http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/Saxguy Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:26:00 GMT Reviews by Saxguy http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Imperial-Creme-Brulee-Stout-review-09c12 I have a love-hate relationship with Southern Tier Brewing's prodcuts. Several, such as Gemini, Unearthly, Big Red and Hoppe have been very, very good. Others, such as Raspberry Porter, Cherry Saison and Tripel have not been good. — — However, I like stouts and high abv beers, so wehn I saw Southern Tier Imperial Creme Brulee Stout on the shelf at Whole Foods at $6.99 for a 22oz bomber bottle, I decided right away to check it out. — — The label reported 10% abv and that this was made with vanilla beans and lactose sugar. — — The nose was vanilla and caramel and sweetness really did smell like Creme Brulee. — — This poured dark brown, almost black with a very thin head. — — The mouthfeel was pretty thin for a stout, It would be a stretch to describe this as medium body. It was in between thin and medium bodied. — — The taste was much like the nose - vanilla predominated, but there was a caramel sweetness... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:26:00 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Imperial-Creme-Brulee-Stout-review-09c12 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Borders-com-review-fd1f2 For years, Borders Books online presence had been serviced by Amazon.com. From my perspective, it had worked well. Obviously, from Borders' perspective, it hadn't, so they ended the affiliation. — — I got a $5 coupon in the mail on Saturday for the NEW Borders.com, so I decided to check it out. Like the stores, they have 40% off on New York Times bestsellers. They also, like Amazon, provide free shipping on orders over $25. They also provide free shipping to stores on all items. — — So, I checked them out for some music/cd books I was looking for. — — The site was terrible. — — The initial loading speed was adequate, but the speed in refreshing pages after searches was much too slow. Plus, there mere more than a few times when I clicked on an item for further details when it didn't load at all. I checked some other web sites at the time, including Amazon, and none of them were slow, only Borders. — — It got to the point... Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:19:18 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Borders-com-review-fd1f2 Saxguy 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Garageband-com-review-a0a74 Garageband.com is a site that features lots and lots of independent music. It's free. — — I've used Garageband.com for my original recorded music to get comments on the songs, the mix, etc. I figure it's low-cost market research before I go into the studio to mix the music and to decide about what's on the CD. — — Garageband only allows original (non-cover) music, so they don't get into the thorny copyright issues that other sites have. They have basically every genre imaginable. — — There is a contest that rates current songs within each genre. Musicians can buy entries for $19.99 or earn entries by reviewing 15 pairs of songs. This is valuable for me as I can get reviews without paying for them on music before I commit to issuing a CD. — — The top songs I've heard in each genre are solid professional musical efforts and are quite enjoyable. — — I've gotten great comments on particular songs, how they are mixed, etc.... Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:50:25 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Garageband-com-review-a0a74 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Cherry-Saison-review-1bbc5 I am really intrigued with brews from the craft brewer, Southern Tier Brewing of Lakewood, New York. A dizzying array of brands, some seasonal have been showing up in Chicago in liquor and grocery stores. — — I've enjoyed several of theirs, including Hoppe, Gemini, IPA and Choklat Stout. Others have been disappointments including their Belgian-style product, Tripel, and their Raspberry Porter. Still, I am an optimist when it comes to beer. I like high abv beers and, usually, fruit beers, so when I saw this on the shelf at the local Whole Foods, I decided to check it out, paying $6.99 for a 22oz bomber bottle. — — Southern Tier markets this as a cherry wheat beer. The abv is a little high for a wheat beer and a fruit beer. Of course, that doesn't bother me at all. The oak aging was also a plus, as I've enjoyed oak aging in sone shouts I've had. — — Initially, I was surprised that there wasn't much cherry in the nose. I expected more. The... Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:18:44 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Cherry-Saison-review-1bbc5 Saxguy 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/365-Italian-Sparkling-Mineral-Water-review-f9253 I've been buying 365 Italian Sparkling Mineral Water for years. — — 365 is the house brand of "Whole Foods" (also known as Whole Paycheck). A lot of the products at Whole Foods are really, really expensive. Almost all of them are excellent quality. A few are fairly cost-effective, particularly this one. — — This 1-liter (33.8 oz) bottle is priced at 99 cents, with a six pack at $5.69. It's bottled in Lucca, Italy, with natural carbonation added. — — I find this tremendously refreshing when I am thirsty. Cold water is about the best drink around for easing thirst, and I really enjoy the carbonation. The label says that this water comes to light after a relentless journey through precious minerals and channels. — — Well, that's another way of saying that it's spring water. To me, I can't tell the difference in springs between different brands. On the other hand, this tastes as good as the other major brands available, Pellegrino and... Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:03:58 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/365-Italian-Sparkling-Mineral-Water-review-f9253 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/CVS-Stress-relief-Bpdy-Wash-review-0dca7 I've been using CVS Stress Relief Body Wash for a few months now. — — I have sensitive skin and had very bad dermatitus around my neck last year. Since then, I've stopped using cologne and I've tried to find body washes for my daily shower that would get me clean and smell clean, without irritating skin, particularly on my face and neck. — — I was attracted to this product, CVS' house brand, similar to AVEENO Stress Relief Body Wash because of the inclusion of collodial oatmeal. I learned years ago, why my son had chicken pox, that AVEENO had very soothing lotions. It was later that I learned that the oatmeal made it so. — — I was also attracted by the price. Their regular price is $5.99 and they occasionally have 3 for the price of two sales. The regular price of the AVEENO similar product is $7.49. — — It's very easy to use. I squeeze about a tablespoon into a pouf and then lather it up. I sue it to wash all over, including my... Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:47:10 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/CVS-Stress-relief-Bpdy-Wash-review-0dca7 Saxguy 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Top-Chef-review-53961 I've enjoyed the Bravo TV series, Top Chef for years. Basically, they start out with a bunch of aspiring chefs, run them through a number of culinary challenges, eliminating one a week until the wonner is crowned. The winner receives $100,000 worth of equipment in order to start a restaurant. — This year, they have been competing in Chicago, with Chicago-based challenger such as tailgating for a Bears game, feeding some Chicago policemen and the like. My wife and I have been enjoying the Chicago locale, even seeing the Whole paycheck (err... Whole Foods) stores that the aspiring Top Chefs shop at. — However, this show is more than just the culinary challenges. There is a lot of human drama involved. Some of the contenders are more likeable than others, and some are more talented. The last person eliminated was a very strong chef, but got saddled with a team of poor team players. He may have been set up by his teammates, who are both real weasels. The other team had 2 of... Wed, 28 May 2008 20:51:29 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Top-Chef-review-53961 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Suave-Naturals-Cucumber-Melon-Rejuvenating-Body-Wash-review-611e2 I help my disabled wife get ready in the morning and one of my husbandly duties is to wash her up. — — We've been using the Suave naturals group of bodywashes for years, with nice results. — — This variety has a nice, subtle scent of cucmber and melon, which lasts reasonably well. It also provides good cleaning and moisturizing without being overly harsh. The bubbles foam up nicely and last reasonably long. It's also a decent value. At Target, i routinely pay well under $2 for a bottle and they occasionally put it on sale. Also, Suave occasionally puts out larger bottles at the same price. — — While the fragrance is pleasant and long lasting, I slightly prefer the mixed berry fragrance. Still, we rotate scents for variety and this one is one of Suave's best. — — I recommend it for every day use... Mon, 26 May 2008 14:56:58 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Suave-Naturals-Cucumber-Melon-Rejuvenating-Body-Wash-review-611e2 Saxguy 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Equaline-Clear-Aloe-Vera-Moisturizing-Gel-review-cf2f2 Equaline is the house brand of the Super-Valu grocery chain. In the Chicago area, their stores are branded jewel. — — I had started using this years ago when Banana Boat discontinus their version of this. Most after shaves are far too irritating to my skin, which still needs sooting after shaving. Plus, with the harsh Chicago winters, moisturizing is essential. Also, my neck skin is sensitive to shaving and cosmetings and will get inflamed easily if I am not careful. — — This product has Aloe Juice as the main therapeutic ingredient. Other ingredients include Purified water, SD Alcohol, Glycerin Polysorbate 40, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Benzylphenone-4. — — The bottle makes it clear that the ingredients are comparable to the similar Banana Boat product, but it not manufactured or distributed by Banana Boat. — — I have used this after shaving and also before leaving for work in the... Mon, 26 May 2008 14:26:57 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Equaline-Clear-Aloe-Vera-Moisturizing-Gel-review-cf2f2 Saxguy 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Simply-Latte-Frother-review-40681 Mrs. Saxguy really likes her cappucino. However, it's really difficult to make, with all that work to get the milk to foam, whether with a pump or with steam. — — Then I discovered that there were hand frothers available. She had originally got one from Ikea for a gift and that worked well until it died, likely because water got in the mechanism. — — So, I looked on Ebay to see if others were out there and I found this unit in a package of 2 for $10, shipping included. — — A frother is a small, battery-operated hand-held device that has a whisk or sawblade type unit on the end. This one had an attachment on the end that looked a little like a circular saw. The one from ikea had more of a traditional whisk on the end, with small curled wire. — — Obviously, the business end could cause inadvertent damage. The safety feature is that the unit won't work without the button being continuously pressed. Still, you need to be careful with... Sun, 18 May 2008 21:46:14 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Simply-Latte-Frother-review-40681 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Raspberry-Porter-review-da020   Southern Tier is a microbrewer from New York whose products recently became available in the Chicago area. I've enjoyed their Choklat Stout and their Unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA), so i was intrigued when I saw this on the shelf. — I've liked pretty much anything with a raspberry flavor or smaell since I was a little kid. I imagine it's because my grandfather grew raspberries in his yard and always gave me some whenever I would come to visit. —  A lot of Southern Tier's products come in a 22oz bomber bottle. This was in a six pack of 12 oz bottles for $9.99. — This beer was a real disappointment. The raspberry aroma and flavor was minimal. The real flavor was more of a brown ale, and ver bland at that. The bottle did not have a reported abv (alcohol by volume) but I would guess it was in the 4 to 5% range. —  Now, this was drinkable, certainly not offensive, but, at this price, I would like to be wowed. — There are other really... Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:19:06 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Southern-Tier-Raspberry-Porter-review-da020 Saxguy 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Facebook-review-bc575 I first joined facebook, really to promote my music, through a couple of music themed sites, Garageband, a free site for posting legal and rating music, and Ilike, a music oriented site for bands and their fans, with connections to buy at Apple I-tunes. — — So, I joined. At facebook, you can become "friends" with people you know or who have common interests. My friends at Facebook center around 4 major groups: — - epinions users (one group) — - musicians — - Lutherans (I work at the Lutheran center and support their programs) — - young adults I know (music students, my son, my niece and nephew) — — I have about 70 "friends" now. — — It has a nice feature where you can identify potential friends based on your address books in AOL, Gmail, yahoo and a separate finder where it lists people who are friends with more than one of your friends. — — I have enjoyed the correspondence and interaction, and have used the... Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:54:40 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Facebook-review-bc575 Saxguy 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Ray-O-Vac-AAA-batteries-review-bee64 Having a regular need for batteries in lots of things, an eye for bargains and a frequent need for batteries, I got a 20 pack of Ray-O-Vac AAA batteries. I was encouraged by the money back guarantee and the fact that the package reported that they tested as well or better than the competitors. — — Don't you believe it. — — I put a new set of these in my two wireless microphones. They failed halfway through a set I was recording. I had to switch to the stationery mikes to rescue the gig, which was being recorded. — — Well, I still had a bunch of these left over and no other AAAs, since I stopped using these after that little incident. So, I put one in my Gilette Force blade razor. The Duracell I had in there before had lasted a couple of months of every day shaving. The Ray0Vac? A couple of days. — — I still have a bunch of these left and so I will use them occasionally in non-critical type applications like remote contollers and the... Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:35:21 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Ray-O-Vac-AAA-batteries-review-bee64 Saxguy 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Flock-The-Social-Web-Browser-review-b27f4 when Netscape, a browser I rather liked, stopped being supported, I saw Flock suggested, along with Firefox as a successor browser, with the ability to migrate  favorites. — — I dislike IE, basically using it only when necessary. — — Firefox is OK, but I'm always looking for something new. — — Flock calls itself "the social web browser" and, aside from their standard browser features, also has enhanced features for social networking sites, including Facebook, which I frequent. Other such sites include Flickr, Blogger, LiveJournal, photobucket and youtube. Unfortunately, the link to set up Yahoo mail is not working on the new version 1.1. Also, the column with facebook links on the side is not working in the current version, but they expect to fix it soon. — — It has a graphically nice interface. One feature, which I really like, is that you can have multiple home pages. In other words I can have my 5 or 6 favorite pages saved as... Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:17:34 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Flock-The-Social-Web-Browser-review-b27f4 Saxguy 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Rubbermaid-Takealongs-rectangles-32oz-3-pack-review-1d282 I keep a lot of musical supplies in my studio, and so I occasionally use small storage boxes to store things like reeds, ligatures, swabs, Q-tips and other supplies. — — Certainly, there are plenty of options for storing such thins and housewares and department stores. However, I noticed when food storage contianers like this one hit the mass market, they were much less expensive that similar storage and there was much more variety. — — This unit, the Rubbermaid 32 oz rectangle 3 pack, cost less than $4 on sale at a local grocery store. Each unit is about 8" x 5" x2" high. These are not exact measurements, as the units are rounded. The units have a sealing lid, with a tab that makes it easy to open. The containers also have a protruding handle that makes them easy to carry. On the bottom, they also have slightly protruding legs, which go maybe a quarter inch lower than the rest of the container. This is good, in that it keeps much of the container away from a... Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:07:56 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Rubbermaid-Takealongs-rectangles-32oz-3-pack-review-1d282 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Illinois-scout-com-review-094c4 InsideIllini.com, also known as Illinois.scout.com is a fan site dedicated to fans of the University of illinois Fighting Illini sports teams. The focus is on footbal and basketball but all sports are covered. — — This site is part of the scout.com network, which provides recruiting analysis. — — There's plenty of great information on recruits and commits and comparison of recruiting classes, particularly as signing day approaches in the various sports. — — Regular membership is free, and provides access to the general recruiting information and most of the message boards (hoops, football, other sports, game threads, off topic). An annual payment of $90 of $9.95 a month allows the user to have premium access, which provides access to chat and premium only reports and stories geared toward recruiting and game analysis. — — I have been a premium member for the past few years. The quality of the premium information has improved... Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:49:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Illinois-scout-com-review-094c4 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/addall-com-review-9a780 I buy books and sheet music on occasion, and I'm always looking for the best price. — — Certainly, Amazon and Half.com are the 900 lb gorillas when it comes to new and used books, but they are not the only sources. — — I discovered addall.com years ago when I was looking for an obscure book at hopefully, a good price. Since then, I have used it regularly. — — Addall.com provides a search engine (separate) for new and used books. The used searches Amazon (US and foreign sites), half, alabris, abebooks, Barnes and Noble, Powells and many other stores. The new search engine includes most major stores including Amazon, buy.com, Barnes and Noble, BooksAMillion, Walmart and many others. — — The search is very easy. You can enter all the criteria you have for  title, author, isbn, keyword and wait for the results. It usually takes less than 30 seconds. The results take cost of the book and shipping into account. — — I've... Sat, 01 Mar 2008 04:48:23 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/addall-com-review-9a780 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/University-of-Illinois-at-Urbana-Champaign--122387-review-cee51 I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana, starting after I graduated high school in 1973 and graduating in 1977. I was looking for a school where I could major in some sort of business discipline and also where I could pursue my musical interests. — My parents made it clear to me that I would have to fund my own education as I was the most likely of the 6 children, of which I was the oldest, to graduate in 4 years of college. So, of course I was looking for a good price and a good time as well as a good education. —  I had previously been on campus for a couple of summer music programs and I really liked it. I didn't mind that it was a very large school. Plus, I had plenty of high school friends going there. — I got in to business comfortably as I was in the upper quarter of my high school class. Since then, the standards for the business school ahve risen to the upper 5%. —  The school at the time was the top undergraduate accountancy program... Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:54:02 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/University-of-Illinois-at-Urbana-Champaign--122387-review-cee51 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Scented-Monkey-review-b9a81 About a month ago, I noticed that I was running out of some of my colognes, particularly Cubano Gold, which is one of my favorites. I enjoy having a few different scents I can use for business or evening wear, and I enjoy rotating them. I tend to enjoy citrusy scents, but, not exclusively. I use Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion for after shave. All I am interested is in a few spritzes of fragrance when I am finished. — — So, I looked around for online stores that had Cubano Gold, PS Design for Men, another favorite, and fairly obscure, and other options at a fair price. I was also looking for scents from Cuba (the brand) as I thought Cuba and Cubano were versions of the same thing. I laterfounf that it wasn't. I also noticed that they have an extensive selection of women's colognes. — — I used a couple of the comparison shopping services, shopping.com and dealtime.com and identified www.scentmonkey.com as a good source. They had stock on the items I... Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:44:20 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Scented-Monkey-review-b9a81 Saxguy 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/cafepress-com-review-560a0 Prior to a few weeks ago, I had been aware of Cafepress.com as a nice source for logo or proprietary printed clothes, mugs, kick-knacks, etc. Essentially, the seller designs a log, joins the site and then when a buyer comes along, cafepress prints and fulfills the item and pays the seller. — — In my case, I was looking for an all-cotton tank top with a particular romantic expression printed. I did a google search — — No, I am not going to list the expression here. use your imagination. — — Anyhow, the item was an all-cotton tank top for $17.99 plus $5 shipping. I ordered it on January 30, it shipped on January 31 and arrived on February 4. They shipped using UPS so it was trackable. — — It was very easy to determine my wife's size. The garment fit really well and my wife thought it was quality material and was very, very soft and comfortable. — — The site worked pretty well and checkout was great. I didn't like the fact... Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:30:10 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/cafepress-com-review-560a0 Saxguy 5