Reviews by louis805

louis805 says "Assassins is a "Man Movie" worth at least one viewing." about Assassins

louis805 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:54:39 GMT

In 1995, Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore signed on to do a clever, present day remake of the 1973 Henry Fonda spaghetti-western "Il mio nome è Nessuno", a story of the greatest gunfighter alive who wants to retire, but is having problems getting the peace he desires. The main differences are that it's now about hitmen & hackers and the actors are well, er... Banderas & Stallone, if you get my drift. Mr. Banderas does do an excellent job of completely losing his cool and portraying a nut-case, but Stallone, as usual plays himself. The gunfire is believable, and the action sequences are above-par for the period. Worth a rental or late night viewing on cable with a six-pack of mexican beer.

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louis805 says "SPH-M520 is to Samsung Phones as George Lazenby was to Bond." about Samsung SPH-m520 Cell Phone

louis805 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:26:36 GMT

Ok, for those unfamiliar with Geaorge Lazenby, let me clarify: he played James Bond in one film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service which was sanwiched between 2 Sean Connery ones in the 60's. The Samsung/Sprint SPH-M520 is much like Mr. Lazenby's acting in the film; Not the best in delivery of speech (I often have problems getting a clear signal), underpowered (Bond did not have a lot of gadgets in this film, and the camera in this phone is poor compared to its' predecessor, the SPH-M500), but very attractive looking.

It is bluetooth-capable, which does make up for the tremendous design flaw of the proprietary combination power-jack/earpiece jack. Still it annoys me, because it's not easy to get a DC car adapter for them, compared to most other phones. I'm a fan of Samsung products, I have loads of them. This one just didn't live up.

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louis805 says "They do it just a little bit better!" about Wawa.com

louis805 — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:28:56 GMT

    By now, I'm sure that most people in the northeast region of the US have been to one of these stores. They are often lumped into a category with independently owned franchise convenience stores like 7-Eleven, but they are quite different. All Wawas are owned and managed by the same company. They get their name from the sound that Native Americans in southeastern Pennsylvania said that the Canadian Goose makes: Wa-Wa. That goose, incidentally is their store logo.
    Each shop has a deli, a coffee station (which is their pride), a grocery section, dairy section (all of which comes from Wawa's own dairy), and miscallaneous snacks, ATMs, newspapers, etc. The staff is always friendly, because the company is aware that people like that "neighborhood store" feeling, and they listen to cutomers and take their feedback very seriously.
    Genrally, the deli food's reasonably priced. It's not the cheapest, but you can always count on quality. ...

louis805 says "A sugar free food that tastes great and is easy on the wallet!" about Jell-O - Sugar Free Instant Pudding

louis805 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:43:29 GMT

    As a man who's had Type 1 diabetes since 1973, I can easily say this: SUGAR FREE + DESSERTS = USUALLY TASTED AWFUL. Yeah, aspartame (a la Nutrasweet) was better than saccharin when it came to sugar-free, but it still had an unpleasant flavor. Now that companies have been using sucralose, a derivative of sugar, us diabetics have been able to celebrate!
    Anyway, enough with the history lesson.... this is about Jell-O pudding! My mom used to make it for my non-diabetic brother when I was a kid, and I used to sneak it in school. It has always been a guilty pleasure for me, along with Jell-O gelatin. The only problem that I have always had, was that it really did a number on my blood sugars. I picked up a box of the sugar free the other day, and saw that it is now sweetened with Splenda (sucralose) so I bought it... hey, what can I lose for 65 cents?
    I took it home, read the directions, and in under 10 minutes I had the dessert ready. I opened the fridge door,......

louis805 says "Big Ticket audio without the Big Ticket price. " about Creative Technology Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit External

louis805 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:31:59 GMT

    The Soundblaster series from E-Mu/Creative is no stranger to the PC world. They are often affordable, and the prices-to-features ratio is usually accordingly...... until now. The Live! 24-bit External USB is Dolby 5.1 Surround compatible. With coax and s/pdif (for digital recording), and 1/8" analog jacks for microphones, headphones, and line in, it is a tremendous little powerhouse for the price of $49.99 USD.
    Alongside of the input/outputs is the SoundFont sound engine designed by Creative's parent company E-Mu, a significant developer in synthesizers since 1971. As a songwriter, I can simply say this: I am not disappointed, in the least. The piano sounds are believable and the synth sounds are very flexible.

Bravo, Creative! Bravo!


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