggest fan of this movie. While there are quite a few funny moments, they are few and far between. It seemed as though the writers had written some funny stuff, and then came up with some boring lines to act as filler. The instant love between Perry and the blond woman, wasn't believable. Rosanna Arquette's accent was absolutely hideous. The only redeemable quality, was Amanda Peet as the hygienist turned hit man. She was very funny. This movie is o.k. I wouldn't buy it, if you want to see it, rent it, or wait for it to come on t.v. | 1 | neutral | [
"I am a huge fan of both Willis and Perry, but I'm not the biggest fan of this movie.",
"While there are quite a few funny moments, they are few and far between.",
"It seemed as though the writers had written some funny stuff, and then came up with some boring lines to act as filler.",
"The instant love between Perry and the blond woman, wasn't believable.",
"Rosanna Arquette's accent was absolutely hideous.",
"The only redeemable quality, was Amanda Peet as the hygienist turned hit man.",
"She was very funny.",
"This movie is o.",
"k. I wouldn't buy it, if you want to see it, rent it, or wait for it to come on t.",
"v."
] |
Nice story. The editing has been ripped up one end and down the other,but for me it's no worse then most e-books that I order. Yes I did have to look at a few sentence's a couple of times to get what the writer was wanting me to see. No big deal. If perfection is what you need to understand a story being told spend the 20 to 30 bucks on name brands and have a good time. Not one thing wrong with that. I for one enjoy spending a dollar or two on these novels,no matter the problem with editing. As for the story,it is a young boy cast out into the world to forage for his self. He comes to power slowly and this part of the story is fleshed out well. The kingdom is in trouble,the old king is dead murdered by one of the nobility,his son has assumed the throne. Then off to the side you have a woman,priest,elf,etc..They for most of the story are off doing their on thing. Fighting one creature after another. This part is wasted. It's not creditable. WAY OVER THE TOP!!!Once Mr. Deskins learns to channel his emotions and narrow his vision a little better he's got a future in this arena .Azerick's story is compelling,heart breaking at times. The school was interesting but not new to fantasy readers. I did like the ever changing Villains,this was a new twist. The story could have used help in some areas in my opinion. But I will leave that for new readers to decide. For me it was a good read worth the money and time invested in it. | 1 | neutral | [
"Nice story.",
"The editing has been ripped up one end and down the other,but for me it's no worse then most e-books that I order.",
"Yes I did have to look at a few sentence's a couple of times to get what the writer was wanting me to see.",
"No big deal.",
"If perfection is what you need to understand a story being told spend the 20 to 30 bucks on name brands and have a good time.",
"Not one thing wrong with that.",
"I for one enjoy spending a dollar or two on these novels,no matter the problem with editing.",
"As for the story,it is a young boy cast out into the world to forage for his self.",
"He comes to power slowly and this part of the story is fleshed out well.",
"The kingdom is in trouble,the old king is dead murdered by one of the nobility,his son has assumed the throne.",
"Then off to the side you have a woman,priest,elf,etc..",
"They for most of the story are off doing their on thing.",
"Fighting one creature after another.",
"This part is wasted.",
"It's not creditable.",
"WAY OVER THE TOP!!!",
"Once Mr.",
"Deskins learns to channel his emotions and narrow his vision a little better he's got a future in this arena.",
"Azerick's story is compelling,heart breaking at times.",
"The school was interesting but not new to fantasy readers.",
"I did like the ever changing Villains,this was a new twist.",
"The story could have used help in some areas in my opinion.",
"But I will leave that for new readers to decide.",
"For me it was a good read worth the money and time invested in it."
] |
I had the grand opportunity of testing the game. Needless to say, I was quite impressed.
Graphically, it is one of the finer sims out there. However, numerous bugs run in the game, of which, only 15 are fixed in the 1.2 patch. I wouldn't recommend paying the full FIFTY BUCKS for the special version. It only has 6 videos of actual US naval films, the rest is advertising for manuals and DVD's, not to mention the narration by a guy who sounds like he's 15.
It also doesn't include the full guide to the enemy vessels you will be facing. Not a whole lot of bang for your buck. It's a real shame that I can't give this game 5 stars, but it just doesn't feel done. I really wished that Ubisoft would of held off until all the bugs could be worked out. I even e-mailed them on it, but they just didn't listen.
It's not a horrible game. In fact, I'd suggest you go out and get it, that is if your PC can handle it. Again, I don't think you should buy the unfinished special edition version. With their promised future patches, I'd say this will be a 5 star game... but that will be told in time.
I'm very excited to know now that Ubisoft will be releasing a NEW patch/addon come mid-2008 that will add a U-boat campaign to the game. It will be taking place in the Indian Ocean, and it promises to do some MAJOR improvements to the game. One thing that doesn't make any sense, on this news, is that a Japanese campaign will not be available. Wait, SH4 was first released with the Americans vs. the Japanese navy. Isn't it kind of odd that they don't even include Japanese submarines as playable vessels?
Well, until 2008 comes around and the patch comes out, This review shall remain unchanged. | 1 | neutral | [
"I had the grand opportunity of testing the game.",
"Needless to say, I was quite impressed.",
"Graphically, it is one of the finer sims out there.",
"However, numerous bugs run in the game, of which, only 15 are fixed in the 1.",
"2 patch.",
"I wouldn't recommend paying the full FIFTY BUCKS for the special version.",
"It only has 6 videos of actual US naval films, the rest is advertising for manuals and DVD's, not to mention the narration by a guy who sounds like he's 15.",
"It also doesn't include the full guide to the enemy vessels you will be facing.",
"Not a whole lot of bang for your buck.",
"It's a real shame that I can't give this game 5 stars, but it just doesn't feel done.",
"I really wished that Ubisoft would of held off until all the bugs could be worked out.",
"I even e-mailed them on it, but they just didn't listen.",
"It's not a horrible game.",
"In fact, I'd suggest you go out and get it, that is if your PC can handle it.",
"Again, I don't think you should buy the unfinished special edition version.",
"With their promised future patches, I'd say this will be a 5 star game...",
"but that will be told in time.",
"I'm very excited to know now that Ubisoft will be releasing a NEW patch/addon come mid-2008 that will add a U-boat campaign to the game.",
"It will be taking place in the Indian Ocean, and it promises to do some MAJOR improvements to the game.",
"One thing that doesn't make any sense, on this news, is that a Japanese campaign will not be available.",
"Wait, SH4 was first released with the Americans vs.",
"the Japanese navy.",
"Isn't it kind of odd that they don't even include Japanese submarines as playable vessels?",
"Well, until 2008 comes around and the patch comes out, This review shall remain unchanged."
] |
In the Celtic Crusades trilogy, acclaimed Christian fantasy writer Stephen Lawhead again tries his hand at historical fiction, just as he did in his successful Byzantium. The adventure revolves around Murdo Ranulfson, whose brothers and father leave Scotland to join one of the eleventh century Crusades to rescue Jerusalem from the infidel. When usurpers confiscate his home and property, Murdo leaves his native land and his new bride Ragna, to find his father and brothers and call them to return home and restore their property. Together with three mysterious priests, his quest takes him to the center of the crusaders' action in sacking Jerusalem in 1099, where he soon becomes part of the search for the iron lance, the relic which apparently pierced Christ's side and now seems to magically guarantee the crusaders victory. Juxtaposed with Murdo's personal quest, is the much larger and epic story of the crusade.
In place of Lawhead's usual fantasy, "The Iron Lance" instead is full of historical adventure. But unfortunately Lawhead doesn't succeed in this effort at historical fiction to the same extent as he did in "Byzantium". There are too many loose ends, coincidences, and implausibilities. Unlike some of his other efforts, here the bad guys are neatly vanquished and the good guy gets the gold, the glory, and the girl. The Iron Lance lacks the deep and contrasting passions of glory and tragedy that I came to love from the Pendragon Cycle and the Song of Albion trilogy. And the framing device about Gordon Murray who is initiated into a mystical nineteenth century secret society of brotherhood has little obvious connection with the rest of the book. Ultimately it is a rather incredible historical adventure set in medieval times, somewhat too good to be true, where you must suspend you sense of disbelief to enjoy the plot, somewhat similar to Louis L'Amour's "The Walking Drum" but without the same success in execution and failing to live up to its potential.
Certainly there are some aspects that redeem this book. The portrayal of the crusades is fascinating for those interested in medieval times. Lawhead is not afraid to show the corruption that existed within the ritualistic church of the time, and the brutality and bloodshed of the crusades. But amidst all the religion and the politics, this book lacks the personalities, the passion and the plot that made some of his other works so successful, and compared with them is only second rate. Newcomers to Lawhead would do better to start with Byzantium, or the Pendragon Cycle and the Song of Albion trilogies. I hope the other two entries in this series will rise to the heights Lawhead has reached in the past with those titles. -GODLY GADFLY | 1 | neutral | [
"In the Celtic Crusades trilogy, acclaimed Christian fantasy writer Stephen Lawhead again tries his hand at historical fiction, just as he did in his successful Byzantium.",
"The adventure revolves around Murdo Ranulfson, whose brothers and father leave Scotland to join one of the eleventh century Crusades to rescue Jerusalem from the infidel.",
"When usurpers confiscate his home and property, Murdo leaves his native land and his new bride Ragna, to find his father and brothers and call them to return home and restore their property.",
"Together with three mysterious priests, his quest takes him to the center of the crusaders' action in sacking Jerusalem in 1099, where he soon becomes part of the search for the iron lance, the relic which apparently pierced Christ's side and now seems to magically guarantee the crusaders victory.",
"Juxtaposed with Murdo's personal quest, is the much larger and epic story of the crusade.",
"In place of Lawhead's usual fantasy, \"The Iron Lance\" instead is full of historical adventure.",
"But unfortunately Lawhead doesn't succeed in this effort at historical fiction to the same extent as he did in \"Byzantium\".",
"There are too many loose ends, coincidences, and implausibilities.",
"Unlike some of his other efforts, here the bad guys are neatly vanquished and the good guy gets the gold, the glory, and the girl.",
"The Iron Lance lacks the deep and contrasting passions of glory and tragedy that I came to love from the Pendragon Cycle and the Song of Albion trilogy.",
"And the framing device about Gordon Murray who is initiated into a mystical nineteenth century secret society of brotherhood has little obvious connection with the rest of the book.",
"Ultimately it is a rather incredible historical adventure set in medieval times, somewhat too good to be true, where you must suspend you sense of disbelief to enjoy the plot, somewhat similar to Louis L'Amour's \"The Walking Drum\" but without the same success in execution and failing to live up to its potential.",
"Certainly there are some aspects that redeem this book.",
"The portrayal of the crusades is fascinating for those interested in medieval times.",
"Lawhead is not afraid to show the corruption that existed within the ritualistic church of the time, and the brutality and bloodshed of the crusades.",
"But amidst all the religion and the politics, this book lacks the personalities, the passion and the plot that made some of his other works so successful, and compared with them is only second rate.",
"Newcomers to Lawhead would do better to start with Byzantium, or the Pendragon Cycle and the Song of Albion trilogies.",
"I hope the other two entries in this series will rise to the heights Lawhead has reached in the past with those titles.",
"-GODLY GADFLY"
] |
First let me say that I am a HUGE fan of Mandy Roth (Love the Immortal OPS Series). However, this book was not one of my favorites. As usual, the editing was great, but I felt like I did not really know the characters and the story bounced around.
I had to go back and reread a section because I thought I overlooked something. I never quite understood the "why" of the attraction between Sheriff Jonathan and Molly and what made her his mate. I will read the next book in the series because I liked the interaction between Parker and Lynn and want to find out what happens with them. Again, the book was not bad but it is not one that I will read again and again, like I do with the Immortal OPS series.......
This book was given to me for an honest review by the author.................. | 1 | neutral | [
"First let me say that I am a HUGE fan of Mandy Roth (Love the Immortal OPS Series).",
"However, this book was not one of my favorites.",
"As usual, the editing was great, but I felt like I did not really know the characters and the story bounced around.",
"I had to go back and reread a section because I thought I overlooked something.",
"I never quite understood the \"why\" of the attraction between Sheriff Jonathan and Molly and what made her his mate.",
"I will read the next book in the series because I liked the interaction between Parker and Lynn and want to find out what happens with them.",
"Again, the book was not bad but it is not one that I will read again and again, like I do with the Immortal OPS series....",
"...",
"This book was given to me for an honest review by the author....",
"....",
"....",
"....",
".."
] |
Measurements at room temperature.
1.581
1.735
1.970
2.323
2.482
2.562
2.836
2.995
3.189
All I needed was the 1.750 to drive a 1.810 od bushing.
I thought 0.060 was a tolerable discrepancy.
An 0.075 gap will not work for me.
I will probably try to turn the 1.970 plate down to 1.805.
Quality of the set otherwise seems pretty good.
Blow molded case is quality as well. | 1 | neutral | [
"Measurements at room temperature.",
"1.",
"581\n1.",
"735\n1.",
"970\n2.",
"323\n2.",
"482\n2.",
"562\n2.",
"836\n2.",
"995\n3.",
"189\n\nAll I needed was the 1.",
"750 to drive a 1.",
"810 od bushing.",
"I thought 0.",
"060 was a tolerable discrepancy.",
"An 0.",
"075 gap will not work for me.",
"I will probably try to turn the 1.",
"970 plate down to 1.",
"805.",
"Quality of the set otherwise seems pretty good.",
"Blow molded case is quality as well."
] |
This game is alright. It looks beautiful in cutscenes, but not as good the rest of the time. The story is interesting and characters are fine, but I didn't really care much about any of them except maybe Auron. I wanted more to see the plot unfold. The battles are so-so, because summoning can be fun, but the fighting is not very entertaining otherwise and it is just turn-based. The music is nice; I enjoyed listening to some of the songs but there aren't really any cutscenes with songs with lyrics like in Kingdom Hearts or FFX-2. It's more background music. It's too bad you can't choose difficulty in most rpgs, because I am stuck on Yunalesca and I've tried over and over to beat her and can't. So I may never see the ending. But most people can probably beat the game, I just get stuck a lot. Anyway, this game is worth renting and if you like it you should buy it. This isn't really a memorable game overall, more for the graphics (but there are other games with equal graphics). I've never been a big fan of Final Fantasy, because I never seem to be able to finish them, and the battles are so boring. I think Zelda or Kingdom Hearts is better. | 1 | neutral | [
"This game is alright.",
"It looks beautiful in cutscenes, but not as good the rest of the time.",
"The story is interesting and characters are fine, but I didn't really care much about any of them except maybe Auron.",
"I wanted more to see the plot unfold.",
"The battles are so-so, because summoning can be fun, but the fighting is not very entertaining otherwise and it is just turn-based.",
"The music is nice; I enjoyed listening to some of the songs but there aren't really any cutscenes with songs with lyrics like in Kingdom Hearts or FFX-2.",
"It's more background music.",
"It's too bad you can't choose difficulty in most rpgs, because I am stuck on Yunalesca and I've tried over and over to beat her and can't.",
"So I may never see the ending.",
"But most people can probably beat the game, I just get stuck a lot.",
"Anyway, this game is worth renting and if you like it you should buy it.",
"This isn't really a memorable game overall, more for the graphics (but there are other games with equal graphics).",
"I've never been a big fan of Final Fantasy, because I never seem to be able to finish them, and the battles are so boring.",
"I think Zelda or Kingdom Hearts is better."
] |
Father in scalding death gets seven years despite pastor plea
Robert Ritchie was convicted in his third trial in August in the death of little Austin Cooper after two mistrials. He was facing up to 11 years in prison.
Ohio man Robert Ritchie was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday. (Nick Graham/AP)
Lawyer Frank Schiavone characterized Ritchie as a victim of his wife and "an abused man." Anna Ritchie pleaded guilty last year and is serving 18 years to life in prison.
During Tuesday's sentencing the 32-year-old Ritchie told the judge that he wanted to became a pastor so he could pass on his faith.
Schiavone called Ritchie a "gentle giant" who has been full of "despair and hopelessness" since his son died.
However Austin's maternal grandmother Sheri Gredig told Ritchie he was "destined for hell and the devil himself."
"We will never watch him grow up " she said in court according to the Journal-News. "He ( Ritchie ) took that away from all of us and for that he should receive the maximum sentence possible."
Prosecutors argued in the Warren County courtroom that Robert Ritchie failed to get medical treatment that could have saved Austin's life in March 2016.
Anna Ritchie is serving an 18-year sentence for Austin's death.
Anna Ritchie resented being Austin's stepmother and put him in the 130-degree water as a form of punishment according to prosecutors. Robert Ritchie did not check on his son for 15 hours Fox 19 reported. | 1 | neutral | [
"Father in scalding death gets seven years despite pastor plea\nRobert Ritchie was convicted in his third trial in August in the death of little Austin Cooper after two mistrials.",
"He was facing up to 11 years in prison.",
"Ohio man Robert Ritchie was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday.",
"(Nick Graham/AP)\nLawyer Frank Schiavone characterized Ritchie as a victim of his wife and \"an abused man.",
"\" Anna Ritchie pleaded guilty last year and is serving 18 years to life in prison.",
"During Tuesday's sentencing the 32-year-old Ritchie told the judge that he wanted to became a pastor so he could pass on his faith.",
"Schiavone called Ritchie a \"gentle giant\" who has been full of \"despair and hopelessness\" since his son died.",
"However Austin's maternal grandmother Sheri Gredig told Ritchie he was \"destined for hell and the devil himself.",
"\"\n\"We will never watch him grow up \" she said in court according to the Journal-News.",
"\"He ( Ritchie ) took that away from all of us and for that he should receive the maximum sentence possible.",
"\"\nProsecutors argued in the Warren County courtroom that Robert Ritchie failed to get medical treatment that could have saved Austin's life in March 2016.",
"Anna Ritchie is serving an 18-year sentence for Austin's death.",
"Anna Ritchie resented being Austin's stepmother and put him in the 130-degree water as a form of punishment according to prosecutors.",
"Robert Ritchie did not check on his son for 15 hours Fox 19 reported."
] |
I found this book a little hard to get into and boring at the beginning, but it picked up halfway through and ended up being a fairly good book. The book is basically a combination of diary entries and letters between the book's main character, Clara, and her sister and a few other people who come into her life at various points. Through these letters, you follow the life of a woman who lives in a small, rural town in Ontario in the 1930s. She is an unmarried school teacher in her 30s who has little chance of marrying and isn't even really sure she wants to be a wife and mother. She is a poet at heart but is very private and only has one real childhood friend. There is a side to Clara that no one really sees but comes out in her diary entries and occasionally in her letters. Clara leads a rather uneventful and unremarkable life, but as the book unfolds, she travels, takes on a lover, and you begin to glimpse that there is more to this woman than meets the eye. You often wonder why the story of this woman could possibly be of any importance until you realize near the end why the story matters - and who it matters to.
This is not a feel good, happy ending book. It is a look at the harsh realities of life for a woman in a small town - a small town where everyone knows everything you do and your reputation is, if not everything, almost everything. These people can be nosy and downright cruel in some cases, but also warm and supportive and giving. If you can stick through the first third of the book, it is worth the read. | 1 | neutral | [
"I found this book a little hard to get into and boring at the beginning, but it picked up halfway through and ended up being a fairly good book.",
"The book is basically a combination of diary entries and letters between the book's main character, Clara, and her sister and a few other people who come into her life at various points.",
"Through these letters, you follow the life of a woman who lives in a small, rural town in Ontario in the 1930s.",
"She is an unmarried school teacher in her 30s who has little chance of marrying and isn't even really sure she wants to be a wife and mother.",
"She is a poet at heart but is very private and only has one real childhood friend.",
"There is a side to Clara that no one really sees but comes out in her diary entries and occasionally in her letters.",
"Clara leads a rather uneventful and unremarkable life, but as the book unfolds, she travels, takes on a lover, and you begin to glimpse that there is more to this woman than meets the eye.",
"You often wonder why the story of this woman could possibly be of any importance until you realize near the end why the story matters - and who it matters to.",
"This is not a feel good, happy ending book.",
"It is a look at the harsh realities of life for a woman in a small town - a small town where everyone knows everything you do and your reputation is, if not everything, almost everything.",
"These people can be nosy and downright cruel in some cases, but also warm and supportive and giving.",
"If you can stick through the first third of the book, it is worth the read."
] |
"Universal Soldier" may very well be one of the most definitive opus of 80s/90s American action cinema. Gunfights? - out the butt. Car chases? - make that prison bus chases, headed towards a canyon. Explosions? - better hope you have 5.1 to experience the full blast. Martial arts? - not as much as I'd like, but inserted in the right spots. One-liners? - "You're discharged, sarge!" Right on. However, despite all this, it has it's flaws.
The story: "Soldier" is the post-mortem tale of Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bloodsport/dp/B00006RCOC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bloodsport</a>) and Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren, <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Rocky-IV/dp/B0006GAOGI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Rocky IV</a>) - two soldiers who killed eachother in Vietnam chosen for a military program that reanimated them as members of an elite squad of remote-controlled super soldiers employed to defuse extremely dangerous situations. After foiling a terrorist plot to take over the McKinley Dam, Luc begins experiencing memory flashbacks that disrupt his conditioning to follow orders. When a young newscaster (Ally Walker, "Profiler") is put in danger for investigating the program, he overrides his directive entirely and attempts to rescue her and is pursued by Scott, who is also experiencing flashbacks of his most violent days...
Some folks have charged the film a "Terminator" ripoff, though this isn't entirely accurate. Rather, "Universal Soldier" is a homage to just about every action movie that had preceded it. The influence from <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Terminator/dp/B000OPOAM0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Terminator</a> is there, sure, but the movie also stylistically alludes to <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/First-Blood/dp/B0004Z33EG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">First Blood</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Die-Hard/dp/B000O77SRC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Die Hard</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Commando/dp/B000GUJYI8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Commando</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Missing-in-Action/dp/079284582X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Missing in Action</a>, and a slew of other films that boast big guys with big guns delivering big thrills. If you enjoy action cinema from this specific time period, this film will be your wet dream from the moment that Lundgren throws the first grenade to Van Damme's final flying kick. With that being said, I need to take the edge off of the excitement: it's a good movie, with good action and a few good jokes, but it is not great. The action is big and bad, but it's not the biggest and baddest there is: pretty much all of the films that I mentioned before give better offerings where gunplay/car chases/kickboxing is concerned, so if you've seen any or all of them, your awe will be limited.
As mentioned earlier, the Van Damme vs. Lundgren card was not played to its fullest extent. At the time of its release, both men had proven themselves verifiable action heroes; it would've made perfect sense to unleash the two upon eachother and build the film around their various encounters, from shootouts to karate contests. However, this is not the case: we get one mano-e-mano encounter at the end of the movie, but for the rest of the picture, it's all Van Damme running from Lundgren and the two of them proving their mettle on others, not eachother. While it's entertaining to see Deveraux beat up a restaurant full of attackers, it would've been a hundred times more fulfilling to see him take the fight to Scott more often. When they finally do fight eachother hand-to-hand, it's hardly what you'd expect from two legitimate martial arts champions: lots of throwing around and haymakers and other non-karate things, whereas trading punches, roundhouse kicks, and counter-holds are all exempt.
The acting is a mixed bag where all characters are concerned, though this is of less consequence in this kind of movie: Van Damme, Lundgren, Walker, and Jerry Orbach ("Law & Order") as the program administrator all have their respective high points and low points, but nobody really stands out. Van Damme plays well in the beginning as a soft-spoken amnesiac, but once he livens up, it's back to the performance that critics like to bash him for. Lundgren as the depraved war villain is infinitely more interesting: it's nice to see him play a bad guy - and such an extreme one, at that - but even he gets a bit carried away with some of his lines to the point that he surpasses 'crazy' and turns just plain silly. Ally Walker's performance is a bit embarrassing, so it's good to know that she moved on to better things. Jerry Orbach is simply Jerry Orbach.
Is "Universal Soldier" good? - of course. Is it great? - no. Is it a highlight of the careers of Van Damme and Lundgren? - definitely. Is it worth owning for fans? - most likely, for those willing to trade in B-movie adventures for big budget works for a while. Is it worth plunking down a few extra dollars for the special edition? - yep. Should I buy it now? - maybe not now, but don't wait too long! | 1 | neutral | [
"\"Universal Soldier\" may very well be one of the most definitive opus of 80s/90s American action cinema.",
"Gunfights?",
"- out the butt.",
"Car chases?",
"- make that prison bus chases, headed towards a canyon.",
"Explosions?",
"- better hope you have 5.",
"1 to experience the full blast.",
"Martial arts?",
"- not as much as I'd like, but inserted in the right spots.",
"One-liners?",
"- \"You're discharged, sarge!",
"\" Right on.",
"However, despite all this, it has it's flaws.",
"The story: \"Soldier\" is the post-mortem tale of Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme, <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Bloodsport/dp/B00006RCOC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Bloodsport</a>) and Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren, <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Rocky-IV/dp/B0006GAOGI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Rocky IV</a>) - two soldiers who killed eachother in Vietnam chosen for a military program that reanimated them as members of an elite squad of remote-controlled super soldiers employed to defuse extremely dangerous situations.",
"After foiling a terrorist plot to take over the McKinley Dam, Luc begins experiencing memory flashbacks that disrupt his conditioning to follow orders.",
"When a young newscaster (Ally Walker, \"Profiler\") is put in danger for investigating the program, he overrides his directive entirely and attempts to rescue her and is pursued by Scott, who is also experiencing flashbacks of his most violent days...",
"Some folks have charged the film a \"Terminator\" ripoff, though this isn't entirely accurate.",
"Rather, \"Universal Soldier\" is a homage to just about every action movie that had preceded it.",
"The influence from <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/The-Terminator/dp/B000OPOAM0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">The Terminator</a> is there, sure, but the movie also stylistically alludes to <a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/First-Blood/dp/B0004Z33EG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">First Blood</a>,<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Die-Hard/dp/B000O77SRC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Die Hard</a>,<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Commando/dp/B000GUJYI8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Commando</a>,<a data-hook=\"product-link-linked\" class=\"a-link-normal\" href=\"/Missing-in-Action/dp/079284582X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?",
"ie=UTF8\">Missing in Action</a>, and a slew of other films that boast big guys with big guns delivering big thrills.",
"If you enjoy action cinema from this specific time period, this film will be your wet dream from the moment that Lundgren throws the first grenade to Van Damme's final flying kick.",
"With that being said, I need to take the edge off of the excitement: it's a good movie, with good action and a few good jokes, but it is not great.",
"The action is big and bad, but it's not the biggest and baddest there is: pretty much all of the films that I mentioned before give better offerings where gunplay/car chases/kickboxing is concerned, so if you've seen any or all of them, your awe will be limited.",
"As mentioned earlier, the Van Damme vs.",
"Lundgren card was not played to its fullest extent.",
"At the time of its release, both men had proven themselves verifiable action heroes; it would've made perfect sense to unleash the two upon eachother and build the film around their various encounters, from shootouts to karate contests.",
"However, this is not the case: we get one mano-e-mano encounter at the end of the movie, but for the rest of the picture, it's all Van Damme running from Lundgren and the two of them proving their mettle on others, not eachother.",
"While it's entertaining to see Deveraux beat up a restaurant full of attackers, it would've been a hundred times more fulfilling to see him take the fight to Scott more often.",
"When they finally do fight eachother hand-to-hand, it's hardly what you'd expect from two legitimate martial arts champions: lots of throwing around and haymakers and other non-karate things, whereas trading punches, roundhouse kicks, and counter-holds are all exempt.",
"The acting is a mixed bag where all characters are concerned, though this is of less consequence in this kind of movie: Van Damme, Lundgren, Walker, and Jerry Orbach (\"Law & Order\") as the program administrator all have their respective high points and low points, but nobody really stands out.",
"Van Damme plays well in the beginning as a soft-spoken amnesiac, but once he livens up, it's back to the performance that critics like to bash him for.",
"Lundgren as the depraved war villain is infinitely more interesting: it's nice to see him play a bad guy - and such an extreme one, at that - but even he gets a bit carried away with some of his lines to the point that he surpasses 'crazy' and turns just plain silly.",
"Ally Walker's performance is a bit embarrassing, so it's good to know that she moved on to better things.",
"Jerry Orbach is simply Jerry Orbach.",
"Is \"Universal Soldier\" good?",
"- of course.",
"Is it great?",
"- no.",
"Is it a highlight of the careers of Van Damme and Lundgren?",
"- definitely.",
"Is it worth owning for fans?",
"- most likely, for those willing to trade in B-movie adventures for big budget works for a while.",
"Is it worth plunking down a few extra dollars for the special edition?",
"- yep.",
"Should I buy it now?",
"- maybe not now, but don't wait too long!"
] |
I agree with a number of points made in Lazer Viking's review below. Really, I would probably give this 2.5 stars for fun and overall, if that were an option here. Being something of a history buff and enjoying FPS games (particularly COD 2, whose engine serves as the foundation of HC Civil War), I was really looking forward to this game. The historical presentation is interesting, but overall, the game is lackluster. It is simple, very easy, and not highly immersive or a great deal of fun. The graphics were decent, better than some reviews would have you think and the sound was well done also. James Horner's ballads from Glory serve as much of the background music. There were some definite issues with the collision detection in this game; occasionally you will have your gun sights directly on an enemy (doesn't matter if you are zooming, or just using the default crosshairs) and numerous shots have no effect. Additionally, the benefits of using cover are somewhat debatable. There were many instances where I was completely concealed from enemies behind a rock, or a building, yet I was being hit by gunfire from these same unseen enemies. The game was not as polished as I would like (another few months of testing would have done wonders) and many of the tasks were very vanilla/simple and repetitive. I would probably recommend renting before buying. I got this on sale at Amazon and I'm not unhappy with the price I paid, but I don't know that it was truly worth the $39.82. | 1 | neutral | [
"I agree with a number of points made in Lazer Viking's review below.",
"Really, I would probably give this 2.",
"5 stars for fun and overall, if that were an option here.",
"Being something of a history buff and enjoying FPS games (particularly COD 2, whose engine serves as the foundation of HC Civil War), I was really looking forward to this game.",
"The historical presentation is interesting, but overall, the game is lackluster.",
"It is simple, very easy, and not highly immersive or a great deal of fun.",
"The graphics were decent, better than some reviews would have you think and the sound was well done also.",
"James Horner's ballads from Glory serve as much of the background music.",
"There were some definite issues with the collision detection in this game; occasionally you will have your gun sights directly on an enemy (doesn't matter if you are zooming, or just using the default crosshairs) and numerous shots have no effect.",
"Additionally, the benefits of using cover are somewhat debatable.",
"There were many instances where I was completely concealed from enemies behind a rock, or a building, yet I was being hit by gunfire from these same unseen enemies.",
"The game was not as polished as I would like (another few months of testing would have done wonders) and many of the tasks were very vanilla/simple and repetitive.",
"I would probably recommend renting before buying.",
"I got this on sale at Amazon and I'm not unhappy with the price I paid, but I don't know that it was truly worth the $39.",
"82."
] |
I know it if for the birds, but considering how the squirrels keep lining up to gorge like this is their own personal gumball dispenser, maybe a better name would be "Perky-Pest Antique Copper Lantern Feeder." As far as bird feeders go, this one is OK, but nothing special.
It is easy to refill and easy to clean, and the various birds we have in our area seem to not mind the fakey copper finish or somewhat cheaply made perches---that is, whenever they can get a turn from the every present squirrels (and our Aussies do a good job chasing off the pests when they are in the backyard).
Still, I keep thinking that I would rather spend my money on a USA made feeder from a smaller company or craftsman rather than support the proliferation of yet more imported goods made from who knows what. It works fine, but I won't be filling up the branches and shepherd hooks with Perky Pet products. Here is what one online retailer says about this outfit: "Perky Pet Products had a long history in Denver, where they started out. However, they made low end products that all the big outlets carried at bargain basement prices. Several years ago they moved their operations to China and the quality became even lower."
Bottom line: it works but the irony of using a product possibly containing toxins and inferior materials to improve one's backyard enviroment needs to be at least acknowledged. I have to wonder what the real cost of these products are in the grand scheme. | 1 | neutral | [
"I know it if for the birds, but considering how the squirrels keep lining up to gorge like this is their own personal gumball dispenser, maybe a better name would be \"Perky-Pest Antique Copper Lantern Feeder.",
"\" As far as bird feeders go, this one is OK, but nothing special.",
"It is easy to refill and easy to clean, and the various birds we have in our area seem to not mind the fakey copper finish or somewhat cheaply made perches---that is, whenever they can get a turn from the every present squirrels (and our Aussies do a good job chasing off the pests when they are in the backyard).",
"Still, I keep thinking that I would rather spend my money on a USA made feeder from a smaller company or craftsman rather than support the proliferation of yet more imported goods made from who knows what.",
"It works fine, but I won't be filling up the branches and shepherd hooks with Perky Pet products.",
"Here is what one online retailer says about this outfit: \"Perky Pet Products had a long history in Denver, where they started out.",
"However, they made low end products that all the big outlets carried at bargain basement prices.",
"Several years ago they moved their operations to China and the quality became even lower.",
"\"\n\nBottom line: it works but the irony of using a product possibly containing toxins and inferior materials to improve one's backyard enviroment needs to be at least acknowledged.",
"I have to wonder what the real cost of these products are in the grand scheme."
] |
I owned the first version of the Sims as well. This one has much better graphics, more realistic movement, and better social options. The Sims 2 also attempts to take care of one glaring problem of the Sims 1: there was no goal or purpose to the game.
Now in the Sims 2 they have added aspirations that can include things like love, money, popularity, etc. But unfortunately, getting the Sims to fulfill these aspirations isn't interesting. You are doing all the same sorts of boring things except you make the decision to do one boring thing over a different boring thing because one of the boring things will work towards your aspiration and the other boring one won't.
The problem with this game is something they did wrong from the get-go in the Sims 1 and haven't fixed: Making people eat food and go to the bathroom is boring. Think about life -- real life, your life. What makes it interesting? What resonates? Not taking a dump.
Furthermore, the behavior of the Sims doesn't match the way real people act. For example, you can have a Sim eat too much food and get fat. Once they are fat, they will walk a little slower than they did before. They won't get depressed or need new clothes. They just walk slower. So what? There is absolutely no reason to make your Sim eat too much food in the first place. There should be a benefit of it for the Sim that would make him want to overeat. Maybe it could increase their mood or maybe it could increase their comfort level or maybe their mood or comfort would suffer if they didn't overeat.
This game acts like the only thing that affects our behavior are plainly and simply our physical needs. The game completely misses the psychology and emotions of humans that make us more interesting than animals. We might as well be controlling a pack of bears and having them pick berries and mate and eat and poo. Because that's this game is: mundane micromanaging.
The first time around playing, exploring all the different social options and possibilities is interesting, and it can be fun to take the mechanical boring action on the screen and create your own storyline to it. But the truth is, it does get old quickly. And the expansion packs give you some other stuff to do, but they get old just as quickly, if not quicker. | 1 | neutral | [
"I owned the first version of the Sims as well.",
"This one has much better graphics, more realistic movement, and better social options.",
"The Sims 2 also attempts to take care of one glaring problem of the Sims 1: there was no goal or purpose to the game.",
"Now in the Sims 2 they have added aspirations that can include things like love, money, popularity, etc.",
"But unfortunately, getting the Sims to fulfill these aspirations isn't interesting.",
"You are doing all the same sorts of boring things except you make the decision to do one boring thing over a different boring thing because one of the boring things will work towards your aspiration and the other boring one won't.",
"The problem with this game is something they did wrong from the get-go in the Sims 1 and haven't fixed: Making people eat food and go to the bathroom is boring.",
"Think about life -- real life, your life.",
"What makes it interesting?",
"What resonates?",
"Not taking a dump.",
"Furthermore, the behavior of the Sims doesn't match the way real people act.",
"For example, you can have a Sim eat too much food and get fat.",
"Once they are fat, they will walk a little slower than they did before.",
"They won't get depressed or need new clothes.",
"They just walk slower.",
"So what?",
"There is absolutely no reason to make your Sim eat too much food in the first place.",
"There should be a benefit of it for the Sim that would make him want to overeat.",
"Maybe it could increase their mood or maybe it could increase their comfort level or maybe their mood or comfort would suffer if they didn't overeat.",
"This game acts like the only thing that affects our behavior are plainly and simply our physical needs.",
"The game completely misses the psychology and emotions of humans that make us more interesting than animals.",
"We might as well be controlling a pack of bears and having them pick berries and mate and eat and poo.",
"Because that's this game is: mundane micromanaging.",
"The first time around playing, exploring all the different social options and possibilities is interesting, and it can be fun to take the mechanical boring action on the screen and create your own storyline to it.",
"But the truth is, it does get old quickly.",
"And the expansion packs give you some other stuff to do, but they get old just as quickly, if not quicker."
] |
I saw this novel listed in a recent Sunday issue of the New York Times. Since I've read a number of works by Jeffrey Archer, this one aroused my interest. I thought it was a new issue but when I received it I learned that it had been published in 1998. The scenes mentioning airport security reminded me how life has changed since 9/11.
The central character is Connor Fitzgerald, a military hero in the Viet Nam war, a devoted family man, and a hit man for the CIA. His enemy is not a foreign dictator or a Middle East terrorist but the CIA's director, Helen Dexter. We also have an American president who is easily manipulated by Dexter and a new Russian president.
This stew of characters and Archer's penchant for complex plots makes for a tasty meal. However, there are some problems. Fitzgerald received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Viet Nam as a lieutenant. The reader might infer his military service was either the army or marines but it's never specified. An important point for THIS reader. I attribute the slip to Archer being British and unfamiliar with the American military. However, I do think he's courageous in writing a book about the power structure in Washington.
A bigger problem is Fitzgerald's cover story. Somehow he's kept his real occupation a secret from his wife of many years. He claims to be an executive for an insurance company called Maryland Life. In preparation for his imminent retirement from the CIA, he lands a job interview with the chairman of another insurance company called Washington Provident. He convinces the chairman and other executives that he is actually an insurance company executive, a totally implausible situation.
You'll have plenty of twists and turns before you reach the ending. It's not great literature but enough for a beach read or a long flight. | 1 | neutral | [
"I saw this novel listed in a recent Sunday issue of the New York Times.",
"Since I've read a number of works by Jeffrey Archer, this one aroused my interest.",
"I thought it was a new issue but when I received it I learned that it had been published in 1998.",
"The scenes mentioning airport security reminded me how life has changed since 9/11.",
"The central character is Connor Fitzgerald, a military hero in the Viet Nam war, a devoted family man, and a hit man for the CIA.",
"His enemy is not a foreign dictator or a Middle East terrorist but the CIA's director, Helen Dexter.",
"We also have an American president who is easily manipulated by Dexter and a new Russian president.",
"This stew of characters and Archer's penchant for complex plots makes for a tasty meal.",
"However, there are some problems.",
"Fitzgerald received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Viet Nam as a lieutenant.",
"The reader might infer his military service was either the army or marines but it's never specified.",
"An important point for THIS reader.",
"I attribute the slip to Archer being British and unfamiliar with the American military.",
"However, I do think he's courageous in writing a book about the power structure in Washington.",
"A bigger problem is Fitzgerald's cover story.",
"Somehow he's kept his real occupation a secret from his wife of many years.",
"He claims to be an executive for an insurance company called Maryland Life.",
"In preparation for his imminent retirement from the CIA, he lands a job interview with the chairman of another insurance company called Washington Provident.",
"He convinces the chairman and other executives that he is actually an insurance company executive, a totally implausible situation.",
"You'll have plenty of twists and turns before you reach the ending.",
"It's not great literature but enough for a beach read or a long flight."
] |
I usually buy the 8 oz Kiss My Face Olive Oil bar soap. For some reason, I had it in my head that these would last longer than the 8 oz one. Nope! I go through them faster, but I don't drop the bar soap that often with the smaller ones. These are meant for face and hands. My 8 oz bar soaps are more for my whole body. I guess it depends how you look at them. I'm not a fan of the smell either. I usually stick with the Kiss My Face olive oil and green tea, or the olive oil and rose scent. The fragrance free soap smell awkward. I am not sure how to describe it exactly. | 1 | neutral | [
"I usually buy the 8 oz Kiss My Face Olive Oil bar soap.",
"For some reason, I had it in my head that these would last longer than the 8 oz one.",
"Nope!",
"I go through them faster, but I don't drop the bar soap that often with the smaller ones.",
"These are meant for face and hands.",
"My 8 oz bar soaps are more for my whole body.",
"I guess it depends how you look at them.",
"I'm not a fan of the smell either.",
"I usually stick with the Kiss My Face olive oil and green tea, or the olive oil and rose scent.",
"The fragrance free soap smell awkward.",
"I am not sure how to describe it exactly."
] |
So, the lowest rating I will give when I finish a book is a 3 star. I did finish this. I was intrigued by this book, and there were some really great things about it, and some really poor things, in my opinion. *Spoilers* So, what I liked. The whole idea of the shadow vampires really intrigued me. It was something new from what I'd read before, and I thought it was an interesting twist I'd love to explore. The sisters were drawn well, and I had a great idea of who they both were. I liked that the author didn't overdo it on descriptions, but kept that at a good pace.
The reasons I didn't love this book were first and foremost how she fell so head over heels in love with him, when she'd spoken less than 20 words to him. That is a huge pet peeve with this type of book. I love the romance, but I want to see some development before she is irrevocably in love. I also didn't like how depressing she was in the beginning. I know a lot of girls feel this way, being outcast, and having someone in their life who seems to get all the glory, but it went on for about 5 chapters, and even if I were her family, she'd annoy me too. I did like how she got stronger and gained confidence, and I think the author wanted to show her going from a wall flower to a strong woman, but it was just a bit over the top for me. The final thing was that you wouldn't even know it was about vampires unless you'd read the description, because you don't find out til the very end.
There are a few heart pounding moments, and there weren't a ton of spelling errors, just a few here and there. I think this book could be great if it were re-worked, but as it is, I'm not interested in reading the next one. I haven't given up on the author though, if she were to write a different kind of series. | 1 | neutral | [
"So, the lowest rating I will give when I finish a book is a 3 star.",
"I did finish this.",
"I was intrigued by this book, and there were some really great things about it, and some really poor things, in my opinion.",
"*Spoilers* So, what I liked.",
"The whole idea of the shadow vampires really intrigued me.",
"It was something new from what I'd read before, and I thought it was an interesting twist I'd love to explore.",
"The sisters were drawn well, and I had a great idea of who they both were.",
"I liked that the author didn't overdo it on descriptions, but kept that at a good pace.",
"The reasons I didn't love this book were first and foremost how she fell so head over heels in love with him, when she'd spoken less than 20 words to him.",
"That is a huge pet peeve with this type of book.",
"I love the romance, but I want to see some development before she is irrevocably in love.",
"I also didn't like how depressing she was in the beginning.",
"I know a lot of girls feel this way, being outcast, and having someone in their life who seems to get all the glory, but it went on for about 5 chapters, and even if I were her family, she'd annoy me too.",
"I did like how she got stronger and gained confidence, and I think the author wanted to show her going from a wall flower to a strong woman, but it was just a bit over the top for me.",
"The final thing was that you wouldn't even know it was about vampires unless you'd read the description, because you don't find out til the very end.",
"There are a few heart pounding moments, and there weren't a ton of spelling errors, just a few here and there.",
"I think this book could be great if it were re-worked, but as it is, I'm not interested in reading the next one.",
"I haven't given up on the author though, if she were to write a different kind of series."
] |
The beginning was great. You like Jordan right away. She's tough. But that doesn't last. She definitely losses herself. There were some plot points that really bugged me. She has her first kiss and, like two days later she has sex. I get that kids are more relaxed about sex nowadays, she doesn't hesitate or question the wisdom of this. By the end she is talking about how good he is in bed, really? Seems odd for such an inexperience girl to be bragging about this after just a couple weeks. The end was just flat. There was no big romantic moment, no angst filled conversation, just a kiss. Even Ty' s reaction seemed too easy. I stared out really liking it but ended with just thinking it's ok. | 1 | neutral | [
"The beginning was great.",
"You like Jordan right away.",
"She's tough.",
"But that doesn't last.",
"She definitely losses herself.",
"There were some plot points that really bugged me.",
"She has her first kiss and, like two days later she has sex.",
"I get that kids are more relaxed about sex nowadays, she doesn't hesitate or question the wisdom of this.",
"By the end she is talking about how good he is in bed, really?",
"Seems odd for such an inexperience girl to be bragging about this after just a couple weeks.",
"The end was just flat.",
"There was no big romantic moment, no angst filled conversation, just a kiss.",
"Even Ty' s reaction seemed too easy.",
"I stared out really liking it but ended with just thinking it's ok."
] |
Black & Decker CCS818 18-Volt Cordless Electric Chain Saw
This saw actually seems to exceed the normal B&D build quality. I found the saw well constructed and thoughtfully designed. If you are planning on trimming off small branches it does a nice job on up to 2" diameter branches. If you plan on cutting anything larger you want to have a large number of charged batteries handy.
My 12" Remington electric chain saw, model LNT-2, died in the middle of a bush stump of roughly 7-8" in diameter. My initial annoyance abated when it occurred to me that I have had the little beast for possibly 20 years so it provided service well beyond what one could expect for such an inexpensive tool. The overheated burning smell was some catastrophic failure. (Yes I did have plenty of oil in it.)
Ironically I now have 4-12" chains, two of which are freshly sharpened and no chain saw on which to install them.
I borrowed the B&D saw from my son. It worked fine but I again caution you that the battery life is truly dismal. I had three batteries and all three ran out of juice well before the first one could recharge. The stump was within the saw's rated capacity but it took 5 battery recharges to cut the whole way through.
In summary, a good trimmer, very light, can easily be used one handed (although that is not ever recommended), very quiet and reasonably priced. Do not expect that it is a useful replacement for even something as simplistic as my old Remington LNT-2. | 1 | neutral | [
"Black & Decker CCS818 18-Volt Cordless Electric Chain Saw\n\nThis saw actually seems to exceed the normal B&D build quality.",
"I found the saw well constructed and thoughtfully designed.",
"If you are planning on trimming off small branches it does a nice job on up to 2\" diameter branches.",
"If you plan on cutting anything larger you want to have a large number of charged batteries handy.",
"My 12\" Remington electric chain saw, model LNT-2, died in the middle of a bush stump of roughly 7-8\" in diameter.",
"My initial annoyance abated when it occurred to me that I have had the little beast for possibly 20 years so it provided service well beyond what one could expect for such an inexpensive tool.",
"The overheated burning smell was some catastrophic failure.",
"(Yes I did have plenty of oil in it.",
")\n\nIronically I now have 4-12\" chains, two of which are freshly sharpened and no chain saw on which to install them.",
"I borrowed the B&D saw from my son.",
"It worked fine but I again caution you that the battery life is truly dismal.",
"I had three batteries and all three ran out of juice well before the first one could recharge.",
"The stump was within the saw's rated capacity but it took 5 battery recharges to cut the whole way through.",
"In summary, a good trimmer, very light, can easily be used one handed (although that is not ever recommended), very quiet and reasonably priced.",
"Do not expect that it is a useful replacement for even something as simplistic as my old Remington LNT-2."
] |
The Epson C60 prints great. No matter what paper you use the quality is the same, excellent. It is very fast. And I also like the price....
Here's the problem...the Epson C60 is a real ink guzzler. The ink runs out way too fast. The printer has an ink monitor and when you put in a cartridge (black or color) the monitor says it's full. However, when you print a one page document, the monitors ink level is at 3/4 full, what's that?
I would have gave his printer 4 or 5 stars but the ink situation is bothering me. The printer is reasonably priced but with the amount of ink cartridges you will have to buy, the printer will end up causing you alot in the long run. | 1 | neutral | [
"The Epson C60 prints great.",
"No matter what paper you use the quality is the same, excellent.",
"It is very fast.",
"And I also like the price....",
"Here's the problem...",
"the Epson C60 is a real ink guzzler.",
"The ink runs out way too fast.",
"The printer has an ink monitor and when you put in a cartridge (black or color) the monitor says it's full.",
"However, when you print a one page document, the monitors ink level is at 3/4 full, what's that?",
"I would have gave his printer 4 or 5 stars but the ink situation is bothering me.",
"The printer is reasonably priced but with the amount of ink cartridges you will have to buy, the printer will end up causing you alot in the long run."
] |
Driver tries to cut into Trump's motorcade in Florida
An angry motorist tried to cut his van into President Trump's motorcade in Florida Saturday afternoon and made obscene gestures as he was pulled over by police.
A White House pool report said the red van "attempted to cut into the motorcade . Local law enforcement pulled over the vehicle where the driver made obscene gestures and screamed several expletives."
The incident happened as the president was returning to Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach after a round of golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The Associated Press reported that the president was spotted playing a round with 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus and Nicklaus' son Gerry.
Saturday marked the fourth day in a row in which Trump visited one of his golf courses. On Friday Trump played with Tiger Woods Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxon at another of his courses in nearby Jupiter.
The incident with the van driver was not the first time Trump 's motorcade has drawn obscene gestures from passers-by. Last month a Virginia woman flipped off the motorcade as it drove by her. The woman was later fired from her job at a government contractor. | 1 | neutral | [
"Driver tries to cut into Trump's motorcade in Florida\nAn angry motorist tried to cut his van into President Trump's motorcade in Florida Saturday afternoon and made obscene gestures as he was pulled over by police.",
"A White House pool report said the red van \"attempted to cut into the motorcade.",
"Local law enforcement pulled over the vehicle where the driver made obscene gestures and screamed several expletives.",
"\"\nThe incident happened as the president was returning to Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach after a round of golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.",
"The Associated Press reported that the president was spotted playing a round with 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus and Nicklaus' son Gerry.",
"Saturday marked the fourth day in a row in which Trump visited one of his golf courses.",
"On Friday Trump played with Tiger Woods Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxon at another of his courses in nearby Jupiter.",
"The incident with the van driver was not the first time Trump 's motorcade has drawn obscene gestures from passers-by.",
"Last month a Virginia woman flipped off the motorcade as it drove by her.",
"The woman was later fired from her job at a government contractor."
] |
The thing about this story is, it's really quite interesting. It's a story I would read and devour. But the writing g is very methodical. There isn't very much build up to the action. There is no development of the action. Things just happen. They moved. The twins are different. The twins wreck the car. They find out one of them has powers. The special twin falls in love with a boy she can't. It's all very boring. But the story is NOT BORING. Does that even make sense? | 1 | neutral | [
"The thing about this story is, it's really quite interesting.",
"It's a story I would read and devour.",
"But the writing g is very methodical.",
"There isn't very much build up to the action.",
"There is no development of the action.",
"Things just happen.",
"They moved.",
"The twins are different.",
"The twins wreck the car.",
"They find out one of them has powers.",
"The special twin falls in love with a boy she can't.",
"It's all very boring.",
"But the story is NOT BORING.",
"Does that even make sense?"
] |
This has several design errors. The first most annoying one is that the labeling is inconsistent on each side of the board. The eyelets are labeled with letters on one axis, and numbers on the second axis. So an eyelet can be identified with coordinates C4. Unfortunately, C4 on one side, may be V4 on the other side. The letters on the 2cmx8cm are also out of order and labeled ...XXX... rather than ...XYZ... Strangely, they got the numbers in the correct order, but not the letters. This is a fairly big deal. It makes documenting component locations and wiring the board more difficult. This isn't a cost decision, it is a lack of attention issue which is common with cheap Chinese merchandises dumped on the US market through mail order. The PCB material is FRP and seems good quality and the eyelets are plated through which is all good. | 1 | neutral | [
"This has several design errors.",
"The first most annoying one is that the labeling is inconsistent on each side of the board.",
"The eyelets are labeled with letters on one axis, and numbers on the second axis.",
"So an eyelet can be identified with coordinates C4.",
"Unfortunately, C4 on one side, may be V4 on the other side.",
"The letters on the 2cmx8cm are also out of order and labeled...",
"XXX...",
"rather than...",
"XYZ...",
"Strangely, they got the numbers in the correct order, but not the letters.",
"This is a fairly big deal.",
"It makes documenting component locations and wiring the board more difficult.",
"This isn't a cost decision, it is a lack of attention issue which is common with cheap Chinese merchandises dumped on the US market through mail order.",
"The PCB material is FRP and seems good quality and the eyelets are plated through which is all good."
] |
I'm a big MC fan and have greatly enjoyed all of his previous books with the exception of Terminal Man & now, Prey.
The problem with his latest is that it is a bit close to the now typical MC scenario. We know the protagonist isn't going to die because MC chose to write the book in first person. When the hero describes the players in the scenario, we as readers literally pick who is going to suffer the book's titular fate and who is not. (For the record, I was right about the victims!) We then turn pages to see how close we were to our predictions and also to see how gruesome their particular fates are going to be.
This is normally escapist fun but this book is a shade too melodramatic and formulaic to reach that level. Also, while resurrecting dinosaurs on a large scale & traveling to another dimension/time is obviously not plausible, MC truly made it seem like these advances in technology were right around the corner. The technology here - nanobots "breeding" and turning slightly malevolent in their choice of sustenance while the protagonist happens to be the only person able to stop them - is just too far away to make it seem like this is possible; this book is a shade too clearly on the science fiction portion of the literary spectrum. The final fate of some of the book's characters is pretty far out there.
I will say that I shivered and got itchy while reading the book & that I had to read it in one sitting just to see where it was going. I also enjoyed one portion that seemed nearly lifted from 'Aliens'. However, this is the 'Star Trek 3' of MC's oeuvre - wait for the paperback and its sure-to-be-lurid cover if you simply must read it. | 1 | neutral | [
"I'm a big MC fan and have greatly enjoyed all of his previous books with the exception of Terminal Man & now, Prey.",
"The problem with his latest is that it is a bit close to the now typical MC scenario.",
"We know the protagonist isn't going to die because MC chose to write the book in first person.",
"When the hero describes the players in the scenario, we as readers literally pick who is going to suffer the book's titular fate and who is not.",
"(For the record, I was right about the victims!",
") We then turn pages to see how close we were to our predictions and also to see how gruesome their particular fates are going to be.",
"This is normally escapist fun but this book is a shade too melodramatic and formulaic to reach that level.",
"Also, while resurrecting dinosaurs on a large scale & traveling to another dimension/time is obviously not plausible, MC truly made it seem like these advances in technology were right around the corner.",
"The technology here - nanobots \"breeding\" and turning slightly malevolent in their choice of sustenance while the protagonist happens to be the only person able to stop them - is just too far away to make it seem like this is possible; this book is a shade too clearly on the science fiction portion of the literary spectrum.",
"The final fate of some of the book's characters is pretty far out there.",
"I will say that I shivered and got itchy while reading the book & that I had to read it in one sitting just to see where it was going.",
"I also enjoyed one portion that seemed nearly lifted from 'Aliens'.",
"However, this is the 'Star Trek 3' of MC's oeuvre - wait for the paperback and its sure-to-be-lurid cover if you simply must read it."
] |
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