Archive for the ‘Your View’ Category
So I have finished reading Artemis Fowl and I am currently working on decoding he message at the bottom of the pages. The book itself is good. Eoin Colfer really takes an old subject like fairies and leprechauns and gives it a new twist. However the book is a little adolescent in it’s nature, I suspect Colfer is trying to copy the success Ms. Rowling has had with Harry Potter by appealing to young people without offending their parents. The plots are compelling and original but the action is subdued. Colfer makes fun of himself by playfully catching himself before any vulgarities are written, trying to give the piece and off the cuff feel. All this aside I must say that I do recommend this book not only to children middle school and younger but also to adults who are looking for a quick read that is also entertaining. While it’s not Shakespeare it is surprising the amount of emotional attachment that we feel towards the title character. Eoin gives us hints that Artemis has not yet revealed his true nature we shall see as Artemis grows up how he handles the responsibility of his knowledge of the People.
Manfrotto 015 3 8
Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1)
I found this book interesting. Contrary to the teachings of The Holy Bible, the author claims that satan is a “myth,” that Jesus was only a great person (no mention of “Savior”), and seemed to imply that the “things written down 2000 years ago” are open to debate. My questions is this: If all these things written 2000 years ago about God and Jesus were true, WHY would God, in “speaking with Mr. Neale Donald Walsch (as he claims)”, suddenly reverse his previous statements about satan, the validity of the Bible, and the absolute sovereignty of Christ?
I am a skeptic, and I like to think I have an open mind. This book was recommended to me by a colleague. However, I could not help but thinking that Mr. Walsch definitely has a “profit motive” in his writings. “If the item sells, continue to write.” Never mind it may be misinformation. Mr. Walsh, I hope you get this “God thing” right- your eternity may depend on it.
Please reference “Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” by Josh McDowell. A professed athiest that became a Christian because of his research. Go figure.
ATEN 2 Port USB
I bought this vacuum cleaner based on the reviews (85% 4 and 5 star) on Amazon. So far it has worked very well! I think it does a splendid job for the price. The best part is that it cleans bare floors pretty well. Of course there are vacuums that perform better and have a lot of fancy functions, but they also cost a few hundred bucks!
Manfrotto 190XPROB 3 Section
Possibly the worst book I’ve ever read. Actually, I can’t say that because I didn’t read the whole thing. I stuck it out as best I could, and it was at around page 150 that I let out a frustrated scream; then, in anger, ripped the cover off and threw the pages into the fireplace. The cover I gave to my dog who’s been chewing on it, happily, for the last several days.
Stephenie Meyer should go to prison for foisting such an atrocity upon the young minds of the world. Seriously; I’m not kidding.
This product works pretty well! I used it for a 6-hr trip with two large mountain bikes and as long as the straps were tight and correctly mounted in place, there were no problems. It is important to put the rack on correctly, there was a little confusion on how to mount it to my sedan trunk. It didn’t give the best directions, but with a little trial and error, it worked out perfectly. It doesn’t fit three bikes unless one or two of them are tiny road bikes or kids’ bikes. All in all, it is reliable and very affordable!
Bell Triple Back 3
I bought this memory card three years ago and I’m still using it in my digital camera and now also in my handy camcorder. Its great for an excellent price, totally recommended.
Plush 14 5 Monkey
Michael Caine is marvelous when playing a happy villain. He was impossibly beautiful as a young man, but middle aged Michael with serious bags under his eyes and a slight weight problem has an air of wounded vanity, as if he can’t quite understand how things went wrong.
Caine, as Graham Marshall, is a fairly successful marketing director with an expensive home, an expensive and slightly boring wife, and is desperately anticipating a promotion for his many years of diligence. He is stunned when he is passed over for a young, brash associate. Graham has an epiphany when a particularly smarmy panhandler enrages him, and Graham impulsively shoves him off the subway platform in the path of an oncoming train. No one has seen him and Graham muses on his “magical” powers. He quickly and cleverly dispatches the wife and the business rival, gets rid of his white elephant of a house in the suburbs, boards the pets and gets a tasteful apartment in Manhattan. Though homicide Lt. Laker (Will Patton with a splendid Long Island accent) is suspicious, nothing can be proved. Graham not only gets the promotion, he has his eye on taking over the company, dispatching his rivals on his upward climb.
What keeps the tension intact is the victims are not cartoon-like villains. The wife is irritating, but not evil. The youngster who beat him out for the promotion is vulgar, but it is clear he is clever and competent. We just cannot help but cheer Graham on his nefarious way. Michael Caine’s glee and satisfaction are catching.
There is more than a whiff of Alec Guinness’s “Kind Hearts and Coronets” in Caine’s performance, but Michael Caine has a knack for villainy all his own. “Shock to the System” may be a trifle of a movie, but it is a highly enjoyable trifle. ….
Shock to the System
I love this scale!! Step on it 3 times and it’ll give the exact same weight (to the closest 0.2 lb) every time. I have another scale and get the same weight on both scales … so I feel confident that this scale is accurate! The display is bright, the design is clean .. totally love it!
Baby Banz One Piece
I purchased two of these racks for use on the cross bars that come stock on the Subaru Outback (2008 XT Limited in my case.) They assembled relatively easily, but took some time to get the multi-position clamps just right. One position was too tall, so I tried the next, which was too low. Back to the first and adjust a little more. Not hard, just a little time consuming. I had to mount the front crossbar as far forward as possible to avoid the rear of the tray from hitting the wagon’s door when open. The tire clears about 1/4″
The rack is easy to use, although since the crossbar as some curve to it, the two bikes tilt out a little bit. The crossbars are plenty secure enough with two 25# bikes on top.
The only problem I had, and which cost this review three stars, was Amazon and Yakima’s customer service. The racks are well made, but sometimes parts aren’t up to snuff. The second time I used the rack, one of the red plastic covers for the locking skewer came out. It turns out that the die cast zinc cover has a cast in rivet to retain the plastic cover, and the flared end on the rivet broke off, allowing the cover to fall out. This shouldn’t be a safety concern, according to the Yakima service person, but it does render the locking mechanism useless. The skewer can be locked, but without the cover, anyone can get to the nut with a pair of pliers and remove the bike.
Yakima doesn’t handle warranty issues on products that are sold through Amazon. Yakima has a lifetime warranty, but as an Amazon customer, I don’t get to enjoy that warranty. Meanwhile, Amazon does not handle any warranty service for Yakima parts. If I want a new skewer, I have to send my entire roof rack back and order another one.
A really nice product, but one that yields a frustrated customer that won’t recommend purchasing Yakima products through Amazon unless you want to give up your warranty.
July 30, 2009: A follow-up to the above review. Amazon stepped up and offered a partial refund in lieu
Yakima Fork Lift Fork