http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/jro Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:11:34 GMT Reviews by jro http://www.viewpoints.com/Sony-Cybershot-T1-Digital-Camera-review-4e7d3 ... Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:11:34 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Sony-Cybershot-T1-Digital-Camera-review-4e7d3 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/C-O-Bigelow-Foaming-Shave-Gel-review-f19a0 Preface: I wet shave with a double edged safety razor.  Your grandfather might have had one, except of course, if he had a scary (awesome) Sweeney Todd style straight razor. — — C.O. Bigelow apparently has a barber line of foams, soaps, etc that are supposed to be like you'd find, well, at a fancy barber.  I'm a fan of the no artificial colors and no animal testing that they seem to practice in general.  And, the particular scend I have "Elixer Black", smells great. — — So what's the problem?  Once foamed up with my brush and on my face, this foam is too thick.  It seems to clog my razor giving me a rather rough shave.  This is in contrast to their "Premium Shave Cream" which seems more normal.  Being that my razor only has one blade on each side, I can't imagine what this would do to your more normal 3 to 15 bladed variety. —... Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:50:49 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/C-O-Bigelow-Foaming-Shave-Gel-review-f19a0 jro 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Daniel-H-Pink-The-Adventures-of-Johnny-Bunko%3A-The-Last-Career-Guide-Youll-Ever-Need-review-c95c3 The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need — — It's probably not really fair to call this a graphic novel.  It's a business book done in the Japanese comic form of manga.  After reading this, I've decided that all instructional books, documents, forms, etc should be in the form of a comic.  Most especially, federal tax returns. — — Johnny Bunko is your pretty average corporate cube dweller that begins to wonder if he went wrong somewhere in life.  Okay, so he's sort of a loser.  People on the floor above his refer to an abject failure as "Bunko-ing".  Thoughout the story he is forcefully presented with 6 guiding rules that are supposed to help you learn how to manage your career better.  Starting right away, with rule #1 "There is no plan", you begin to see that these are meant to be different from the kind of advice you may have recieved from a guidance counselor or parent. — — The... Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:31:05 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Daniel-H-Pink-The-Adventures-of-Johnny-Bunko%3A-The-Last-Career-Guide-Youll-Ever-Need-review-c95c3 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Progressive-review-7ba54 —... Wed, 07 May 2008 15:24:27 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Progressive-review-7ba54 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hells-Kitchen-review-0b4d1 —... Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:53:38 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hells-Kitchen-review-0b4d1 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Staples-MailMate-TM-Shredder-review-dd911 — We got this shredder over the holidays, and I have to admit I'm a big fan.  I really like that it's designed to be set on top of a desk or table rather than on the floor.  It chops up cds, credit cards, staples, 5 page stacks of paper, and can probably turn scrap wood into toothpicks.  — — My only nitpick is that I wish it were diamond cut, rather than  2in by 1/4in rectangles, but that's really really minor. — — I wouldn't trust the chomping of my sensitive documents to any other household appliance (or pet). —... Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:33:55 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Staples-MailMate-TM-Shredder-review-dd911 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/OldTimeCandy-com-review-4e1b ... Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:08:45 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/OldTimeCandy-com-review-4e1b jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Untraceable-review-f2a10 ... Fri, 01 Feb 2008 04:46:35 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Untraceable-review-f2a10 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Underground-Video-Television-review-d1bc0 I don't really use the website itself, but watch the video podcast (available from the site, or via itunes).  And even if you don't like all the music, it's sure nice to be able to lazily discover new non-mainstream music. ... Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:22:57 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Underground-Video-Television-review-d1bc0 jro 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Ratatouille--118258-review-9db90 Ratatouille strikes me as a very well done animated movie, that's not just for... Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:02:19 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Ratatouille--118258-review-9db90 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Cirque-du-Soleil-Ka-review-6c0f0 ... Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:34:04 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Cirque-du-Soleil-Ka-review-6c0f0 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Honda-Civic-Hybrid-2006-review-2a510 ... Fri, 18 Jan 2008 04:28:29 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Honda-Civic-Hybrid-2006-review-2a510 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Madame-Tussauds-Wax-Museum-Las-Vegas-NV-review-043a Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is near the front of the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and if you're in the area you should definitely stop through. It's a bit pricey on it's own, but you can buy tickets in a bundle with some other attractions, or get free entry if you take in the Blue Man Group show at the Venetian. — — Of the two wax museums I've been to, Madame Tussauds has far more realistic figures. I nearly said "excuse me" to one when I almost bumped into it. The other difference is that the figures are there for you to pose and play with. You can take a photo with Elvis, put on a wedding dress and pose with George Clooney, sit on the round bed with Hef, among others. — — In the year between my visits to the museum, there were probably 10 new figures. So, they definitely try to stay fresh and I think they succeed. — — If you go, you definitely want to try to get there pretty early in the morning, since it gets crowded fast. ... Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:43:45 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Madame-Tussauds-Wax-Museum-Las-Vegas-NV-review-043a jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/America-Cafe-at-New-York-New-York-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-ec03 In a town filled with fancy restaurants and rich food and drink, sometimes you really just want something familiar.  And, no matter what part of America you're from, you'll find something at the America Cafe at New York - New York Hotel and Casino.  The menu lists locations for each food item, and while I'm not sure the accuracy of some of the origins, there certainly is a very wide selection from the Coney Island dog, mac and cheese, to the Boca burger.  The quality is exactly what you'd expect from a decent diner or cafe. — — Service was generally good, but slow both times we visited.  The cafe is spacious and very clean, with a good amount of booths available.  It wasn't overly crowded either time we visited. — — Price: $10-15 a plate — Food: Good comfort food — Service: Good, but... Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:51:54 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/America-Cafe-at-New-York-New-York-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-ec03 jro 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Chin-Chin-Cafe-at-New-York-New-York-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-3feb Chin Chin is a Chinese restaurant at the New York - New York Hotel and Casino. We happened to catch dinner there one of the nights we were going to a show. The service was good, and by Vegas standards very reasonably priced. The food was good, and there was a good variety, but it wasn't anything amazing. Our drinks were well made, though they seemed confused when I asked for a traditional Mai Tai as opposed to their house drink the "Mandarin Mai Tai". — — Be sure to order a bowl of white or brown rice as most dishes don't come with it. — — Price: $15 a plate — Food: Good, but nothing special — Service:... Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:44:03 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Chin-Chin-Cafe-at-New-York-New-York-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-3feb jro 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Titanic-Exhibition-at-Tropicana-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-0518 I'll be honest, I've never done much research on the sinking of the Titanic, beyond seeing the movie of the same name.  So, I learned quite a bit by visiting the Titanic exhibit at the Tropicana.  — — You start the tour with a card containing the personal details of one of the passengers and are encouraged to look them up when you reach the wall of survivors and victims.  Throughout the exhibit there is a continued focus on the experiences of passengers and the difference in how each class would have traveled.  It really drives home this isn't just about a big boat that sank, but an event effected a great many peoples' lives and brought about change in how trans-Atlantic travel was conducted.  — — One peculiar or interesting bit, is that there is a giant iceberg shaped piece of ice in the exhibit that you're encouraged to feel to get an idea how cold the night of the sinking would have been.  Nearly everyone seems to question... Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:32:47 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Titanic-Exhibition-at-Tropicana-Hotel-and-Casino-Las-Vegas-NV-review-0518 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Macromates-Textmate-review-ae9c Macromates TextMate, is the first text editor that's claimed a permanent spot in my toolbox alongside the grand-daddy Vi. I've used it seriously since December 2006, and while I'm still not yet an expert in it, it's quickly become my editor of choice on the Mac. It's powerful enough to fill in for an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), but simple enough to use for routine scripting and text editing. — — The interface is clean and straightforward, and is consistent with that of other Mac apps. That said, there are a lot of key combos to learn and remember to really be effective. Thankfully, the learning curve is pretty low, and you'll only need a couple for basic editing. It would be nice to have a "Vi" mode like some other editors/IDEs just to make things a bit more comfortable for myself and the other *nix converts. — — Textmate does a great job of syntax highlighting and has macros for a number of popular languages that can make scripting or... Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:25:20 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Macromates-Textmate-review-ae9c jro 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/New-Robozo-Oak-Park-IL-review-ecf4 New Robozo, is easily the best Mexican food in Oak Park.  Within 5 minutes of sitting down, in the evening, you're just about guaranteed a visit from the chef to chat and tell you about the specials of the day.  Outgoing, friendly and certainly a character, you'll probably hear his catch phrase "Oh my God!" about 5 times during the conversation.  But if you get spiritual about your food you'll probably be saying it later, as well. — — The atmosphere in the restaurant could certainly use some updating inside, but I can't speak to the outside area.  Service is generally good from the wait-staff, though sometimes you may have to wait a bit for a refill on your water.  It's a tad on the expensive side for the area, though given how good the food is, I think it's well deserved.  Expect to spend somewhere between $20 and $40 per person depending on how much you eat and what sort of drinks you order. — — Now to the food.  The chef... Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:22:49 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/New-Robozo-Oak-Park-IL-review-ecf4 jro 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Whisker-City-Catnip-Mist-review-a36d Our cats love catnip, but one of them seems to get sick whenever we put out the real stuff, dried or fresh. She eats too much of it or something, but it's not pleasant. It's a shame because. while it's fun to see the cats all tripped out on kitty smack, it's also a pretty handy tool when you need to introduce fussy cats to a new toy, litterbox, spouse, whatever. — We stumbled upon the catnip spray when we were putting out new cat scratchers and wanted something to promote their use. So, I sprayed the new scratchers and the cats certainly took an interest with some of them rolling around, licking themselves, acting like they were living throught the 60's, and a few even used the scratchers. The spray smells nice to me (and the cats), is pretty cheap, amuses the cats and doesn't cause our one cat to get ill. It does it's job well. —... Wed, 06 Jun 2007 12:16:05 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Whisker-City-Catnip-Mist-review-a36d jro 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Soda-Club-Edition-1-Home-Soda-Maker-review-3209 For better or worse, I drink a lot of liquids from water to tea to soda. Unfortunately, I'm getting older and I just can't survive on pure sugar any longer. I've tried switching wholesale to tea/coffee/water, but I get bored a little too easily and end up craving a soda here and there. I'm also not a big fan of diet-tasting drinks. Enter sodaclub. — With the Home Soda Maker, you are combining cold water, carbonation, and syrup much like a fountain soda machine. The unit itself houses the carbonation unit, and nothing else. When you are ready to make your soda, you fill one of the bottles with cold tap water, screw it into the machine and hit the button on the top of the machine to inject the bubbles. The fizziness depends on how many times you hit the button and varies from pretty flat to ludicrous. Next, you unscrew the bottle, then add the syrup very slowly, close the bottle, and roll it around a bit to help it mix. Now you can choose to either chill the soda further... Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:04:55 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Soda-Club-Edition-1-Home-Soda-Maker-review-3209 jro 5