Reviews by leon

leon says "good enough" about Bedinabox.com Memory Foam Mattress

leon — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 04:10:10 GMT

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leon says "One of our favorites" about Fancy Nancy

leon — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:20:46 GMT

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leon says "They're classic, but not as good as you remember" about Vans - Classic Slip On Checkerboard

leon — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:25:55 GMT

They look as great as the always did, but I swear I can't get a pair to last more than 3 months. And that is without any ollies or kickflips.

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leon says "They made a bold promise, and they delivered." about Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

leon — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:14:51 GMT

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is the latest entrant into the space known as MMOs or MMORPGs -- massively multi-player on-line role playing games. The genre is probably best defined by the most popular of its members: World of Warcraft. Others before it have included EverQuest, Final Fantasy Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and most recently, Age of Conan and Lord of the Rings Online. These games are known for being immersive, addictive, and surprisingly social.

This version of the MMO was developed by Mythic, the creator of Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online and is based on the Warhammer lore. Yes, Warhammer the table top miniature game that evolved into a pen-and-paper RPG that challenged Dungeons and Dragons for the hearts, minds, and imaginations of hard core geeks everywhere (myself included.)

Three months ago I started reading about Warhammer Online: The Age of Reckoning. Mostly I saw videos and interviews with Mark Jacobs: that completely arrogant and hilarious front man for the......

leon says "priceless" about Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow - The Last Lecture

leon — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:30:13 GMT

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leon says "Maybe too hip, maybe too eclectic, but the food was good." about Hub 51 - Chicago, IL

leon — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:48:39 GMT

I am clearly not the target market for this restaurant. As the first restaurant executed by the next generation of the Lettuce Entertain You juggernaut, its clearly aimed at a younger, hipper crowd. Frankly, its not the kind of place I would select, but I was meeting a much hipper friend.

The crowd was there to see and be seen, the space was huge, well decorated, and full. The service was fast and friendly, but not pushy. The menu was all over the place with a slight bent toward Mexican (albeit a rather fancy version), but there are some winners for sure.

My friend had the turkey meatloaf and declared it excellent. I had a fried egg and bacon sandwich. You would have to work very hard to screw that up, but this was really good, if light on the eggs. The fries were great. And we had a chance to try the carrot cake which shouldn't be missed....

leon says "Sophmoric, yes, but with a sweet side" about Knocked Up

leon — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:58:44 GMT

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leon says "A decent kids film but lacks some pixar magic" about Wall-E

leon — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:19:22 GMT

I went to see Wall-E with my almost six year old and my almost eight year old, and their reviews were split. The oldest loved it and really got into the love story and the non-verbal communication tricks that Pixar used for a movie with about 200 words in it. The younger one was bored and ready to leave when she was done with her popcorn. She loved the characters but just couldn't get into the story. I think the lack of dialog, and the fact that Wall-E is the only character for a significant portion of the show were the issues. Based on their reaction, I'd say it is definitely a movie that works better for older kids.

For the younger, the pre-feature short was the best part of the show, and I'd have to say its one of Pixar's best. Its almost worth a separate review and the price of admission by itself.

From my own perspective, I liked the story but it seemed a little more one-diminsional than I've come to expect from Pixar and Disney. Its a good movie, but it isn't nearly on the same plane......

leon says "Truly "must see" TV." about Carrier

leon — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:26:26 GMT

Carrier is an in-depth 10 hour PBS series that goes behind the scenes of the USS Nimitz (a nuclear powered air craft carrier) on a 4 month cruise to the Persian Gulf.

The access to the crew and the functioning of the ship is incredible. Very few areas and events are off limits and you get the impression you really didn't want to see those events anyway -- like the seaman who was hours late to a "man overboard" muster and had to answer to the XO for it.

Its only 10 hours of show, but I really connected with the crew members. They are very honest about how they feel about the ship, the Navy, the officers, the mission, etc. I found myself nervous as the pilots were practicing "pitching deck" landings at night, which is every bit as hair raising as you would guess. And you feel bad for them as their spouse's and friend's lives go on while they are basically put on hold for months on end. Baby's are born, family members pass away, and they have no choice but to keep on doing their job.

Many...

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leon says "Great idea, poor story" about Personal Days

leon — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:52:56 GMT

I love the idea of Personal Days. Part of the point (maybe, in hind sight, the whole point) is to explore modern forms of communication and their impact on readers and writers. The book is split into three sections each of which is named after an all-too-familiar word processing comand/issue/error (Can't Undo, Delete All, Revert to Saved) and each of which is formatted and laid out differently. The first is fairly normal, the middle is in outline form (II.A.3.c.iii). The last of them, be warned is in the form of a single sentence that rambles for 46 pages or so. There is a reason in the story for that, but still. It was difficult to get through.

I like stories set in modern corporations, and I like writers exploring the impact of technology and modern office social structures on the people who experience them. And this book does both. However, few of the characters are likeable, few of their decisions are beleivable, and the literary devices put in play by the technology seem forced at best.......

leon says "Its fun, but its far from easy." about Dance Dance Revolution - For Nintendo Wii

leon — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:27:05 GMT

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leon says "Singlehandedly saved my Wii from eBay!!" about Nintendo Wii - Boom Blox

leon — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:24:07 GMT

I can't say enough good things about this game. It single handedly brought my Wii out of retirement and in many ways defines what a Wii game should be.

The Games

At its most basic level, there are three basic play modes. The first is a game where you throw things (tennis balls, bowling balls, and sometimes bombs) at blocks in an attempt to knock them over in as few throws as possible. This mode plays like a puzzle game, trying to find the weak spot or the chain reaction that will work the best. You use the Wiimote to aim, and then make a throwing motion to determine how hard to throw the ball.

The second is a "Jenga" like game where you grab blocks and attempt to pull them from a tower of blocks without upsetting the whole stack. You use the Wiimote to "grab" a block and move your hand/arm to slide it out. Its very sensitive to the motion, so you have to be very careful and very precise.

The third is a shooter style, where the blocks are sliding or thrown across the screen and you use...

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leon says "A great vodka to have around." about Grey Goose Vodka

leon — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:55:12 GMT

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leon says "All the tools you need in one place." about Craftsman 145 pc. Mechanics Tool set

leon — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:53:15 GMT

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leon says "average car, average price." about Ford Taurus - 2003

leon — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:14:23 GMT

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leon says "An excellent film. Not a feel good movie." about House of Sand and Fog

leon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:54:36 GMT

I loved the movie but I hadn't read the book. It was like a train wreck...you see train A leave, you see train B leave and it doesn't take long to realize they are on a collision course. And man, its quite a wreck.

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leon says "Every issue, cover to cover." about Wired Magazine

leon — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:16:18 GMT

I'm busy. You're busy. We're all busy. Working 24 hours a day, family, friends, books, hobbies. There's no time and not many opportunities to make a serious time commitment. One habit that I have managed to maintain is reading every issue of Wired from cover to cover. I haven't missed an article in an issue in 2 years.

I uesd to read MIT's Technology Review with the same dedication, but they cut out all the "randomness" in topics and now its too narrow to surprize me. But Wired never fails. Never.

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leon says "not the best in the series, but a decent read." about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

leon — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 04:15:47 GMT

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leon says "drop dead simple and it works too!" about Linksys Model: WRT54G

leon — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:03:34 GMT

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leon says "Honestly, it got old quickly." about Nintendo Wii Console

leon — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:31:42 GMT

I got a Wii about 2 months ago. My kids (5 and 7) loved it for about 2 weeks, and after that they don't play it so much. I loved the Wii Sports, but even that got old quickly and I find myself back to watchingCash Cab or playing WoW. So for us, the Wii turned into a very expensivepaper weight.

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